LGBT symbols
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Pink and black triangles
One of the oldest of these symbols is the pink triangle, which originated from the Nazi concentration camp badges that homosexuals were required to wear on their clothing. It is estimated that as many as 220,000 gays and lesbians perished alongside the 6,000,000 Jews whom the Nazis exterminated in their death camps during World War II as part of Hitler’s so-called final solution. For this reason, the pink triangle is used both as an identification symbol and as a memento to remind both its wearers and the general public of the atrocities that gays suffered under Nazi persecutors. ACT-UP (AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power) also adopted the inverted pink triangle to symbolize the “active fight back” against the disease “rather than a passive resignation to fate.”
The Nazis compelled “undesirable” women, including lesbians, to wear the inverted black triangle. Modern-day lesbians have reclaimed this symbol for themselves as gay men have reclaimed the pink triangle.
See also: History of gays in Nazi Germany and the Holocaust
Lambda
In 1970, the Greek letter lambda (λ) was selected to symbolize the Gay Activists Alliance’s campaign for gay liberation, and, four years later, the International Gay Rights Congress in Edinburgh, Scotland, chose the same symbol to represent lesbian and gay rights. As a result, the lambda has become internationally known. It is traditional for the lambda to be shown in lavender, a color which, like pink, is often associated with homosexuality.
Rainbow flag
Gilbert Baker designed the rainbow flag for the 1978 San Francisco's Gay Freedom Celebration. The flag does not depict or show an actual rainbow. Rather, the colors of the rainbow are displayed as horizontal stripes, with red at the top and purple at the bottom. It represents the diversity of gays and lesbians around the world. The purple stripe is sometimes replaced with a black stripe to show mascunlinity or leather pride.
Freedom rings
Freedom rings, designed by David Spada, are six aluminum rings, each in one of the colors of the rainbow flag. Symbolizing independence and tolerance, these rings are worn as necklaces, bracelets, rings, and key chains. They're often referred to as "Fruit Loops".
Red ribbon
The red ribbon the global symbol for solidarity with HIV-positive people and those living with AIDS.
Leather pride flag
Tony DeBlase displayed a flag with a central horizontal white band above and below which black and gray bands alternate with one another. The upper left corner of the flag is adorned with a red Valentine heart. First flown in Chicago during the 1989 Mr. Leather Contest, the flag has become known as the leather pride flag and symbolizes those who enjoy a sadomasochistic, bondage-and-discipline lifestyle in which uniforms, leather, western clothing, and other fetishes play a central part. The use of the Leather Pride flag is not exclusive to homosexuals.
Labrys
The labrys, or double-bladed battle axe, was associated with the Greek goddess Demeter (Ceres in Roman mythology). Supposedly used by Scythian Amazon warriors, who were ruled by two queens at a time. It is believed that Demeter’s devotees’ worship involved lesbian sex. The labrys represents lesbian and feminist strength and self-sufficiency.
Blue and pink triangles/\"Biangles\"
The exact origin of this symbol, sometimes facetiously referred to as the "biangles", remains ambiguous. It is popularly thought that the pink triangle may represent homosexuality, as it does when it stands alone, while the blue stands for heterosexuality. The two together form the color purple, a blend of both sexual orientations. It's also possible that the pink may represent attraction to female and the blue attraction to males. The biangles are a symbol of bisexuality and bisexual pride.
Bisexuality flag
In 1988, Michael Page designed a bisexual pride flag to represent the bisexual community. This rectangular flag consists of a broad pink stripe above a narrower purple stripe beneath which is another broad stripe in blue. The pink and blue stripes stand for women and men, respectively, and the overlapping purple band reflects the middle ground that people of bisexual orientation occupy.
Transgendered symbol
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Popular transgender symbols, used to identify transvestites, transsexuals, and other transgendered men and women, frequently consist of a modified biological symbol. In addition to the arrow projecting from the top right of the circle that comprises the biological symbol for the male (from the astrological symbol for Mars), and in addition to the cross projecting from the bottom of the circle that comprises the biological symbol for the female (from the astrological symbol for Venus), the symbol incorporates both these devices as well as a cross topped by an arrowhead (combining the male and the female motifs) which projects from the top left of the circle. (See also: Gender symbols)
Another transgender symbol is the Transgender Pride flag designed by Monica Helms, and first shown at a pride parade in Phoenix, Arizona, USA in 2000. The flag represents the transgendered community and consists of five horizontal stripes, two light blue, two pink, with a white stripe in the center. Helms described the meaning of the flag as follows:
The light blue is the traditional color for baby boys, pink is for girls, and the white in the middle is for those who are transitioning, those who feel they have a neutral gender or no gender, and those who are intersexed. The pattern is such that no matter which way you fly it, it will always be correct. This symbolizes us trying to find correctness in our own lives.
Other transgender symbols include the butterfly (symbolizing transformation or metamorphosis), and a pink/light blue yin and yang symbol.
Other, lesser symbols
In addition to these major symbols of the GLBT community, other lesser symbols have been used to represent members’ unity, pride, shared values, and allegiance to one.
- American poet Walt Whitman used the calamus plant to represent homoerotic love.
- Nineteenth-century poets used the ladslove plant to symbolize homosexuality.
- In ancient Rome, as in 19th-century England, green indicated homosexual affiliations. Victorian men would often pin a green carnation to their lapel as a signal.
- Since the first century the hare, the hyena, and the weasel have been associated with male homosexuality.
- The phoenix, representing the ability of the penis to erect and resurrect itself sexually, has long symbolized male homosexuality.
- In the early years of the 20th century, a red necktie was worn by some men to signal their homosexuality to others.
- The pinky ring was a fashionable jewelry accessory for male homosexuals during the decades of the 1950’s through the 1970’s.
- Gay activists in Boston chose the rhinoceros as a symbol of the gay movement after conducting a media campaign for this purpose, selecting this animal because, although it is sometimes misunderstood, it is really both docile and intelligent.
External links
- http://www.swade.net/gallery/symbols.html shows images of some of these symbols and offers a brief historical account of each of them.
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