Signs & Symbols

As gay culture evolves and become ever more mainstream, it’s easy to lose perspective. Modern gay culture is evolving so quickly and (natch) so dramatically, we sometimes overlook the homo history in the making.

While today there’s a broad (and fabulous!) gay lexicon of nonstandard terms and references, there was a time when signals and slang were steeped with symbolism, serving as the underground gay community’s lifeblood. Most communi-gay-tion was on the down-low by design, and it was non-verbal by necessity for gays forced to live in the closet. Learning to read the signs meant the difference between surviving and thriving in the heterosexual world back when homophobia was the cultural norm.

It’s important to remember that the time before Pride parades wasn’t that long ago, and that in many communities even today, taking comfort in the rainbow flag isn’t a given or something that we can take for granted. Whereas it now identifies and unifies a proud community, it used to signify safe haven.

Because of the gay community’s historical and ongoing struggle, signs and symbols are relative. In some communities they may be infused with deep meaning, whereas in others they may be nothing more than out-and-proud décor. Just as with straight culture, because there are so many community and cultural subsets within gay culture, you can expect as many regionalisms and colloquialisms as there are colors in the rainbow flag.

Awareness and appropriateness is the name of the game, so get familiar, but remember to be flexible, too. When it comes to loving your gays, it’s sign, sign, everywhere a sign, but never forget that it’s always open to interpretation.

Flags for all occasions

The Gays will fly a flag for any reason, and new ones are always emerging. The Gays like to design and sew things, and as far as crafty DIY projects go, thank goodness we’re not still making panels for the AIDS Quilt.

Rainbow Flag

The different colored stripes symbolize the diversity of the LGBT community.

Perhaps most common in gay pride parades, the rainbow flag has become a worldwide beacon of gay freedom.

Leather Flag

Some say the flag signifies “black and blue with love,” but the flag’s creator decline

s to assign symbolism to the colors and design, insisting that each person could do that for themselves. This flag represents the entire leather community, but is commonly identified with the gay leather and BDSM communities.

Bisexual Flag

The pink stripe at the top symbolizes same-sex attraction, and the blue stripe at the bottom symbolizes opposite-sex attraction. The purple stripe in the middle blends both.

Transgender Flag

The light blue stripes symbolize boys, the pink stripes symbolize girls, and the white stripes in the middle represent those who are transitioning, gender-free, intersexed, or neutral.

The pattern is such that no matter which way you fly it, it will always be correct.

Other transgender symbols include the butterfly (symbolizing transformation or metamorph

osis, and a pink/blue yin/yang symbol.

Bear Flag (International Bear Brotherhood)

The flag represents the International Bear Brotherhood, with colors symbolizing the various colors of male hair.

Pink Triangle

Originally a symbol from Nazi concentration camps used to identify and segregate gay prisoners, the pink triangle was reclaimed in the 70s as a symbol of the gay liberation movement. The pink flag became prominent when it was used by activist groups who turned it upside down to signify resistance during the AIDS crisis.

Bisexual Triangles

Like the Bisexual Flag, the triangles signify the blending of sexual desire for both men and women. They are also called “Biangles.”

Gender Symbols

Traditional male and female symbols are combined to modify and to signify different communities, such as lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgendered.

Transgender

Three symbols are combined in various ways, the first two being a combination of both classic male and female symbols, and the second the symbol of Mercury, representing a hermaphrodite or a person with both sexes.

Lambda

The Greek letter Lambda is used as a symbol for gay rights and is

said to signify both unity under oppression and energy in physics.

Purple Hand

A symbol of gay power rooted in San Francisco’s struggle for civil rights. A 1969 protest of the newspaper provoked some newspaper employees to pour ink from the building into the crowd. The crowd used the ink to stamp purple hand prints, slogans, and pro-gay graffiti throughout the city.