Play Nice Present 'Taking a Risk for Safer Sex' Exhibit at Cafe Manhattan until 7/31

Play Nice, a campaign promoting responsible sex among MSM (men who have sex with men, including gay, bisexual and heterosexual men) announce the launch of the second annual photographic exhibition entitled "Taking a Risk for Safer Sex" which will be displayed at Cafe Manhattan in Green Point until July 31st. The exhibition features commissioned photographs of over fifty Cape Town men, either naked or semi-clothed, supporting the campaign's focus on men's sexual health and HIV prevention.

In tandem with the FIFA World Cup, the theme of this year's exhibition is sport, with over sixty selected photographs celebrating the interface between responsible play and sport in the context of amongst others, soccer, cricket, surfing, rugby, wrestling, swimming and diving, boxing, golf, baseball and body building. It also features naked fans, the concept of chastity, a naked referee plus a naked medic and incorporates vuvuzelas, flags and jockstraps and at times disco balls replace soccer balls.

South African society has difficulty in addressing our diverse sexualities and HIV preventative strategies are often negated by our collective taboos surrounding sex, impacting specifically on male-to-male sexual interactions that expose men and their loved ones to risks. While heterosexist society tends to objectify the female body as ‘sexual', participating men are given a platform to claim and celebrate their own sexualities in diverse ways through an event that is totally inclusive irrespective of bodiliness, age or race and allows black men, in particular, an opportunity to dispel the myth of male-to-male sexuality being unAfrican.

The association between sport and sexuality suggests that participants need to abide by a shared set of rules that are collectively understood and accepted which, in the arena of HIV, translates into responsible sexual behaviour. The exhibition focuses on men's inhibitions about their bodies while encouraging men to contemplate the sexual health risks they expose their bodies to. It also highlights the need to challenge social taboos around human sexuality and encourages us to bring male-to-male sexual expression out of the closet. More information about the Play Nice campaign can be found at its website: http://playnice.me/index.htm

Photographs will be sold to raise funds for the PlayNice campaign. For further information please contact Cafe Manhattan on 021 421 6666.

 

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