Jigglypuff has always held a place in my heart; a small, circular pink place. As have homos — a little less small, a little more pink. So when the porn performer Griffin Barrows tweeted a photo of a shirt last week featuring the word HOMO, but an O swapped out for a cuddly Jigglypuff, it constituted the sort of crossover event that only dreams are made of. And while he wasn’t sure what the brand was, a few quick Google searches turned up the Etsy shop where a gay couple was selling the Jiggly tee as well as other cartoons.
Homo London is a London-based, queer-owned t-shirt brand operated by the gay couple Karl Slater and Orestes Economou, the latter of whom is known as DJ Mr. O. As a brand, the pair take various pop culture hits with queer interest, and inject a little queer appeal in them while reclaiming the term “homo” which has, more often than not, been used derisively. This is all done collaboratively with artists and illustrators the pair have found on Instagram. And while there’s tons of really great options — the Sailorbear and the muscle guys are all fun, — a series focused on Pokemon, seemingly created by Slater himself, are a definite stand out.
Homos for Ho-Oh pic.twitter.com/RJjCdTjRuJ
— Anthony Velez (@antnyvlz) December 22, 2019
The brand has also used the same template (HOMO logo + cartoon) with a few other notables including Sailor Moon — pro tip: you can currently stream the show on Hulu. Buy here.
