Belgische basketbalvrouwen uit de kleren tegen homofobie

Enkele speelsters van de Belgian Cats zijn uit de kleren gegaan in een campagne tegen homofobie. “Iedereen moet zich altijd en overal kunnen voelen wie ze zijn”, klinkt het.

De Belgische basketbalspeelsters Ann Wauters (39), Marjorie Carpréaux (32) en Hanne Mestdagh poseren samen met Sofia Da Silva (ex-Basket Namur) in hun blootje om homofobie aan te vechten. ‘Same Sport, Different Sexuality’ heet de krachtige campagne. “Iedereen moet zich altijd en overal kunnen voelen wie ze zijn. Een sportclub moet een plek zijn waar mensen met dezelfde passie samenkomen. Het moet een plek zijn waar je jezelf kunt zijn en waar je geaccepteerd wordt voor wie je bent. Helaas is dat nog steeds een probleem. Daarom steun ik de campagne ‘Same sport, different sexuality’, omdat iedereen zich een deel van het team moet kunnen voelen, ongeacht geslacht, seksualiteit, etniciteit of religie”, schrijft Mestdagh op Instagram.

Comfortabel gevoel

De 27-jarige Belgian Cat vertelde dat het naakt poseren met haar collega’s heel vlot ging. “Ik voelde me heel snel op mijn gemak. Marjorie, Ann en Sofia zijn naast goede ploegmaats ook vriendinnen van mij en we kennen elkaar enorm goed, zowel op professioneel als op persoonlijk vlak. Automatisch gaat het maken van lichamelijk contact en het poseren zonder veel kleren aan gemakkelijker met mensen waar je close mee bent. Alsook met de fotograaf was er meteen een heel vertrouwd en comfortabel gevoel. Niets moest en alles was waar we onszelf goed bij voelde. Het moeilijkste was om de juiste emotie over te brengen die zij zochten voor de foto. Dan stel je je toch kwetsbaar op”, vertelt ze in Het Nieuwsblad.

Klik hieronder op het pijltje naar rechts om alle foto’s te bekijken.

View this post on Instagram

Let's take a closer look at this beautiful line-up. Not only are they amazing basketball players, playing for the national team in their countries (Belgium and Portugal). They are also role models to a whole new generation after a historic qualification for the Olympics. But MOST of all they are 4 strong women with the best personalities and they were an absolute pleasure to work with. In this series we wanted to strip down the physically strong looking athlete to a naked and fragile version of themselves. By doing that we are taking an intimate look at the person behind the athlete. A lot of people in society today expect athletes to be strong, tough and have thick skin. The jock culture is unfortunately still the norm in a lot of sports. With our campaign we want to show you that as an athlete, you don't always have to hide behind that facade. How can you shine in sports ( or in life) when you are afraid to show the real you? These 4 women are the best example on how it should be done. So thanks again. Let's get to know some more strong women! Tag one or more female athlete(s) in the comments below, women you look up to in any kind of way. This can be an national player, international, famous, personal friend… it doesn't matter. As long as the person inspires you on some level. I will start by tagging these 4 girls, who obviously deserve this honour in my opinion. Besides them I would like to tag @serenawilliams and @thiam_nafi because i have been a fan of them since the beginning. And on a personal note I would like to tag Valerie, a rowing coach at my club who seems to combine her role as a coach effortlessly with her busy career as a doctor and her household with 3 young children. Thanks again @louiskerckhof For your work and time. You are the perfect guy for this project. #blackandwhite #portraits #fragile #naked #samesportdifferentsexuality #bodypositivity #shower #strongwomen #lockerroom #gay #straight #equality #instagram #sportslife #loveislove #campaign #basketball #pride

A post shared by Same Sport Different Sexuality (@samesportdifferentsexuality) on Apr 28, 2020 at 1:53am PDT

View this post on Instagram

Everyone should feel free to be who they are, anywhere and anytime. A sports club should be a place where people who share the same passion, come together. It should be a place where you can be yourself and feel accepted for who you are. Unfortunately, this is still an issue. That’s why I support @samesportdifferentsexuality because regardless of gender, sexuality, ethnicity or religion; everyone should feel a part of the team. • • #samesportdifferentsexuality #equality #lovewins • • : @louiskerckhof : @simonhaerinck : @samesportdifferentsexuality

A post shared by Hanne Mestdagh (@hannemestdagh) on Apr 28, 2020 at 10:20am PDT

View this post on Instagram

Today, we believe the time is right to humbly launch the next chapter of our campaign Same Sport, Different Sexuality. Although the pictures have been ready for a few weeks now, we have waited to share them with you out of respect for the Covid-19 pandemic. However, this being said, life does go on and maybe we can use these strange times to focus on some good things. This is why we continue our battle against homophobia in sports. Although we had amazing responses after our first launch, we also received a lot of messages of people still struggling to be themselves whilst playing the sport they love. This is why we keep posting pics of queer and straight athletes playing sports together. Big shoutout to these 4 amazing intenational players for helping us to spread the word. No one should have to hide their sexuality out of fear for their teammates' reaction. No one should have to be afraid to even start playing sports for this reason. So keep posting pics using our hashtag #samesportdifferentsexuality ( or go dig in your archives) Big thanks to our amazing photographer @louiskerckhof for being part of this again. You are the best. Big thanks to @outforthewin for the behind the scenes and thanks @sableg7392 for the assistance. Thanks to hogent and Jente for helping me with the location. #samesportdifferentsexuality #equality #sports #lgtbq #straight #gay # pride #taboo #homophobia #rainbow #campaign #lovewins #diversity #basketball #belgiancats #nationalteam #belgium #portugal

A post shared by Same Sport Different Sexuality (@samesportdifferentsexuality) on Apr 28, 2020 at 1:34am PDT

Het bericht Belgische basketbalvrouwen uit de kleren tegen homofobie verscheen eerst op Metro.