Is Your Body Together?

“The best way to commit racial genocide is to let your VD go untreated.”

This straightforward brochure confronts the at-risk population of San Francisco with helpful information about the risks and prevention of venereal disease. Gonorrhea and syphilis are both outlined in non-judgmental terms that would have been familiar to the intended audience, noting STDs as an unwelcome point of male pride, safe treatment during pregnancy, and recommendations for safe sex. A small map on the verso notes the location of the City Clinic.

Art direction courtesy of Janet Tucker. Published in 1973 by the San Francisco Department of Public Health. A rubberstamp near the bottom notes a 24 hr. hotline; 495-O GOD! HIV/AIDS was still largely unknown at the time, so some tips seem a bit absurd, i.e. “VD can ALWAYS be cured.”