What is the symbol for gay people

In this guest blog Gillian Murphy, Curator for Equality, Rights and Citizenship at LSE Libraryexplores the symbols created through activism, logo competitions, resistance, and community. The use of symbols and colours is an important way for groups to convey messages, communicate with others, and to build a visual identity.

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 Togetherthe short-lived newspaper produced by the Gay Liberation Front GLF from latedouble male and double female gender symbols were used on the front covers to represent gay men and lesbians.

This badge showed the symbol of the planet Jupiter or Jove. It was an alternative to the symbol of Mars and Venus and the gender binary as it represented the qualities of good nature and joviality. The fist was added later. A short article in Issue 12 of Come Together provided more information about the choice of the symbol for Jupiter explaining that it was one of the more mysterious and powerful planets concerned with a higher life, in the same way that GLF was.

The new design can be seen in a number of ephemeral pieces in the LSE Library archive. The pink triangle was also used by the radical, non-violent, direct action group OutRage!

LGBTQI+ symbols and their meanings

The pink triangle is seen above on the homemade badge for the campaign to repeal Section 28 of the Local Government Actand as the logo for the Hall-Carpenter Archives, set up in the s…. Act-Up London produced its first newsletter Action News in May and you can see the logo on these items, pictured above.

The lower case lambda, the eleventh letter of the Greek alphabet, was chosen by the American gay activist, Tom Doer, to be the logo for the Gay Activists Alliance in New York in The lambda symbol has different meanings. In chemistry, it denotes a catalyst or change, and it is probably in this sense that it was picked by Doer.

The International Gay Rights Congress was held in Edinburgh in December and formally recognised the lambda as the symbol for lesbian and gay activism. On the badge above for the Campaign for Homosexual Equality, the lambda can be seen inside the pink triangle.

The double-headed axe or labrys pictured above was an important symbol of the Minoan religion in ancient Crete and associated with goddesses. Above is a page from their newsletter Bi-Monthly with some of the entries. The winning logo was designed by John Barker from Yorkshire and featured on following issues of Bi-Monthly.

Inthe Black Lesbian and Gay Centre Project was set up to explore the possibility of securing a permanent centre in London, which became a reality in She organises various engagement activities which draw on the collections. These range from curating public exhibitions, planning events and talks, to holding workshops for people to experience the material LSE Library holds.

Guest blogs do not necessarily reflect the views of PHM. Images supplied by contributor. Read about the history of the symbol of the raised fist. About us Work with us Contact us. Are you more independent or community focused? Experimental or measured?

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