23-year-old freelance journalist Adam Harris thought nothing of uploading images from his wedding day in September 2014 with his new wife Tisa.
The photos the Texas-native posted on his Tumblr showed Harris getting teary-eyed upon seeing his bride for the first time.
"We agreed not to do the first look because we thought it would be more exciting to see each other for the first time during the ceremony," Harris explained to Buzzfeed's Rossalyn Warren. "When it came time in the ceremony for her to walk down the aisle, our DJ played 'Beautiful' by Meshell Ndegeocello and the doors above the stairs opened. When I saw her, I couldn't hold back feelings of excitement and love, she looked gorgeous. Our photographer, Dustin Finklestein, captured the moment perfectly."
And for a few months, nothing happened. The post on Harris' Tumblr kept racking up likes and reblogs, but it wasn't until December that his sister-in-law noticed someone had stolen the image.
Instagrammer @derrickjaxn was the first to take the photo and turn it into a meme, Harris said.
"The sentiment was 'sweet' I suppose but it was the beginning of a deterioration of the meaning of the photos," he told Vox.
Then five months later in May, Twitter account Meninist - an account that mocks both feminism and women but calls itself a parody account - posted their own version of the meme:
He's thinking about all the side hoes he has to give up pic.twitter.com/7e1Kyiz8VM
- Meninist (@MeninistTweet) May 22, 2015Meninist followers latched onto the tweet and began posting other racist tweets in response, even comparing Harris's mini calla lily boutineer to a banana peel.
But instead of trying to get Meninist to take down the photos or responding with threats or anger, Harris calmly Tweeted back and corrected the misoygnistic meme.
"I did not respond to that tweet in that way just because 'my wife was following me on Twitter,' or 'because my wife made me,'" Harris wrote later in a Tumblr post. "It is possible for a man, on his own volition, to stand up for himself and his family. To simply reply to something that is wrong and fix it."
And Twitter users loved it. In comparison with the 9,000 favorites and 6,000 retweets on the original Meninist tweet, Harris's tweet has since racked up over 103,000 retweets and 105,000 favorites.
He was also overwhelmed by words of encouragement and praise from other Twitter users for his response.
@AdamHSays that's ridiculous man. Sending you and your wife peace, joy, and positivity. S/O to Black love!
- Chris Roberts (@croberts5) May 23, 2015@AdamHSays what a beautiful moment, and your wife looks stunning. Much love xo
- Paige B (@pgebrdrm) May 23, 2015CLAP BACK ON FIRE ?????????? "@AdamHSays: Or I was thinking about my wife, but you know, do you. https://t.co/huWEoZQz6N"
- CityBoySizzle (@WhoIsSizzle) May 24, 2015His Tumblr post also spread wildly with nearly 273,000 notes at the time of this post.
"I responded for two reasons: to correct an account that has consistently degraded women and because I will not allow them to shift the focus of our special moment to something else," Harris wrote on his Tumblr. "My wife is witty, attractive, my best friend, and can tell a hell of a joke. A real joke, not what that account calls a joke."
"Men, we have to do better," Harris added. "In general. We just have to do better. Every little bit counts."