'Real Men Get Raped' Campaign Comes to London

via HuffPost Gay Voices

A new rape awareness campaign aimed at men in London is hoping to challenge the way that people think about the crime and its victims.

Posters for the campaign, launched by Survivors UK, an organization that deals with sexual violence against men, read "Real men get raped and talking about it takes real strength" and show a rugby ball being punctured by a nail.

The ads will be prominently featured on 140 escalator panels in central London Tube stations on February 20 in hopes of reaching passengers during the Six Nations rugby tournament reports MaleHealth.

The ads will also be show on two 48 Sheet billboards at Clapham Junction train station and on screens at Waterloo stations on February 25 and March 17, when England plays at home in the tournament.

Pink News notes that while over 8,500 sexual crimes against men may have taken place in London alone last year, the British government estimates that only 11 percent of men who were attacked reported the crime due to embarrassment and shame.

Michael May of Survivors UK said:

"We’ve chosen to use an alpha male sport in our advertising to challenge assumptions about the type of men who get raped. It’s just as likely to be a rugby player as a librarian, a suited city banker as a hooded gang member.

And we hope that by challenging our innate assumptions about the identity of male victims, we can make it even fractionally easier for a male rape victim to ask for help."

The National Center For Victims Of Crime reports that about three percent of men in the U.S. -- a total of close to three million -- have been raped at some point in their lives.

While many are applauding the campaign, some bloggers have raised questions about the usefulness of the term "real men."

Jessica Wakeman of TheFrisky.com writes, "Why do we have to call it 'real men'? Isn’t that just feeding into the same stereotype that there IS such a thing as 'real men'?"


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Our Rugby Boyfriend Gareth Thomas Tells Ellen About Coming Out

Gareth Thomas talks about his marriage (to a lady), and what it was like to come out to his wife, family, and team. A must-see - really great.

Who's That Queer [Gareth Thomas]

Brought to you by Pistol Pete

Gareth Thomas (born 25 July 1974 in Sarn near Bridgend) is a Welsh rugby union player who currently plays at fullback, wing or centre for the Cardiff Blues and most recently played as a fullback for Wales. On 26 May 2007, he surpassed Gareth Llewellyn as the most-capped Wales player with his 93rd appearance. A prolific try scorer at international level, Thomas is listed ninth in the world on the all-time Test try scoring list. During the 2007 Rugby World Cup, Thomas created sporting history when he become the first Welshman to win 100 international caps in rugby union. During this game he scored a try and prevented another but Wales lost to Fiji and were eliminated from the tournament. He is also the first rugby player to come out while still playing professionally.


Gareth Thomas made his debut for Wales on 27 May 1995 against Japan. He held the Wales record for the most international tries with 40 until Shane Williams surpassed that total in the 2008 Six Nations Championship, but still retains the record for most Test appearances for his country, with 100. He surpassed the try record previously held by Ieuan Evans in 2004 against Italy. He also got a hat-trick of tries in the Second Test against Japan in 2001; 51 appearances after announcing his arrival on the international scene with a hat-trick in the 1995 World Cup game against the same opposition. Equally at home at centre, it was from that position he scored the longest intercept try ever seen at the Arms Park, a 90 metre dash against Australia in 1996.Thomas was named as captain for Wales' final match in the 2007 Six Nations against England after current captain Stephen Jones was ruled out with a broken wrist. When Thomas took the field, he equaled Llewellyn's Wales record of 92 caps. He broke Llewellyn's record when he led Wales out against Australia at Telstra Stadium in Sydney on 26 May 2007, a match that Wales lost 29–23 on a Wallabies try after the siren.

From 2002 to 2006, Thomas was married to childhood sweetheart Jemma. The couple married in St Brides Major, near Bridgend, and filed for divorce in 2007; during the relationship, Jemma suffered three miscarriages.

In December 2009 Thomas announced publicly that he is gay. He told the Daily Mail , "I don't want to be known as a gay rugby player. I am a rugby player, first and foremost I am a man." Thomas' public confirmation of his sexuality makes him the first openly gay professional rugby player still playing the game. In an interview with the BBC, Thomas talked about how he hoped that his coming out would mean that in the future, young gay rugby players would be able to come out and be accepted as a "talented gay rugby player". Thomas also said, "What I choose to do when I close the door at home has nothing to do with what I have achieved in rugby."

Source: Wikipedia

A Little Ben Cohen Anyone?

Towleroad has a great series called Sportrait, which featured talented (and hot) athletes. And who better to feature than Aussie rugby player Ben Cohen?


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Aussie Professional Rugby Jocks Fight Homophobia

Ya gotta love the Aussies.

The high-profile muscled jocks of Australia’s national rugby team, the Qantas Wallabies, have joined forces with the country’s largest LGBT-focused health and HIV/AIDS organization for a campaign to fight discrimination against LGBT people.

Team captain Stirling Mortlock and other players were photographed holding handwritten signs championing inclusiveness in sports as part of the This Is Oz campaign, an online photo blog where users can upload photos of themselves with messages that challenge homophobia and celebrate diversity and social inclusion.

Read the rest at the Advocate.

Bisexual rugby player takes things in stride

Chris Clemmow's teammates in England set him up with guys in a culture where same-sex attraction is no big deal.

...The boy doesn’t dance, he doesn’t dress particularly well, and it is rare to see him publicly gawk over a passing male. Conversely, he doesn’t act in stereotypical macho ways either. He doesn’t sexualize women, posture himself as aggressive, or talk obsessively about sport. He is just Chris....

Read the whole thing, by Eric Anderson on Outsports.