#HeterosexualPrideDay Trending on Twitter Because Straight People

On Wednesday, just days after LGBTQ pride week celebrations ended in many locations around the US, #HeterosexualPrideDay began to trend on Twitter. Because straight people couldn't let queer people have this one thing, apparently.

The hashtag started trending early in the day seemingly as a troll, but soon many (extremely brave) users began to earnestly send out tweets bemoaning the struggles and and celebrating the resilience of straight people. The hashtag was quickly taken back again with jokes about heterosexuality and tweets promoting LGBTQ rights instead.

As the LGBTQ rights movement has grown over the years, so has the backlash to it. In the late 90s debates over free speech emerged after students wore "straight pride" shirts to school. Last year, a man staged a "Heterosexual Pride march" in Seattle. There have been multiple incidents of "straight pride" fliers and posters emerging during pride week.

Pride was started as a means to combat the shame and stigma that contribute to homophobia, which as the recent mass shooting in Orlando made tragically clear, is still alive and well. Studies show members of the LGBTQ community experience higher rates of major depression, generalized anxiety disorder, and suicide. They are more likely to experience hate crimes than any other minority group. According to the CDC, 44 percent of lesbians and 61 percent of bisexual women will experience rape or intimate partner violence compared to 35 percent of heterosexual women. The same study found 26 percent of gay men and 37 percent of bisexual men experience rape or intimate partner violence.

Despite these jarring statistics, some straight people still feel they are being marginalized by Pride celebrations. Although the hashtag was started as a joke, it's no surprise many conservatives did not find its re-purposing funny.

So there you have it—go forth and combat "heterophobia" with #HeterosexualPrideDay. Or don't.