Screengrab of the advert clip that caused a stir about the LGBT communities. Screengrab of the advert clip that caused a stir about the LGBT communities.
On Tuesday, lesbians, gays, bisexuals, transgenders/transsexuals and intersexed (LGBTI) celebrate the 12th anniversary of International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia. However, there is still a lot of stigma.
An advertisement created by WETHEBRAVE.co.za featuring two men of different races kissing and ending with a condom being unwrapped led to a slew of complaints being submitted to the Advertising Standards Authority.
WETHEBRAVE.co.za is the first large-scale sexual-health campaign ever in South Africa to specifically address men who have sex with men (MSM) and is an initiative founded by the Anova Health Institute and the Elton John Aids Foundation. The goal is to help men who have sex with men lead healthy sexual lives.
One complainant stated: “I am all for safe-sex education, but promoting safe sex between men is taking it a step too far.”
Nina Morris-Lee, head of marketing at the Anova Health Institute said: “The aim of the advertisement is not to shock, but to attract our market through creating scenarios to which they relate.
"With 4.9 million South Africans – 10 percent of the population – identifying as homosexual, this is a matter of public interest and urgency, and we do not have the luxury of tiptoeing around the issues.
“Thus we have exercised our right to freedom of expression, contained in clause 16 of the Bill of Rights, which states ‘Everyone has the right to freedom of expression, which includes freedom to receive or impart information or ideas’.”
The International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia was created in 2004 to draw the attention of policy-makers, opinion leaders, social movements, the public and the media to the violence and discrimination experienced by LGBTI people as well as all those who don't conform to majority sexual and gender norms.
Morris-Lee added: “In light of the reactions to a same-sex kiss, the International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia is crucial to fight the stigma associated with same-sex preferences. Not only is homophobia a deterrent to MSM testing for HIV, it also leads to hate crimes such as beatings, corrective rape among men and murder.”