“The International Competition for Mr. Gay has a mission of bringing together non-stereotypical gay men from around our world to confront the homophobic bias in the press,” says Producer Don Spradlin. “The press tends to focus on our leather and drag communities to define all of gay culture. It’s time we showed them what regular gay men look like. Our contestants are regular guys who have been selected specifically to raise the visibility of the ‘everyday’ gay man and create a positive role model that confronts homophobia in today’s culture.”
Both the national and the international competitions will follow an elimination round format similar to many of today’s reality TV shows. As one of last year’s judges, Dirk Shafer, pointed out, “Believe me, this is not going to be your sister’s beauty pageant.” Shafer will be making a documentary of this year’s Competition. The Competition is designed to showcase men who are team players with strong personality traits as well as good looks. “The competitive elements designed into the Finals will allow judges to observe the character values and leadership talents of our contestants,” explains Spradlin.
The selection of Finalists from US cities and Delegates from other nations is currently underway. Known contestants are already posted on the event’s website, and more will be added as additional preliminary contests are completed by the September 1, 2006, deadline. Beginning this month, gaywired.com will host an Online Contest for those men interested in competing, but who missed their local contest or do not live near one of the US City Contests. Registration for the Online contest and a current roster of Delegates is available online now. For additional information, individual entry forms, special host hotel rates, photos of the international competitors, USA Contest schedules and last-minute Competition updates, visit www.MrGayCompetition.com.
