Overview
#FindDancingMan is a hashtag campaign launched by Twitter users in search of an overweight man who became a target of fat shaming after a photograph of him dancing at a music concert surfaced on 4chan in early March 2015. Within days of the campaign’s launch, the man was identified as a U.K. resident named Sean.
Background
On February 13th, 2015, a anonymous 4chan user posted two photographs of a man dancing at a concert with message “Spotted this specimen trying to dance the other week. He stopped when he saw us laughing” to the /pol/[9] (politically incorrect) board (shown below). The comment subsequently received several replies criticizing the poster for being mean-spirited.
Notable Developments
Online Reaction
On March 4th, Imgur[1] user FrozenBadger uploaded a screenshot of the post titled “Why I Hate Children,” which criticized the original poster for being cruel and immature. The following day, Twitter user @FitchyEmma[16] posted the screenshot asking for followers to find the man and “tell him that he is beautiful and we love him” (shown below).
A Dance Party for the #DancingMan
Also on March 5th, Twitter user Cassandra Fairbanks[2] tweeted the screenshot, asking for viewers to identify the man to “do something special” for him (shown below, left). Within one week, the tweet gained over 4,300 favorites and 3,800 retweets. On March 6th, the @TheElleWord[3] Twitter feed posted a call to action to find the man pictured in the photos in order to throw a dance party with the hashtag #FindDancingMan[15] (shown below, right).
Identity
Also on March 6th, Fairbanks[4] tweeted a photograph of the dancing man holding a sign greeting Cassandra and his supporters on Twitter, and identified him as the creator of the @Dancingmanfound[8] Twitter feed (shown below). In four days, the @Dancingmanfound Twitter feed received upwards of 78,000 followers. According to The Daily Mail,[14] it was revealed that the man was named Sean and resided in London, England.
Celebrity Tweets
Also on March 6th, musicians Pharrell Williams,[5] Moby[6] and Andrew W.K.[7] tweeted their support for Sean and expressed interest in performing at his upcoming dance party (shown below).
News Media Coverage
On March 7th, The Incredible World YouTube channel posted an interview with Fairbanks, who discussed the hashtag campaign and the upcoming dance party (shown below).
In the coming days, several news sites published articles about the campaign, including Metro,[11]BuzzFeed,[12] NY Daily News[10] and BBC News.[13]
Search Interest
External References
[1]Imgur – Why I Hate Children
[2]Twitter – @CassandraRules
[3]Twitter – @TheElleWord
[4]Twitter – @CassandraRules
[6]Twitter – @thelittleidiot
[8]Twitter – @Dancingmanfound
[9]4plebs – politically incorrect
[10]NY Daily News – #finddancingman
[11]Metro – Mans dance moves were laughed at by bullies
[12]BuzzFeed – After People Tried To Body-Shame
[13]BBC– Five things we know about Dancing Man
[14]The Daily Mail – Dancing Man who was shamed by bullies is tracked down
[15]Twitter – #finddancingman
[16]Twitter – @FitchyEmma