{"meta":{"version":"2.1","_links":{"self":{"href":"https://api.vam.ac.uk/v2/object/O301438"},"collection_page":{"href":"https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O301438/"}},"images":{"_primary_thumbnail":"https://framemark.vam.ac.uk/collections/2014HE0799/full/!100,100/0/default.jpg","_iiif_image":"https://framemark.vam.ac.uk/collections/2014HE0799/","_alt_iiif_image":[],"imageResolution":"low","_images_meta":[{"assetRef":"2014HE0799","copyright":"©Victoria and Albert Museum, London","sensitiveImage":false}]},"see_also":null},"record":{"systemNumber":"O301438","accessionNumber":"T.615-1997","objectType":"T-shirt","titles":[{"title":"\"It's A Bitch Being Butch - John XXX\"","type":"assigned by artist"}],"summaryDescription":"","physicalDescription":"Pale blue cotton T-shirt printed with 'It's a Bitch Being Butch John XXX' and a head and shoulders image of John Wayne in a cowboy hat and neckerchief with red lipstick and eye make-up on.","artistMakerPerson":[{"name":{"text":"Wayne Morris (designer)","id":"AUTH413506"},"association":{"text":"designer","id":"x36960"},"note":""}],"artistMakerOrganisations":[{"name":{"text":"European Son","id":"AUTH413507"},"association":{"text":"designed for","id":"x41471"},"note":""}],"artistMakerPeople":[],"materials":[{"text":"cotton","id":"AAT14067"}],"techniques":[{"text":"printing","id":"AAT53319"}],"materialsAndTechniques":"Printed cotton","categories":[{"text":"Clothing","id":"THES48975"},{"text":"Textiles","id":"THES48885"},{"text":"Fashion","id":"THES48957"},{"text":"LGBTQ","id":"THES266921"}],"styles":[],"collectionCode":{"text":"T&F","id":"THES48601"},"images":["2014HE0799"],"imageResolution":"low","galleryLocations":[{"current":{"text":"005","id":"THES309397"},"free":"","case":"","shelf":"","box":""}],"partTypes":[[{"text":"T-shirt","id":""}]],"contentWarnings":[{"apprise":"","note":""}],"placesOfOrigin":[{"place":{"text":"Coventry","id":"x32527"},"association":{"text":"printed","id":"x46159"},"note":""}],"productionDates":[{"date":{"text":"c.1983","earliest":"1978-01-01","latest":"1987-12-31"},"association":{"text":"made","id":"x28654"},"note":""}],"associatedObjects":[],"creditLine":"Donated by Andrew Shanahan in memory of Richard L. Velleman","dimensions":[],"dimensionsNote":"","marksAndInscriptions":[{"content":"'It's a Bitch Being Butch John XXX'","inscriber":{"name":{"text":"","id":""},"association":{"text":"","id":""}},"date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null},"description":"","interpretation":"","language":"","medium":"","method":"","position":"","script":"","translation":"","transliteration":"","type":"","note":"printed"}],"objectHistory":"This shirt depicts actor John Wayne with drag makeup and a slogan designed to appear as if written in lipstick. John Wayne was particuarly known for his hyper-masculine roles in cowboy films, which makes this depiction subversive and iconoclastic. Alongside his film roles, Wayne was known for his deeply conservative views.\r\n \r\nThe shirt was most likely created in the mid-1980s as a form of humorous LGBTQ protest against gendered behavioural standards, and to tease men who behaved in an intentionally hyper-masculine way by suggesting they used the performance of exaggerated masculinity as a form of camouflage. In its sensibility, it is similar to the Punk garments of the late 1970s and early 1980s which also set out to destabilise establishment figures such as the Queen through mockery and altering their images disrespectfully. The caption on this shirt, which uses potentially offensive terms, makes fun of John Wayne by implying that his masculinity (expressed via the slang term 'butch') was performative. Applying lipstick and heavy eye makeup to Wayne's face underscores the designer's mischievous message.\n\n- Daniel Milford-Cottam, 25/04/2025\n\nIn August 2026 Wayne Morris contacted the Museum to tell us more about his design for this shirt. In the early 1980s he opened a post-punk clothing shop on Far Gosford Street in Coventry called 'The European Son', alongside other shops catering to University students. European Son stocked T-shirts from London designers like Fifth Column, Artistique Sentimental and Modzart, and Morris decided to design some shirts of his own. His first print was inspired by The Sunday Times newspaper's plan in 1983 to serialise the Hitler diaries (which turned out to be faked), and consisted of a T-shirt printed to parody a rock concert shirt titled 'Adolf Hitler's European Tour 1939-45\". A 2003 knockoff of Morris's shirt is now in the Imperial War Museum (museum number EPH4399) Morris went on to design other confrontational shirts including 'Women Bleed' and designs which included condoms and tampons, some of which were sold through the BOY shop on the King's Road, London. Another particularly controversial design, parodying the 'Relax' shirts for Frankie Goes to Hollywood, featured the words  'God Made Me Gay' superimposed over a red St George's cross.\n\n'It's A Bitch Being Butch' was inspired by a young shop assistant at The European Son who worked only on Saturdays as he was still in school. The assistant often wore women's dresses from the shop stock to serve customers. Morris said 'At the time this was outrageous. Maybe he was gay, I never asked him and he never said - not that it mattered anyway' and was inspired by this employee to create the 'It's a Bitch' shirt. While Morris doesn't remember why he chose John Wayne, he thinks it was because John Wayne was the epitome of male masculinity. \n\n- Daniel Milford-Cottam, 18/08/2026.","historicalContext":"","briefDescription":"Printed cotton T-shirt, Wayne Morris for European Son, Coventry, c.1983. Picture of John Wayne in lipstick","bibliographicReferences":[],"production":"","productionType":{"text":"","id":""},"contentDescription":"","contentPlaces":[],"associatedPlaces":[],"contentPerson":[{"text":"John Wayne","id":"N3738"}],"associatedPerson":[],"contentOrganisations":[],"associatedOrganisations":[],"contentPeople":[],"associatedPeople":[],"contentEvents":[],"associatedEvents":[],"contentOthers":[],"contentConcepts":[],"contentLiteraryRefs":[],"galleryLabels":[],"partNumbers":["T.615-1997"],"accessionNumberNum":"615","accessionNumberPrefix":"T","accessionYear":1997,"otherNumbers":[],"copyNumber":"","aspects":["WHOLE"],"assets":[],"recordModificationDate":"2026-08-18","recordCreationDate":"2009-06-24","availableToBook":true}}