Keeping the Pink Triangle in Context

On August 17, Nike updated the press release for its 2018 BETRUE (Pride) collection to better reflect the gravity of the pink triangle. It now reads:

Also highlighted in the collection is the pink triangle. Originally used to identify gay men for persecution and internment during WWII, the triangle was reclaimed in the 1970s by pro-gay activists. It was used as a point-up triangle by the AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power (ACT UP), beginning in the 1980s with the “Silence=Death” campaign, as a call to action against the AIDS epidemic, a cause to which they are still committed. Today, the pink triangle is one of the world’s most recognizable symbols of pride, resistance, and solidarity for the LGBTQ community, used to champion action for LGBTQ rights.

This is a small but crucial step toward making sure recent history is not forgotten, and that the pink triangle remains anchored to its roots of oppression and resistance. ACT UP thanks Nike for making this change, and for the donations and grants it gives to LGBTQ and HIV/AIDS-related causes.

Nazi concentration camp prisoners were forced to wear different colors of triangle to signify why they were being persecuted.

The language was changed as a result of conversations between ACT UP and Nike about the weight the pink triangle carries for many members of the LGBTQ and HIV+ communities. ACT UP spoke to Nike both because we advocate for those communities and because we were unexpectedly mentioned in the original copy, which read:

Also highlighted in the collection is the pink triangle, a symbol that has a complex past in LGBTQ culture. Originally used to identify LGBTQ individuals during WWII, the triangle was reclaimed in the 1970s by pro-gay activists and was later adopted by the AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power (ACT UP) in their memorable 1980s-era “Silence=Death” campaign.

This homophobic signage appeared in Australia in 2016.

This description skirted around the pink triangle’s origin in concentration camps, and around its continued reclaimed use as a symbol of LGBTQ and HIV/AIDS action in the context of systemic oppression. Many LGBTQ and AIDS activists (among others) are concerned by the commercialization of our communities while events as serious as Nazi persecution and the AIDS crisis are either historicized or glossed over, especially in our current political climate. The loss of context and awareness contributes to surges in stigma and persecution — stigma and persecution that are already still with us, not comfortably in the past as many would like to believe.

The original copy also, through omission, made it seem as though Silence=Death was no longer in use and AIDS was no longer a problem. The fact that so many people believe AIDS is already history is one of the reasons there is still an HIV epidemic here in the United States, even though the medications and treatment regimens we need to reduce HIV transmissions below epidemic levels have already been available for several years. We cannot afford to decontextualize Silence=Death when the crisis in ongoing, and appreciate Nike making more explicit connections to AIDS in the updated copy.

Photos from ACT UP’s 30th Anniversary Action, March 2017.

Echoing our recent Whitney statements we continue to encourage all organizations with large social media platforms to share accurate, nonpartisan information about HIV so we can finally end the epidemic. We especially feel that companies that market to young Americans could do a lot of good by sharing HIV testing and prevention information. People under 25 account for a high percentage of new HIV transmissions each year, and almost half of HIV+ people under 25 do not know their HIV status. This is largely because of the premature historicization of AIDS, and lack of access to modern, accurate prevention and testing information. Until AIDS really is history, we must all do our part to keep fighting.

For more information, contact media@actupny.com

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About ACT UP

Founded in 1987, ACT UP (AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power), is a diverse, non-partisan group of individuals united in anger and committed to direct action to end the AIDS crisis. ACT UP currently meets every Monday night at 7PM ET via Zoom. Notes: you will be asked to contribute your first & last name and email address to access online meetings, and KN-95 masks are required for ACT UP NY in person meetings/actions/gatherings. All individuals are welcome!