Criminals wore a green triangle, political prisoners a red triangle, Jewish prisoners two overlapping yellow triangles (to form a Star of David) and the pink triangle was for homosexuals. Concentration camp prisoners each wore a coloured inverted triangle to designate the reason for their incarceration. In 1942, punishment for homosexuality was extended to death. Their punishment was to be sterilized, and this was most often accomplished by castration. Convicted offenders were sent to prison, and then later to concentration camps. Paragraph 175, a clause in German law, prohibited homosexual relationships. The history of the pink triangle begins before WWII, during Hitler's rise to power. Gilbert Baker: The Gay Betsy Ross | In The Life Media | | 7m39sĢ014 Rainbow Flag | Gilbert Baker | | 6m08s History of the Rainbow Flag | Time | | 1m32s The history of the rainbow flag | BBC Culture | 15 June 2016 The history and meaning of the rainbow Pride flag | Huff Post | Recently, Birmingham LGBT launched a new community-wide inclusive Pride flag, which incorporates colours representing trans communities and queer people of colour.īirmingham LGBT unveils new inclusive flag | I AM BHAM | Today it's been re-purposed by the LGBT+ movement as a symbol of pride and defiance, without any negative associations. Since there have been variations of the flag including a black stripe symbolising those community members lost to AIDS, and a pink triangle: originally used by the Nazis in the Second World War as a badge of shame if you were homosexual. If you’re looking for a gay venue, a flag above the door is a welcome signpost. This six-colour version spread from San Francisco to other cities, and soon became the widely known symbol of gay pride and diversity that it is today. The flags had eight stripes, each colour representing a component of the community:ĭue to production difficulties (hot pink was not commercially available), pink and turquoise were removed from the design, and royal blue replaced indigo. Use of the rainbow flag by the gay community began in 1978 when San Francisco artist Gilbert Baker designed the rainbow flag in response to the need for a symbol that could be used year after year. This section is by no means exhaustive, in fact it's just the tip of the iceberg. While the red ribbon is not a symbol of being gay, many gay men wear it, which is why it is interpreted by some as an indication that the wearer is gay this is not necessarily so. Probably the most recognisable symbol today is the rainbow flag, but other symbols have been an integral part of our history in the fight for recognition and equality. Often worn as badges and displayed as flags, some of the better known symbols include the rainbow flag, the pink triangle, the lambda and gender symbols. Over many years, lesbian and gay communities around the world have used symbols to identify who we are. Coming out in the Gypsy Roma Traveller communities.How many gay people are there in the UK?.Hate crime: England and Wales, 2015-2016.
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Community Alliance To Combat Hate (CATCH).Understanding hate crime statistics for London.Reporting hate crime and hate crime support.Partial decriminalisation of homosexuality.Inquests into the deaths of Anthony Walgate, Gabriel Kovari, Daniel Whitworth and Jack Taylor.Popular topics and ask us anything (kinda).Police stations: Are they a thing of the past?.Black, Asian and minority ethnic LGBT+ organisations.Organisations for people who are transgender and trans.Black Lives Matter, and learning resources.Disability organisations, services and groups.