Background: The Warwick Rowers are, as their name implies a rowing team from the University of Warwick who happen to get naked to raise funds to tackle homophobia in sport. I've seen both heaps of praise and also helpings of criticism for these guys which has made me think. In support of the guys: -They are raising funds for gay charities -They are happy to speak out on gay issues -They are not bad to look at But in criticism: -Their intentions may be mixed (i.e. seeking fame or attention/vanity) -They are reinforcing unrealistic beauty standards -They are playing to a "straight guy" fantasy which some see as harmful (the "forbidden fruit") -Their actions may actually be detrimental to gay people The last point in particular got me thinking. There is an idea that in them playing off the humour in the calendars of being in homoerotic situations they are essentially (unintentionally) propping up the idea that being gay is somehow funny or comedic. Now I appreciate the situation of being naked and in funny poses around a sex you aren't attracted to might be a novelty, but is it really beneficial to gay people for them to essentially parody gay behaviour for laughs? Sort of a "haha, getting naked with other men, this is hilarious" attitude, is there a tiny element of homophobia in that very thought process? Also with the actual charitable aim of kicking homophobia out of sports, does stereotyping of gay people as lusty purchasers of soft-porn or of sports teams as inherently homoerotic help. Or does it play into the homophobic ideas of "gays in the locker-room". It's debatable.
