Protest the LGBTQ+ Blood Ban by Wearing Real Gay Blood
LGBTQ

Protest the LGBTQ+ Blood Ban by Wearing Real Gay Blood

For the past 40 years, the LGBTQ+ blood ban has prevented members of the community from donating blood in what can only be deemed a simultaneously discriminatory and damaging policy, particularly in the face of a serious national blood shortage.

Despite huge advancements in understanding, detection and prevention since the start of the HIV/AIDS crisis, the FDA has maintained a version of its 1983 guideline effectively banning all men who have sex with men from donating blood. But even though organizations like the American Red Cross rigorously screen every blood donation and believe that "eligibility should not be determined by methods that are based upon sexual orientation," we're unable to help the over one million people in desperate need thanks to an antiquated regulation stemming from homophobic stigma. And so in protest of this hateful and harmful ban, artist Zain Curtis has released a new tee shirt featuring the real blood of gay men in order to create an actual "statement piece."

As Curtis explained in an announcement post on Instagram, the limited edition shirt is screen printed using a special red ink created by Mother Goods and artist Stuart Semple. Infused with the blood of gay men, the ink is part of a larger array of paints, inks and pens dubbed the "GAY BLOOD" collection, a set of "tool for bloody change" as a big "fuck you" to the FDA. Not only that, but to hammer the point home, Curtis used it for a cheeky print of a man doing a handstand in a latex gimp mask alongside an equally as fun slogan: "How to meet horny married dads in your area in a god-honoring way." And that may be one of our new favorite ways to protest.

You can buy your own "Meet Horny Married Dads" shirt via Curtis' website here.

Photos via Instagram / @happydevilboy