#BlackOutBTS Is Trending Today, But It Might Have A Different Meaning Than You Think

A certain population of ARMYs are making a stand for themselves, and it’s beautiful

On Tuesday, April 15, the hashtag #BlackOutBTS began trending on Twitter, which may cause concern for some fans thinking that an anti-BTS movement has popped up on the website. But no need to fear — the real truth to the movement is incredibly wholesome and beautiful.

The first Tuesday of every month on Twitter is known as “ARMY selca day”, where fans of the group post selfies of themselves with their favorite member of BTS. However, one part of the BTS fanbase has reportedly long been under-represented and poorly treated — BTS’s black ARMYs. In fact, a report by Fachana Techamaneewat on Exclusive Hollywood stated that, “some ARMYs believe that K-pop music isn’t made for black people and phrases from toxic members are often thrown around from them saying ‘stick to your own type of music’.”

This is, of course, ridiculous. Everyone of all races, sexualities, genders, ages, abilities, and other identifying factors can be a fan of BTS, because music is a universal language that can be appreciated by anyone. In order to support black ARMYs and provide them with a way to show their love for BTS, fans began the #BlackOutBTS hashtag to encourage them to post selcas on the social media platform.

Here’s what one fan had to say about the #BlackOutBTS movement on Twitter:

#BlackOutBTS is made for the fans who get the most silenced within the army: black people. We get constantly ridiculed, ignored, attacked and disrespected within the army and we as a cohesive unit are sick of it. #BlackOutBTS is a selca day for just us to showcase our beauty, admire our bias in any way we choose to and for once get some shine. This… isn’t to exclude anyone, this is to raise up those who don’t receive inclusion.

— BTS fan

This movement apparently started back on February 28 of 2018 during Black History Month, and has been picking up movement since then. And it didn’t start with BTS fans — it actually started as a more widespread movement, as one Twitter user explained:

For those who don’t understand why there’s a whole #BlackOutBTS tag. The whole concept was created before it was adapted by ARMYs. The ‘Blackout Day’ tag was created to embrace the online black community on social media by sharing images of beautiful black people by selfies etc. It’s not to ‘outshine’ or disrespect white people, it’s there to embrace, and shed a positive light on black individuals. It has been around for about three years, and the whole tag means minority voices are given the type of attention they are denied in mainstream culture.

— @JHSMICDROP

However the movement started, it’s certainly wholesome, inclusive, and a wonderful trend to see happening. Check out all of these black ARMYs gorgeous selcas!

You all look stunning, keep it up!

BTS

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