I have a few stickers to show for pride month, and I think I’ll separate them into 2 separate posts. For this first one, I want to show 4 stickers, 2 from my campus gender and sexuality resource center, one from planned parenthood, and one more ‘general’ rainbow heart sticker.
These campus gender and sexuality resource center (GSRC) stickers are from 2 different years, with the one on the left being the older one. I really like looking at the differences between the 2, noting the changes in the colors, especially in the blue stripe and on the bears nose, as well as the addition of the trans flag in the bears paws. The change in the text placement is also huge. In the left sticker, the text with the number and link are weirdly detached, they look almost like a disclaimer or a copyright stamp rather than support resources. The right sticker does a much better job of incorporating the text and the correct logo (the right has the lock up with a yellow line, placed on a yellow background, which is not the best choice), and communicates the information much better.
While this sticker is clearly a bit of branding, it does have another function in the form of help and support. Seeing this sticker around campus can inform people of the center, and allow them to reach out, or simply be aware that help and community is nearby. Stickers spread messages fairly easily, and can communicate a lot even without text.
While the Planned Parenthood sticker looks big here, I assure you, it is actually probably one of the smallest single stickers I own, with the large boarder making it about an inch and a half tall. It’s a pretty simple sticker, just a heart with a rainbow background and the PP logo in the middle, but for as small as it is, this sticker one that very easily has large impact. This is a sticker that someone might have to really think about where they place it, depending on where they are, or who might see it. While this is something that can be true for any pride sticker, I know that the addition of showing support for Planned Parenthood is another potential risk for some people. I think its size is something that recognizes this fact, and it is trying to make itself more accessible to place— easier to hide.
Planned Parenthood provides so many invaluable resources to so many people, I think it’s a shame it has to be hidden at all.
And the final pride sticker for this post, the simple yet effective heart shaped lgbtq+ rainbow flag. What I love most about this sticker is probably what the backing says about it. This sticker was more than likely on a roll, making it easier to have more stickers to transport and to give away. When I got this sticker, it was at a tabling event, and was already torn the way it is, so I’m assuming I’m missing out on it’s original context, but I would like to think that this sticker was given out at a much larger event, to many, many more people.
Happy Pride, and I’ll see y’all with another post soon!