Notions of Sexuality

What is the significance of the Rainbow Flag and the Pink Triangle?

The Rainbow Flag is an international symbol of Gay and Lesbian Pride. The flag was conceived by Gilbert Baker, a San Francisco resident. He had copies of the flag made which were flown at San Francisco’s Pride events in 1978. The flag with its 6 horizontal stripes of red, orange, yellow, green, blue and purple, represent the diversity and unity of the gay and lesbian community. Heritage of Pride introduced the rainbow flag to the East Coast in 1986.

The pink triangle was used to mark male homosexuals in the concentration camps of Hitler’s Third Reich, while lesbians, female dissidents, and prostitutes were forced to wear black triangles. Both the pink and the black triangles have now been adopted by many in the gay community as symbols of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender pride and determination.

(taken from http://www.hopinc.org/faq.html)