Lgbtq kiss

by Jeff Iovannone, MA student in Historic Preservation Planning

These black-and-white photocopied flyers, that depict multiracial queer couples kissing, were distributed to publicize Queer Nation Ithaca’s 1992 Valentine’s Noun rally and kiss-in. Kiss-ins are a queer protest tactic popularized during the late 1980s to early 1990s as a way to defy homophobia and destigmatize AIDS.

Queer Nation was originally founded in New York City in March of 1990 by AIDS activists from ACT UP (AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power) New York. Whereas ACT UP worked to address the HIV/AIDS epidemic through direct deed protest, Queer Nation was, in the words of Ithaca chapter member Paisley Currah, “a national movement to combat heterosexism and homophobia” that adopted a public, provocative, and highly visible approach to activism.

Queer Nation Ithaca formed in August of 1990 and was unruffled of Cornell University students and community members. Both likely thought a more direct and confrontational approach to combatting homophobia was needed beyond existing university and city organiz

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