Somewhere Over The Rainbow
A history of the LGBTQ pride symbol
When I was younger, I vividly remember someone remarking that gay people stole the rainbow from God. I thought that was an odd thing to say — even before I came into my own identity.
Over the next decade, I just accepted without question that the rainbow was the definitive symbol of all things gay.
As I dug into it, I learned about an interesting history, one steeped in struggle. What started as a triangle with a sinister background grew into a beautiful colorful symbol of freedom.
The Pink Triangle
Let’s back up a little. Beyond the pride flag and the #LoveisLove hashtag, the third most notable gay pride symbol is the pink triangle.
The pink triangle originated in the work and death camps of Nazi Germany. The Third Reich devised a slew of symbols that were shorthand for the prisoner “offense.” Jewish people were forced to wear a yellow Star of David. Gay people, or homosexuals (said in the derogatory sense), had to wear the die Rosa Winkel, or pink triangle.
Hitler and the Nazis thought homosexuality to be infectious. To combat this, isolation and extermination was the only way to keep his precious Aryan race from catching the gay bug. Gay people, unlike what Nazis believed…
