THE CONTEXT

You may be familiar with Shark Tank. A reality show in which budding entrepreneurs” present their ideas to “sharks” in the industry and the sharks decide who will sink and who will swim. Or rather, which ideas are worth their financial investment. This fall, our BFA class was dropped into the shark tank to fend for ourselves. 

“To understand youth and the institutions they inhabit as productive of identities and differences is to acknowledge that both are actors, or to imbue both youth and institutions with agency.”

YOUTH AND SEXUALITIES: PLEASURE, SUBVERSION,
AND INSUBORDINATION IN AND OUT OF SCHOOLS
Mary Louise Rasmussen, Eric Rofes, Susan Talburt

THE PROBLEM

In schools and youth-specific spaces there is little to no advocacy for LGBT+ kids beyond several normalized, “accepted” identities. There is no space for young people to learn about the multitudes of identities that exist, no source of foundational knowledge to aid in the development of individual identities, no way for kids to affirm their identities if they fall outside of the recognized scope of identities.

THE RESEARCH

Spaces like Gay-Straight Alliances and organizations like PFLAG (Parents & Friends of Lesbians and Gays) prioritize the feelings and comfort of “allies”, ignore those who identify with things other than lesbian and gay, and do little to help in the development and realization of complex gender and sexual identities. Even the widely used acronym LGBT+ emphasizes some identities and reduces others to an “etc.” or a “+” or an asterisk. More succinctly: there is no curated source for queer youth that encapsulates the vastness and variability of sexual and gender identity.

How might we reframe young people
as creative participants in institutional
and non-institutional spaces? 

GOALS

To present a curated collection of intersectional representation 

To publish content by and for people of all identities 

To focus on youth and identity development 

To provide a resource that is accessible and digestible for preteens, teens, etc. 

To provide a spotlight for those who are often left out of acronyms, popular media, and history

 

THE SOLUTION

PLUS is a bimonthly subscription-based publication for queer and questioning youth. A resource for those who may not fit within the bounds of accepted gender, sexual, and romantic orientations, each issue of PLUS focuses on a different identity or subset of the LGBTQ+ community. The publication features vocabulary, frequently asked questions, history, and personal testimonials.

IDENTITY
DEVELOPMENT
LABELS
INTERSECTIONALITY
EDUCATION
INDISCRIMINATE
CELEBRATORY
INCLUSIVE

Below are spreads from a dummy issue of PLUS, an issue spotlighting asexuality. The visual design of PLUS is as varied and fluid as its contents: each issue features distinctive illustrations from a member of the featured community, drastically different color palettes, and visual treatments.