LGBTQ symbols#Encoding

{{details|topic=sex and gender symbols|Gender symbol#Sexual orientation and gender politics}}File:Westerkerk - Gay symbols 2.jpg

The female and male gender symbols are derived from the astronomical symbols for the planets Venus and Mars respectively. Following Linnaeus, biologists use the planetary symbol for Venus to represent the female sex, and the planetary symbol for Mars to represent the male sex.

Two interlocking female symbols (⚢) represent a lesbian or the lesbian community, and two interlocking male symbols (⚣) a gay male or the gay male community.{{Cite book |last=Stevens |first=Christy |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaofle00bzim/page/748 |title=Encyclopedia of Lesbian Histories and Cultures |date=November 30, 1999 |publisher=Garland Publishing |isbn=9780203825532 |editor-last=Zimmerman |editor-first=Bonnie |location=New York |pages=747–748 |language=en-us |chapter=Symbols |doi=10.4324/9780203825532 |quote=}}{{cite web|date=December 26, 2004|title=Symbols of the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender Movements|url=http://www.lambda.org/symbols.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051230095156/http://www.lambda.org/symbols.htm|archive-date=December 30, 2005|access-date=22 August 2018|website=lambda.org|publisher=LAMBDA GLBT Community Services}} These symbols first appeared in the 1970s.

The combined male-female symbol (⚦) is used to represent androgyne or transgender people; when additionally combined with the female (♀) and male (♂) symbols (⚧) it indicates gender inclusivity, though it is also used as a transgender symbol.{{cite web|date=July 1994|title=Transgender Symbol|url=https://www.gendertalk.com/tg-symbol/|website=GenderTalk|access-date=2018-11-13|archive-date=2018-11-14|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181114010800/https://www.gendertalk.com/tg-symbol/|url-status=live}}{{cite web|date=2015|title=History of Transgender Symbolism|url=http://transgendersociety.yolasite.com/history-of-transgender-symbolism.php|website=International Transgender Historical Society (ITHS)|access-date=2018-11-13|archive-date=2021-06-01|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210601020917/http://transgendersociety.yolasite.com/history-of-transgender-symbolism.php|url-status=dead}}

File:Lambda-letter-lowercase-symbol-Garamond.svg

In 1970, graphic designer Tom Doerr selected the lower-case Greek letter lambda (λ) to be the symbol of the New York chapter of the Gay Activists Alliance.{{cite web|last=Rapp|first=Linda|year=2004|title=Gay Activists Alliance|url=http://www.glbtqarchive.com/ssh/gay_activists_alliance_S.pdf|website=glbtq.com|access-date=2016-05-07|archive-date=2016-06-01|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160601003719/http://www.glbtqarchive.com/ssh/gay_activists_alliance_S.pdf|url-status=live}}{{cite web|date=June 2009|title=1969, The Year of Gay Liberation|url=http://web-static.nypl.org/exhibitions/1969/ref/1696848.html|access-date=17 November 2018|website=The New York Public Library|archive-date=22 October 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181022170450/http://web-static.nypl.org/exhibitions/1969/ref/1696848.html|url-status=live}} The alliance's literature states that Doerr chose the symbol specifically for its denotative meaning in the context of chemistry and physics: "a complete exchange of energy–that moment or span of time witness to absolute activity".

The lambda became associated with gay liberation,{{cite book|last1=Goodwin|first1=Joseph P.|url=https://archive.org/details/moremanthanyoull00good|title=More Man Than You'll Ever Be: Gay Folklore and Acculturation in Middle America|date=1989|publisher=Indiana University Press|isbn=978-0253338938|page=[https://archive.org/details/moremanthanyoull00good/page/26 26]|chapter=It Takes One to Know One|url-access=registration}}{{cite web|last1=Rapp|first1=Linda|date=2003|title=Symbols|url=http://www.glbtqarchive.com/arts/symbols_A.pdf|website=glbtq.com|access-date=2018-11-16|archive-date=2012-02-08|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120208183851/http://www.glbtq.com/arts/symbols.html|url-status=live}} and in December 1974, it was officially declared the international symbol for gay and lesbian rights by the International Gay Rights Congress in Edinburgh, Scotland.{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaofga00ghag/page/529|title=Gay Histories and Cultures: An Encyclopedia (Encyclopedia of Gay Histories and Cultures, Volume II)|date=2000|publisher=Garland Publishing|isbn=0-8153-1880-4|editor1-last=Haggerty|editor1-first=George E.|edition=1|location=London|page=[https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaofga00ghag/page/529 529]|quote=OCLC Number: 750790369}} The gay rights organization Lambda Legal and the American Lambda Literary Foundation derive their names from this symbol.

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{{See also|Language of flowers|}}

File:Qəbələnin Çuxur-Qəbələ kəndində Lavanda sahəsi.jpg]]

The color lavender and the eponymous plant are symbols of LGBTQ identity. This has led to the naming of terms such as the "Lavender Scare" and "lavender marriage".{{Cite web |date=2014-10-29 |title=LGBTQ lexicon: What's the significance of the color lavender? |url=https://www.dallasnews.com/news/2014/10/29/lgbtq-lexicon-what-s-the-significance-of-the-color-lavender/ |access-date=2024-09-29 |website=Dallas News |language=en}}{{Cite web |last=Willingham |first=A. J. |date=2023-06-25 |title=The secret queer history of flowers |url=https://www.cnn.com/2023/06/25/us/flowers-lgbtq-lavender-meaning-cec/index.html#:~:text=Purple%20hues%20have%20been%20associated,color%20being%20linked%20to%20effeminacy. |access-date=2024-09-29 |website=CNN |language=en}}{{Cite web |date=2020-06-04 |title=How Lavender Became a Symbol of LGBTQ Resistance |url=https://historynewsnetwork.org/article/175872 |access-date=2024-01-29 |website=History News Network |language=en}}

File:Green Carnation.jpg is a symbol of homosexuality, popularized by Oscar Wilde.]]

File:AcorusCalamus2.jpg was possibly used by Walt Whitman to represent homoeroticism.]]

In 19th-century England, green indicated homosexual affiliations, as popularized by queer author Oscar Wilde, who often wore a green carnation on his lapel.Stetz, Margaret D. (Winter 2000). [http://muse.jhu.edu/login?uri=/journals/biography/v023/23.1stetz.html Oscar Wilde at the Movies: British Sexual Politics and The Green Carnation (1960)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304090931/http://muse.jhu.edu/login?uri=%2Fjournals%2Fbiography%2Fv023%2F23.1stetz.html |date=2016-03-04 }}; Biography – Volume 23, Number 1, Winter 2000, pp. 90–107. Retrieved 14 June 2010.Curiosities of Literature by John Sutherland (2011, {{isbn|1-61608-074-4}}), pp. 73-76. According to some interpretations, American poet Walt Whitman used the sweet flag plant to represent homoerotic male love because of its phallic connotations.{{cite book |last=Herrero-Brasas |first=Juan A. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ca4FuDfH-cMC&pg=PA46 |title=Walt Whitman's Mystical Ethics of Comradeship: Homosexuality and the Marginality of Friendship at the Crossroads of Modernity |publisher=SUNY |year=2010 |isbn=978-1-4384-3011-9 |page=46}}

File:Rosa Red Chateau01.jpg have been associated with male love in both ancient Greece and modern Japan.]]

The term {{nihongo||薔薇|bara}}, "rose" in Japanese, has historically been used in Japan as a pejorative for men who love men, roughly equivalent to the English language term "pansy".{{cite web |url= http://gaymanga.tumblr.com/post/102108686772/i-see-that-the-wish-to-move-away-from-the-term |title= Is 'Bara' Problematic? |last= Kolbeins |first= Graham |date= November 8, 2014 |work= Gay Manga! |access-date= October 8, 2018 |archive-date= December 4, 2018 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20181204173646/http://gaymanga.tumblr.com/post/102108686772/i-see-that-the-wish-to-move-away-from-the-term |url-status= live }}{{Cite book |title=Massive: Gay Erotic Manga and the Men who Make it |publisher=Fantagraphics |year=2014 |isbn=9781606997857 |editor-last=Ishii |editor-first=Anne |pages= |editor-last2=Kidd |editor-first2=Chip |editor-last3=Kolbeins |editor-first3=Graham}}{{Rp|page=40}} Beginning in the 1960s, the term was reappropriated by Japanese gay media: notably with the 1961 anthology {{Interlanguage link|Ba-ra-kei: Ordeal by Roses|lt=Ba-ra-kei: Ordeal by Roses|ja|薔薇刑|WD=}}, a collection of semi-nude photographs of homosexual writer Yukio Mishima by photographer Eikoh Hosoe,{{Rp|page=34}} and later with {{nihongo||薔薇族|Barazoku|lit. "rose tribe"}} in 1971, the first commercially produced gay magazine in Asia.{{cite news|url=https://www.thetimes.com/travel/destinations/asia-travel/japan/voice-of-gay-japan-falls-silent-after-30-years-in-the-pink-pqtmmswbcwk|title=Voice of gay Japan falls silent after 30 years in the pink|last1=Lewis|first1=Leo|last2=Teeman|first2=Tim|date=October 12, 2004|work=The Times|access-date=September 1, 2009|archive-date=April 20, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190420055754/https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/voice-of-gay-japan-falls-silent-after-30-years-in-the-pink-pqtmmswbcwk|url-status=live}} The use of the rose as a prominent symbol of love between males is supposedly derived from the Greek myth of King Laius having affairs with boys under rose trees.{{cite book|last=Ito|first=Bungaku|trans-title=The Chief of Barazoku|title=『薔薇族』編集長|year=2006|publisher=Gentosha Outlaw Bunko|isbn=978-4-344-40864-7|pages=35–37}} Since the 2000s, bara has been used by non-Japanese audience as an umbrella term to describe a wide variety of Japanese and non-Japanese gay media featuring love and sex between masculine men.{{cite web |url= http://gaymanga.tumblr.com/post/86321737982/tagagen-my-old-friend-sent-me-a-vintage |title= The History of the Term 'Bara' (via Archive) |last= Kolbeins |first= Graham |date=May 20, 2014 |work= Gay Manga! |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20140718132337/http://gaymanga.tumblr.com/post/86321737982/tagagen-my-old-friend-sent-me-a-vintage |access-date= October 8, 2018 |archive-date= July 18, 2014}} The rose is also the sacred flower of Eros,{{cite book |author-link=William Smith (lexicographer) |last=Smith |first=William |year=1873 |title=Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology |place=London, UK |chapter=Eros |chapter-url=https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0104%3Aalphabetic+letter%3DE%3Aentry+group%3D6%3Aentry%3Deros-bio-1 |access-date=2022-08-26 |archive-date=2022-08-26 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220826214833/https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0104%3Aalphabetic%20letter%3DE%3Aentry%20group%3D6%3Aentry%3Deros-bio-1 |url-status=live }} the Greek god of love and sex, and patron of love between men.{{Cite book|title=Cassell's Encyclopedia of Queer Myth, Symbol and Spirit|last=Conner |first=Randy P. |author2=Sparks, David Hatfield|author3=Sparks, Mariya |year=1998 |publisher=Cassell |location=UK |isbn=0-304-70423-7 |page=133}} Eros was responsible for the first rose to sprout on Earth, followed by every flower and herb.{{cite book |first=James M. |last=Robinson |author-link=James M. Robinson |year=2007 |orig-year=1st publ. 1978 |section=On the Origin of the World |title=The Nag Hammadi Scriptures |publisher=HarperCollins |isbn=9780060523787 |url=http://gnosis.org/naghamm/origin-Barnstone.html |access-date=2022-08-26 |archive-date=2022-08-21 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220821092404/http://gnosis.org/naghamm/origin-Barnstone.html |url-status=live }} Roses are a symbol of pederasty in ancient Greece: handsome boys were metaphorically called roses by their male admirers in homoerotic poems such as those by Solon, Straton, Meleager, Rhianus, and Philostratos.{{cite book |author-link= |last=Géczi |first=János |year=2006 |title=The rose in ancient Greek culture. Practice and Theory in Systems of Education. |place= |chapter=The roses of pederasty – trend toward desanctification |chapter-url=http://epa.oszk.hu/01400/01428/00001/pdf/0101geczi.pdf |access-date=2022-08-27 |archive-date=2022-08-27 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220827021049/http://epa.oszk.hu/01400/01428/00001/pdf/0101geczi.pdf |url-status=live }}

File:Viola reichenbachiana LC0128.jpg, symbol of Sapphic love.]]

Violets and their color became a special code used by lesbians and bisexual women.{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/alysonalmanactr00bost/mode/2up|title=The Alyson Almanac: A Treasury of Information for the Gay and Lesbian Community|date=1989|publisher=Alyson Publications|isbn=0-932870-19-8|location=Boston, Massachusetts|page=[https://archive.org/details/alysonalmanactr00bost/page/100 100]|chapter=Gay Symbols Through the Ages|url-access=limited}}{{cite book|last1=Myers|first1=JoAnne|url=https://archive.org/details/tozlesbianlibera00myer/page/242/mode/2up|title=Historical Dictionary of the Lesbian Liberation Movement: Still the Rage|publisher=The Scarecrow Press|year=2003|isbn=978-0810845060|edition=1st|location=Lanham, Maryland|page=242|lccn=2002156624|url-access=limited}}{{cite book|last1=Horak|first1=Laura|title=Girls Will Be Boys: Cross-Dressed Women, Lesbians, and American Cinema, 1908-1934|date=2016|publisher=Rutgers University Press|isbn=978-0-8135-7483-7|pages=143–144|chapter=Lesbians Take Center Stage: The Captive (1926-1928)}} The symbolism of the flower derives from several fragments of poems by Sappho in which she describes a lover wearing garlands or a crown with violets.{{cite book|last1=Collecott|first1=Diana|title=H.D. and Sapphic Modernism 1910-1950|date=1999|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=0-521-55078-5|edition=1st|location=Cambridge, England, UK|page=216}}{{cite book|last1=Fantham|first1=Elaine|author1-link=Elaine Fantham |url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780195067279/mode/2up|title=Women in the Classical World: Image and Text|last2=Foley|first2=Helene Peet|author2-link=Helene Peet Foley |last3=Kampen|first3=Natalie Boymel|author3-link=Natalie Boymel Kampen |last4=Pomeroy|first4=Sarah B.|author4-link=Sarah B. Pomeroy |last5=Shapiro|first5=H. A.|date=1994|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-506727-9|edition=1st|location=New York, New York|page=[https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780195067279/page/15 15]}} In 1926, the play La Prisonnière by Édouard Bourdet used a bouquet of violets to signify lesbian love.{{cite web|last1=Cohen-Stratyner|first1=Barbara|date=January 14, 2014|title=Violets and Vandamm|url=https://www.nypl.org/blog/2014/01/14/violets-vandamm|access-date=4 October 2018|website=New York Public Library|archive-date=4 October 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181004145028/https://www.nypl.org/blog/2014/01/14/violets-vandamm|url-status=live}} When the play became subject to censorship, many Parisian lesbians wore violets to demonstrate solidarity with its lesbian subject matter.{{cite book|last1=Sova|first1=Dawn B.|url=https://archive.org/details/bannedplayscenso0000sova|title=Banned Plays: Censorship Histories of 125 Stage Dramas|date=2004|publisher=Facts On File|isbn=0-8160-4018-4|edition=1st|location=New York, New York|pages=[https://archive.org/details/bannedplayscenso0000sova/page/37 37–40]|chapter=The Captive|url-access=registration}}

File:Lilium longiflorum (Easter Lily).JPG, the de facto symbol of the yuri genre]]

White lilies have been used since the Romantic era of Japanese literature to symbolize beauty and purity in women, and are a de facto symbol of the yuri genre ({{Nihongo|yuri|百合}} translates literally to "lily"),{{Cite thesis |last=Maser |first=Verena |title=Beautiful and Innocent: Female Same-Sex Intimacy in the Japanese Yuri Genre |date=2014-08-31 |degree=PhD |publisher=Universität Trier |url=https://ubt.opus.hbz-nrw.de/frontdoor/index/index/docId/695 |doi=10.25353/ubtr-xxxx-db7c-6ffc |pages=3–4 |access-date=2022-12-17 |archive-date=2018-11-02 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181102234925/https://ubt.opus.hbz-nrw.de/frontdoor/index/index/docId/695 |url-status=live }} which describes the portrayal of intimate love, sex, or emotional connections between women.{{cite web |last1=Aoki |first1=Deb |title=Interview: Erica Friedman |url= http://manga.about.com/od/mangaartistswriters/a/EFriedman.htm |access-date=January 11, 2021 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20080311234853/http://manga.about.com/od/mangaartistswriters/a/EFriedman.htm |archive-date=March 11, 2008 |date=March 11, 2008 |website=About.com}} The term {{nihongo|Yurizoku|百合族||{{lit}} "lily tribe"}} was coined in 1976 by Ito Bungaku, editor of the gay men's magazine Barazoku (see above), to refer to his female readers.{{cite journal |date=November 1976 |title=Yurizoku no Heya |journal=Barazoku |pages=66–70 |language=ja}}{{cite web |title=What is Yuri? |url=https://www.yuricon.com/what-is-yuricon/#whatisyuri |website=Yuricon |date=28 March 2011 |access-date=January 11, 2021 |archive-date=November 11, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201111233755/https://www.yuricon.com/what-is-yuricon/#whatisyuri |url-status=live }} While not all those women were lesbians, and it is unclear whether this was the first instance of the term yuri in this context, an association of yuri with lesbianism subsequently developed.{{cite book|last=Welker|first=James |title=AsiaPacifQueer: Rethinking Genders and Sexualities|editor=Fran Martin |editor2=Peter Jackson |editor3=Audrey Yue|publisher=University of Illinois Press|year=2008|pages=46–66|chapter=Lilies of the Margin: Beautiful Boys and Queer Female Identities in Japan|isbn=978-0-252-07507-0}} In Korea and China, "lily" is used as a semantic loan from the Japanese usage to describe female-female romance media, where each use the direct translation of the term – baekhap (백합) in Korea{{cite web | url=https://moneyfocus.tistory.com/290 | title=Gl/백합 만화 추천 10작품 | date=15 February 2021 | access-date=27 August 2022 | archive-date=6 April 2023 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230406185611/https://moneyfocus.tistory.com/290 | url-status=live }} and bǎihé (百合) in China.{{cite web | url=https://www.elle.com/tw/life/culture/g27068855/lesbian-japan-yuriten2019/ | title=這畫面太美我不敢看！女女戀不是禁忌，日本「百合展」呈現女孩間的真實愛戀！ | date=8 April 2019 | access-date=27 August 2022 | archive-date=8 April 2023 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230408071411/https://www.elle.com/tw/life/culture/g27068855/lesbian-japan-yuriten2019/ | url-status=live }}

File:Yellow trillium, April 2018--Warren Bielenberg (40026346960).jpg flower is a symbol of bisexuality]]

In the late 1990s, activist Michael Page established the use of the trillium flower as a symbol of bisexuality. This was a pun, as scientists had used the term "bisexual" to refer to the flower because such flowers have both male and female reproductive organs.{{cite web |last1=Eidson |first1=Jessica |title=Plants That Can Symbolize LGBTQIA+ Pride |url=https://discoverandshare.org/2024/06/25/lgbtqiaplants/#:~:text=The%20trillium%20flower%20has%20symbolized,bisexual%20pride%20flag%20in%202001. |website=DISCOVER + SHARE |date=25 June 2024 |publisher=Missouri Botanical Garden}} Trillum's use as a bisexual symbol has been reaffirmed by artists and graphic designers such as Francisco Javier Lagunes Gaitán and Miguel Angel Corona, who designed a Mexican variant of the bisexual pride flag emblazoned with a white trillium.{{cite web |title=Mexico - Sexual orientation flags |url=https://www.fotw.info/flags/mx_sex.html |website=FOTW 'Flags Of The World' Web Site |access-date=August 14, 2024}}{{cite web |title=Bisexual Botany |url=https://www.lpzoo.org/bisexual-botany/#:~:text=Around%202001%2C%20the%20Mexican%20bisexual,Michigan%20lilies%20at%20Nature%20Boardwalk. |website=Lincoln Park Zoo | date=20 June 2024 |access-date=August 14, 2024}}{{cite web |last1=Eyvanaki |first1=Ashley |title=Queer Objects: William Keble Martin Lily Illustration |url=https://outandabout.exeter.ac.uk/2020/10/29/queer-objects-william-keble-martin-lily-illustration/ |website=out and about |date=29 October 2020 |publisher=University of Exeter |access-date=August 14, 2024}}

File:Slices of watermelon.jpg

Sexual fluidity and abrosexuality—terms that refer to a changing sexual orientation that cannot always be consistently described—are represented by the watermelon. Because it is composed primarily of water, the watermelon symbolizes a sexuality that is fluid.{{cite web |title=What does Abrosexual mean? |url=https://proudzebra.com/blogs/gender-identities/about-abrosexual#:~:text=The%20Abrosexual%20Pride%20Flag%20was,representative%20of%20being%20%22fluid%22. |website=ProudZebra| date=6 January 2021 }}{{cite web |title=GET TO KNOW THE MEANING BEHIND THE COLORS OF MAJOR PRIDE FLAGS |url=https://www.sfgmc.org/blog/pride-flags#block-yui_3_17_2_1_1683145657332_176298 |website=SFGMC|date=17 April 2023 }}

File:Cattleya lueddemanniana costera.JPG

Because the word "orchid" comes from the Greek word for testicle, and the orchiectomy is a common surgery performed on intersex infants –especially those with androgen insensitivity syndrome– the orchid flower is a symbol of being intersex and of opposition to non-consensual genital surgery.{{Cite web |last=Carpenter |first=Morgan |date=2013-10-26 |title=Symbols |url=https://intersexday.org/en/symbols/ |access-date=2025-04-13 |website=Intersex Day |language=en}}

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Animals that lovers gave as gifts to their beloved also became symbols of pederastic love, such as hares, roosters, deer, felines and oxen, as a metaphor for sexual pursuits.Judith M. Barringer, The Hunt in Ancient Greece (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2001), pp. 70–72 [https://books.google.com/books?id=PMqCYtXqub4C&dq=%22Attic+vase+painting+scenes+of+pederastic+courtship%22&pg=PA70 online.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230417051629/https://books.google.com/books?id=PMqCYtXqub4C&dq=%22Attic+vase+painting+scenes+of+pederastic+courtship%22&pg=PA70|date=2023-04-17}}Robert B. Koehl, "The Chieftain Cup and a Minoan Rite of Passage," Journal of Hellenic Studies 106 (1986), pp. 105–107.

File:IKEA Blåhaj plush shark toys - regular and small variants - side and bottom views.png, displayed from the bottom (above) and side (below)]]

{{see also|Blåhaj#As a cultural phenomenon}}

The IKEA plush toy shark Blåhaj (stylized BLÅHAJ, {{IPA|sv|ˈblôːhaj|audio=Sv-Blåhaj.ogg}}, {{Literally|blue shark}}; colloquially anglicised as {{IPAc-en|ˈ|b|l|ɑː|h|ɑː|ʒ}}, {{IPAc-en|ˈ|b|l|ɑː|h|ɑː}} or {{IPAc-en|ˈ|b|l|oʊ|h|aɪ}}) is commonly associated with LGBTQ culture, in particular the transgender community, in part due to being colored similarly to a transgender pride flag.{{Cite web |last=Milner |first=Roz |title=How a Stuffed IKEA Shark Became a Trans Icon |url=https://www.intomore.com/the-internet/stuffed-ikea-shark-became-trans-icon/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220202032848/https://www.intomore.com/the-internet/stuffed-ikea-shark-became-trans-icon/ |archive-date=2 February 2022 |access-date=18 July 2022 |website=INTO |language=en-US|date=1 February 2022 |url-status=live}} Early origins of this are traced back to around 2020 and in 2021, when IKEA ran an ad-campaign to support same-sex marriage in Switzerland featuring the shark.{{cite web|url=https://www.newsweek.com/how-ikea-shark-became-trans-icon-1753400|title=How the IKEA Shark Became a Trans Icon|date=23 October 2022|access-date=5 April 2023|publisher=newsweek|archive-date=5 April 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230405021636/https://www.newsweek.com/how-ikea-shark-became-trans-icon-1753400|url-status=live}}

In response to this popularity, IKEA Canada hosted a giveaway in November 2022, offering transgender people a special edition Blåhaj in the colors of a transgender pride flag, with the winner's name embroidered on its fin.{{Cite web |last=North |first=Nick |title=TLDR: @ikeacanada wants to give trans folks BLÅHAJ, tag and share! ..." |url=https://www.instagram.com/p/CkhBltmvc5m/ |access-date=2022-12-27 |website=Instagram |language=en |date=3 November 2022 |archive-date=2023-04-05 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230405160719/https://www.instagram.com/p/CkhBltmvc5m/ |url-status=live }}

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File:Lavender rhinoceros LGBT symbol.svg rhinoceros, a symbol used as a sign of gay visibility.]]

Daniel Thaxton and Bernie Toale created a lavender rhinoceros symbol for a public ad campaign to increase visibility for gay people in Boston helmed by Gay Media Action-Advertising; Toale said they chose a rhinoceros because "it is a much maligned and misunderstood animal" and that it was lavender because that is a mix of pink and blue, making it a symbolic merger of the feminine and masculine. (Lavender had already been used to represent LGBTQ people in other contexts).{{Cite web |title=Violet delights: A queer history of purple |url=https://www.vam.ac.uk/dundee/articles/violet-delights-a-queer-history-of-purple |access-date=2023-10-24 |website=Violet delights: A queer history of purple |language=en |archive-date=2023-10-11 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231011042329/http://www.vam.ac.uk/dundee/articles/violet-delights-a-queer-history-of-purple |url-status=live }}{{Cite web |date=2014-10-29 |title=LGBTQ lexicon: What's the significance of the color lavender? |url=https://www.dallasnews.com/news/2014/10/29/lgbtq-lexicon-what-s-the-significance-of-the-color-lavender/ |access-date=2024-03-10 |website=Dallas News |language=en |archive-date=2024-03-10 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240310020348/https://www.dallasnews.com/news/2014/10/29/lgbtq-lexicon-what-s-the-significance-of-the-color-lavender/ |url-status=live }}Article in the October 8, 1973 issue of Time magazine about the Lavender Panthers: [https://web.archive.org/web/20130720054347/http://www.time.com/time/printout/0,8816,908008,00.html "The Sexes: The Lavender Panthers"]. However, in May 1974, Metro Transit Advertising said its lawyers could not "determine eligibility of the public service rate" for the lavender rhinoceros ads, which tripled the cost of the ad campaign. Gay Media Action challenged this but were unsuccessful. The lavender rhinoceros symbol was seen on signs, pins, and t-shirts at the Boston Pride Parade later in 1974, and a life-sized papier-mâché lavender rhinoceros was part of the parade. Money was raised for the ads, and they began running on the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority's Green Line by December 3, 1974, and ran there until February 1975. The lavender rhinoceros continued as a symbol of the gay community, appearing at the 1976 Boston Pride Parade and on a flag that was raised at Boston City Hall in 1987.{{cite web|last1=Gray|first1=Arielle|date=June 3, 2019|title=How A Lavender Rhino Became A Symbol Of Gay Resistance In '70s Boston|url=https://www.wbur.org/artery/2019/06/03/lavender-rhino-gay-resistance-boston|access-date=December 5, 2019|website=WBUR-FM|archive-date=July 24, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190724192754/https://www.wbur.org/artery/2019/06/03/lavender-rhino-gay-resistance-boston|url-status=live}}

Outside of Boston, Theatre Rhinoceros, located in San Francisco, and founded in 1977, based its name on this symbol.{{Cite web |title=Finding Aid to the Theatre Rhinoceros Records, 1968-2009, bulk 1981-2001 |url=https://oac.cdlib.org/findaid/ark:/13030/c8n29z94/entire_text/ |access-date=2023-05-03 |website=oac.cdlib.org |archive-date=2024-09-07 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240907192839/https://oac.cdlib.org/findaid/ark:/13030/c8n29z94/entire_text/ |url-status=live }} Theatre Rhinoceros, also called Theatre Rhino, or The Rhino, is a gay and lesbian theatre.{{cite book |last1=Joseph |first1=Miranda |title=Against the Romance of Community |date=2002 |publisher=University of Minnesota Press |isbn=9780816637966 |page=75 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uRwhHHuiHw8C&dq=%22theatre+rhinoceros%22&pg=PA75 |access-date=22 January 2021 |archive-date=7 September 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240907192840/https://books.google.com/books?id=uRwhHHuiHw8C&dq=%22theatre+rhinoceros%22&pg=PA75#v=onepage&q=%22theatre%20rhinoceros%22&f=false |url-status=live }} It claims to be the world's longest-running professional queer theatre company.{{Cite web |title=About Us |url=https://www.therhino.org/about |access-date=2023-05-03 |website=The Rhino |language=en |archive-date=2023-05-01 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230501222116/https://www.therhino.org/about |url-status=live }} An online bookstore focused on LGBTQ authors and books called "The Lavender Rhino" launched in 2023.{{cite web |title=About Us |url=https://thelavenderrhino.com/pages/about-us |website=The Lavender Rhino |access-date=22 June 2024 |archive-date=7 September 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240907193006/https://thelavenderrhino.com/pages/about-us |url-status=live }}

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File:Helsinki Pride 2019 Senaatintori 10.jpg in 2019|left|247x247px]]

Unicorns have become a symbol of LGBTQ culture due to earlier associations between the animal and rainbows being extended to the rainbow flag created in 1978 by Gilbert Baker.{{cite web |last=Fisher |first=Alice |date=2017-10-15 |title=Why the unicorn has become the emblem for our times {{!}} Alice Fisher |url=https://www.theguardian.com/society/2017/oct/15/return-of-the-unicorn-the-magical-beast-of-our-times |access-date=2018-08-19 |website=the Guardian |language=en |archive-date=2022-03-23 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220323121110/https://www.theguardian.com/society/2017/oct/15/return-of-the-unicorn-the-magical-beast-of-our-times |url-status=live }}

Alice Fisher of The Guardian wrote in 2017, "The unicorn has also done its bit for the LGBT community in the last century... Rainbows and unicorns are so intrinsically linked (the association is also a Victorian invention) that it's unsurprising that the magic creature started to appear on T-shirts and banners at Gay Pride around the world, with slogans such as 'Gender is Imaginary' or 'Totally Straight' emblazoned under sparkling rainbow unicorns."{{Cite news |last=Fisher |first=Alice |date=October 15, 2017 |title=Why the unicorn has become the emblem for our times |work=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/society/2017/oct/15/return-of-the-unicorn-the-magical-beast-of-our-times |url-status=live |access-date=April 20, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220323121110/https://www.theguardian.com/society/2017/oct/15/return-of-the-unicorn-the-magical-beast-of-our-times |archive-date=March 23, 2022}}

Gay Star News said in 2018 that unicorns are the "gay, LGBTI and queer icons of our time".{{Cite web |last=Wareham |first=Jamie |date=2018-08-17 |title=Unicorns are the gay, LGBTI and queer icons of our time (and I'm obsessed) |url=https://www.gaystarnews.com/article/evidence-unicorns-are-queer-icons/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220302130745/https://www.gaystarnews.com/article/evidence-unicorns-are-queer-icons/ |archive-date=2022-03-02 |access-date=2022-04-20 |website=Gay Star News |language=en-GB}}

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|File:Another Yin-Yang-Yuan BigButterfly TransGender-Symbol.png|A transgender butterfly symbol.

|File:Speyeria mormonia 3313.jpg|The Mormon Fritillary, a butterfly that undergoes a natural gender transition from male to female.{{cite web |last1=Gandhi |first1=Maneka |title=Sex-change process among many marine species helps them maintain male-female ratio, allows reproduction as per need |url=https://www.firstpost.com/india/sex-change-process-among-many-marine-species-helps-them-maintain-male-female-ratio-allows-reproduction-as-per-need-7232731.html |website=Firstpost.|date=27 August 2019 }}

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Due to the metamorphosis from caterpillar to butterfly, butterflies are often used as symbols of transformation. Because of this, they can symbolize gender transition and transgender identity.{{cite web |title=Hands In, Hands On: A Transgender Awareness Campaign |url=https://lgbtqia.gatech.edu/hands-in-hands-on#:~:text=Butterflies%20are%20a%20symbol%20of,that%20represents%20the%20campaign%20participant. |website=Georgia Tech}}

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Symbols of the LGBTQ community have been used to represent members' unity, pride, shared values, and allegiance to one another.

{{Main|Pink triangle|Persecution of homosexuals in Nazi Germany}}

One of the oldest of these symbols is the downward-pointing pink triangle that male homosexuals, male bisexuals, and transgender women in Nazi concentration camps were required to wear on their clothing. The badge is one of several badges that internees wore to identify what kind of prisoners they were.{{Cite book | last=Plant | first=Richard | year=1988 | title=The pink triangle: the Nazi war against homosexuals | edition=revised | publisher=H. Holt | isbn=978-0-8050-0600-1 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZKSbQbEzif8C | page=175 | access-date=2020-07-12 | archive-date=2023-01-19 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230119114934/https://books.google.com/books?id=ZKSbQbEzif8C | url-status=live }} Many of the estimated 5,000–15,000 gay men imprisoned in concentration camps did not survive.{{cite web|url=http://www.ushmm.org/museum/exhibit/online/hsx/ |title=Nazi Persecution of Homosexuals 1933-1945 |publisher=Ushmm.org |access-date=2012-01-23 |url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120119045626/http://www.ushmm.org/museum/exhibit/online/hsx/ |archive-date=2012-01-19 }} The pink triangle was later reclaimed by gay men, as well as some lesbians, in various political movements as a symbol of personal pride and remembrance.{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ShPyCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA27|title=Holocaust Icons: Symbolizing the Shoah in History and Memory|last=Stier|first=Oren Baruch|date=2015|publisher=Rutgers University Press|isbn=9780813574059|language=en|access-date=2016-12-11|archive-date=2024-09-07|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240907192841/https://books.google.com/books?id=ShPyCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA27#v=onepage&q&f=false|url-status=live}}{{Cite news|last1=Elman|first1=R. Amy|title=Triangles and Tribulations: The Politics of Nazi Symbols|website=Remember.org|url=http://remember.org/educate/elman|access-date=December 10, 2016|archive-date=December 20, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161220110705/http://remember.org/educate/elman|url-status=live}} (Originally published in the Journal of Homosexuality, 1996, 30 (3): pp.1–11, {{doi|10.1300/J082v30n03_01}}, {{ISSN|0091-8369}}) AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power (ACT-UP) adopted the downward-pointing pink triangle to symbolize the "active fight back" against HIV/AIDS "rather than a passive resignation to fate."{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WSn7026sq_cC&pg=PA47|title=Gayle: The Language of Kinks and Queens : a History and Dictionary of Gay Language in South Africa|last1=Cage|first1=Ken|last2=Evans|first2=Moyra|date=2003-01-01|publisher=Jacana Media|isbn=9781919931494|language=en|access-date=2016-12-10|archive-date=2024-09-07|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240907192842/https://books.google.com/books?id=WSn7026sq_cC&pg=PA47#v=onepage&q&f=false|url-status=live}}

The pink triangle was used exclusively with male prisoners, including transfeminine individuals, as cisgender lesbians were not included under Paragraph 175, a statute which made homosexual acts between males a crime.{{cite web|title=Lesbians and the Third Reich|url=http://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10005478|access-date=16 January 2015|publisher=United States Holocaust Memorial Museum|archive-date=19 January 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120119054010/http://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10005478|url-status=live}} Lesbian sexual relations were illegal only in Austria and historians differ on whether they were persecuted or not, due to lack of evidence.{{cite journal |last1=Huneke |first1=Samuel Clowes |title=Heterogeneous Persecution: Lesbianism and the Nazi State |journal=Central European History |date=2021 |volume=54 |issue=2 |pages=297–325 |doi=10.1017/S0008938920000795 |s2cid=235760995 |language=en |issn=0008-9389}} Some lesbians were imprisoned with a black triangle symbolizing supposed "asociality", this symbol was later reclaimed by postwar lesbians.

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|File:Pink triangle.svg|The downward-pointing pink triangle was used to identify homosexual men and transgender women in the concentration camps.

|File:Black triangle.svg|The downward-pointing black triangle was used to mark individuals considered "asocial". The category included homosexual women, nonconformists, sex workers, nomads, Romani, and others.

|File:Pink triangle jew.svg|The downward-pointing pink triangle overlapping a yellow triangle was used to single out male homosexual prisoners who were Jewish.

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File:Bi triangles.svg

The biangles were designed by artist Liz Nania, as she co-organized a bisexual contingent for the Second National March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights in 1987.{{Cite web|url=https://www.liznania.com/early-work|title=Biangles, bisexual symbol, bi colors, bi history|website=Liz Nania|access-date=2024-04-19|archive-date=2024-04-26|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240426125159/https://www.liznania.com/early-work|url-status=live}}{{cite web | last=Jordahn | first=Sebastian | title=Queer x Design highlights 50 years of LGBT+ graphic design | website=Dezeen | date=2019-10-23 | url=https://www.dezeen.com/2019/10/23/queer-design-andrew-campbell-50-years-lgbt-graphic-design/ | access-date=2021-06-12 | archive-date=2021-06-13 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210613233207/https://www.dezeen.com/2019/10/23/queer-design-andrew-campbell-50-years-lgbt-graphic-design/ | url-status=live }} The design of the biangles began with the pink triangle, a Nazi concentration camp badge that later became a symbol of gay liberation representing homosexuality. The addition of a blue triangle contrasts the pink and represents heterosexuality. The two triangles overlap and form lavender, which represents the "queerness of bisexuality", referencing the Lavender Menace and 1980s and 1990s associations of lavender with queerness.{{Cite web |title=Biangles, bisexual symbol, bi colors, bi history — Liz Nania |url=https://www.liznania.com/early-work |access-date=2022-06-26 |website=Liz Nania |language=en-US |archive-date=2022-06-08 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220608205658/https://www.liznania.com/early-work |url-status=live }}

Michael Page stated that, when designing the bisexual flag, he took the colors and overlap of the flag from the biangles.{{cite web |date=1998-12-05 |title=History, Bi Activism, Free Graphics |url=http://www.biflag.com/Activism.asp |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20010801185547/http://biflag.com/Activism.asp |archive-date=2001-08-01 |access-date=2020-04-20 |publisher=BiFlag.com}}

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File:Double crescent symbol (filled, color).svg

Some bisexual individuals object to the use of a pink triangle in the biangles symbol of bisexuality (see above), as it was a symbol that Adolf Hitler's regime used to tag and persecute homosexuals. In response, a double crescent moon symbol of bisexuality was devised by Vivian Wagner in 1998.{{Cite web|url=https://www.refinery29.com/en-us/lgbt-symbols|title=Violets, Bi-Angles, And Double Moons: A Guide To LGBTQ+ Symbols|first=Erika W.|last=Smith|website=www.refinery29.com|access-date=2024-04-19|archive-date=2024-09-07|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240907192842/https://www.refinery29.com/en-us/lgbt-symbols|url-status=live}}{{cite web |author=Koymasky, Matt |author2=Koymasky Andrej |date=14 August 2006 |title=Gay Symbols: Other Miscellaneous Symbols |url=http://andrejkoymasky.com/lou/sym/sym05.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110409235810/http://andrejkoymasky.com/lou/sym/sym05.html |archive-date=9 April 2011 |access-date=18 February 2007}} This symbol is common in Germany and surrounding countries.

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The {{visible anchor|ace ring}}, a black ring worn on the middle finger of one's right hand, is a way asexual people signify their asexuality. The ring is deliberately worn in a similar manner as one would a wedding ring to symbolize marriage. Use of the symbol began in 2005.{{cite journal|last1=Chasin|first1=CJ DeLuzio|year=2013|title=Reconsidering Asexuality and Its Radical Potential|url=http://chasin.ca/cj/Chasin_Reconsidering.Asexuality_FS.Vol39.2_2013.pdf|journal=Feminist Studies|volume=39|issue=2|pages=405–426|issn=0046-3663|access-date=2019-04-17|archive-date=2018-04-21|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180421162847/http://chasin.ca/cj/Chasin_Reconsidering.Asexuality_FS.Vol39.2_2013.pdf|url-status=live}}{{cite web|last1=Besanvalle|first1=James|date=31 July 2018|title=Here's a handy way to tell if someone you meet is asexual|url=https://www.gaystarnews.com/article/handy-way-tell-someone-asexual-ace-ring/#gs.gbPp1y3w|access-date=18 February 2019|website=Gay Star News|archive-date=18 February 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190218141855/https://www.gaystarnews.com/article/handy-way-tell-someone-asexual-ace-ring/#gs.gbPp1y3w|url-status=dead}}

The {{visible anchor|aro ring}}, a white ring, worn on the middle finger on one's left hand is a way aromantic people signify their identity on the aromantic spectrum. Use of the symbol began in 2015.{{cite web|title=Aromantic Ring?!|date=March 29, 2015|url=https://www.asexuality.org/en/topic/116225-aromantic-ring/|access-date=March 11, 2023|archive-date=March 19, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230319210047/https://www.asexuality.org/en/topic/116225-aromantic-ring/|url-status=live}} This was chosen as the opposite of the ace ring which is a black ring worn on the right hand.{{cite web|title=All about beautiful ace and aro rings|date=July 30, 2022|url=https://gayagendashtuff.com/all-about-beautiful-ace-and-aro-rings/|access-date=March 11, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231022062155/https://gayagendashtuff.com/all-about-beautiful-ace-and-aro-rings/|archive-date=22 October 2023|url-status=dead}}

Another symbol often used by aromantic people is arrows or an arrow as the word arrow is a homophone to the shortened word aro used by aromantic people to refer to themselves.{{cite web|url=https://www.asexuals.net/aromantic-flag-and-symbols-explained/|title=Aromantic flag and symbols explained|date=6 June 2020|access-date=25 March 2023|archive-date=25 March 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230325211817/https://www.asexuals.net/aromantic-flag-and-symbols-explained/|url-status=live}}

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|File:Asexual ring.jpg|Ace ring, meant to be worn on the right middle finger.

|File:Aromantic Ring.png|Aro ring, meant to be worn on the left middle finger

|File:Aromantic Arrow Pin.png|A pin depicting an arrow with the fletching representing the Aromantic Pride flag colors

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Ace playing cards, due to the phonetic shortening from asexual to ace, are sometimes used to represent asexuality. The ace of hearts and ace of spades are used to symbolize romantic asexuality and aromantic asexuality respectively.{{cite book |author1=Julie Sondra Decker |author-link=Julie Sondra Decker |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vTSCDwAAQBAJ&q=ace+of+hearts |title=The Invisible Orientation: An Introduction to Asexuality |date=2015 |publisher=Simon and Schuster |isbn=9781510700642 |pages=83 |access-date=21 January 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240310020053/https://books.google.com/books?id=vTSCDwAAQBAJ&q=ace+of+hearts#v=snippet&q=ace%20of%20hearts&f=false |archive-date=10 March 2024 |url-status=live}} Also, the ace of clubs is used to symbolize gray asexuality and grayromanticism, and the ace of diamonds is used to symbolize demiromanticism and demisexuality.{{cite web|date=July 28, 2014|title=Introduction to Asexual Identities & Resource Guide|url=https://www.campuspride.org/resources/introduction-to-asexual-identities-resource-guide/|access-date=2020-10-03|publisher=campuspride.org|archive-date=2020-09-29|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200929151820/https://www.campuspride.org/resources/introduction-to-asexual-identities-resource-guide/|url-status=live}}

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|File:AsexualPlayingCard.jpg|An ace of hearts with the words “ASEXUAL PRIDE” on it and asexual flag colors in the background, part of a display for International Asexuality Day set up in Pennsylvania in 2025.

|File:AsexualAndAromanticPlayingCard.jpg|An ace of spades with the words “ASEXUAL AND AROMANTIC PRIDE” on it and aromantic flag colors in the background, part of a display for International Asexuality Day set up in Pennsylvania in 2025.

|File:GrayAsexualGrayromanticPlayingCard.jpg|An ace of clubs with the words “GRAY ASEXUAL AND GRAYROMANTIC PRIDE” on it and grayromantic flag colors in the background, part of a display for International Asexuality Day set up in Pennsylvania in 2025.

|File:DemisexualAndDemiromanticPlayingCard1.jpg|An ace of diamonds with the words “DEMIROMANTIC AND DEMISEXUAL PRIDE” on it and demisexual flag colors in the background, part of a display for International Asexuality Day set up in Pennsylvania in 2025.}}

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File:Freedom Rings (cropped).jpgFreedom Rings, designed by David Spada in 1991, are six aluminum rings, each in one of the colors of the rainbow flag. These rings are worn by themselves or as part of necklaces, bracelets, and keychains.{{cite news|last=Van Gelder|first=Lindsy|date=1992-06-21|title=Thing; Freedom Rings|newspaper=New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1992/06/21/style/thing-freedom-rings.html|access-date=2010-07-21|archive-date=2013-05-12|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130512205532/http://www.nytimes.com/1992/06/21/style/thing-freedom-rings.html|url-status=live}} They are a symbol of gay pride, and were originally sold as a fundraiser for the 1991 San Francisco Gay Freedom Day Parade and quickly became a national trend. In June 1992, several of MTV's on-air hosts wore Freedom Rings in recognition of Pride Month, elevating their visibility.{{cite news|title=Freedom Rings Make Fashion Statement|url=https://www.orlandosentinel.com/1992/07/17/freedom-rings-make-fashion-statement/|access-date=10 December 2017|work=Orlando Sentinel|date=17 July 1992 |url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304000941/http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/1992-07-17/lifestyle/9207160717_1_freedom-rings-15-rings-fashion-statement|archive-date=4 March 2016}}{{cite journal|title=Rings Thing|journal=TV Guide|year=1992|volume=40|issue=4 July 1992|page=187|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6kjvAAAAMAAJ|accessdate=11 December 2017|issn=0039-8543|archive-date=7 September 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240907193001/https://books.google.com/books?id=6kjvAAAAMAAJ|url-status=live}} They are sometimes referred to as "Fruit Loops".{{cite book|last=Green|first=Jonathon|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=my_ut0maeV4C&pg=PA549|title=Cassell's Dictionary of Slang|date=2006|publisher=Sterling Publishing Company, Inc.|isbn=0-304-36636-6|access-date=2007-11-15|archive-date=2024-09-07|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240907193005/https://books.google.com/books?id=my_ut0maeV4C&pg=PA549#v=onepage&q&f=false|url-status=live}}

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File:Gaysper.png

{{Main|Gaysper}}

Gaysper is an LGBTQ symbol based on the ghost emoji (U+1F47B, "👻") of Android 5.0. It is a modification of the original icon that uses a background with the colors of the rainbow flag. It became popular in Spain from April 2019 following a tweet posted on the official account of the populist far-right party Vox, after which a multitude of users belonging to the LGBTQ movement began to use it as a symbol.{{Cite news |date=2020-07-05 |title=Un año de Gaysper |language=es |agency=Shangay |url=https://shangay.com/2020/07/05/gaysper-y-su-familia-convertidos-en-iconos-lgtbi/ |access-date=2021-05-24 |archive-date=2021-05-24 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210524195008/https://shangay.com/2020/07/05/gaysper-y-su-familia-convertidos-en-iconos-lgtbi/ |url-status=live }}{{Cite web |author=Vox |author-link=Vox (political party) |date=28 April 2019 |title=¡Qué comience la batalla! #PorEspaña (tuit) |url=https://twitter.com/vox_es/status/1122427641750011904 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190510094945if_/https://twitter.com/vox_es/status/1122427641750011904 |archive-date=10 May 2019 |access-date=2021-05-24 |website=Twitter |language=es}} The icon has established itself as an example of the phenomenon of reappropriation of elements of the anti-LGBTQ discourse in contemporary society through social networks.{{Cite news |last=Cantó |first=Pablo |date=2019-04-29 |title=Cómo el 'fantasma LGTB' que asusta a Vox se ha convertido en un icono gay |language=es |agency=El País (Verne) |url=https://verne.elpais.com/verne/2019/04/29/articulo/1556525545_044567.html |access-date=2021-05-24 |archive-date=2021-05-24 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210524195009/https://verne.elpais.com/verne/2019/04/29/articulo/1556525545_044567.html |url-status=live }}{{Cite journal |last1=Bonfill |first1=Anna Zaera |last2=Giménez |first2=Yolanda Tortajada |last3=Gálvez |first3=Antonio Caballero |date=2021-02-03 |title=La reapropiación del insulto como resistencia queer en el universo digital: el caso Gaysper |url=https://revistas.ucm.es/index.php/INFE/article/view/69684 |journal=Investigaciones Feministas |language=es |volume=12 |issue=1 |pages=103–113 |doi=10.5209/infe.69684 |s2cid=234065914 |issn=2171-6080 |access-date=2021-06-08 |doi-access=free |hdl=10115/34401 |hdl-access=free |archive-date=2024-09-07 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240907193503/https://revistas.ucm.es/index.php/INFE/article/view/69684 |url-status=live }} Other versions derived from the original symbol involving other flags belonging to the LGBTQ community, such as the transgender flag, or the bisexual flag, have also become popular.{{Cite news |date=2019-04-29 |title=El fantasma Gaysper, de meme antigay de la ultraderecha española a icono LGBT |language=es |website=20minutos.es |url=https://www.20minutos.es/gonzoo/noticia/gaysper-meme-antigay-ultraderecha-icono-lgtb-3627714/0/ |access-date=2021-05-24 |archive-date=2021-05-24 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210524195008/https://www.20minutos.es/gonzoo/noticia/gaysper-meme-antigay-ultraderecha-icono-lgtb-3627714/0/ |url-status=live }}{{Cite news |date=2019-07-02 |title=Fluidsper, Transper o Asexsper: los "amigos de Gaysper", el fantasma que Vox lanzó como amenaza al colectivo LGTBI |language=es |agency=La Sexta |url=https://www.lasexta.com/programas/mas-vale-tarde/te-explicamos/fluidsper-transper-o-asexsper-los-amigos-de-gaysper-el-fantasma-que-vox-lanzo-como-una-amenaza-al-mundo-lgtbi-video_201907025d1ba7f80cf2b569b3c097a8.html |access-date=2021-05-24 |archive-date=2021-05-24 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210524195011/https://www.lasexta.com/programas/mas-vale-tarde/te-explicamos/fluidsper-transper-o-asexsper-los-amigos-de-gaysper-el-fantasma-que-vox-lanzo-como-una-amenaza-al-mundo-lgtbi-video_201907025d1ba7f80cf2b569b3c097a8.html |url-status=live }}

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File:Handkerchief code.jpg

{{Main|Handkerchief code}}

In the 1970s, the modern handkerchief (or hanky) code emerged in the form of bandanas, worn in back pockets, in colors that signaled sexual interests, fetishes, and if the wearer was a "top" or "bottom".{{cite magazine|date=May 22, 2018|title=Do You Know the Hanky Code?|url=https://gaydesertguide.com/do-you-know-the-hanky-code/|magazine=Gay Desert Guide|access-date=30 April 2020|archive-date=30 April 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200430082150/https://gaydesertguide.com/do-you-know-the-hanky-code/|url-status=live}}{{cite web|last1=Kacala|first1=Alexander|date=April 25, 2019|title=The Handkerchief Code, According to 'Bob Damron's Address Book' in 1980|url=https://www.thesaintfoundation.org/community/hanky-code-bob-damrons-address-book|access-date=30 April 2020|website=The Saint Foundation|archive-date=4 November 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191104011132/https://www.thesaintfoundation.org/community/hanky-code-bob-damrons-address-book|url-status=live}} It was popular among the gay leather community of the United States{{Cite journal |last1=Reilly |first1=Andrew |last2=Saethre |first2=Eirik J. |date=2013-10-01 |title=The hankie code revisited: From function to fashion |journal=Critical Studies in Men's Fashion |language=en |volume=1 |pages=69–78 |doi=10.1386/csmf.1.1.69_1}} and the cruising scene more broadly.

Tartan has become a beloved fabric within the queer community, embraced for both its bold aesthetic and its cultural resonance. Once reclaimed by the punk movement in the 1970s as a symbol of rebellion and nonconformity, tartan has continued to carry that defiant energy, making it a natural fit for queer expression. Its visual punch and strong graphic identity offer endless possibilities for play with gender, tradition, and identity. It's no coincidence that Scotland — whose national animal is the unicorn, a creature long associated with queerness and magic — has given rise to such a powerful symbol of both heritage and subversion.

Many queer and queer-adjacent designers have made tartan central to their work. Alexander McQueen famously twisted tartan into something darkly romantic and theatrical, while Charles Jeffrey LOVERBOY and Louise Gray have brought a riot of colour and queer joy to the fabric, infusing it with punk energy and playful chaos. Tartan’s presence in queer fashion goes beyond the runway too — actor Alan Cumming is rarely seen without a splash of tartan, proudly wearing it as both a nod to his Scottish roots and a bold queer statement. From flannel shirts in lesbian and butch culture to vibrant kilts and tailored suits at Pride, tartan remains a living, shape-shifting fabric that queers continue to claim, reinvent, and wear with pride.https://www.queertartanregister.com/queer-history-of-tartan https://www.tartanregister.gov.uk/tartanDetails?ref=13525https://www.tartanregister.gov.uk/tartanDetails?ref=11871

File:Non-Binary Dykes Let's High-Five (51321955212).jpg arrival]]

There are many origin stories of the high five,{{cite web|last1=Brigham|first1=Bob|date=June 17, 2003|title=The Man Who Invented the High-Five|url=http://www.outsports.com/2013/2/26/4034108/the-man-who-invented-the-high-five|access-date=July 25, 2014|website=SB Nation|archive-date=December 19, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141219003547/http://www.outsports.com/2013/2/26/4034108/the-man-who-invented-the-high-five|url-status=live}} but the two most documented candidates are Dusty Baker and Glenn Burke of the Los Angeles Dodgers professional baseball team on October 2, 1977, and Wiley Brown and Derek Smith of the Louisville Cardinals men's basketball team during the 1978–1979 season.{{cite web|last=Mooallem|first=Jon|date=May 22, 2020|title=The wild, mysterious history of sports' most enduring gesture: the high five|url=https://www.espn.com/espn/story/_/id/6813042/who-invented-high-five|access-date=April 2, 2021|publisher=ESPN|archive-date=June 20, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160620084710/http://espn.go.com/espn/story/_/id/6813042/who-invented-high-five|url-status=live}}{{cite magazine|last1=Garcia|first1=Michelle|date=April 19, 2018|title=The Gay History of the High Five|url=http://www.advocate.com/news/2012/04/19/gay-history-high-five|magazine=The Advocate|access-date=March 6, 2017|archive-date=May 30, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230530040345/https://www.advocate.com/news/2012/04/19/gay-history-high-five|url-status=live}} After retiring from baseball, Burke, who was one of the first openly gay professional athletes, used the high five with other gay residents of the Castro district of San Francisco, and it became a symbol of gay pride.

File:Queer manicure example.jpg

{{main|Queer manicure}}

A lesbian manicure (also known as queer manicure, lez nails, or femmicure){{efn|From the LGBTQ slang terms queer, lez, and femme respectively.}} is a style or trend of manicure intended to allow lesbians and other queer people in the LGBTQ community to safely and easily perform digital penetration during sex. The most distinct and modern form of the manicure entails long nail extensions on every finger apart from the index finger, middle finger, and sometimes thumb of the dominant hand, thus preventing injury or discomfort to the vulva or vagina during intercourse while otherwise maintaining the fashion of long acrylic nails in one's daily life. The style is often seen as a public expression or symbol of lesbian identity, particularly on the femme side of the femme-butch spectrum.Wallace, Megan. [https://www.dazeddigital.com/beauty/article/57211/1/lez-nails-is-the-queer-woman-with-short-nails-an-outdated-stereotype "Lez nails: Is the 'queer woman with short nails' an outdated stereotype?"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240627195950/https://www.dazeddigital.com/beauty/article/57211/1/lez-nails-is-the-queer-woman-with-short-nails-an-outdated-stereotype |date=2024-06-27 }}, Dazed Beauty, 17 October 2022. Retrieved 27 June 2024.

File:Purple hand.jpg

On October 31, 1969, sixty members of the Gay Liberation Front, the Committee for Homosexual Freedom (CHF), and the Gay Guerilla Theatre group staged a protest outside the offices of the San Francisco Examiner in response to a series of news articles disparaging people in San Francisco's gay bars and clubs.{{cite book|last=Alwood|first=Edward|url=https://archive.org/details/straightnewsgays00alwo|title=Straight News: Gays, Lesbians, and the News Media|publisher=Columbia University Press|year=1996|isbn=0-231-08436-6|page=[https://archive.org/details/straightnewsgays00alwo/page/94 94]|access-date=January 1, 2008|url-access=registration}}* {{cite book|last1=Teal|first1=Donn|title=The Gay Militants: How Gay Liberation Began in America, 1969-1971|date=1971|publisher=St. Martin's Press|isbn=0312112793|location=New York|pages=52–58}}

• {{cite magazine|last=Gould|first=Robert E.|date=24 February 1974|title=What We Don't Know About Homosexuality|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0wfHq53yNCYC&pg=PA371|magazine=New York Times Magazine|isbn=9780231084376|access-date=January 1, 2008|archive-date=17 January 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230117233245/https://books.google.com/books?id=0wfHq53yNCYC&pg=PA371|url-status=live}}
• {{cite news|last1=Laurence|first1=Leo E.|date=October 31 – November 6, 1969|title=Gays Penetrate Examiner|volume=1|page=4|work=Berkeley Tribe|issue=17|url=https://voices.revealdigital.com/?a=d&d=BFBJFGJ19691031.1.4&e=-------en-20--1--txt-txIN---------------1|access-date=7 August 2019|archive-date=23 December 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211223093646/https://www.jstor.org/site/reveal-digital/independent-voices/|url-status=live}} The peaceful protest against the Examiner turned tumultuous and was later called "Friday of the Purple Hand" and "Bloody Friday of the Purple Hand".{{cite web|date=30 March 2006|title="Gay Power" Politics|url=http://ebar.com/openforum/opforum.php?sec=guest_op&id=41|access-date=January 1, 2008|website=GLBTQ, Inc.|archive-date=10 July 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110710165002/http://ebar.com/openforum/opforum.php?sec=guest_op&id=41|url-status=dead}}{{cite news|last1=Van Buskirk|first1=Jim|date=March 20, 2006|title=Gay Media Comes of Age|volume=36|page=13|work=Bay Area Reporter}}* {{cite news|last1=Stryker|first1=Susan|last2=Buskirk|first2=Jim Van|date=November 15–30, 1969|title=Friday of the Purple Hand|work=San Francisco Free Press|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=X-s3MQmEQiMC&pg=PA51|access-date=January 1, 2008|isbn=9780811811873|archive-date=September 7, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240907193501/https://books.google.com/books?id=X-s3MQmEQiMC&pg=PA51|url-status=live}} (courtesy: the Gay Lesbian Historical Society.
• {{cite journal|last1=Martin|first1=Del|date=December 1969|title=The Police Beat: Crime in the Streets|url=http://digitalassets.lib.berkeley.edu/sfbagals/Vector/1969_Vector_Vol05_No12_Dec.pdf|journal=Vector (San Francisco)|volume=5|issue=12|page=9|access-date=1 June 2019|archive-date=1 June 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210601020916/https://digitalassets.lib.berkeley.edu/sfbagals/Vector/1969_Vector_Vol05_No12_Dec.pdf|url-status=live}}
• {{cite news|last=Bell|first=Arthur|author-link=Arthur Bell (journalist)|date=28 March 1974|title=Has The Gay Movement Gone Establishment?|work=The Village Voice|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0wfHq53yNCYC&pg=PA371|access-date=January 1, 2008|isbn=9780231084376|archive-date=17 January 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230117233245/https://books.google.com/books?id=0wfHq53yNCYC&pg=PA371|url-status=live}} Examiner employees "dumped a barrel of printers' ink on the crowd from the roof of the newspaper building", according to glbtq.com.{{cite web|last1=Stryker|first1=Susan|date=2004|title=San Francisco|url=http://www.glbtq.com/social-sciences/san_francisco.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150629154453/http://www.glbtq.com/social-sciences/san_francisco.html|archive-date=June 29, 2015|access-date=July 5, 2015|website=glbtq.com|page=2}} Some reports state that it was a barrel of ink poured from the roof of the building.{{cite book|last1=Montanarelli|first1=Lisa|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5FqTS3ZCbjgC|title=Strange But True San Francisco: Tales of the City by the Bay|last2=Harrison|first2=Ann|publisher=Globe Pequot|year=2005|isbn=0-7627-3681-X|access-date=January 1, 2008}}{{Dead link|date=May 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} The protestors "used the ink to scrawl slogans on the building walls" and slap purple hand prints "throughout downtown [San Francisco]" resulting in "one of the most visible demonstrations of gay power" according to the Bay Area Reporter. According to Larry LittleJohn, then president of Society for Individual Rights, "At that point, the tactical squad arrived — not to get the employees who dumped the ink, but to arrest the demonstrators. Somebody could have been hurt if that ink had gotten into their eyes, but the police were knocking people to the ground." The accounts of police brutality include women being thrown to the ground and protesters' teeth being knocked out.{{cite news|last1=Alwood|first1=Edward|date=24 April 1974|title=Newspaper Series Surprises Activists|work=The Advocate|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0wfHq53yNCYC&pg=PA371|access-date=January 1, 2008|isbn=9780231084376|archive-date=17 January 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230117233245/https://books.google.com/books?id=0wfHq53yNCYC&pg=PA371|url-status=live}} Inspired by Black Hand extortion methods of Camorra gangsters and the Mafia,{{cite book|last1=Nash|first1=Jay Robert|title=World Encyclopedia of Organized Crime|date=1993|publisher=Da Capo Press|isbn=0-306-80535-9}} some gay and lesbian activists attempted to institute "purple hand" as a symbol against anti-gay attacks, but the symbol was only briefly used.{{Citation |last=Hobson |first=Emily K. |title=Beyond the Gay Ghetto |date=2016-11-01 |url=https://doi.org/10.1525/california/9780520279056.003.0002 |work=Lavender and Red |access-date=2024-01-15 |publisher=University of California Press |doi=10.1525/california/9780520279056.003.0002 |isbn=978-0-520-27905-6 |archive-date=2024-09-07 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240907193351/https://academic.oup.com/california-scholarship-online/book/13979/chapter-abstract/167730409?redirectedFrom=fulltext |url-status=live }}{{Cite book |last=Kepner |first=Jim |url=https://archive.org/details/AlternateNovember1977/page/n35/mode/2up |title=Alternate |date=1977 |pages=36 |language=en |quote=October 31 [1969]: San Francisco gay-rads picket San Francisco Examiner over “queers and fairies” story. Purple ink dumped on pickets who ink handprints on building. Lawrence and 11 others busted for defacing. Purple hand briefly a gay lib symbol.}} In Turkey, the LGBTQ rights organization {{lang|de|MorEl Eskişehir LGBTT Oluşumu|italic=no}} (Purple Hand Eskişehir LGBT Formation) bears the name of this symbol.{{cite web|title=MorEl Eskişehir LGBTT Oluşumu|url=http://moreleskisehir.blogspot.com/|access-date=January 23, 2012|website=Moreleskisehir.blogspot.com|archive-date=January 28, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210128203926/http://moreleskisehir.blogspot.com/|url-status=live}}

File:Nautical star.jpg wrist tattoo]]

In the 1950s, some lesbians in Buffalo, New York wore a blue five-pointed star tattoo on the wrist, a location that could be covered by a watch.{{Cite book |last1=Kennedy |first1=Elizabeth Lapovsky |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0T8F0daflZ4C |title=Boots of Leather, Slippers of Gold: The History of a Lesbian Community |last2=Davis |first2=Madeline D. |publisher=Psychology Press |year=1993 |isbn=978-0-415-90293-9 |pages=189 |language=en}} People getting tattoos to reflect this history may choose a nautical-style star.{{Cite web |last=Keena |date=2012-06-21 |others=no further sources cited |title=I Saw The Sign: LGBT Symbols Then And Now |url=https://www.autostraddle.com/i-saw-the-sign-lgbt-symbols-then-and-now-140061/ |access-date=2022-06-01 |website=Autostraddle |language=en-US}}

Image:Hi-res-whiteknot.jpg

The white knot is a symbol of support for same-sex marriage in the United States. The white knot combines two symbols of marriage, the color white and "tying the knot," to represent support for same-sex marriage.{{cite web|date=26 February 2009|title=Lapel watch: White ribbon for equality? Knot, really|url=https://latimesblogs.latimes.com/alltherage/2009/02/lapel-watch-whi.html|publisher=latimesblogs.latimes.com|accessdate=25 May 2019|archive-date=6 March 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190306111637/https://latimesblogs.latimes.com/alltherage/2009/02/lapel-watch-whi.html|url-status=live}} The white knot has been worn publicly by many celebrities as a means of demonstrating solidarity with that cause.* {{cite web|author=Jere Hester|date=16 July 2009|title=White Knot? Why Not?|url=https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/archive/White-Knot-Why-Not.html|publisher=nbcnewyork.com|accessdate=25 May 2019|archive-date=25 May 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190525060857/https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/archive/White-Knot-Why-Not.html|url-status=live}}

• {{cite web|author=Brooks Barnes|date=26 November 2008|title=Another Cause, Another Ribbon|url=https://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/11/26/another-cause-another-ribbon/?scp=1&sq=whiteknot.org&st=cse%20Another%20Cause,%20Another%20Ribbon%20%E2%80%93%20NYTimes.com|publisher=thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com|accessdate=31 May 2019|archive-date=29 October 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201029080059/https://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/11/26/another-cause-another-ribbon/?scp=1&sq=whiteknot.org&st=cse%20Another%20Cause%2C%20Another%20Ribbon%20%E2%80%93%20NYTimes.com|url-status=live}}
• {{cite web|author=Marc Malkin|date=7 February 2009|title=Foo Fighters' Dave Grohl: White Knot for Gay Marriage|url=http://www.eonline.com/uberblog/marc_malkin/b98982_foo_fighters_dave_grohl_white_knot_gay.html|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090209072118/http://www.eonline.com/uberblog/marc_malkin/b98982_foo_fighters_dave_grohl_white_knot_gay.html|archive-date=9 February 2009|publisher=EOnline|accessdate=31 May 2019}}
• {{cite web|author=Nikki Finke|date=24 February 2009|title=White Knot Oscars And Spirit Awards Lists|url=https://deadline.com/2009/02/white-knot-oscars-and-spirit-awards-lists-8587/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181205140819/https://deadline.com/2009/02/white-knot-oscars-and-spirit-awards-lists-8587/|archive-date=5 December 2018|publisher=Deadline|accessdate=6 June 2019}}
• {{cite web|author=Adam Markovitz|date=10 February 2009|title=Oscar fashion preview: White knots on the red carpet?|url=http://popwatch.ew.com/popwatch/2009/02/oscar-fashion-p.html|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090222121106/http://popwatch.ew.com:80/popwatch/2009/02/oscar-fashion-p.html|archive-date=22 February 2009|publisher=popwatch.ew.com|accessdate=6 June 2019}}
• {{cite web|author=Rhiza Dizon|date=20 February 2009|title=Expect White Knots on Oscar's Red Carpet|url=http://www.advocate.com/news_detail_ektid73415.asp|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090315030951/http://www.advocate.com:80/news_detail_ektid73415.asp|archive-date=15 March 2009|publisher=Advocate|accessdate=6 June 2019}}
• {{cite web|author=Andy Towle|date=19 November 2008|title=Is the White Knot the New Red Ribbon?|url=http://www.towleroad.com/2008/11/is-the-white-kn/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190306235246/http://www.towleroad.com/2008/11/is-the-white-kn/|archive-date=6 March 2019|publisher=Towleroad|accessdate=6 June 2019}}

The white knot was created by Frank Voci in November 2008, in response to the passage of Proposition 8 in California and bans on same-sex marriage and denial of other civil rights for LGBTQ persons across the nation.{{cite web|title=About White Knot|url=http://www.whiteknot.org/about.html|url-status=unfit|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130811192814/http://www.whiteknot.org/about.html|archive-date=11 August 2013|publisher=WhiteKnot|accessdate=6 June 2019}}

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File:Gay Pride Flag.svg is the most commonly used pride flag.{{cite web|title=Rainbow Flag: Origin Story |url=https://gilbertbaker.com/rainbow-flag-origin-story/ |website=Gilbert Baker Foundation |date=2018 |access-date=27 September 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180618200034/https://gilbertbaker.com/rainbow-flag-origin-story/ |archive-date=June 18, 2018 |url-status=live}}{{cite news |last1=Segerblom |first1=Lynn |title=The woman behind the Rainbow Flag |url=https://www.losangelesblade.com/2018/03/02/woman-behind-rainbow-flag/ |work=Los Angeles Blade |date=March 2, 2018 |access-date=27 September 2021 |archive-date=10 June 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220610042007/https://www.losangelesblade.com/2018/03/02/woman-behind-rainbow-flag/ |url-status=live }}]]{{Excerpt|Pride flag|only=paragraph|paragraphs=1-3}}

File:Bi triangles.svg|Biangles
(represents bisexuality)

File:Double crescent symbol (filled, color).svg|Double moon
(represents bisexuality){{cite web |url=http://andrejkoymasky.com/lou/sym/sym05.html |title=Gay Symbols: Other Miscellaneous Symbols |access-date=18 February 2007 |author=Koymasky, Matt |author2=Koymasky Andrej |date=14 August 2006 |archive-date=9 April 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110409235810/http://andrejkoymasky.com/lou/sym/sym05.html |url-status=live }}

File:Double Venus symbol (bold).svg|Double female symbol
(represents lesbian women){{cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaofle00bzim/page/748 |title=Lesbian Histories and Cultures: An Encyclopedia |date=2000 |publisher=Garland Publishing |isbn=0-8153-1920-7 |editor1-last=Zimmerman |editor1-first=Bonnie |editor1-link=Bonnie Zimmerman |edition=1st |volume=1 (Encyclopedia of Lesbian and Gay Histories and Cultures) |page=748 |chapter=Symbols (by Christy Stevens) |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaofle00bzim/page/748 |url-access=registration}}

File:Double Mars symbol (bold).svg|Double male symbol
(represents gay men)

File:Alternative-sexuality symbol (bold, color).svg|Interlocking gender symbols

File:Whitehead-link-alternative-sexuality-symbol.svg|Interlocking gender symbols

Bisexuality symbol (bold, color).svg|Four interlocking gender symbols

File:Labrys-symbol.svg|Labrys
(represents lesbian feminism){{cite web|last1=Pea|first1=Georgie|title=LABRYS Tool of Lesbian Feminism|url=http://findinglesbians.blogspot.com/2013/08/labrys-tool-of-lesbian-feminism.html|website=Finding Lesbians|date=9 August 2013|access-date=4 August 2018|archive-date=12 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201112023141/http://findinglesbians.blogspot.com/2013/08/labrys-tool-of-lesbian-feminism.html|url-status=dead}}{{cite book|last1=Myers |first1=JoAnne |title=Historical Dictionary of the Lesbian Liberation Movement: Still the Rage |year=2003 |edition=1st |page=156 |publisher=The Scarecrow Press |location=Lanham, Maryland |lccn=2002156624 |isbn=978-0810845060 |url=https://archive.org/details/tozlesbianlibera00myer/page/156/mode/2up |url-access=limited}}

File:Lambda-letter-lowercase-symbol-Garamond.svg|Lambda
(represents gay liberation)

File:Pansexual symbol (bold).svg|Pansexual symbol{{cite web|last1=Oliva|first1=Gabriela|date=2020-09-10|title=Pansexualidade: entenda o que é essa orientação sexual|url=https://oglobo.globo.com/celina/pansexualidade-entenda-que-essa-orientacao-sexual-24622044|access-date=2022-12-27|website=O Globo|language=pt-BR|archive-date=2022-12-27|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221227011047/https://oglobo.globo.com/celina/pansexualidade-entenda-que-essa-orientacao-sexual-24622044|url-status=live}}

File:Transgender symbol black and white.svg|Androgyne + male + female symbol, the most common transgender symbol

Gender sign (bold, pink and blue).svg|Pink and blue transgender

File:Trans woman power symbol.svg|Transfeminist symbol

Bi triskelion (white).svg|Triskelion

Chamaeleon symbol (dark pink and blue).svg|Pink and blue chameleon (genderfluid)

File:Gender neutral bathroom sign.png|Androgyne + male + female symbol identifying unisex / inclusive restroom

File:Separate toilets for three genders.jpg|Male, female and hijra public toilets in India

Agender symbol.svg|Asexuality;{{cite web |url=https://www.sexualdiversity.org/edu/symbols/emoji/1065.php |title=Unicode Asexuality Character |date=6 November 2022 |website=Sexual Diversity |access-date=12 May 2024 |archive-date=23 September 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230923173902/https://www.sexualdiversity.org/edu/symbols/emoji/1065.php |url-status=live |last1=Diversity |first1=Sexual }} Agender, non-binary
(a larger circle in genealogies means 'female'){{cite book |last1=McElroy |first1=D.R. |title=Signs & Symbols of the World: Over 1,001 Visual Signs Explained |date=2020 |page=198 |publisher=Wellfleet Press |location=New York, New York |isbn=978-1577151869}}

Androgyny symbol (up arrow).svg|Androgyne (no particular appearance), gender-queer, gender-neutral

Androgyny symbol (down arrow).svg|sometimes distinguished:
androgyne (female appearance)

Androgyny symbol (fixed width).svg|sometimes distinguished:
androgyne (male appearance)

Asexual symbol (fixed width).svg|Asexual

Male and female sign.svg|Bigender (also androgyne, agender, etc.); in botany: bisexual / hermaphroditic

Bisexuality symbol.svg|BisexualNixon & Düsterhöft (2017) Sex in the Digital Age, p. 150

Female bisexuality symbol.svg|Bisexual (female)

Male bisexuality symbol.svg|Bisexual (male)

Alternative-sexuality symbol.svg|Bisexual (Whitehead link)See :File:Pride in London 2016 - Bisexual people in the parade.png

Demi-boy symbol.svg|Demi-boy

Demi-girl symbol.svg|Demi-girl

Double crescent symbol.svg|double crescent

Double Mars symbol.svg|Gay (male) union

Mercury symbol (fixed width).svg|Intersex;{{cite web |url=https://www.iconfinder.com/icons/7275666/mercury_hermaphrodite_intersex_gender_sex_gender_identity_sexuality_icon |title=Mercury, hermaphrodite, intersex, gender, sex, gender identity, sexuality icon |last=Eigtved |first=Martin LeBlanc |website=Iconfinder |access-date=2024-05-12 |archive-date=2024-09-07 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240907193350/https://www.iconfinder.com/icons/7275666/mercury_hermaphrodite_intersex_gender_sex_gender_identity_sexuality_icon |url-status=live }} Gender-fluid (symbol of fluid quicksilver); non-binary

Mercury with arrow symbol (fixed width).svg|Androgyne male

Heterosexuality symbol.svg|Heterosexual union

Inter-gender symbol.svg|Intergender

Double Venus symbol.svg|Lesbian union

Neuter symbol.svg|Neuter (asexual, neutral, neutrois); botany: asexual reproduction; zoology: non-reproducing (e.g. worker bees)

Non-binary symbol (fixed width).svg|Non-binary

Asteroid symbol (fixed width).svg|Non-binary (glyph variant)LGBQ Nation, [https://www.lgbtqnation.com/2022/07/all-about-the-nonbinary-symbol/ All about the nonbinary symbol] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240418062235/https://www.lgbtqnation.com/2022/07/all-about-the-nonbinary-symbol/ |date=2024-04-18 }}

Comet symbol (fixed width).svg|Non-binary (comet, contrasting with Venus for female and Mars for male)

Oberon symbol (fixed width).svg|Other/undefined gender (transgender, non-binary, gender-fluid)

Pansexual symbol (fixed width).svg|Pansexual

Rotated Mercury (fixed width).svg|Rotating / fluctuating gender expression

Gender sign.svg|Transgender, transsexual, gender-queer; gender inclusive (male, female and androgyne / transgender)Winfield (2019) Gender Identity: The Ultimate Teen Guide, p. 59

{{Excerpt|Pride flag|Gallery|subsections=yes}}

{{Contains special characters|section=table}}

{{for|information on entering these symbols in a document|Unicode input}}

{{hatnote|The meanings given here are those formally associated with the symbol in Unicode. They may be used with other meanings elsewhere. See also Gender symbols#Encoding.}}

Many of these symbols have unrelated meanings in other fields, notably as alchemical symbols and planetary symbols.

{{Portal|LGBTQ|Heraldry and vexillology}}

• LGBTQ slang
• LGBTQ slogans
• Pride flag

{{Notelist}}

{{Reflist}}

{{Commons category|LGBT symbols}}

• [https://www.odu.edu/oir/lgbt/queer101 LGBTQIA+ Glossary] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211218142115/https://www.odu.edu/oir/lgbt/queer101 |date=2021-12-18 }} at Old Dominion University

{{LGBTQ|culture}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:LGBT Symbols}}

Category:Human gender and sexuality symbols

LGBT