After all, who wouldn’t glove up for a dish like this?

Notice how this booklet debunks contemporary misconceptions about the disease: that it could be transmitted through shaking hands or sharing cutlery.

The Terrence Higgins Trust provides valuable resources for people living with HIV. This approach to advertising the "HIV Health Trainers" service is inclusive of people of multiple genders and sexualities, showing how the conversation around HIV has changed since the 1980s. The focus now is providing adequate knowledge and support to people living with an HIV diagnosis. Notice how it isn't obvious right away who is seeking treatment!

Interestingly, the voiceover you can hear is by John Hurt, an actor known for playing a gay icon, the famous raconteur Quentin Crisp.

After all, who wouldn’t glove up for a dish like this?

https://wellcomecollection.org/works/ceyvccd5/items?canvas=2

Wherever you stop on the London Line, go via Condom Town! In this cheeky rendition of tube navigation, GFMA uses transportation imagery to promote safe sex through condom wearing. From “Cockfosters” to “Bonk,” a condom is the only way there. Posters like this one use familiar and approachable imagery to remind gay men to rubber up. 

Bona Nochy! Instead of taking another buvare, always remember to take a condom with you! Just like what the poster says, safety always comes first on your night out.

This TV advert that aired in October conveys health officials' changing attitudes and priorities about AIDS and HIV. Instead of death and doom, this advert focuses on fighting stigmas and false information that persist today, even after being debunked.

The task of educating people about safe sex was embraced within the gay community. The posters displayed here have a strong voice that is distinctly opposed to official government material. Instead, the creators of these campaigns opted for humour, raunchy imagery and an emphasis on sexual pleasure.

This exhibition aims to reveal an alternative history of the AIDS epidemic. Within this period of suffering, there was still joyful erotic material to be found.

This slang comes from a secret language called Polari. Polari was used within queer communirities, particularly amongst gay men, in the early twentieth century. It used elements of Italian, Romany and even criminal slang. It was essential that gay men keep their relationships private before homosexuality was partially decriminialised in 1967.

Although Polari had fallen out of fashion by the 1970s, some words remain popular. Here are some definitions that'll come in handy!

omi palones - men

bona nochy - good evening

buvare - a drink

trade - attractive men

cruise - scout out potential casual partners for sexual relationships

dish - anus/bum

https://wellcomecollection.org/works/qyudx5yp/items

These moving images by the famed photographer, Annie Leibovitz, are a hopeful advertisement for the HIV treatments that emerged in the early 1990s. Here, we see that survival has become a possibility. Notice how this poster also sensitively acknowledges that a variety of demographics may be affected by HIV. 

https://wellcomecollection.org/works/y3t89urz

The red AIDS ribbon was created by the Visual AIDS Artists Caucus in 1991, as a way to show solidarity with HIV positive people worldwide. Celebrities played an important role in popularising this symbol. Elizabeth Taylor wore it during her fundraising efforts for AIDS research, and the performers at the 1992 Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert sported the ribbon to commemorate the lives lost during the epidemic.  

Date:[between 1990 and 1999]

https://wellcomecollection.org/works/ezm54gfc/items

This advertisement highlights that pleasure-focused advertising for safe sex was embraced by many marginalised communities. The Black HIV/AIDS network mobilised to address the lack of inclusivity in sexual health resources for people from minority ethnic groups. This poster in particular advertises the femidom, a new form of contraception which provided protection during oral sex performed on vaginas.

Wage the war on AIDS! Five men work to plant the pride flag into the ground, as though they were soldiers. The image emphasises the strength it takes to conquer AIDS and tells us that it’s possible when we get behind one another in solidarity, anything is possible.

This tough omi palone reminds us we’ve got what it takes to fight back. The boxer’s raised fists are indicative of the stance the gay community took against AIDS, as well as the attitude organisations like GFMA took when promoting safe sex practices. Condoms and lube pack a punch in the fight against AIDS. Rather than fearing it, fight it!