Over the course of its history, the

LGBT community The LGBT community (also known as the LGBTQ+ community, GLBT community, gay community, or queer community) is a loosely defined grouping of lesbian, gay men, gay, bisexuality, bisexual, transgender, and other queer individuals united by a comm ...

has adopted certain

symbol A symbol is a mark, sign, or word that indicates, signifies, or is understood as representing an idea, object, or relationship. Symbols allow people to go beyond what is known or seen by creating linkages between otherwise very different conc ...

s for

self-identification In the psychology of self, one's self-concept (also called self-construction, self-identity, self-perspective or self-structure) is a collection of beliefs about oneself. Generally, self-concept embodies the answer to the question ''"Who am I? ...

to demonstrate unity,

pride Pride is defined by Merriam-Webster as "reasonable self-esteem" or "confidence and satisfaction in oneself". A healthy amount of pride is good, however, pride sometimes is used interchangeably with "conceit" or "arrogance" (among other words) wh ...

, shared values, and allegiance to one another. These symbols communicate ideas, concepts, and identity both within their communities and to mainstream culture. The two symbols most recognized internationally are the

pink triangle A pink triangle has been a symbol for the LGBTQ+ community, initially intended as a badge of shame, but later reclaimed as a positive symbol of self-identity and love for queerness. In Nazi Germany in the 1930s and 1940s, it began as one of the Na ...

and the

rainbow flag A rainbow flag is a multicolored flag consisting of the colors of the rainbow. The designs differ, but many of the colors are based on the spectral colors of the visible light spectrum. The LGBT flag introduced in 1978 is the most recogniz ...

Letters and glyphs

Gender symbols

The female and male

gender symbols A gender symbol is a pictogram or glyph used to represent sexual differentiation, sex and gender, for example in biology and medicine, in genealogy, or in the sociological fields of gender politics, LGBT, LGBT subculture and identity politics. In ...

are derived from the

astronomical symbols Astronomical symbols are abstract pictorial symbols used to represent astronomical objects, theoretical constructs and observational events in European astronomy. The earliest forms of these symbols appear in Greek papyrus texts of late ant ...

for the planets

Venus Venus is the second planet from the Sun. It is sometimes called Earth's "sister" or "twin" planet as it is almost as large and has a similar composition. As an interior planet to Earth, Venus (like Mercury) appears in Earth's sky never fa ...

and

Mars Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun and the second-smallest planet in the Solar System, only being larger than Mercury (planet), Mercury. In the English language, Mars is named for the Mars (mythology), Roman god of war. Mars is a terr ...

respectively. Following

Linnaeus Carl Linnaeus (; 23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after his ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné Blunt (2004), p. 171. (), was a Swedish botanist, zoologist, taxonomist, and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, the ...

, biologists use the planetary symbol for Venus to represent the female sex, and the planetary symbol for Mars to represent the male sex. Two interlocking female symbols (⚢) represent a lesbian or the lesbian community, and two interlocking male symbols (⚣) a gay male or the gay male community. These symbols first appeared in the 1970s. The combined male-female symbol (⚦) is used to represent

androgyne Androgyny is the possession of both masculine and feminine characteristics. Androgyny may be expressed with regard to biological sex, gender identity, or gender expression. When ''androgyny'' refers to mixed biological sex characteristics in h ...

or transgender people; and when additionally combined with the female (♀) and male (♂) symbols (⚧) it indicates gender inclusivity, though it is also used as a transgender symbol.

Lambda

In 1970, graphic designer Tom Doerr selected the lower-case Greek letter

lambda Lambda (}, ''lám(b)da'') is the 11th letter of the Greek alphabet, representing the voiced alveolar lateral approximant . In the system of Greek numerals, lambda has a value of 30. Lambda is derived from the Phoenician Lamed . Lambda gave rise ...

(λ) to be the symbol of the New York chapter of the

Gay Activists Alliance The Gay Activists Alliance (GAA) was founded in New York City on December 21, 1969, almost six months after the Stonewall riots, by dissident members of the Gay Liberation Front (GLF). In contrast to the Liberation Front, the Activists Alliance ...

. The alliance's literature states that Doerr chose the symbol specifically for its denotative meaning in the context of chemistry and

physics Physics is the natural science that studies matter, its fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge which r ...

: "a complete exchange of energy–that moment or span of time witness to absolute activity". The lambda became associated with

Gay Liberation The gay liberation movement was a social and political movement of the late 1960s through the mid-1980s that urged lesbians and gay men to engage in radical direct action, and to counter societal shame with gay pride.Hoffman, 2007, pp.xi-xiii. ...

, and in December 1974, it was officially declared the international symbol for gay and lesbian rights by the International Gay Rights Congress in Edinburgh, Scotland. The gay rights organization

Lambda Legal Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund, better known as Lambda Legal, is an American civil rights organization that focuses on lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) communities as well as people living with HIV/ AIDS ( PWAs) through i ...

and the American

Lambda Literary Foundation The Lambda Literary Foundation (also known as Lambda Literary) is an American LGBTQ literary organization whose mission is to nurture and advocate for LGBTQ writers, elevating the impact of their words to create community, preserve their legaci ...

derive their names from this symbol.

Plants and animals

In 19th-century England,

green Green is the color between cyan and yellow on the visible spectrum. It is evoked by light which has a dominant wavelength of roughly 495570 Nanometre, nm. In subtractive color systems, used in painting and color printing, it is created by ...

indicated homosexual affiliations, as popularized by gay author

Oscar Wilde Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde (16 October 185430 November 1900) was an Irish poet and playwright. After writing in different forms throughout the 1880s, he became one of the most popular playwrights in London in the early 1890s. He is ...

, who often wore a green

carnation ''Dianthus caryophyllus'' (), commonly known as the carnation or clove pink, is a species of ''Dianthus''. It is likely native to the Mediterranean region but its exact range is unknown due to extensive cultivation for the last 2,000 years.Med ...

on his lapel. According to some interpretations, American poet

Walt Whitman Walter Whitman (; May 31, 1819 – March 26, 1892) was an American poet, essayist and journalist. A humanist, he was a part of the transition between transcendentalism and realism, incorporating both views in his works. Whitman is among t ...

used the

sweet flag ''Acorus calamus'' (also called sweet flag, sway or muskrat root, among many common names) is a species of flowering plant with psychoactive chemicals. It is a tall wetland monocot of the family Acoraceae, in the genus ''Acorus.'' Although us ...

plant to represent homoerotic male love because of its

phallic A phallus is a penis (especially when erect), an object that resembles a penis, or a mimetic image of an erect penis. In art history a figure with an erect penis is described as ithyphallic. Any object that symbolically—or, more precisely ...

connotations. Beginning in the 1960s, the term was

reappropriated In linguistics, reappropriation, reclamation, or resignification is the cultural process by which a group reclaims words or artifacts that were previously used in a way disparaging of that group. It is a specific form of a semantic change (i.e. ...

by Japanese gay media: notably with the 1961 anthology , a collection of semi-nude photographs of homosexual writer

Yukio Mishima , born , was a Japanese author, poet, playwright, actor, model, Shintoist, Nationalism, nationalist, and founder of the , an unarmed civilian militia. Mishima is considered one of the most important Japanese authors of the 20th century. He was ...

by photographer

Eikoh Hosoe is a Japanese photographer and filmmaker who emerged in the experimental arts movement of post-World War II Japan. Hosoe is best known for his dark, high contrast, black and white photographs of human bodies. His images are often psychologicall ...

, and later with in 1971, the first commercially produced

gay magazine The following is a list of periodicals (printed magazines, journals and newspapers) aimed at the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) demographic by country. Australia The most comprehensive holdings of LGBT periodicals is found at ...

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...

. The use of the rose as a prominent symbol of love between males is supposedly derived from the

Greek myth A major branch of classical mythology, Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the ancient Greeks, and a genre of Ancient Greek folklore. These stories concern the origin and nature of the world, the lives and activities of ...

of King Laius having affairs with boys under rose trees. Since the 2000s, '' bara'' has been used by non-Japanese audience as an umbrella term to describe a wide variety of Japanese and non-Japanese gay media featuring love and sex between masculine men. The rose is also the sacred flower of

Eros In Greek mythology, Eros (, ; grc, Ἔρως, Érōs, Love, Desire) is the Greek god of love and sex. His Roman counterpart was Cupid ("desire").''Larousse Desk Reference Encyclopedia'', The Book People, Haydock, 1995, p. 215. In the earli ...

, the Greek god of love and sex, and patron of love between men. Eros was responsible for the first rose to sprout on Earth, followed by every flower and herb. Roses are a symbol of

pederasty in ancient Greece Pederasty in ancient Greece was a socially acknowledged romantic relationship between an older male (the ''erastes'') and a younger male (the ''eromenos'') usually in his teens. It was characteristic of the Archaic Greece, Archaic and Classical G ...

: handsome boys were metaphorically called roses by their male admirers in homoerotic poems such as those by

Solon Solon ( grc-gre, Σόλων; BC) was an Athenian statesman, constitutional lawmaker and poet. He is remembered particularly for his efforts to legislate against political, economic and moral decline in Archaic Athens.Aristotle ''Politics'' ...

, Straton,

Meleager In Greek mythology, Meleager (, grc-gre, Μελέαγρος, Meléagros) was a hero venerated in his ''temenos'' at Calydon in Aetolia. He was already famed as the host of the Calydonian boar hunt in the epic tradition that was reworked by Ho ...

Rhianus Rhianus (Greek: Ῥιανὸς ὁ Κρής) was a Greek poet and grammarian, a native of Crete, friend and contemporary of Eratosthenes (275–195 BC). Biography The '' Suda'' says he was at first a slave and overseer of a palaestra, but ob ...

, and Philostratos. Animals that lovers gave as gifts to their beloved also became symbols of pederastic love, such as

hares Hares and jackrabbits are mammals belonging to the genus ''Lepus''. They are herbivores, and live solitarily or in pairs. They nest in slight depressions called forms, and their young are able to fend for themselves shortly after birth. The gen ...

roosters The chicken (''Gallus gallus domesticus'') is a domesticated junglefowl species, with attributes of wild species such as the grey and the Ceylon junglefowl that are originally from Southeastern Asia. Rooster or cock is a term for an adult m ...

deer Deer or true deer are hoofed ruminant mammals forming the family Cervidae. The two main groups of deer are the Cervinae, including the muntjac, the elk (wapiti), the red deer, and the fallow deer; and the Capreolinae, including the reindeer ...

, felines and

oxen An ox ( : oxen, ), also known as a bullock (in BrE British English (BrE, en-GB, or BE) is, according to Oxford Dictionaries, "English as used in Great Britain, as distinct from that used elsewhere". More narrowly, it can refer spec ...

, as a metaphor for sexual pursuits. Viola reichenbachiana LC0128

Violets Violet identifies various plant taxa, particularly species in the genus ''Viola'', within which the common violet is the best known member in Eurasia and the common blue violet and common purple violet are the best known members in North America ...

and their

color Color (American English) or colour (British English) is the visual perceptual property deriving from the spectrum of light interacting with the photoreceptor cells of the eyes. Color categories and physical specifications of color are associ ...

became a special code used by lesbians and bisexual women. The symbolism of the flower derives from several fragments of poems by

Sappho Sappho (; el, Σαπφώ ''Sapphō'' ; Aeolic Greek ''Psápphō''; c. 630 – c. 570 BC) was an Archaic Greek poet from Eresos or Mytilene on the island of Lesbos. Sappho is known for her Greek lyric, lyric poetry, written to be sung while ...

in which she describes a lover wearing garlands or a crown with violets. In 1926, the play '' La Prisonnière'' by

Édouard Bourdet Édouard Bourdet ( Saint-Germain-en-Laye, 26 October 1887 – Paris, 17 January 1945) was a 20th-century French playwright. He was married to the poet, Catherine Pozzi; their son was Claude Bourdet. Plays *1910: ''Le Rubicon'' *1912: ''La Cage o ...

used a bouquet of violets to signify lesbian love. When the play became subject to censorship, many Parisian lesbians wore violets to demonstrate solidarity with its lesbian subject matter. Lilium longiflorum (Easter Lily)

White

lilies ''Lilium'' () is a genus of herbaceous flowering plants growing from bulbs, all with large prominent flowers. They are the true lilies. Lilies are a group of flowering plants which are important in culture and literature in much of the world. M ...

have been used since the

Romantic era Romanticism (also known as the Romantic movement or Romantic era) was an artistic, literary, musical, and intellectual movement that originated in Europe towards the end of the 18th century, and in most areas was at its peak in the approximate ...

Japanese literature Japanese literature throughout most of its history has been influenced by cultural contact with neighboring Asian literatures, most notably China and its literature. Early texts were often written in pure Classical Chinese or , a Chinese-Japanes ...

to symbolize beauty and purity in women, and are a ''de facto'' symbol of the ''yuri'' genre ( translates literally to "

lily ''Lilium'' () is a genus of Herbaceous plant, herbaceous flowering plants growing from bulbs, all with large prominent flowers. They are the true lilies. Lilies are a group of flowering plants which are important in culture and literature in mu ...

"), which describes the portrayal of intimate love, sex, or emotional connections between women. The term was coined in 1976 by , editor of the gay men's magazine ''Barazoku'' (see above), to refer to his female readers. While not all those women were lesbians, and it is unclear whether this was the first instance of the term ''yuri'' in this context, an association of ''yuri'' with lesbianism subsequently developed. In

Korea Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...

and

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

, "lily" is used as a

semantic loan A semantic loan is a process of borrowing semantic meaning (rather than lexical items) from another language, very similar to the formation of calques. In this case, however, the complete word in the borrowing language already exists; the change i ...

from the Japanese usage to describe female-female romance media, where each use the direct translation of the term – ''baekhap'' (백합) in Korea and ''bǎihé'' (百合) in China.

Lavender rhinoceros

Daniel Thaxton and Bernie Toale created a lavender

rhinoceros A rhinoceros (; ; ), commonly abbreviated to rhino, is a member of any of the five extant species (or numerous extinct species) of odd-toed ungulates in the family Rhinocerotidae. (It can also refer to a member of any of the extinct species o ...

symbol for a public ad campaign to increase visibility for gay people in Boston helmed by Gay Media Action-Advertising; Toale said they chose a rhinoceros because "it is a much maligned and misunderstood animal" and that it was lavender because that is a mix of pink and blue, making it a symbolic merger of the feminine and masculine. However, in May 1974, Metro Transit Advertising said its lawyers could not "determine eligibility of the public service rate" for the lavender rhinoceros ads, which tripled the cost of the ad campaign. Gay Media Action challenged this but were unsuccessful. The lavender rhinoceros symbol was seen on signs, pins, and t-shirts at the Boston Pride Parade later in 1974, and a life-sized papier-mâché lavender rhinoceros was part of the parade. Money was raised for the ads, and they began running on the

Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (abbreviated MBTA and known colloquially as "the T") is the public agency responsible for operating most public transportation services in Greater Boston, Massachusetts. The MBTA transit network in ...

's Green Line by December 3, 1974, and ran there until February 1975. The lavender rhinoceros continued as a symbol of the gay community, appearing at the 1976 Boston Pride Parade and on a flag that was raised at

Boston City Hall Boston City Hall is the seat of city government of Boston, Massachusetts. It includes the offices of the mayor of Boston and the Boston City Council. The current hall was built in 1968 to assume the functions of the Old City Hall. It is a cont ...

in 1987.

Unicorns

Unicorns The unicorn is a legendary creature that has been described since Classical antiquity, antiquity as a beast with a single large, pointed, spiraling horn (anatomy), horn projecting from its forehead. In European literature and art, the unicor ...

have become a symbol of LGBT culture due to earlier associations between the animal and rainbows being extended to the

created in 1978 by Gilbert Baker. Alice Fisher of ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' wrote in 2017, "The unicorn has also done its bit for the LGBT community in the last century... Rainbows and unicorns are so intrinsically linked (the association is also a Victorian invention) that it's unsurprising that the magic creature started to appear on T-shirts and banners at Gay Pride around the world, with slogans such as 'Gender is Imaginary' or 'Totally Straight' emblazoned under sparkling rainbow unicorns." ''

Gay Star News ''Gay Star News'' (''GSN'') is a news website focused on events related to and concerning the global LGBTI (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex) community. Headquartered in the UK, it is privately owned and was founded by Tris Reid-Sm ...

'' has said unicorns are "queer icons of our time".

Triangle badges of Nazi Germany

One of the oldest of these symbols is the downward-pointing

that male homosexuals in

Nazi concentration camps From 1933 to 1945, Nazi Germany operated more than a thousand concentration camps, (officially) or (more commonly). The Nazi concentration camps are distinguished from other types of Nazi camps such as forced-labor camps, as well as concen ...

were required to wear on their clothing. The badge is one of several

badges A badge is a device or accessory, often containing the insignia of an organization, which is presented or displayed to indicate some feat of service, a special accomplishment, a symbol of authority granted by taking an oath (e.g., police and fi ...

that internees wore to identify what kind of prisoners they were. Many of the estimated 5,000–15,000 gay men imprisoned in

concentration camp Internment is the imprisonment of people, commonly in large groups, without charges or intent to file charges. The term is especially used for the confinement "of enemy citizens in wartime or of terrorism suspects". Thus, while it can simply ...

s did not survive. The pink triangle was later reclaimed by gay men, as well as some lesbians, in various political movements as a symbol of personal pride and remembrance. (Originally published in the ''

Journal of Homosexuality The ''Journal of Homosexuality'' is a peer-reviewed academic journal covering research into sexual practices and gender roles in their cultural, historical, interpersonal, and modern social contexts. History The founding editor-in-chief was Char ...

'', 1996, 30 (3): pp.1–11, , ) AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power ( ACT-UP) adopted the downward-pointing pink triangle to symbolize the "active fight back" against

HIV The human immunodeficiency viruses (HIV) are two species of ''Lentivirus'' (a subgroup of retrovirus) that infect humans. Over time, they cause acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), a condition in which progressive failure of the immune ...

AIDS Human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a spectrum of conditions caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a retrovirus. Following initial infection an individual m ...

"rather than a passive resignation to fate." The pink triangle was used exclusively with male prisoners, as lesbians were not included under

Paragraph 175 Paragraph 175 (known formally a§175 StGB also known as Section 175 in English) was a provision of the German Criminal Code from 15 May 1871 to 10 March 1994. It made homosexual acts between males a crime, and in early revisions the provision ...

, a statute which made homosexual acts between males a crime. Lesbian sexual relations were illegal only in Austria and historians differ on whether they were persecuted or not, due to lack of evidence. Some lesbians were imprisoned with a

black triangle Black triangle may refer to one of the following: * Black triangle (badge), a Nazi concentration camp badge worn by inmates deemed "asocial" ** LGBT symbols#Triangle badges of Nazi Germany, Lesbian or feminist symbol reclaimed from the Nazi use * A ...

symbolizing supposed "asociality", this symbol was later reclaimed by postwar lesbians.

Other symbols

Symbols of the LGBT community have been used to represent members' unity, pride, shared values, and allegiance to one another.

Asexual symbols

The ace ring, a black ring (also known as an ace ring) worn on the middle finger of one's right hand is a way asexual people signify their asexuality. The ring is deliberately worn in a similar manner as one would a

wedding ring A wedding ring or wedding band is a finger ring that indicates that its wearer is married. It is usually forged from metal, traditionally gold or another precious metal. Rings were used in ancient Rome during marriage, though the modern pract ...

to symbolize marriage. Use of the symbol began in 2005.

Ace An ace is a playing card, die or domino with a single pip. In the standard French deck, an ace has a single suit symbol (a heart, diamond, spade, or club) located in the middle of the card, sometimes large and decorated, especially in the c ...

playing card A playing card is a piece of specially prepared card stock, heavy paper, thin cardboard, plastic-coated paper, cotton-paper blend, or thin plastic that is marked with distinguishing motifs. Often the front (face) and back of each card has a fi ...

s, due to the phonetic shortening from asexual to ace, are sometimes used to represent asexuality. The

ace of hearts The ace of hearts (A♥) is a card in a deck of playing cards: the ace in the suit of hearts (♥). There is one ace of hearts in a standard deck of 52 cards. Gameplay In the 17th century French game '' Le Jeu de la Guerre'', the ace of hearts ...

and

ace of spades The Ace of Spades (also known as the Spadille and Death Card) is traditionally the highest and most valued card in the deck of playing cards in English-speaking countries. The actual value of the card varies from game to game. Design The orn ...

are used to symbolize romantic asexuality and

aromantic A person's romantic orientation, also called affectional orientation, is the classification of the sex or gender with which a person experiences romantic attraction towards or is likely to have a Interpersonal relationship#Romance, romantic rela ...

asexuality respectively. Likewise, the ace of clubs is used to symbolize

gray asexuality Gray asexuality, grey asexuality, or gray-sexuality is the spectrum between asexuality and sexuality. Individuals who identify with gray asexuality are referred to as being gray-A, gray ace, or grace, and make up what is referred to as the "ac ...

and gray aromantics, and the ace of diamonds is used to symbolize demi-romantics and demisexuals.

Blue feather

In the

Society for Creative Anachronism The Society for Creative Anachronism (SCA) is an international living history group with the aim of studying and recreating mainly Medieval European cultures and their histories before the 17th century. A quip often used within the SCA describes ...

, LGBT members often wear a dark blue feather to indicate an affiliation with

Clan Blue Feather A clan is a group of people united by Consanguinity, actual or Fictive kinship, perceived kinship and Ancestry, descent. Even if lineage details are unknown, clans may claim descent from founding member or apical ancestor. Clans, in indigenous ...

, a group of SCA members promoting the study of LGBT culture and people in the Middle Ages. Because of this affiliation, blue feathers have also been used at some Renaissance Faires and

Pagan Paganism (from classical Latin ''pāgānus'' "rural", "rustic", later "civilian") is a term first used in the fourth century by early Christians for people in the Roman Empire who practiced polytheism, or ethnic religions other than Judaism. ...

events.

Freedom rings

Freedom rings, designed by

David Spada David Spada (December 5, 1961 – May 13, 1996) was a jewelry designer in New York City in the 1980s and 1990s, and the creator and marketer of Freedom Rings. Early years and education Spada was born in New Britain, Connecticut and grew up in ...

and released in 1991, are six aluminum rings, each in one of the colors of the rainbow flag. Symbolizing happiness and diversity, these rings are worn by themselves or as part of necklaces, bracelets, and key chains. They are sometimes referred to as "Fruit Loops".

Handkerchief code

In some New York City gay circles of the early 20th century, gay men wore a red necktie or bow tie as a subtle signal. In the 1970s, the handkerchief (or hanky) code emerged in the form of

bandanas A kerchief (from the Old French ''couvrechief'', "cover head"), also known as a bandana, bandanna, or "Wild Rag" (in cowboy culture), is a triangular or square piece of cloth tied around the head, face or neck for protective or decorative purpos ...

, worn in back pockets, in colors that signaled sexual interests, fetishes, and if the wearer was a "top" or "bottom".

High five

There are many origin stories of the

high five High five is a friendly gesture in which one individual slaps another's hand. High five (and variants such as Hi5, Hi-5, and Hi-Five) may also refer to: Music * Hi-5 (Australian group), an Australian children's musical group * Hi-5 (Greek band), ...

, but the two most documented candidates are

Dusty Baker Johnnie B. "Dusty" Baker Jr. (born June 15, 1949) is an American baseball manager and former player who is the manager of the Houston Astros in Major League Baseball (MLB). He previously played in the MLB for 19 seasons, most notably with the L ...

and

Glenn Burke Glenn Lawrence Burke (November 16, 1952 – May 30, 1995) was a Major League Baseball (MLB) player for the Los Angeles Dodgers and Oakland Athletics from 1976 to 1979. He was the first MLB player to come out as gay, announcing it in 1982 after ...

of the

Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Established in 1883 in the city of Brooklyn ...

professional baseball team on October 2, 1977, and

Wiley Brown Wiley Brown , is the current Head Coach of the Indiana University Southeast Grenadiers Men's Basketball program. He is a retired NFL player, who lettered 2 years with the Philadelphia Eagles as a defensive end, before deciding to play profession ...

and Derek Smith of the

Louisville Cardinals men's basketball The Louisville Cardinals men's basketball team is the men's college basketball program representing the University of Louisville (U of L) in the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) of NCAA Division I. The Cardinals have officially won two NCAA cham ...

team during the 1978–1979 season. In any case, after retiring from baseball, Burke, who was one of the first openly gay professional athletes, used the high five with other gay residents of the

Castro district The Castro District, commonly referred to as the Castro, is a neighborhood in Eureka Valley in San Francisco. The Castro was one of the first gay neighborhoods in the United States. Having transformed from a working-class neighborhood throug ...

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

, where for many it became a symbol of

gay pride LGBT pride (also known as gay pride or simply pride) is the promotion of the self-affirmation, dignity, equality, and increased visibility of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people as a social group. Pride, as opposed to sham ...

and identification.

Purple hand

On October 31, 1969, sixty members of the

Gay Liberation Front Gay Liberation Front (GLF) was the name of several gay liberation groups, the first of which was formed in New York City in 1969, immediately after the Stonewall riots. Similar organizations also formed in the UK and Canada. The GLF provided a ...

, the Committee for Homosexual Freedom (CHF), and the Gay Guerilla Theatre group staged a protest outside the offices of the ''

San Francisco Examiner The ''San Francisco Examiner'' is a newspaper distributed in and around San Francisco, California, and published since 1863. Once self-dubbed the "Monarch of the Dailies" by then-owner William Randolph Hearst, and flagship of the Hearst Corporat ...

'' in response to a series of news articles disparaging people in San Francisco's

gay bar A gay bar is a drinking establishment that caters to an exclusively or predominantly lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) clientele; the term ''gay'' is used as a broadly inclusive concept for LGBT communities. Gay bars once served as ...

s and clubs. The peaceful protest against the ''Examiner'' turned tumultuous and was later called "Friday of the Purple Hand" and "Bloody Friday of the Purple Hand". ''Examiner'' employees "dumped a barrel of printers' ink on the crowd from the roof of the newspaper building", according to

glbtq.com glbtq.com (also known as the glbtq Encyclopedia Project) was an online encyclopedia of gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, and queer ( GLBTQ) culture. Launched in 2003, it was edited by Claude J. Summers, emeritus professor at the University of ...

. Some reports state that it was a barrel of ink poured from the roof of the building. The protestors "used the ink to scrawl slogans on the building walls" and slap purple hand prints "throughout downtown

an Francisco An, AN, aN, or an may refer to: Businesses and organizations * Airlinair (IATA airline code AN) * Alleanza Nazionale, a former political party in Italy * AnimeNEXT, an annual anime convention located in New Jersey * Anime North, a Canadian an ...

resulting in "one of the most visible demonstrations of gay power" according to the ''

Bay Area Reporter The ''Bay Area Reporter'' is a free weekly newspaper serving the LGBT communities in the San Francisco Bay Area. It is one of the largest-circulation LGBT newspapers in the United States, and the country's oldest continuously published newspaper ...

''. According to Larry LittleJohn, then president of

Society for Individual Rights The homophile movement is a collective term for the main organisations and publications supporting and representing sexual minorities in the 1950s to 1960s around the world. The name comes from the term ''homophile'', which was commonly used by the ...

, "At that point, the tactical squad arrived – not to get the employees who dumped the ink, but to arrest the demonstrators. Somebody could have been hurt if that ink had gotten into their eyes, but the police were knocking people to the ground." The accounts of

police brutality Police brutality is the excessive and unwarranted use of force by law enforcement against an individual or a group. It is an extreme form of police misconduct and is a civil rights violation. Police brutality includes, but is not limited to, ...

include women being thrown to the ground and protesters' teeth being knocked out. Inspired by

Black Hand Black Hand or The Black Hand may refer to: Extortionists and underground groups * Black Hand (anarchism) (''La Mano Negra''), a presumed secret, anarchist organization based in the Andalusian region of Spain during the early 1880s * Black Hand (e ...

extortion methods of

Camorra The Camorra (; ) is an Italian Mafia-typeMafia and Mafia-type orga ...

gangster A gangster is a criminal who is a member of a gang. Most gangs are considered to be part of organized crime. Gangsters are also called mobsters, a term derived from ''mob'' and the suffix '' -ster''. Gangs provide a level of organization and ...

s and

the Mafia "Mafia" is an informal term that is used to describe criminal organizations that bear a strong similarity to the original “Mafia”, the Sicilian Mafia and Italian Mafia. The central activity of such an organization would be the arbitration of d ...

, some gay and lesbian activists attempted to institute "purple hand" as a warning to stop anti-gay attacks, but with little success. In Turkey, the LGBT rights organization (Purple Hand Eskişehir LGBT Formation), also bears the name of this symbol.

White Knot

The White Knot is a symbol of support for

same-sex marriage Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same Legal sex and gender, sex or gender. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 33 countries, with the most recent being ...

in the United States. The White Knot combines two symbols of marriage, the color white and "tying the knot" to represent support for

. The White Knot has been worn publicly by many celebrities as a means of demonstrating solidarity with that cause. The White Knot was created by Frank Voci in November 2008, in response to the passage of

Proposition 8 Proposition 8, known informally as Prop 8, was a California ballot proposition and a constitutional amendment, state constitutional amendment intended to ban same-sex marriage; it passed in the California state elections, November 2008, Novem ...

in California and bans on same-sex marriage and denial of other

civil rights Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's entitlement to participate in the civil and political life of ...

for

LGBT ' is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In use since the 1990s, the initialism, as well as some of its common variants, functions as an umbrella term for sexuality and gender identity. The LGBT term is a ...

persons across the nation.

Flags

Gallery

Symbols

File:Bi triangles.svg,

Biangles The bisexual flag is a pride flag representing bisexuality, bisexual individuals and the bisexual community. The magenta stripe represents attraction to the same sex, while the blue stripe represents attraction to the opposite sex. The purple ...

(represents bisexuality) File:Double crescent symbol (filled, color).svg, Double moon
(represents bisexuality) File:Double Venus symbol (bold).svg, Double female symbol
(represents lesbian women) File:Double Mars symbol (bold).svg, Double male symbol
(represents gay men) File:Alternative-sexuality symbol (bold, color).svg, Interlocking

File:Whitehead-link-alternative-sexuality-symbol.svg, Interlocking gender symbols
Bisexuality symbol (bold, color).svg, Four interlocking gender symbols File:Labrys-symbol.svg,

Labrys ''Labrys'' ( gr, , lábrus) is, according to Plutarch (''Quaestiones Graecae'' 2.302a), the Lydian word for the double-bitted axe. In Greek it was called (''pélekus''). The Ancient Greek plural of ''labrys'' is ''labryes'' (). Etymology P ...

(represents lesbian feminism) File:Lambda-letter-lowercase-symbol-Garamond.svg,

Lambda Lambda (}, ''lám(b)da'') is the 11th letter of the Greek alphabet, representing the voiced alveolar lateral approximant . In the system of Greek numerals, lambda has a value of 30. Lambda is derived from the Phoenician Lamed . Lambda gave rise ...

(represents gay liberation) File:Pansexual symbol (bold).svg, Pansexual symbol File:Transgender symbol black and white.svg,

Androgyne Androgyny is the possession of both masculine and feminine characteristics. Androgyny may be expressed with regard to biological sex, gender identity, or gender expression. When ''androgyny'' refers to mixed biological sex characteristics in h ...

+ male + female symbol, the most common

transgender A transgender (often abbreviated as trans) person is someone whose gender identity or gender expression does not correspond with their sex assigned at birth. Many transgender people experience dysphoria, which they seek to alleviate through tr ...

symbol Gender sign (bold, pink and blue).svg, Pink & blue transgender File:Trans woman power symbol.svg, Transfeminist symbol File:Gender neutral bathroom sign.png, Androgyne + male + female symbol identifying unisex / inclusive restroom File:Separate tiolets for three genders.jpg, Male, female and

hijra Hijra, Hijrah, Hegira, Hejira, Hijrat or Hijri may refer to: Islam * Hijrah (often written as ''Hejira'' in older texts), the migration of Muhammad from Mecca to Medina in 622 CE * Migration to Abyssinia or First Hegira, of Muhammad's followers ...

public toilet A public toilet, restroom, public bathroom or washroom is a room or small building with toilets (or urinals) and sinks for use by the general public. The facilities are available to customers, travelers, employees of a business, school pupils ...

s in India

Simple icons

Agender symbol.svg,

Agender Non-binary and genderqueer are umbrella terms for gender identities that are not solely male or femaleidentities that are outside the gender binary. Non-binary identities fall under the transgender umbrella, since non-binary people typically ...

non-binary Non-binary and genderqueer are umbrella terms for gender identities that are not solely male or femaleidentities that are outside the gender binary. Non-binary identities fall under the transgender umbrella, since non-binary people typically ...

larger circle in genealogies means 'female'ref name=McElroy> Androgyny symbol (up arrow).svg,

(no particular appearance), gender-queer, gender-neutral Androgyny symbol (down arrow).svg, sometimes distinguished:
androgyne (female appearance) Transgender symbol.svg, sometimes distinguished:
androgyne (male appearance) Asexual symbol (fixed width).svg, Asexual Male and female sign.svg,

Bigender Non-binary and genderqueer are umbrella terms for gender identities that are not solely male or femaleidentities that are outside the gender binary. Non-binary identities fall under the transgender umbrella, since non-binary people typica ...

(also androgyne, agender, etc.); in botany: bisexual / hermaphroditic Bisexuality symbol.svg,

Bisexual Bisexuality is a romantic or sexual attraction or behavior toward both males and females, or to more than one gender. It may also be defined to include romantic or sexual attraction to people regardless of their sex or gender identity, whi ...

Female bisexuality symbol.svg, Bisexual (female) Male bisexuality symbol.svg, Bisexual (male) Alternative-sexuality symbol.svg, Bisexual (Whitehead link) Demi-boy symbol.svg,

Demi-boy Non-binary and genderqueer are umbrella terms for gender identities that are not solely male or femaleidentities that are outside the gender binary. Non-binary identities fall under the transgender umbrella, since non-binary people typically ...

Demi-girl symbol.svg,

Demi-girl Non-binary and genderqueer are umbrella terms for gender identities that are not solely male or femaleidentities that are outside the gender binary. Non-binary identities fall under the transgender umbrella, since non-binary people typically ...

Double crescent symbol.svg, double crescent Double Mars symbol.svg, Gay (male) union Mercury symbol (fixed width).svg,

Gender-fluid Non-binary and genderqueer are umbrella terms for gender identities that are not solely male or femaleidentities that are outside the gender binary. Non-binary identities fall under the transgender umbrella, since non-binary people typically ...

(symbol of fluid quicksilver); sometimes specifically androgyne female; also non-binary Mercury with arrow symbol (fixed width).svg, Androgyne male Heterosexuality symbol.svg, Heterosexual union Inter-gender symbol.svg, Intergender Double Venus symbol.svg, Lesbian union Neuter symbol.svg, Neuter ( asexual, neutral,

neutrois Non-binary and genderqueer are umbrella terms for gender identities that are not solely male or femaleidentities that are outside the gender binary. Non-binary identities fall under the transgender umbrella, since non-binary people typically ...

); botany:

asexual reproduction Asexual reproduction is a type of reproduction that does not involve the fusion of gametes or change in the number of chromosomes. The offspring that arise by asexual reproduction from either unicellular or multicellular organisms inherit the fu ...

; zoology: non-reproducing (e.g. worker bees) Non-binary symbol (fixed width).svg, Non-binary Non-binary symbol (alt, fixed width).svg, Non-binary (glyph variant) Comet symbol (fixed width).svg, Non-binary (comet, contrasting with Venus for female and Mars for male) Oberon symbol (fixed width).svg, Other/undefined gender (transgender, non-binary, gender-fluid) Pansexual symbol (fixed width).svg, Pansexual Rotated Mercury (fixed width).svg, Rotating / fluxuating gender expression Eris arrow symbol (fixed width).svg,

Trans-female A trans woman or a transgender woman is a woman who was assigned male at birth. Trans women have a female gender identity, may experience gender dysphoria, and may Gender transitioning, transition; this process commonly includes Feminizing horm ...

Rotated Venus.svg, Trans-male Gender sign.svg,

Transgender A transgender (often abbreviated as trans) person is someone whose gender identity or gender expression does not correspond with their sex assigned at birth. Many transgender people experience dysphoria, which they seek to alleviate through tr ...

transsexual Transsexual people experience a gender identity that is inconsistent with their assigned sex, and desire to permanently transition to the sex or gender with which they identify, usually seeking medical assistance (including sex reassignment ...

, gender-queer; gender inclusive (male, female and androgyne/transgender)Winfield (2019) ''Gender Identity: The Ultimate Teen Guide'', p. 59

Flags

Encoding

Notes

References

External links

LGBTQIA+ Glossary
at

Old Dominion University Old Dominion University (Old Dominion or ODU) is a public research university in Norfolk, Virginia. It was established in 1930 as the Norfolk Division of the College of William & Mary and is now one of the largest universities in Virginia with ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:LGBT Symbols Human gender and sexuality symbols

Letters and glyphs

Gender symbols

Lambda

Plants and animals

Lavender rhinoceros

Unicorns

Triangle badges of Nazi Germany

Other symbols

Asexual symbols

Blue feather

Freedom rings

Handkerchief code

High five

Purple hand

White Knot

Flags

Gallery

Symbols

Simple icons

Flags

Encoding

See also

Notes

References

External links