The Homophobic Dog Meme

Whitney Chewston, a Dachshund dog named, has become the center of an internet meme that pairs her image with homophobic sentiments. The hashtag "homophobic dog" has become widely used to describe this trend which started from an Instagram photo posted by Whitney's owners.

On Monday, Florida governor Ron DeSantis' press secretary Christina Pushaw tweeted a screenshot of a fake news story about the dog that was credited to Taylor Lorenz, a Washington Post technology and online culture columnist.

Whitney Chewston

Whitney Chewston, a white dachshund named Whitney Chewston, has become an internet meme in recent years and she's often accompanied by ironic homophobic captions. According to Know Your Meme, her popularity stems from an image posted on her Instagram account in June 2019 which shows the pup perched on a fleecy blanket with a glass of wine in front of her.

This meme, which has now amassed over 100 million likes on social media as of April 2022, has also spread to other platforms. Its success even inspired Twitter users to create their own photoshopped versions with the same "not too fond of gay people" caption.

The origins of the meme can be traced back a year, when an artist posted it on an iFunny page with the message, "not too fond of gay people". From there, it quickly went viral as reported by Know Your Meme.

Soon, it was being shared across Facebook and Instagram - with the creator of the image beginning a trend of photoshopped images of Whitney with captions reading "not too fond of gay people." These photos have since been repurposed into other memes.

Although the meme's success has caused controversy, it also cemented Whitney's place as a global sensation. She is an influencer and brand ambassador with thousands of followers on her Instagram account; plus she owns her own clothing line and was even featured on the cover of a magazine!

With Whitney's growing fame, her owners have sought to dispel the popular misconception that she is homophobic. Ben Campbell and Logan Hickman, her owners, told Know Your Meme that Whitney is actually a beloved member of their family who does not harbor any negative thoughts towards people in real life.

Furthermore, some experts contend that her reputation as a homophobic dog was created to amuse her fans. They noted how the image has "sparked an evolved iteration of the bigoted dog meme" and suggested she may be learning to accept members of the LGBTQ+ community.

Meme origins

Memes have become a worldwide phenomenon that permeates every corner of the internet. Not only are they funny, but they also carry deeper significance; serving as vehicles for political messages or inciting hatred.

In 1976, Richard Dawkins coined the term "meme" in his book The Selfish Gene to explain how ideas spread like genes through popular culture. He borrowed from ancient Greek mimeme, meaning imitation, to create a new noun that could accurately capture this concept.

Though it is often assumed that memes originated and spread on the internet, they actually have a long and storied history in real life - from stickers to cartoons and even animals! While iconic classic memes like the Hampster Dance and dancing baby have become iconic icons in pop culture, there have been many other classic examples as well.

The Hampster Dance was a website featuring rows of animated GIF hamsters dancing along to an aggressive version of the song "Whistle Stop," which became an internet phenomenon in 1999 and continues to be one of today's most beloved memes.

In 2016, Whitney Chewston, a white dachshund named Whitney Chewston, went viral for her hilariously judgmental face. She was photographed next to a glass of wine with the caption: "not too fond of gay people." Within months, numerous versions of this image had made their way across social media platforms like Reddit and Instagram.

However, her owners are quick to point out that this doxie dog is not homophobic. Instead, these pictures have been used as satirical fun at the idea that dogs can judge someone based solely on appearance.

These memes have been viewed millions of times and are considered some of the most popular around. Some even credit them with making gay people more comfortable online.

But the internet can make it hard to keep track of which memes are trending and which ones have become outdated, as they all originate from different places like 4chan or Reddit. That makes it especially challenging when trying to determine what should be prioritized when creating content for your website or social media page.

Owners

For some time now, the internet has been inundated with pictures of a dachshund captioned with homophobic sentiments. She's been labeled the 'homophobic dog', and her owners have taken offense at what they perceive as an attack against their family.

The initial version of Whitney Houston's homophobic dog memes began when her owners posted an image with her holding a wine glass with the phrase, "not too fond of gay people". This quickly went viral and soon enough Whitney became an internet celebrity with an altered online persona.

In a world where many people are still discriminated against based on sexuality, gender identity or other attributes, ironic jokes can be an effective tool to take back some control from microaggressions. While they may be enjoyable to laugh at, they can also serve as reminders of internalized homophobia.

One way this can be expressed is in the language used at competitions and training classes. While making small changes to our language can be challenging, making your trials and classes more inclusive will make LGBTQ identified people feel included and accepted at events.

Communicating with LGBTQ individuals can be as easy as using their name when talking to or about them, asking if they use pronouns, and finding out which pronouns they prefer. By including these simple steps in your trials and classes, it will make it easier to communicate with these individuals while also motivating them to compete and train their dogs.

Though it may seem like a lot of effort, making small changes can have an enormous effect on how LGBTQ individuals feel at dog shows and competitions. By allowing them to express themselves in their own language, you are showing that you value and support them as allies within their community.

The Washington Post has denied publishing the fake news story and issued a statement denying its author, Taylor Lorenz. Christina Pushaw's screenshot looks very similar to stories she has written for their "Internet Culture" section on their website, yet the article itself never appeared there.

Influencers

Beauty influencers have leveraged the power of social media and e-commerce to turn their millions of followers into billions in sales. With just one tweet, they can promote the latest and greatest in beauty products, highlight the best in the industry and provide readers with exciting updates about it.

Companies have come up with some creative and daring ways to utilize this data. Arctic Fox, an indie hair-dye company boasting the audacious title of "best at home hair color", recently made headlines when Leanne, their spokesperson, and Morgan (a former model), executed a marketing campaign featuring inclusivity through an effective hashtag that garnered hundreds of thousands more fans to their cult of personality. Other noteworthy names in this space include Amazon and Sephora - each having their own clever strategies worthy of blog posts on their own.