A new Pride season is nearly upon us, which means a brand new array of trendy queer merch from Target. Unfortunately, among the adorable rainbow jumpsuits and inclusive “they/them” pin sets is a piece that has one historic LGBTQ organization speaking out.In a collab with queer clothing initiative The Phluid Project, Target has released an online-exclusive black t-shirt featuring an inverted pink triangle with the phrase “SILENCE=DEATH” along the bottom.
Sound familiar?Historic AIDS advocacy foundation ACT UP took to Twitter to confirm that neither Target nor The Phluid Project asked for permission to use the iconic SILENCE=DEATH artwork.
Worse, they also confirmed that, at present, they aren’t receiving any proceeds either.We can answer that for you: No. Both @Target and @phluidproject did not get permission to use “SILENCE = DEATH” art.
We have been fighting the commodification of AIDS for years and this is the latest edition. If you want to support our work buy from us: https://t.co/MxdVFQEypz https://t.co/1b7s4kEx2m— ACT UP NY (@actupny) May 6, 2022ACT UP is calling on supporters to buy directly from their site – which honestly seems like it’s working out in their favor!