December 11, 2008 | Other News

Canadian coup for Mr. Gay

Have you every heard ot the Mr. Gay International competition? Neither had we, but apparently it's been going on for three years now.   Speedos, sashes, heart felt speeches, the works. It's a celebration of male physical beauty (like we don't get that every day.) But why is it that every time you get a committee of beautiful gays together, things get ugly?

This time it's those uppity Canadians attempting to overthrow Mr. Gay International with their home grown Mr. Gay World. The new contest is being held in conjunction with WinterPRIDE, Whistler, B.C.'s gay ski week  -- just two weeks before the orginal Mr. Gay International takes place in San Francisco.

The breach occured because many participants in Mr. Gay International found it lacking in substance. (Really?) When the national Mr. Gay Canada contest was held this year organizers from other delegations were impressed with the format and the wheels started to turn.  A meeting was held in Dublin to discuss making some big changes to Mr. Gay International, but event founder Don Spradlin elected not to attend. And so a new gay competition was born, in exile.

It's not the first time such a fissure has taken place. Who can forget the silly bickering that resulted in the split up of the 2006 Gay Games into the "official" games  held in Chicago and the rebel OutGames held in Montreal the same summer? Athletes and fans had to decide which of the two to attend.  The OutGames lost a bundle while the Gay Games did manage to break even. Gay solidarity lost out big time.

Former co-chair of the Montreal OutGames, Olympian Mark Tewksbury later admitted that "we were both right and we were both wrong." That's the same Mark Tewksbury who just so happens to be hosting the Mr. Gay World competition. Just sayin'.

The fissure between Mr. Gay World and Mr. Gay International does beg the question if either has any use at all beyond glorifying their respective sponsors.  But really what is the harm in having twice as many attractive young men flaunting it on the catwalk?