What is the one thing that symbolizes the gay community, the one thing that we can wave around in pride to show the world, I am gay and I am proud of it! Yes, the rainbow flag. We use this flag to define our preferences, who we are and what we believe in, but do we know where it comes from?
The rainbow flag was waved for the 1st time in 1978 at the San Franciscan gay and lesbian annual freedom parade. It’s stated that the flags symbolism or rather colors were borrowed from the free loving, marijuana smoking hippie era and black civil rights groups. Gilbert Baker, the man that was responsible for the design of the flag, designed it in a response for many requests to design some kind of symbolism to define the LGBT community. The first ever gay flag was hand stitched dyed material that was sewn together by 30 volunteers.
Each of the eight colors on the flag in 1978 have its own separate meaning; Hot pink is for sex; Red is for life; Orange is for healing; Yellow for the sun; Turquoise is for art; Indigo is for harmony and finally violet is for spirit.
However in 1979 after having requested that the flag be massed produced and due to various constraints and fear of being politically incorrect the hot pink and turquoise were removed and the indigo was replaced with blue.
This flag not only represents the history of Gay unity but it symbolizes our fight for freedom and rights. The colors, each holding its own meaning, life, healing, sun, harmony and spirit define our morals in life, and that just because we have the same sex preference does not make us any better or worse off than anyone else on this earth.
Another famous gay symbol, the pink triangle derives from World War II, reminding the world of the tragedies suffered and the countless lives that were lost. Even though homosexuals were one of the very few groups that were expedited by the Nazi’s, it’s often the group that does not get mentioned in history as often. In world war II there was a law that was set that homosexual relations, which also included kissing, embracing, fantasizing and engaging in any act of a sexual nature with the same sex were strictly prohibited and if you were caught breaking this law you were sent straight off to prison, sterilized, castrated and then later on you were shipped off to a concentration camp. Sure Hitler was out to create the perfect nation. Yet how perfect to you expect everything to be perfect with no diversity? No challenges? Then in 1942 the punishment for breaking the law was changed by Hitler to the death penalty. The prisoners were marked with a pink inverted triangle to say the reason for imprisonment. Then for the lowest end of the prisoners a yellow Star of David superimposed the pink triangle, this was meant for a gay Jew. World War II depicted such a bad imagery on homosexuals and massacred almost the entire homosexual community by giving them the worst punishments as apposed to any other prisoner. The guards in the prison would seriously degrade anyone wearing an inverted pink triangle. In 1970 when gay liberation groups re instated the pink triangle in a remembrance of those who were morally, physically and mentally killed off in World War II for being and individual had become a strong symbol for Gay rights.
The triangle was then turned the correct way up to show the gay community fighting back for there rights.
Taking a look into a brief history of only 2 symbols of the gay community makes you realize what people had to do and have gone through and fought for to enable us to live, love and laugh freely. So the next time you are walking in a mall hand in hand with your girlfriend or boyfriend and you get this horrified look, or people stare just remember the people who were inprosened or assassinated for doing the very same thing. Yes as much as it does affect us, its nothing compared to our history or how how our community went from strength to strenght. Being able to unite to stand up for what we believe in.
Love is a beautiful thing and should not be defined with walls, fences or terms and conditions. Love is a free emotion. So feel free to love who you want whether it be the same sex, a transvestite, a transgenders or bisexual. Never forget that love is the one thing all man kind has in common and no one can ever help it falling in love.
The rainbow flag was waved for the 1st time in 1978 at the San Franciscan gay and lesbian annual freedom parade. It’s stated that the flags symbolism or rather colors were borrowed from the free loving, marijuana smoking hippie era and black civil rights groups. Gilbert Baker, the man that was responsible for the design of the flag, designed it in a response for many requests to design some kind of symbolism to define the LGBT community. The first ever gay flag was hand stitched dyed material that was sewn together by 30 volunteers.
Each of the eight colors on the flag in 1978 have its own separate meaning; Hot pink is for sex; Red is for life; Orange is for healing; Yellow for the sun; Turquoise is for art; Indigo is for harmony and finally violet is for spirit.
However in 1979 after having requested that the flag be massed produced and due to various constraints and fear of being politically incorrect the hot pink and turquoise were removed and the indigo was replaced with blue.
This flag not only represents the history of Gay unity but it symbolizes our fight for freedom and rights. The colors, each holding its own meaning, life, healing, sun, harmony and spirit define our morals in life, and that just because we have the same sex preference does not make us any better or worse off than anyone else on this earth.
Another famous gay symbol, the pink triangle derives from World War II, reminding the world of the tragedies suffered and the countless lives that were lost. Even though homosexuals were one of the very few groups that were expedited by the Nazi’s, it’s often the group that does not get mentioned in history as often. In world war II there was a law that was set that homosexual relations, which also included kissing, embracing, fantasizing and engaging in any act of a sexual nature with the same sex were strictly prohibited and if you were caught breaking this law you were sent straight off to prison, sterilized, castrated and then later on you were shipped off to a concentration camp. Sure Hitler was out to create the perfect nation. Yet how perfect to you expect everything to be perfect with no diversity? No challenges? Then in 1942 the punishment for breaking the law was changed by Hitler to the death penalty. The prisoners were marked with a pink inverted triangle to say the reason for imprisonment. Then for the lowest end of the prisoners a yellow Star of David superimposed the pink triangle, this was meant for a gay Jew. World War II depicted such a bad imagery on homosexuals and massacred almost the entire homosexual community by giving them the worst punishments as apposed to any other prisoner. The guards in the prison would seriously degrade anyone wearing an inverted pink triangle. In 1970 when gay liberation groups re instated the pink triangle in a remembrance of those who were morally, physically and mentally killed off in World War II for being and individual had become a strong symbol for Gay rights.
The triangle was then turned the correct way up to show the gay community fighting back for there rights.
Taking a look into a brief history of only 2 symbols of the gay community makes you realize what people had to do and have gone through and fought for to enable us to live, love and laugh freely. So the next time you are walking in a mall hand in hand with your girlfriend or boyfriend and you get this horrified look, or people stare just remember the people who were inprosened or assassinated for doing the very same thing. Yes as much as it does affect us, its nothing compared to our history or how how our community went from strength to strenght. Being able to unite to stand up for what we believe in.
Love is a beautiful thing and should not be defined with walls, fences or terms and conditions. Love is a free emotion. So feel free to love who you want whether it be the same sex, a transvestite, a transgenders or bisexual. Never forget that love is the one thing all man kind has in common and no one can ever help it falling in love.
