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Surviving & Thriving: AIDS, Politics, and Culture

America Responds to AIDS

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If you shoot drugs, stay away from me, 1980s

Aimed at mothers, this poster presented a woman with her children offering a stern warning to potential partners not to shoot drugs and they would need to wear a condom. She made the claim that no man was worth her health or the health of her children.

  • Publisher(s):
    Centers for Disease Control
  • Type:
    Poster
Red tinted photograph of a white woman kneeling with an arm around a white boy on either side of her, all three are looking at the viewer.

Aimed at a variety of audiences, these posters attempted to call attention to the inherent risk posed by drug use even though the copy provided no details about the danger. While one poster targeted men directly and the other used women as a way to reach men, each used a similar message and lack of instruction.

Choose from the group
  • Red tinted photograph of a white woman kneeling with an arm around a white boy on either side of her, all three are looking at the viewer.
  • Black and white image of African American young man sitting balancing a basketball on his knee to the left of text.
  • Black and white photograph of an African American woman sitting down holding a coffee cup looking at the viewer
  • Black and white photograph of two people holding hands, only the forearms are evident.