Completely Queer by Steve Hogan and Lee Hudson.
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| OUR HISTORY | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Labrys (Labyris) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| This is a lesbian symbol. It's a double-headed ax said to have been used by AMAZONS and also associated with the Greek goddess Artemis, the androgynous huntress whem (as Artemis of Ephesus) Amazons were thought to worship. "Labrys" was borrowed into Greek from a language spoken in Asia Minor, the homeland of Amazons, according to most ancient historians. Often used as a motif in jewelry, the labrys has been a symbol of lesbianism since the early 1970s. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Lambda | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Symbol of the gay and lesbian movement; sometimes, especially in the names of organizations and publications, a shorthand term for gay/lesbian/bisexual/queer. The GAY ACTIVISTS ALLIANCE (GAA), acting on the suggestion of graphic artist Tom Doerr, was the first to use the lowercase version of the eleventh letter of the Greek alphabet as a gay emblem. According to GAA literature printed in the summer of 1970, the lambda symbolized "a complete exchange of energy" in chemistry and physics and signified "a commintment among men and women to achieve and defend their human rights as homosexual citizens. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Pink Triangle | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| A badge designed by Nazi concentration camp officials to designate men incarcerated as homosexuals. A three-sided cloth badge sewn onto the left shoulder and right trouser leg of uniforms, the pink triangle was part of an eight-color coding system: yellow for Jews, brown for gypsies, violet for Jehovah's Witnesses, red for political prisoners, blue for emigres, green for criminials, and black for "antisocial" detainees. The color pink was chosen for male homosexuals as a sign of effeminacy. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rainbow Flag | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Symbol of the gay and lesbian movement. San Francisco artist Gilbert Baker designed the first rainbow flag for his city's June 25, 1978, Gay Freedom Day Parade. The original rainbow flags had eight horizontal bands of equal width, each with a different meaning. From the top down, they were hot pink for sex, red for life, orange for healing, yellow for the sun, green for serenity, turquoise for art, indigo for harmony, and violet for spirit. In 1979, the strips for sex (hot pink) and art (turquoise) were eliminated and blue was substituted for indigo, leaving the now familiar red-orange-yellow-green-blue-violet-banded flag. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| These facts were taken from The Gay and Lesbian Encyclopedia - Completely Queer by Steve Hogan and Lee Hudson. |
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