WATCH: Jozi Cats, Africa’s first gay and inclusive competitive rugby club challenge stereotypes in campaign

Jozi Cats, Africa’s first gay and inclusive competitive rugby team has set tongues wagging.

The club, which is based in Johannesburg, aims to “provide the opportunity for gay, straight and bisexual men to play and enjoy ever improving standards of rugby”.

In an effort to recruit more players, the club has launched a bold campaign, which has been widely reported and has continued to make waves on social media.

Photo: Jozi Cats

The campaign aims to  challenge and debunk  the stereotypes that exist around gay male rugby athletes.

The campaign, spearheaded and created by the Head of Havas PR South Africa, Chris Verrijdt and designed by Havas Boondoggle South Africa, uses players from the rugby team in a series of shots with derogatory gay terms that question the perception of the kind of gay man the players are.

All the players in the advert are  members of  the team. The club says it aims to cultivate a culture of inclusivity and be an example of “friendly cohabitation between people of different sexual orientations of different racial and cultural backgrounds (though we never ask players to openly identify their sexual orientation)”.

Homophobia remains rife in South Africa and the Lesbian, Gay, Gisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) community still faces discrimination and violence in various spheres (including sport) despite the existence of laws which protect the rights of gay people. Homosexuality in many parts of the continent remains a controversial and divisive issue and hate crimes against the LGBT community are a reality.

Initiatives such as the the Jozi Cats aim to contest society’s preconceived ideas and to “reach out to those who may have been discouraged by prejudice”.

Watch the video challenging prejudice

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Source: Jozi cats