GQ Deutschland, the German edition of the magazine, has taken a stand against homophobia in a unique way — getting straight male celebrities to kiss. Among them are 2012 Olympic beach volleyball gold medalists Jonas Reckermann and Julius Brink.
"This shouldn't be happening in sports or in other areas of life," Brink said. "It's totally clear to me that I will always speak up against racism and homophobia."
Lifestyle monthly GQ launched the #Mundpropaganda – Gentlemen against Homophobia, campaign in the hope of clearly stating the magazine's stance against intolerance and discrimination of homosexuality.
Editors had 13 German celebrities pucker up for photos. Not really household names outside of the country, but famous in their own country. .. The result is six surprisingly tender photos, intended to stand in solidarity against not only homegrown homophobia, but that currently making headlines in Russia.
"The intolerance that homosexuals are still fighting against is shocking," said Editor-in-Chief José Redondo-Vega. "With #Mundpropaganda we wanted to give a clear sign in favour of a free society."
It's a cool idea and the magazine in an editorial noted that some of the celebrities they approached said no, which shows the angst many men feel about showing any same-sex affection. As for the effectiveness of such campaigns, I loved this sentiment by Johannes Strate of the band Revolverheld: "This is not tilting against windmills. Constant dripping wears the rock away."
Below is the making-of video. It's in German (you can click the "cc" button for English subtitles), but the point comes across in any language.
