#Blackboysembrace

Black men embrace to show the world what real love looks like in new viral campaign

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What started as a simple tweet by a young man in Michigan has quickly blossomed into a viral social media campaign.

It all started earlier this week when graphic designer Jermaine Dickerson proposed the following idea to his 5,000 Twitter followers:

He followed that up with another post:

In an interview with Blavity, Dickerson, who is openly gay, says the idea was inspired by the struggles he often faced with showing affection towards other Black men growing up.

“Growing up I just found it really hard to express intimacy with the male role models in my life, it was hard for me to express a certain level of emotion,” he says.

Related: The Ultimate Collection Of Cuddling Bros Photos

Dickerson says he wants straight people to “be held accountable” for fostering heteronormative ideas of what male intimacy can look like.

“As I got older and began to learn about heteronormativity and all these things that sort of negate intimacy among Black men, I took it upon myself to try to deconstruct some of those oppressive ideals,” he says.

All sorts of guys have been getting in on the campaign…

Fathers and sons…

Uncles and nephews…

Friends…

Brothers…

Boyfriends…

Some throwbacks…

And a few kids…

Let’s all join in for a collective “Awwwww.”

Related: New study finds straight dudes in bromances often hug, kiss, and share their most intimate secrets