A St. John’s T-Shirt design company is marketing a T-shirt aimed at Springdale’s refusal to allow a rainbow crosswalk and says it will donate part of the proceeds to LGBTQ2S youth groups in Newfoundland.
“We’ve been quiet for a reason- MAKING THIS SHIRT,” Hard Case Tees announced on social media site Instagram today (Thursday).
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The T-shirt logo says “Springdale is for lovers” against a backdrop of a rainbow crosswalk.
This week, the Springdale council stood by its earlier decision to deny a request by the local high school’s Gender Sexuality Alliance to paint a rainbow crosswalk between Indian River High and the town stadium.
The refusals have catapulted Springdale into the national spotlight, even though town Mayor Dave Edison has insisted it’s not about inclusion or discrimination against the LGBT community.
But to the Pride community at large, it feels like a statement, with conversations dominating social media.
Kayla Hearn, a partner in Hard Case Tees with Mark Adams (co-owner of Living Planet), sees the refusal to back down simply sends the wrong messages.
“Absolutely it’s bananas. I don’t understand. I can’t see why. It’s absolutely discrimination, absolutely making (youth) feel alienated,” said Hearn.
When LGBT youth feel alienated and unsupported, risk factors such as suicide rates go up, she noted.
“We’re supposed to be going forward,” she said
“Both Mark and I are from small towns in Newfoundland, grew up identifying as gay. We know what it is like to feel different and stick out.”
They are both DJs and knew each other for years, deciding in January to form Hard Case Tees, which focuses mostly on queer culture mixed with Newfoundland culture to produce saucy tees.
When the Springdale story erupted, they said “Oh my God, we have to do something.”
Hearn said Adams did the design, while she struck on the idea.
Adams is from Joe Batt’s Arm and Hearn from Petty Harbour. They went to school in the 1990s and know the importance of inclusion.
“I was not out. I did not come out until I left. I knew support from my family.
But I think I wanted to fly under the radar in high school and didn’t want people to know for sure. Even if you know it will be accepted, it is still a hard thing to be.”
A portion of the proceeds they hope to donate to the alliance in Springdale, and if the T-shirts take off, other LGBT youth groups will benefit.
“No. 1 it’s going to Springdale and we’ll take it from there,” Hearn said.
“If we get a massive response, we’ll spread the love to other (LGBT youth) organizations in the province.”
The T-Shirts went on sale Thursday on hardcasetees.com and cost $30.
