What is the gay sign
The LGBTQI+ community has created their own language of colours and symbols. In this guest blog Gillian Murphy, Curator for Equality, Rights and Citizenship at LSE Library, explores the symbols created through campaign, logo competitions, resistance, and community. LGBT+ History Month is celebrated each February in the UK.
LGBTQI+ symbols and their meanings
“Well, of course, a symbol can mean anything you yearn it to mean.” Come Together, Issue 12,
The use of symbols and colours is an key way for groups to convey messages, communicate with others, and to assemble a visual identity. During the s, LGBTQI+ people were encouraged to arrive out and, in doing this, they often wore badges with distinctive symbols, reinforcing the belief that no longer would they be invisible. This blog looks at some of the symbols that can be found in LGBTQI+ collections.
The gender symbols for male and female are traditionally derived from astrological signs and mythological meanings representing Mars (god of war with shield and spear) and Venus (mirror of Venus, goddess of love and beauty) respectively.
From the first issues of Come Together, the short-lived newspaper produced by the
In , in response to a slew of racist incidents in the Gayborhood, Philadelphia added black and brown stripes to the traditional six-color LGBT rainbow flag. The backlash was severe. Many rejected the alteration of such a supposedly sacred symbol. Apart from failing to identify the intersectional interests of queer and trans people of color, critics invoked the rainbow flag as something constant and abiding. You can’t just convert it . . . can you? Well, it turns out that the rainbow as a symbol has appeared in many places and in many forms over the past century.
Where did the so-called “pride” flag come from anyway? I went on a research journey to find out, exploring works of fiction, newspaper articles, autobiographies, political parties, rock bands, a certain Technicolor movie, and more. Here are the highlights of what I learned about this colorful, often-changing symbol.
The origin myth
Queer iconography once included pink and inky triangles—re-appropriated by the LGBT community after the Nazis used them to label gay men and lesbians in concentration camps—and the labrys—a double-headed ax related with the mythological, matriarchal Amazons. A Los Angeles Timesarti
LGBTQ+ Pride Flags
In the LGBTQ+ community, we signify our pride with flags. With many distinct identities in the collective, there comes many distinct flags to know. We have collected all of the flags and a guide to learn about all of the other colors of our community’s rainbow. We know that this may not be all of the flags that represent our group, but we will update the page as novel flags become popular!
Explore the flag collection below! View a flag's name by hovering or clicking on the flag.
Umbrella Flags
Gilbert Baker Pride Flag
Traditional Pride Flag
Philadelphia Pride Flag
Progress Pride Flag
Intersex-Inclusive Progress Pride Flag
Queer Pride Flag
The original Pride Flag was created in after activist Harvey Milk asked artist Gilbert Baker to design a symbol of gay pride. Each tint represents a different part of the LGBTQ+ community: hot pink represents sex, red symbolizes life, orange stands for healing, yellow equals sunlight, green stands for nature, turquoise symbolizes magic and art, indigo represents serenity, while violet symbolizes the spirit of LGBTQ+ people.
After the assa
How Do I Know If I Am Gay? Signs You Are Gay
Particularly when young, some people may ask, "How do I know if I am gay?" if they include conflicting sexual feelings. When it comes down to it, there is no reliable "Am I Same-sex attracted test", so the only way to know that you are gay (definition of gay) is to look within yourself to determine your own thoughts and feelings towards others of the same sex. You might also yearn to consider the possibility that you are neither gay nor straight and are bisexual or just curious.
There are also signs that you might be gay to consider.
Signs You Are Gay
There is no one way that lgbtq+ people act or view – gay people are just as diverse as straight people. Just because you are a male who is effeminate or a woman who is boyish, that does not mean that you're necessarily gay. So don't tumble into the trap of thinking that your clothes, hair or attitude determines your sexuality.
When looking at the signs you are gay, you might wish to ask yourself these questions:1
- Have I ever been sexually attracted to the same sex?
- Do I perceive strong emotional bonds to the same sex?
- Am I physically attracted to the same sex?
- Have I considered having a sexual relatio
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