A2 paper poster with a black and white image depicting five figures holding a striped flag on a pole, with multi-coloured lettering 'Conquer AIDS'
Inscription
conquer / aids / the safest weapons, / condoms & lube / Gay Men Fighting Aids [...] GMFA
Production date
1990s
Production place
england
Production organisations
GMFA
Associated organisations
Yorkshire MESMAC
Associated place
leeds
Labels
Gay Men Fighting AIDS (GMFA) was founded in 1992, and is now known as LGBT Hero. The organisation aimed to provide education around HIV/AIDS that was by gay men, for gay men. They devised innovative sexual health campaigns that were decidedly sex positive, often using titillating and humorous imagery to produce attention-grabbing posters. GMFA countered the scaremongering, often infantilising tone of government-led AIDS awareness advertising. They emphasised the importance of agency for gay men when navigating their sex lives. A quote from their website articulates this idea:
“Whilst GMFA did, naturally, want gay men to be healthy, the organisation was unique in that it recognised that, as adults, gay men had the right to make their own choices in life, and at times, might choose to do things which may not be good for their health.”
This sentiment was very ahead of its time. GMFA reconceptualised AIDS as a real risk that nonetheless should not be controlled by policing the sexual activities of a marginalised group.
This poster riffs on the iconic photograph 'Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima' by Joe Rosenthal. The Rosenthal image depicts American forces declaring victory over Japan, after the battle to secure Mount Suribachi during WWII. This was a solemn and widely circulated symbol of US military power, so GMFA’s satirical take has several meanings. Firstly, it understands the gay community’s fight against HIV/AIDS and the accompanying persecution they faced as a literal battle for survival. Secondly, it takes a provocative swipe at conservative America, by implying that LGBT+ people are able to fly their own flag with pride. This pride is expressed in the intimate decisions they make in their sexual encounters, when using ‘the safest weapons, condoms and lube’.
Amy Kitchingman, Hidden Histories MA Project Researcher
