Arts+Culture / NewsGrown men freaked out by ‘gay’ Twitter heartsA change from the star icon to a love-heart predictably opened the homophobic floodgatesShareLink copied ✔️November 4, 2015Arts+CultureNewsTextHannah Rose Ewens What’s more “gay” than a symbol for love, eh? A little heart. The unofficial global online shortcut to expressing your affection and appreciation for something since the Myspace days <3 and beyond. A way to show you value that person and what they have to say. A cartoon icon for the muscular organ which pumps blood through each of our circulatory systems. But apparently a heart is so blatantly, outrageously homosexual that the thought of “hearting” someone’s tweet is repulsive to some. Yesterday, Twitter changed the way we favourite tweets from a star icon to a heart, something that actually no-one really liked. But it was the small-minded homophobes who crawled out of the woodwork who expressed their distain so loudly. Comments ranged from the heart being straight up “gay” to the act of using the heart automatically branding you a “faggot”. Twitter is now bebo with this heart faggot shit, this is the result of letting gay people have rights idc— Chuy Ramirez (@ShubzBristol) November 3, 2015Don't heart my tweets nigga FOH I ain't no faggot— Dame (@DameIsDead) November 4, 2015If you a dude and you heart one of my tweets you're pretty much a faggot— JustTrynaNig (@JustTrynaNig) November 3, 2015I'm never pressing this heart button in my life tbh am no faggot— Chananoglu (@Chana9MUFC) November 3, 2015U "heart" another nigga tweet u a faggot— Trill Jackson (@Im_0n1) November 3, 2015 All these tweets suck. Escape the algorithm! Get The DropEmail address SIGN UP Get must-see stories direct to your inbox every weekday. Privacy policy Thank you. You have been subscribed Privacy policy Expand your creative community and connect with 15,000 creatives from around the world.READ MOREWhy did Satan start to possess girls on screen in the 70s?Learn the art of photo storytelling and zine making at Dazed+LabsJim BeamWhat went down at Jim Beam’s NYC bash8 essential skate videos from the 90s and beyond with Glue SkateboardsThe unashamedly queer, feminist, and intersectional play you need to seeAdanolaLila Moss fronts Adanola’s latest spring 2026 campaignParis artists are pissed off with this ‘gift’ from Jeff KoonsA Seat at the TableVinca Petersen: Future FantasySnarkitecture’s guide on how to collide art and architectureBanksy has unveiled a new anti-weapon artworkVincent Gallo: mad, bad, and dangerous to knowEscape the algorithm! Get The DropEmail address SIGN UP Get must-see stories direct to your inbox every weekday. Privacy policy Thank you. You have been subscribed Privacy policy