Where did it come from? Gay trivia!

[Ray]

I was having a conversation with some "New Generation Queers" last night and they commented that the symbol of the Pink Triangle was in need of a "modernised rework"  It drove home the idea that gay culture and politics are not being handed on to the new generations. So this thread is for anyone to input their knowledge of gay traditions and histories.

• The Pink Triangle was the symbol Tattooed onto male homosexuals by the Nazis when in concentration camps
• The Rainbow flag originally had eight colours. In 1978 Gilbert Baker designed a flag with eight stripes: pink, red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet. According to Baker, those colors represented, respectively: sexuality, life, healing, sun, nature, art, harmony, and spirit. Baker soon approached San Francisco's Paramount Flag Company about mass producing and selling his "gay flag". Unfortunately, Baker had hand-dyed all the colors, and since the color "hot pink" was not commercially available, mass production of his eight-striped version became impossible. The flag was thus reduced to seven stripes.
  
  In November 1978, San Francisco's gay community was stunned when the city's first openly gay supervisor, Harvey Milk, was assassinated, Wishing to demonstrate the gay community's strength and solidarity in the aftermath of this tragedy, the 1979 Pride Parade Committee decided to use Baker's flag. The committee eliminated the indigo stripe so they could divide the colors evenly along the parade route - three colors on one side of the street and three on the other. Soon the six colors were incorporated into a six-striped version that became popularized and that, today, is recognized by the International Congress of Flag Makers.
  
• Friends of Dorothy became an secret catch phrase for gay men in response to the Wizard of Oz and the gay icon Judy Garland, (a bisexual woman), to identify 'fellows'.  The death of Judy in June 1969 led to the Stonewall Riots when mourners revolted against a police raid of a gay bar.
• Gay Safe venues would paint their interiors Grey & Lavender to secretly welcome homosexual customers.

Anyone wish to contribute?

[isabelle]

Great thread Ray. (Wasn't the pink triangle sewn on the inmates' clothes?)

FAGGOTS: In the inquisition of Europe, witches and gay people were burnt. They were required to gather the very "bundles of sticks" (the real meaning of this word) with which they would be burnt. This word comes from the French language, and came to mean "gay man", but we can see why it's an insult!

LESBIAN: This word originally referred to an inhabitant of an island in ancient Greece. The term has come to have its current meaning due to the ancient Greek lyric poet Sappho, who lived on the island; some of her poems concerned love between women.

[TJ]

Several years ago, a gay friend of mine told me about going to a Christian bookstore here in Tulsa, Oklahoma and he noticed that they were selling FAGGOTS, too.

The manufacturer had taken tiny sticks and bundled them together and took two faggot bundles and bound them so that they would make a cross.

My friend had been a pastor of a Salvation Army "Church," before he left the closet. 

Lots of people in places like Tulsa and else where just believe that the Salvation Army is just a faith-based community service organization. But, it is actually a  Christian church denomination. I find it interestingly odd that a church has to go begging for money to fund its activities.

Oh, since we are talking about gay trivia here . . . , several years ago, there was a company in the San Francisco area that had (heterosexual) "Christians" owning it. They used "rainbow" in the name of the company and had a rainbow as a symbol in its company logo. Some smart-alecky "Christians" told them that they should change their name and use something besides a rainbow because a rainbow was a homosexual icon.

That was funny because according to the Bible, the God in whom the Christians believe created the rainbow and the Bible states in both the Hebrew and Christian scriptures there is a rainbow around the Throne in Heaven. The new testament book where that is also states that an angel in Heaven has a rainbow over his head. Does that make him a gay angel?   

[Ray]

I understand that the symbols were both sewn on clothing and Tattooed onto hands.  I will refresh my knowledge on this Belle.

TJ, if they's gay, they ain't no angels I imagine!

[delalluvia]

Great thread Ray. (Wasn't the pink triangle sewn on the inmates' clothes?)

FAGGOTS: In the inquisition of Europe, witches and gay people were burnt. They were required to gather the very "bundles of sticks" (the real meaning of this word) with which they would be burnt. This word comes from the French language, and came to mean "gay man", but we can see why it's an insult!

LESBIAN: This word originally referred to an inhabitant of an island in ancient Greece. The term has come to have its current meaning due to the ancient Greek lyric poet Sappho, who lived on the island; some of her poems concerned love between women.

Interestingly enough, 'fags' are still cigarettes in Europe.  And the female inhabitants of the island of Lesbos were infamous in the ancient days for their talents in oral sex.  Back then, if yoiu called a woman a 'lesbian' or 'woman of Lesbos' you were saying she gave great head.

[isabelle]

Interestingly enough, 'fags' are still cigarettes in Europe.  And the female inhabitants of the island of Lesbos were infamous in the ancient days for their talents in oral sex.  Back then, if yoiu called a woman a 'lesbian' or 'woman of Lesbos' you were saying she gave great head.

* About the word 'fag', I hadn't thought of the analogy - thanks. Is it not used for 'ciggies' in the US?

* About 'Lesbians' being women famous for giving head, was that to each other? Or is this expression only used in relation to men??

[delalluvia]

Interestingly enough, 'fags' are still cigarettes in Europe.  And the female inhabitants of the island of Lesbos were infamous in the ancient days for their talents in oral sex.  Back then, if yoiu called a woman a 'lesbian' or 'woman of Lesbos' you were saying she gave great head.

* About the word 'fag', I hadn't thought of the analogy - thanks. Is it not used for 'ciggies' in the US?

Nope.

About 'Lesbians' being women famous for giving head, was that to each other? Or is this expression only used in relation to men??

Men, apparently.  We only have writing from men for the most part from that era.  It was all about them.

[isabelle]

Men, apparently.  We only have writing from men for the most part from that era.  It was all about them.

Right enough!
And thanks for the vocab lesson, always like to get my vocab right .

[Ray]

Does that make me a lesbian then?

[delalluvia]

Does that make me a lesbian then?