November 10, 2020 | Hotties

The popular Warwick Rowers calendar is no more

For almost 10 years, the studs from English university rowing team, the Warwick Rowers, have released an annual calendar to promote a more welcoming attitude for gay, bi and trans men in sports. It was all about celebrating a "healthier masculinity."

Sadly, the Warwick Rowers calendar is coming to an end. But all is not lost; it is being rebranded as Worldwide Roar and is now open to any athlete from any sport around the world who identifies as male.

"I was gay, the Warwick Rowers were straight -- and keen on sport, something from which I knew gay men felt excluded," explained founder and creative director, Angus Malcolm. "I saw how together we could challenge homophobia through a naked calendar, and we did!

"But Sport Allies, the registered charity we fund, showed us there was a wider problem -- what the academics call 'hegemonic masculinity'. Misogyny, structural racism, male mental health problems - these all come from that common cause.

"It means that everyone -- men, women, BIPOC and LGBTQ+ populations -- we all get defined by the rules and repercussions of male privilege. It’s a pandemic that’s been destroying lives for centuries, and I know many people have been working on effective antidotes for a long time. Ours is based on changing how we look at men."

There is even a scholarly element to the project, with a research team from the UK and Canada exploring the motivations of the participants who take part in the photoshoots and its affect on their sense of self.

You can get your Worldwide Roar calendar here.