Symbols
 |
The Rainbow Flag In 1978 San Francisco artist Gilbert Baker designed a flag for that city's Gay Freedom celebration. The flag since has been adopted by lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) movements nationally and internationally. It has six stripes, each a different color ranging from purple to red. The flag -- or sometimes six-striped streamers -- can be seen flying from many homes and apartments in Richmond as well as from the Metropolitan Community Church and is displayed at almost all gay and lesbian events. Bumper stickers representing the flag are also common around the city. |
 |
The Lambda In 1970 members of the Gay Activist Alliance chose the Greek letter lambda as their symbol because a flag with a lambda on it was carried by a regiment of Greek warriors who were accompanied into battle by their younger male lovers and were noted for their fierceness and willingness to fight to the death. Many LGBT organizations since 1970 have taken the lambda as their symbol or part of their name. |
 |
The Pink Triangle Under the Nazi regime, concentration camp prisoners wore colored triangles that indicated their classification and thus the reason they were considered enemies of the state. Just as Jews wore two superimposed yellow triangles, homosexual men wore pink triangles. When the Allies liberated the camps in 1945, most survivors were freed, but the US Army simply transferred those wearing pink triangles to other prisons. Gays and lesbians now use the pink triangle as a symbol of identification and solidarity against oppression. |
 |
The Black Triangle Just as homosexual men were forced to wear pink triangles in the camps, many lesbians were forced to wear black triangles, which signified that they (like prostitutes and unmarried women of the streets) did not live according to the Nazis' ideas of correct female behavior. |
 |
Double Venus The symbol for the planet Venus is also the alchemical symbol for woman. Lesbians use two such symbols overlapping to mean "woman loving woman." |
 |
Double Mars The symbol for the planet Mars is also the alchemical symbol for man. Gay men use two such symbols overlapping to mean "man loving man." |
 |
The Labrys A double-bladed axe served as the scepter of the goddess Demeter (or Artemis). Scythian warriors may once have used such a weapon. It appears in ancient Cretan art and is now often used as a symbol of lesbianism. |