There has been an apparent red and pink takeover on social networks in the last few weeks-and no, it has nothing to do with Valentine’s Day. It does, however, have everything to do with the celebration and representation of love in America.
With millions of Americans replacing their profile pictures on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Tumblr, etc. with the image of a pink equal sign inside of a red square, folks must be wondering what all the homogeneity is about.
The symbol is a temporary revision logo for the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), the largest national lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) civil rights advocacy group and organization. While the original logo for the HRC is a yellow equal sign inside a blue square, it still represents support for same-sex marriage like the original.
“Red is a symbol for love, and that’s what marriage is all about,” Human Rights Campaign spokesperson Charlie Joughin told MSNBC.com.
The HRC changed their original logo as a push for marriage equality since the Supreme Court is now taking a look at the validity of Proposition 8, a California ballot proposition and a state constitutional amendment that states marriage should be between a man and a woman.
Undoubtedly, the social campaign has helped promote the notion of marriage equality for members of the LGBT community. Interestingly, because social networking sites appear most popular with a younger generation of Internet users, one could find the marriage-equality symbol just about everywhere.
This new age of Internet users is known as Generation Y, also known as the Millennial Generation. For the most part, people born during this time period have had constant access to technology and have grown up as more accepting of change. It also appears that they are using their Internet access for a greater good in helping to promote their modern-day beliefs on what marriage should be.
In the last few weeks, social networks were buzzing with concerns and speculation regarding Proposition 8 and the existing marriage laws that are in place. Many strongly opposed same-sex marriage and others considered themselves advocates of the cause. Nevertheless, millions decided to change their profile pictures in support of HRC’s social campaign, which helped to raise awareness for those who knew nothing about it.
According to the Human Rights Campaign website (www.hrc.org), “Over three quarters (77%) of LGBT youth say they know things will get better.” In this day and age, the injustice and inequality still found in marriage is a battle that millions-both homosexual and heterosexual-are fighting to overcome. With an increasing amount of supporters both online and offline, I just hope that one day we can look back as a society and say, “Things did get better.”
