I'm not obsessed, far worse, I'm fine

Content Warnings: HIV/AIDS, homophobia, medical violence against intersex people, use of a slur in an organization’s name

Finally found some time to actually select and compile the ones I wanted to include in this post. I have well over 200 pictures I’ve digitally collected over a span of approximately 5 years. I’ll try to include some information (when possible) about each one as well!

(2 important notes: information is only that which I have been able to verify, therefore dates or locations may be omitted. As well the genders of people in the photos is assumed for the descriptions.)

A Die-In, San Francisco. Date currently unverified

(Photo description: A black and white photo of several people lying on a city street as if they’re dead. In the front is a man holding a sign with a triangle and the slogan “Silence = Death”, behind him is another man with an unreadable sign, in the middle is a large coffin which says “110,000 Deaths”)

Die-ins were a common form of protest during the AIDS Crisis in which groups of people would gather and lay down in public places as if they were dead. This is a picture of one which occurred in San Francisco most likely in the 1980’s.

ACT-UP Protest, Grand Central Terminal, NYC. Jan. 24, 1991

(Photo Description: A colour photo taken from below of two men standing on a train station timetable sign. They are hanging a black and white sign with a small red border which reads “One AIDS Death Every 8 Minutes”. The sign is partially obscured by one of the men)

ACT-UP, or the Aids Coalition to Unleash Power, was a prominent political organization working to bring an end to the AIDS epidemic. This photo was taken during the placement of a large banner at Grand Central Terminal in New York City bringing awareness to the fact that at this time there was approximately one death from AIDS every 8 minutes.

People of Colour Mobilizing Against AIDS. April 1st, 1989

(Photo Description: A black and white photo of 6 people holding up a very large black and white banner which reads “People of Color Mobilizing Against AIDS”, the banner has grey stripes on it. There are 2 men of unknown ethnicity on wither side of the banner, in the middle are two black men and 2 black women. One of the black women is almost entirely hidden behind the banner with only the top half of her face showing)

Likely taken at a college campus. Often photos surrounding AIDS protests leave out one of the groups most vulnerable to AIDS: people of colour. I think this photo is an amazing reminder that people of colour were a massive part of the fight to end AIDS

The Stonewall Riots, NYC. June 28, 1969

(Photo Description: A black and white photo of several teenage boys and young men scuffling with men in suits and police officers. The photo is crowded with people. The boys at the front are being pushed back by the police officers)

This is the only known photo taken of the riots at the Stonewall Inn. It was taken on the first day of the riots by Joseph Ambrosini. It shows the chaos that occurred during the police raid on The Stonewall Inn.

Notable Queer Activists At A March. Date and location not currently verified.

(Photo description: a black and white photo of people walking down a city street. Some of them are holding signs. There’s an older woman with light curly hair and a man with short dark hair and a large mustache in the front. They’re talking to each other and the man is holding a white cassette recorder. They’re wearing black shirts with triangles and the slogan “Silence = Death”)

This is a photo most likely taken in the late 1980’s of notable queer activist Connie Norman. I’ve seen the person beside her referenced as being Robert Birch but I have yet to find a young photo of him in order to verify. In the background another notable gay activist (although he was unfortunately also a NAMBLA activist) Harry Hay can be seen. This photo was taken at an AIDS protest.

Mother and Son, San Francisco. June, 1984

(Photo Description: a black and white photo of an African American mother and son embracing each other. The son has an armband with a feather. He is also wearing a rolled bandana around his head with a flower tucked into it. )

This photo is believed to have been taken by Joan E. Biren. While it’s not what’s often imagined when one thinks of a “protest photo”, this photo was taken at a 1984 Pride march which was certainly a protest. The people in this picture were members of a queer marching band called Sistah Boom. The people on the photo are often referenced as mother and son but whether that’s true I do not know.

Men Embracing At AIDS March, NYC. August 12, 1984

(Photo Description: A black and white photo of two men standing in front of a group of people marching. The group has 3 signs with slogans. One is unreadable, the others say “Stop AIDS Not Gays” and “Fight AIDS Not Gays”. The two men in front are both wearing black trench coats and one has his arm wrapped around the other’s waist. They’re facing away from the camera)

This photo is interesting because it appears on the New York City AIDS Memorial. This photo was taken as a protest surrounding the AIDS Crisis and I think that the inclusion of the men embracing makes it incredibly heartwarming.

A Father Holding A Sign, Westchester, New York. September 12, 1974

<Warning! Brief mention of homophobic violence!>

(Photo Description: A black and white photo of an older man in a suit holding a large handmade sign which reads “I’m proud of my gay son”. He is standing in front of a crowd of people. There is a banner being held by members of the crowd in the background which reads “Gay Liberation of Westchester”. )

This photo was taken at a Gay Liberation March in 1974. It shows Dick Ashworth marching in defense of his son. This photo was taken shortly after the formation of Parents of Gays which later became FLAG or P-FLAG. This photo was taken shortly after the son of the found of Parents of Gays was beaten in a homophobic attack.

The First Modern Intersex Protest, Boston, MA. October 26, 1996

(Content Warning: Brief mention of forced surgery on intersex people, use of a slur in the name of an organization)

(Photo Description: a black and white photo of people standing on a traffic island in the middles of the road holding signs. There is a man with short dark hair and glasses holding a sign which reads “Silence = Death”. Next to him are two women. The background contains light coloured buildings)

This photo contains intersex advocate Max Beck at the first ever modern protest for intersex rights. Max Beck is a notable intersex advocate who’s sex was indeterminate at birth but forced to undergo surgery and was raised as a female . This photo was taken at a protest organized by Hermaphrodites With Attitude, an organization which sought to end the human rights violations against intersex people. This photo means a lot to me personally as an intersex person.

I have so many more I wish I could show but for the sake of the length of this post I’ll only include one more. The most famous by far…

If I Die Of Aids…, 1988

(Photo Description: A colour photo taken from behind of a man wearing a custom painted dark coloured jacket. A finger partially obscures the picture. The back of the jacket reads “If I die of AIDS — Forget burial — Just drop my body on the steps of the F.D.A”, behind the text is a large pink triangle)

You almost certainly have seen this photo before but you may not know the story behind it. This picture was taken of queer artist David Wojnarowicz during a protest in 1988 regarding the F.D.A’s failure to properly handle the AIDS crisis. David Wojnarowicz had been diagnosed with HIV only one year prior to this photo being taken.

This isn’t even scratching the surface. I have so many more pics that include many many different types of queer people and subject matters. I wish I could share all of my photos and maybe I’ll make more posts like this in the future. I’ll see how this one does before I make any promises.

(Photo Description: a black and white photo of an African American man and woman embracing. The man has an armband with a feather tucked into it and is also wearing a rolled headband around his head with a flower tucked into it. They’re both smiling and the woman is leaning against his arm. In the background there is a storefront )

This photo was taken in June of 1984 at a Pride march in San Francisco. While you may not think of this as a protest photo, it absolutely is. And I think it’s beautiful for so many reasons. All of the information from here on out has not been verified and is based off of what I could find. For this reason some of it may not be accurate, please let me know if you know any more information about it. From what I can find the individuals in this photo were marching in the parade with a queer marching band called Sistah Boom. I’ve seen them referenced at mother and son though I can’t confirm that. I believe that it may have been taken by Joan E. Biren or JEB but that’s purely speculative at this point.