Male homosexuality symbol

The LGBTQI+ community has created their own language of colours and symbols.  In this guest blog Gillian Murphy, Curator for Equality, Rights and Citizenship at LSE Library, explores the symbols created through activism, logo competitions, resistance, and community.  LGBT+ History Month is celebrated each February in the UK.

LGBTQI+ symbols and their meanings

“Well, of course, a symbol can mean anything you wish it to mean.” Come Together, Issue 12,

The use of symbols and colours is an important way for groups to convey messages, communicate with others, and to build a visual identity.  During the s, LGBTQI+ people were encouraged to reach out and, in doing this, they often wore badges with distinctive symbols, reinforcing the conviction that no longer would they be invisible.  This blog looks at some of the symbols that can be found in LGBTQI+ collections.

The gender symbols for male and female are traditionally derived from astrological signs and mythological meanings representing Mars (god of war with shield and spear) and Venus (mirror of Venus, goddess of devotion and beauty)

EIU Center For Gender and Sexual Diversity

Symbols within the GSD Community

Rainbow Flag

The rainbow flag has become the easily-recognized colors of pride for the gay community. The rainbow plays a part in many myths and stories related to gender and sexuality issues in Greek, Aboriginal, African, and other cultures. Use of the rainbow flag by the gay community began in when it first appeared in the San Francisco Gay and Lesbian Autonomy Day Parade. Borrowing symbolism from the hippie movement and adj civil rights groups, San Francisco artist Gilbert Baker designed the rainbow flag in response to a need for a symbol that could be used year after year. The flag has six stripes, each color representing a component of the community: red for life, orange for healing, yellow for sun, leafy for nature, royal blue for harmony, and violet for spirit.

The rainbow flag has inspired a wide variety of related symbols and accessories, such as liberty rings. There are plenty of variations of the flag, including versions with superimposed lambdas, pink triangles, or other symbols. Some r

LGBTQ+ Terms

The following is a list of LGBTQ+ inclusive terms.

A

Agender

A person who identifies as having no gender.

Ally

A non-LGBTQ person wo shows support for LGBTQ people and advocates for equality in a variety of ways.

Androgyne/androgynous

Identifying and/or presenting as neither distinguishably masculine nor feminine.

Asexual

A person who experiences tiny or no sexual attraction to others. Asexuality is not the same as celibacy.

Assigned Sex at Birth

The sex (male or female) assigned to a child at birth, most often based on the child’s external anatomy. Commonly referred to as birth sex, natal sex, biological sex, or sex.

B

Biphobia

The fear or hatred of and discrimination against bisexuals. Biphobia is different from homophobia or transphobia in that is seen within the LGBT community as well as in general society.

Bisexual

A person emotionally, romantically or sexually attracted to more than one sex, gender or gender identity though not necessarily simultaneously, in the same way or to the same degree.

C

Unicode: Sex Symbols ♂ ♀ ⚤

By Xah Lee. Date: . Last updated: .

Sex Signs

  • ♂ male
  • ♀ female
  • ⚦⚨⚩ • hermaphrodite / transgender / transexual / intersex • alchemical symbol for iron, • crocus of iron
  • ⚲ neuter, eunuch

Sex Relations Signs

  • ⚤ heterosexual
  • ⚢ lesbian (female homosexuality)
  • ⚣ gay (male homosexuality)
  • ⚥ bisexual, intercourse.
  • ⚧ hermaphrodite / transgender / transexual / intersex, threesome, pansexual.
  • 👬 two men holding hands
  • 👭 two women holding hands

Marriage Status Signs

  • ⚭ MARRIAGE SYMBOL
  • ⚮ DIVORCE SYMBOL
  • ⚯ UNMARRIED PARTNERSHIP SYMBOL

Note About Sex Symbols and Their Meaning

Unicode assign each character a name. Typically, when a symbol has one universal meaning, Unicode names it by the character's meaning. For example, α is named GREEK SMALL LETTER ALPHA.

However, there are complications. For example, ⌘ was named COMMAND KEY in Unicode version 1 (released in ). But since Unicode version 2 (released in ), it's changed to PLACE OF INTEREST SIGN. The original use of this symbol is place of interest on maps in Finland, but not widely known. It is m