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LGBTQ+ Symbols & Meanings

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Aces

Ace refers to the shortened word of asexuality. Asexual used the four aces found in a deck of playing cards to symbolise their identity and distinguish between different kinds of asexual in the spectrum.

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Double female

The double Venus symbol takes the Venus symbol, often representing the female sex in both some scientific fields and astrology and doubles and interlocks it, creating a symbol for the lesbian community.

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Double male

The double Mars symbol takes the Mars symbol, used to represent the male sex in both some scientific fields and astrology, and doubles it to create a symbol representing gay men.  

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Green carnation

The green carnation has been used as a symbol for the LGBTQ+ community, particularly gay men since the 1890s. Victorian men would pin a green carnation onto their clothing to indicate their identity.

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Labrys

The labrys is a double headed axe used by female warriors in Greek and Roman mythology. The weapon represents empowerment and was created by lesbian feminists in the 1970s.

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Lambda

Tom Doerr chose the lambda, a lower-case Greek letter, as a symbol for the New York chapter of Gay Activists Alliance in 1970, one year after Stonewall. In 1974, the International Gay Rights Congress held in Edinburgh, Scotland adopted it as a symbol for lesbian and gay rights.

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Pansexual

The Pansexual symbol combines the male, female, and transgender symbols into one, new, P-shaped symbol representing pansexuality.

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Pink triangle

The pink triangle was a symbol used to identify homosexual men in concentration camps during WW2. The symbol has since been reclaimed and was used in the 1980s by AIDS activists to represent fighting back.

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Transgender

There are several different transgender symbols that are used but this one is the most common. It combines the Venus symbol, the Mars symbol, and a combination Venus/Mars symbol into one image. It was designed in 1993 by writer and activist Holly Boswell.

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Rainbow

The best-known symbol for the LGBTQ+ community, the rainbow’s association with Pride dates to 1978 when Gilbert Baker designed the original Pride flag.