Rainbows, Closets and Drag: The Appropriation of Gay and Lesbian Imagery. The AIGA Journal of Graphic Design, vol. 14 no. 1; 1996. Design Culture: An Anthology of Writing from the AIGA Journal; Allworth Press, 1997.

An examination of the ways in which gay and lesbian communities have sought political independence by responding to the graphic mainstream.

Lesbians and gays are naturally suspicious of the appropriation of their imagery. Having had to lie and hide throughout our collective past has made recovering our own history a difficult task. Certain themes that have been primary to our experience are becoming culturally common, and hence up for grabs, including the ritual of coming out, the metaphor of the closet, and the gender play of drag.