LGBT Symbols - Other Symbols

Other Symbols

In addition to major symbols of the LGBT community, less-popular symbols have been used to represent members’ unity, pride, shared values, and allegiance to one another.

The polyamory logo.

The polyamory flag.

The polyamory movement introduced an alternative to the original logo called the "love outside the box" symbol for use by polyamorous, non-monogamous, and LGBTQ individuals.

The symbol for Relationship anarchy (RA, sometimes known as "Radical Relations") was created by the Swedish radical art collective "Interacting arts" in 2006 as a symbol for those who reject normative ideas of how relationships "should" be organised.

Gay activists in Boston chose the purple rhinoceros as a symbol of the gay movement after conducting a media campaign in 1974. They selected this animal because, although it is sometimes misunderstood, it is docile and intelligent – but when a rhinoceros is angered, it fights ferociously. Lavender was used because it was a widely recognized gay pride color; the heart was added to represent love and the "common humanity of all people." A lavender rhino was a recognized symbol of lesbianism in the 1970s.

In ancient Rome, as in 19th-century England, green indicated homosexual affiliations. Victorian men would often pin a green carnation on their lapel as popularized by author Oscar Wilde, who often wore one on his lapel.

According to some interpretations, American poet Walt Whitman used the calamus plant to represent homoerotic love.

Bisexual women and lesbians used to give violets to the woman they were wooing, symbolizing their "Sapphic" desire. In a poem, Sappho described herself and a lover wearing garlands of violets. The giving of violets was popular from the 1910s to the 1950s.

In Israel the transgender and genderqueer community use a neon green flag and neon green colors.

• In the Society for Creative Anachronism, LGBT members often wear a blue feather to indicate an affiliation with Clan Blue Feather, a group of SCA members promoting the study of homosexuality in the Middle Ages.

• In the United Kingdom, since 2006 the Pink Jack has been widely used to represent a unique British Gay and Lesbian identity.
• Similarly, in the United States LGBT people in the southern part of the country or who live in rural areas may display a Confederate flag with a rainbow (rather than scarlet) background.