Artifact 8: Movement - "No More Shit!" Button

This is a photograph of a button worn by many gay people in Toronto following the ‘Operation Soap,’ bathhouse raids. As the text on the button suggests, they were tired of taking discrimination from the law and decided they were finished with putting up with it. There are a couple of important functions this button would have served for its wearer: firstly, it would have spread the word of recent anti-gay acts to people outside of the gay community who may not have been aware; secondly, it would have acted as a flag to other gay people, creating a sense of community and solidarity without having to utter a word. An April 1981 Body Politic article drew attention to this sentiment, writing that “Gay people smile at each other when they pass, a quick acknowledgement that each is wearing a “No more shit!” button." This button goes to show that even something as simple as an accessory can help to carry a movement.

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Artifact Citation: “No More Shit! Toronto, 6 Feb 81.” RISE UP!: a digital archive of feminist action. Accessed December 1, 2024. https://riseupfeministarchive.ca/culture/buttons/buttons-nomoreshit-toronto/.

Caption Bibliography:

Hannon, Gerald, Bill Loos, Elinor Mahoney, Craig Patterson, and Roger Spalding. “An Italian housewife and thousands of gay people find out what they have in common: “Who is the next? Me?” The Body Politic, April 1, 1981. https://archive.org/details/bodypolitic72toro/page/9/mode/1up?view=theater.