Enter
Have you ever been the victim of bullying? I’ve never been bullied myself, but I’ve always stood up for
those who’ve been bullied. As a
family, we’re very much about,
“If someone’s nice to you, you’d
better be nice back.” That’s how
I was brought up, that was my
family’s core value.
What is it about the Ben Cohen StandUp
Foundation that makes it unique? Well,
we were the world’s first and always will be. For us, it was important to lead. It’s all about getting
efforts coordinated to create a cultural change and affect that next
generation. Where homophobia is
now is a lot different than it was
20 years ago, and with the power
of social media, we think we can
drive that [change] a lot quicker.
It’s about education.
Given that you’re a heterosexual,
married father of two, how do you
view your status as both a gay icon
and sex symbol? I don’t really see
it...“icon” is a big word. If men
find me attractive, that’s fair
enough. I’m very comfortable in
my sexuality, and I’m honored
and flattered by it—it’s lovely
to hear. I wanted to [transfer the energy] of guys finding
Q&A
HUFFINGTON
08.12.12
me attractive and following me
on Facebook to combating homophobia and bullying, and educating people along the way. It’s
good to see we’ve converted that
following for a good purpose.
Whether or not I’ve saved someone’s life, I don’t know. But I like
to think that I’ve helped.
There’s nothing I
do that I wouldn’t show
my kids. Everyone needs
underwear, so why not
attach it to a good cause?”
A cynic might suggest that posing
shirtless for a calendar and modeling
for an underwear line might cloud your
foundation’s aim. How do you feel that
incorporating sex appeal furthers the
cause? You have to get people’s
attention, and also get people to
listen, and that’s what we’re doing. It’s important to remember
that a lot of my fan base wasn’t
here for a specific cause when we
started. The pictures are all fun
and they’re harmless. There’s
nothing that I do that I wouldn’t
show my kids. Everyone needs