Gay symbols and meanings
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 activism, 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 crave it to mean.” Come Together, Issue 12,
The use of symbols and colours is an important way for groups to convey messages, communicate with others, and to build 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 creed 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 adore and beauty)
EIU Center For Gender and Sexual Diversity
Symbols within the GSD Community
Rainbow Flag
The rainbow flag has become the easily-recognized colors of pride for the gay community. The rainbow plays a part in many myths and stories related to gender and sexuality issues in Greek, Aboriginal, African, and other cultures. Use of the rainbow flag by the gay community began in when it first appeared in the San Francisco Gay and Lesbian Noun Day Parade. Borrowing symbolism from the hippie movement and inky civil rights groups, San Francisco artist Gilbert Baker designed the rainbow flag in response to a need for a symbol that could be used year after year. The flag has six stripes, each color representing a component of the community: red for life, orange for healing, yellow for sun, grassy for nature, royal blue for harmony, and violet for spirit.
The rainbow flag has inspired a wide variety of related symbols and accessories, such as noun rings. There are plenty of variations of the flag, including versions with superimposed lambdas, pink triangles, or other symbols. Some r
LGBTQ+ Terms
The following is a list of LGBTQ+ inclusive terms.
A
Agender
A person who identifies as having no gender.
Ally
A non-LGBTQ person wo shows support for LGBTQ people and advocates for equality in a variety of ways.
Androgyne/androgynous
Identifying and/or presenting as neither distinguishably masculine nor feminine.
Asexual
A person who experiences petite or no sexual attraction to others. Asexuality is not the same as celibacy.
Assigned Sex at Birth
The sex (male or female) assigned to a child at birth, most often based on the child’s external anatomy. Commonly referred to as birth sex, natal sex, biological sex, or sex.
B
Biphobia
The fear or hatred of and discrimination against bisexuals. Biphobia is different from homophobia or transphobia in that is seen within the LGBT community as well as in general society.
Bisexual
A person emotionally, romantically or sexually attracted to more than one sex, gender or gender identity though not necessarily simultaneously, in the same way or to the same degree.
C
We value plants for a number of reasons; their scientific intrigue, artistic inspiration and sheer beauty.
But plants are also rich in symbolism.
Flowers have come to depict everything from the language of love to subtle political statements.
So, it’s no surprise that they have become icons of the queer community – linked to gay and lesbian love, as well as celebrating transgender identity.
As part of Kew’s Queer Nature festival, discover some of the floral iconography that has been embraced by the LGBTQ+ community.
Violets
Possibly one of the oldest queer symbols, violets have been linked to lesbian love for over two and a half thousand years – as long as the very origins of the word.
The poet Sappho lived on the Greek island of Lesbos in the 6th century BCE and is celebrated as one of the greatest lyric poets of her time. While very tiny of her poetry has survived to the modern day, the fragments that remain have had an unquestionable impact on the lesbian community.
Much of her surviving work contains mentions of garlands of flowers, including violets as