Mina Gerges on Calvin Klein's #PROUDINMYCALVINS Pride Campaign and Inclusivity
Pride Month is right around the corner and Calvin Klein is celebrating the occasion with a new campaign, #PROUDINMYCALVINS, featuring popular queer activists. Among them: Mina Gerges, a model and beauty influencer, who couldn't be more thrilled to be included in the campaign.
"I’m gay and Middle Eastern, I’m gender fluid, I’m an immigrant, I’m a curvy guy, I’m body positive — I represent so many things that have always gone ignored," Mina tells Teen Vogue exclusively about #PROUDINMYCALVINS, which officially launched on May 14. "I am so proud to be bringing so many important conversations to the forefront, and, most importantly, to create the type of representation that I never had, but so desperately needed growing up."
Shot by Ryan McGinley, the #PROUDINMYCALVINS campaign features intimate videos and photos of nine queer trailblazers. Mina is joined writer and activist Chella Man, MaryV, non-binary model Ama Elsesser, Brazillian singer and drag queen Pabllo Vittar, model Jari Jones, Persian artist Gia Woods, actor Tommy Dorfman, and model/poet Reece King.
Throughout the year (and not just during Pride Month), Calvin Klein has continued to support LGBTQ+ organizations and activists. Recently, the brand partnered with OutRight Action International on its COVID-19 LGBTIQ Global Emergency Fund. Calvin Klein has also partnered with The Equality Project and PFLAG National, among other organizations that center on the queer community at large.
"When I first realized I was gay, I remember Googling, 'Can I be gay and Egyptian?' and only seeing stories about violence and persecution," Mina explains about his own queer experience. "As a 14-year-old, it felt like I was reading my inevitable death sentence. I remember thinking, 'Is this what’s going to happen to me? Will I lose everything and everyone just because I’m gay? Will this be my story, too?'"
"As I’ve grown up, I’ve learned that my queerness — which I was taught to be ashamed of — is actually my superpower," Mina continues. "Today, it’s still illegal or punishable to be LGBTQ in the Middle East, so to be visible in this campaign as an openly gay Arab will give young queer Arabs all over the world the kind of hope I never had growing up. It’s incredible to create stories of resilience and joy to cut through the narrative of bigotry against us and pave the way for queer Middle Eastern representation, all while looking like an absolutely stunning modern-day, super gay Cleopatra while doing it!"
Mina has been a force for change for his community in recent years, using his rapidly growing online platform and presence to speak on topics from violence against the queer community to body positivity for men. "As men, we’ve been taught that being muscular and having abs is what we have to look like to feel attractive and be desirable. We’re taught to aspire to look like this and that we have to achieve this chiseled, muscular body type to be happy. I always hated that, because while I don’t have abs, and instead have stretch marks and fat on my body," he explains. "To me, as a gay man, it’s so important not just to bring visibility to a different body type, but to also share my journey with body image to re-write the harmful narrative that’s so engrained in the LGBT community."
Amidst the current global pandemic, Calvin Klein has also made the choice to partner with OutRight Action International to support its COVID-19 LGBTIQ+ Global Emergency Fund, providing emergency resources to LGBTQ+ organizations globally.
When asked how he would describe a truly inclusive campaign, Mina says, "An inclusive campaign is one that shines a spotlight on the things that make everyone truly unique - sharing people’s stories and experiences, not just what they look like." Calvin Klein's #PROUDINMYCALVINS campaign is just that, and a powerful way to expand on the brand's Pride initiatives.
Check out some shots from Calvin Klein's #PROUDINMYCALVINS below.
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Want more from Teen Vogue? Check this out: Mina Gerges Posed Shirtless as a Reminder That Body Image Issues Affect Boys, Too
Originally Appeared on Teen Vogue
