Research question

This research examines how the communication strategies and visual identity of the LGBTQIA+ community in Italy have evolved, shifting from forms of underground resistance to models of ‘community branding’. It investigates and critically analyses not only these changes over time but also the community’s objectives and variations in communication across the country.

Methodology to achieve the objectives

Using a mixed methodology, the project integrates a ‘research through design’ approach with qualitative historical analysis. The research comprises: ● Archival mapping and analysis: mapping of archives, collections, associations and collectives, ranging from major documentation centres to independent organisations. Digital acquisition (photography/scanning) of communication materials from specialist archives (Centro Documentazione Flavia Madaschi in Bologna, Archivio Luki Massa in Bologna, Archivio Massimo Consoli in Rome, Centro di Documentazione Maurice GLBTQ in Turin, Fondazione Sandro Penna/FUORI! in Turin, Centro di Documentazione Marco Sanna in Rome, Centro di Documentazione Paolo Poli in Naples, Centro di Documentazione Omologie in Milan, Arcigay Archives), as well as associations and collectives. ● Cataloguing criteria: categorisation of materials by type (magazines, fanzines, posters, playbills, flyers, merchandise), purpose (action/struggle, celebration, protest, entertainment, dissemination, commercial, erotic), location and period of production, printing techniques and the use of the concepts of ‘emotional style’ and ‘emotional pedagogy’ to catalogue visual artefacts based on their relational and identity-forming impacts. ● Summary: This project transforms a digital archive into an interactive map showing the locations of archives, collections, associations and collectives, organised by historical period. It also features a visual catalogue that presents the selected material based on historical and aesthetic criteria.

Case studies

The study analyses the entire spectrum of LGBTQIA+ forms of communication in Italy, with the initial phase dedicated to the press of the 1970s. ● The first militant press: analysis of publications such as FUORI!, Lambda and O-MPO, which represent the transition from the ‘discomfort of the closet’ to active ‘pride’. ● Evolution of styles: a study of aesthetic transformations among radical magazines (sober style), homophile publications (commercial glossy style) and experimental publications. ● Contemporary communication: extending the analysis to the digital campaigns, posters and branding strategies of current associations and collectives.

Data analysis and interpretation of results

Critical analysis conducted to date reveals a clear correlation between the graphic design of these publications and their ideological stance. Viewed through the lens of Dario Pasquini, PhD in Contemporary History (Università di Torino and Freie Universität Berlin), the results suggest that these publications were not merely communicative artefacts but also tools for describing and changing reality. The expected outcome of this project is the creation of a visual catalogue providing an overview of all LGBTQIA+ communication, critically analysed and catalogued, accompanied by a mapping of all the organisations that have contributed. It would be interesting to apply Pasquini’s interpretative framework, which traces the history of early LGBTQIA+ print media through concepts such as the ‘emotional style’ coined by Gammerl, William Reddy’s theory on the ‘emotional performativity of certain linguistic expressions’ and ‘emotional pedagogy’ coined by Gould. Essential Bibliography De Leo, M. (2021). Queer: Storia culturale della comunità LGBT+. Einaudi. Galluzzo, M. (2024). Logo in the real life: Note per una storia sociale della visual identity. Krisis Publishing. Pasquini, D. (2023). Con rabbia felice: Politica ed emozioni nella prima stampa LGBT italiana (1969-1979). PM edizioni.