FAGS*: Fightin’ Against Gay Slurs
The project, titled “FAGS”, the plural of the word “fag”, which in English slang is equivalent to the Italian slur “frocio”, takes on a new meaning here. “FAGS” becomes an acronym for “Fightin’ Against Gay Slurs”. Just as in the 1990s, the LGBTQIA+ movement reclaimed the word “queer", which was initially used with a negative connotation meaning “strange, unusual, eccentric”, with this work, I wanted to reclaim the slurs that I and so many others like me have heard repeatedly throughout our lives.
The project consists of 28 artworks presented in the form of manifestos. The choice of the manifesto format is rooted in its social and political tradition as a tool for propaganda and raising awareness. The visual and conceptual contribution of the magazine FUORI! (Fronte Unitario Omosessuale Rivoluzionario Italiano) and Marco Petrucci’s Testi Manifesti were particularly significant.
The central element of each manifesto is the slur itself, reinterpreted through the lens of irony and pride. The texts within the posters are in various languages (Italian, English, French, German, and Japanese), with a special focus on Italian and its dialects (Sicilian, Calabrian, Neapolitan, Roman, Tuscan, Bolognese, and Piedmontese) to emphasize the widespread nature of these types of insults.
The design of the posters is deliberately pop: the backgrounds, images, and fonts are crafted to capture attention and stand out from their surroundings. Two fonts were chosen: Milligram by Zetafonts for its readability and immediacy; and Brass by Fantasia Type, used not only for its bold and ironic shapes (deliberately reminiscent of intimate parts and acts) but also for the presence of an asterisk in every letter—a symbol typically associated with censorship, but here transformed into a symbol of uncensored expression.
