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Overview
ACT UP
This T-shirt was created by Act Up (AIDS Coalition To Unleash Power), a defiant activist movement formed initially in New York in March 1987 in response to the AIDS crisis. The movement's motto was to 'Act Up, Fight Back, Fight AIDS' and they did so in their thousands in street demonstrations against the state and medical companies in a bid for life-saving drugs and equal healthcare for all.
Act Up groups were set up around the world, including Australia where this T-shirt was printed. Act Up continues to be an international direct action advocacy group working to bring about improved legislation, medical research, treatment and policies that will ultimately bring an end to HIV and AIDS.
The T-shirt aims to reclaim the word 'queer' for gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and intersex communities. Reclaiming 'queer' began in English speaking countries from the late 1980s.
T-shirt activism
T-shirts emblazoned with logos and slogans play an important role in protest and identity paraphernalia - they are easily reproducible, cheap and wearable. They act as a canvas or billboard to affirm identity or philosophy. They enable a broad range of people to participate in protest or meaning at a daily, ground level, and therefore are familiar material culture.
T-shirts like this are fun, playful, tongue in cheek, but can still be read on many levels. Some messages are ironic, subversive and provocative. Some are deeply political and express the zeitgeist of an era.