LGBTQ Rugby Team Bares it All for a Cause

Though the winter months bring on layers of long-sleeved sweaters and puffy-armed parkas, there is one queer sports team that is taking it all off. ARC Amsterdam Lowlanders, the only LGBTQ rugby team in The Netherlands, has prepared a steamy, brand-new, naked calendar for 2020. This year has a special spin: they are embracing diversity in a world dominated by stereotypes.

Acting as a fundraiser for the upcoming biennial, inclusive world rugby cup, the Bingham Cup, the LGBTQ rugby team calendar is a reference to the inclusiveness of sport and rugby culture. Their goal is to highlight the fact that there is room for everyone without pursuing a body idealized by today’s society.

“There is no sport as inclusive as rugby. Large, small, muscular, thick, juicy, long, thin,” said photographer and player Henri Verhoef. “It is a sport where there is literally room for everyone. In this calendar, we show that there is no real ideal image.”

Every two years, more than 90 gay rugby teams from around the world come together for the Bingham Cup, one of the largest amateur, LGBTQ rugby tournaments in Rugby Union. The Lowlanders’ goal is to sell enough calendars to get the players who cannot afford to travel to the LGBTQ rugby competition, which will be hosted in Ottawa, Canada.

The team shot on location at the Allard Person Museum, and Verhoef had his teammates model their fully nude and fabulous bodies in statuesque poses in the all-affirming photoshoot.

“The players are photographed as sculptures that show that there can be strength in vulnerability and cohesion in diversity,” Verhoef said.

Combining the old with the new, the LGBTQ rugby players created new sculptures showing that there is no one, true ideal and showcase the culture of unity. The Lowlanders believe that as opposites stand next to each other, on one pitch, as one team, they will ultimately be better for it.

“Passion is one of the core values of rugby, as well as respect, companionship, and 100 percent commitment,” said Pieter Lokman, chairman of Amsterdam Lowlanders. “Since 2003, the Lowlanders have been offering LGBT + people the opportunity to develop these sides of themselves, to be part of the global rugby family, and to feel that there is room for everyone in this rugged sport.”

Sales of the calendar begin today, so whether it is a stocking stuffer for a friend or a steamy gift to keep all to yourself, these calendars are doing double duty for charity as well as body positivity.