Op-ed: Mr. Gay South Africa Is a Critical Role Model

[William769]

Johannesburg — In a country where kids “believe that being homosexual is a social death sentence” perhaps the next Mr. Gay South Africa can be an example of what’s possible.

Lance Weyer, a political representative for the Democratic Alliance from East London, won the title to Mr. Gay South Africa 2011 in Johannesburg on Saturday night. Weyer is a Buffalo City Metropolitan Municipality Council member in the Eastern Cape and serves on the Health and Public Safety Standing Committee as well as the Special Programs Strategic Committee.

The 24-year-old elected official was an audience favorite during a packed grand finale at the Lyric, Gold Reef City. And he walked away with the Bone Wear Underwear Model prize.

South Africa is a country that boasts a fully inclusive constitution, where sexual orientation and gender identity are protected against discrimination. However while tolerance is the law, acceptance of LGBT people is still a major hurdle, as cultural norms have yet to change. It is a country where the rape of lesbian women for so-called curative purposes is endemic, and suicide related bullying is as problematic as the rest of the world.

http://www.advocate.com/Politics/Commentary/Oped_Mr_Gay_South_Africa_Is_a_Critical_Role_Model/

[xchrom]

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[HillWilliam]

2. K&R

I'm glad to see more and more young folks refusing to take less than full dignity and equality. They're taking my generation's foundations and building a better world, bravely and openly.

Bravo!