People have taken to social media with the slogan #boycottsinsofstyle, after a Cape Town photographer posted a status describing a homophobic hate speech attack against him and a model outside the tattoo shop on Barrack street.

The photographer, who will be kept anonymous, described the incident, which took place on October 17, in a detailed post on Facebook.

According to the photographer, while taking a shot of a model on a bench outside Sins of Style, the owner, Tyler Murphy, ran out of the shop, threatening violence and screaming homophobic slurs at him.

Here’s the original post:

Since the post went live, it has been shared over 150 times and copied into statuses on other social media platforms like Instagram. Sins of Style has also disabled the recommend button on Facebook, after negative reviews started pouring in calling Murphy out for homophobia.

Here’s the photograph that was taken outside the shop:

You can see Murphy in the background of the shot looking rather angry:

While some are arguing that this was an isolated incident, other people have started posting statuses that suggest a pattern in Murphy’s behaviour.

Sins of Style shared the following update yesterday:

Judging by the comments, people aren’t convinced that the issue is being adequately handled.

Getting tattooed is a deeply personal experience that can mean different things for different people, and the space in which it happens needs to be a safe one. In general, homophobic slurs like ‘f*g’ are a form of violence that, when used, threaten the safety of those that they’re being deployed against.

This incident occurred in the same week that it was announced that American pastor Steven Lee Anderson is trying to visit South Africa again.

Hate speech is never okay. Homophobia is never okay. #boycottsinsofstyle

UPDATE:

2oceansvibe contacted the photographer, who says that Murphy phoned him to sincerely apologise for the incident. He has also offered to apologise in person.

He and Murphy discussed Murphy’s anger issues and the fact that homophobic slurs are often casually used in everyday banter amongst cis-gendered men – something which is problematic and contributes to systemic homophobia. Murphy has committed to seeking help to change his behaviour. He posted the following apology on Facebook:

While we can hope that Murphy will make good on his promise, it doesn’t change the fact that the attack was unprovoked, deeply troubling, and the latest in what appears to be a pattern of behaviour.

This does invite conversation about homophobia and the casual use of homophobic language, especially amongst straight men.