The rainbow flag is a beautiful, powerful symbol of our pride. It’s a joyful shout from the rooftops, a beacon of visibility we fought hard to earn. But our history, like our identities, is also filled with whispers, secret codes, and quiet gestures of recognition. For generations, in times when to be seen was to be endangered, our community developed a secret visual language.
At CASEPRIDE, we believe in celebrating the full spectrum of our narrative—both the loud and the quiet. This is a guide to some of those subtle symbols, a tribute to the wit, resilience, and creativity of those who came before us.
1. The Green Carnation: A Rebel's Boutonnière
In the late 19th century, to see a man in London wearing a green carnation pinned to his lapel was to see a quiet act of rebellion. Popularized by the legendary writer Oscar Wilde, this seemingly unnatural flower became a subtle, coded signal among queer men. It was a way of saying, "I am one of you," without speaking a word. The color itself—artificial, against nature—was a defiant nod to the "unnatural" love they were told they possessed. It was wit, it was danger, and it was devastatingly elegant.
2. Violets & Pansies: A Sapphic Vocabulary
The legacy of violets as a symbol of lesbian and sapphic love dates back to the ancient Greek poet Sappho herself, who famously wrote of her lover wearing "garlands of violets." Centuries later, in the early 20th century, the flower experienced a resurgence. In the 1926 play The Captive, one female character sends another a bouquet of violets, a gesture understood by audiences as a declaration of sapphic love. This led to a boom in both the flower's popularity and its coded meaning. Pansies (from the French word pensée, meaning "thought") also became associated with queer love, a gentle and beautiful symbol of affection and remembrance.
3. The Labrys: An Axe of Unyielding Strength
The Labrys, a double-bitted axe, is one of the most powerful and ancient symbols reclaimed by the lesbian and feminist movements of the 1970s. Its origins trace back to ancient Minoan civilization, where it was associated with powerful goddesses and matriarchal power. For modern activists, the Labrys came to symbolize female strength, self-sufficiency, and warrior-like resilience. It is a symbol not of aggression, but of the unyielding power to carve out one's own space in a world that often denies it.
4. The Pink Triangle: From Persecution to Pride
The history of the pink triangle is one of profound pain and powerful reclamation. Originally used by the Nazis to identify and persecute homosexual men in concentration camps, this symbol of unimaginable suffering was reclaimed by activists in the 1970s. They turned it upside down and adopted it as a symbol of protest and remembrance. It became the emblem of the AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power (ACT UP), often paired with the powerful slogan "SILENCE = DEATH." Today, it stands as a solemn reminder of our history of struggle and a defiant testament to our survival.
A Case for Your History
These symbols are more than just history; they are a part of our DNA. They are the quiet stories that give our loud pride its depth and meaning. They are a reminder that our community has always found creative, beautiful, and resilient ways to exist and find each other.
Want to carry these powerful narratives with you? Explore our The Archive Collection and our Code Theme, where history becomes wearable art.