Finalist 2011 – aleXander Steyn
Name aleXander Steyn
City / Town Johannesburg
Province Gauteng
Age 29
Career B.Arch.Stud (UFS) B.Arch.Honors (WITS).  Owner of designX (www.designx.co.za), Singer, Dancer, Actor, Artist and MC
Previous Competitions None
Why do you want to be Mr. Gay South Africa™ 2011? When I was called a ‘mof’ on the front page of a national newspaper in January this year I realized that it was time to speak out against hate speech and homophobia. Yes I was married to a woman before and yes I am gay.  So many men today have the history of being brought up in very conservative (especially Afrikaans) families, where the typical idea of what it means to be a ‘man’ is enforced and so many of us just can’t live up to this. I also struggled and fought against it. Knocking on spiritual leader’s doors to help ‘fix’ me, but to no avail. In the end all I needed to understand was that grace was enough!  My ex-wife and I are still good friends. We recorded an album as ‘NX’ and we are both in the musical ‘Tree Aan’.  Since my divorce I’ve seen the struggle within the gay community: Not fitting in; social struggles (corrective rape) and searching for love and finding nothing but empty faces lit up by the club lights of the night. We all deserve to love and to be loved. In the end, this is all that matters.  This is why I want to be Mr. Gay South Africa™:  Speaking out, supporting, comforting, loving, and spreading the message of grace.  “It is in the shelter of each other that the people live.” Irish proverb.
Which public gay figure, South African or otherwise, do you see as a role model and why? Ellen DeGeneres! She’s a funny, crazy and super-inspiring character!  And she never had to change who she was to get where she is today. One of my best friends is a lesbian and she’s always there to give advice.  “Sometimes you can’t see yourself clearly until you see yourself through the eyes of others.” Ellen DeGeneres. 
Chosen charity to support SA Gay and Lesbian Association Against Defamation (SA GLAAD)
Web site / Blog http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=665375485
SMS Code SMS GSA 10 to 34008.Each SMS costs R2 – maximum of 100 SMS per Phone Number per day. E.g. SMS “GSA 10” to 34008.