This article exists as part of the online archive for HuffPost Australia, which closed in 2021.

Straight Men Are Suddenly Holding Hands For A Beautiful Reason

Straight Men Are Suddenly Holding Hands For A Beautiful Reason
Dutch leader of the Democrats 66 (D66) party Alexander Pechtold (L) and Financial specialist of D66 party Wouter Koolmees (R) arrive for a meeting with other Dutch political parties, in The Hague, on April 3, 2017 while they hold hands as a sign of solidarity for two men who were physical abused after holding hands in public in Arnhem, on 1 April 2017. / AFP PHOTO / ANP / Lex van Lieshout / Netherlands OUT (Photo credit should read LEX VAN LIESHOUT/AFP/Getty Images)
LEX VAN LIESHOUT via Getty Images
Dutch leader of the Democrats 66 (D66) party Alexander Pechtold (L) and Financial specialist of D66 party Wouter Koolmees (R) arrive for a meeting with other Dutch political parties, in The Hague, on April 3, 2017 while they hold hands as a sign of solidarity for two men who were physical abused after holding hands in public in Arnhem, on 1 April 2017. / AFP PHOTO / ANP / Lex van Lieshout / Netherlands OUT (Photo credit should read LEX VAN LIESHOUT/AFP/Getty Images)

Scores of men are responding to an alleged attack on a gay couple in the Netherlands... by holding hands.

Jasper Vernes-Sewratan and his husband, Ronnie Sewratan-Vernes, were reportedly attacked early Sunday by a group of six to eight teenage boys, RTL Nieuws reports. The men said they were returning to their Arnhem home hand-in-hand from a party at the time of the attack.

The incident sent shockwaves through the Netherlands’s LGBTQ community, and was reportedly condemned by Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte. But two of the country’s other lawmakers went a step further, showing solidarity for the couple by holding hands as they arrived at a government meeting Monday.

“We think it is quite normal in the Netherlands to express who you are,” Alexander Pechtold (left) said.
LEX VAN LIESHOUT via Getty Images
“We think it is quite normal in the Netherlands to express who you are,” Alexander Pechtold (left) said.

Alexander Pechtold, who is the leader of the Democrats 66 (D66) party, arrived hand in hand with his party’s financial specialist, Wouter Koolmees, in support of Vernes-Sewratan and Sewratan-Vernes. “We think it is quite normal in the Netherlands to express who you are,” Pechtold said, according to People.

As photographs of Pechtold and Koolmees hit international media outlets, the pair’s gesture sparked a social media movement. Men, many of whom say they identify as straight, began posting photographs of themselves holding hands with other men on Twitter and Instagram with the hashtag #allemannenhandinhand. Check out a few of the stunning images below.

#allemannenhandinhand #homogeweld

A post shared by Humberto Tan (@humbertotan) on

Ook wij lopen #handinhand: stop geweld tegen homo's! 👬 #allemannenhandinhand

A post shared by De Coen & Sander Show (@coenensander) on

Fuck intolerance and indifference #allemannenhandinhand

A post shared by Black&Blue (@blackandbluenijmegen) on

Ook wij doen mee #allemannenhandinhand weer naar huis na een harde dag werken #tolerantie #glasvanooyen

A post shared by Glashandel van Ooyen (@glasvanooyen) on

#allemannenhandinhand

A post shared by Michel Rogier (@michelrogier) on

#handinhand #allemannenhandinhand #love #🌈 Leef en laat leven!

A post shared by Patrick Martens (@patrickmartens1) on

The effort has since gone global, too. Male colleagues from the Dutch Embassy in London also joined in.

...as did the male staff of the Dutch mission at the United Nations in New York.

Interestingly, the event nearly coincides with a Dutch LGBTQ milestone. The Netherlands became the world’s first nation to legalize same-sex marriage on April 1, 2001.

Close
This article exists as part of the online archive for HuffPost Australia. Certain site features have been disabled. If you have questions or concerns, please check our FAQ or contact support@huffpost.com.