The Pink Triangle avatar.

[Catherine Vincent]

It took me a while, but I finally figured out what it represents.:-)

[WindRavenX]

1. Seriously?

Wow, welcome to, like, 1990 :D
:hi:

[TahitiNut]

5. (Uhhh....) Well... (errrr...) uhmmm... they were used in 1940, too

But that was before I was born. Barely.

[WindRavenX]

12. oh yeah

But they didn't really take off as a positive symbol until the late 80's/ 90's, right?

[TahitiNut]

26. Well, GLBT co-opted them post-Stonewall (70's).

There've been several symbols used in the past by GBLT, including the lambda (Greek letter 'L' for liberation), the labys (double-edged axe - the oldest symbol for lesbianism), the rainbow flag, etc. I remember seeing the pink triangle in the 70's and, because I'd studied the Holocaust, I knew immediately what they meant. I couldn't help but regard their use as conscientious and a well-needed reminder for everyone.

Note: Some 'purists' regard the pink triangle as a gay male symbol only, and opt to use the black triangle for lesbians, and other symbols for bi and transgendered. I think the vast majority, in solidarity, accept the pink triangle. My "Straight But Not Narrow" button is a pink triangle.

[comsymp]

8. I woulda said 1940~

http://www.pink-triangle.org/

ON EDIT TO T-Nut: Took an extra couple minutes to dig up the link, or wouldn't have made my post redundant to yours.

[Up2Late]

25. Thanks for the link, I knew what it meant, but had forgotten where it...

...came from. One thing I found at that website, was the "other" colored triangles chart.
<http://www.pink-triangle.org/>

Color Description

Yellow (Star of David) Jewish. This symbol was used prior
to the camps in the ghettos and when Jews were in the
general population

Pink Gay men convicted under Paragraphs 174, 175 and 176 of
the Reich Penal Code

Purple Jehovah's Witnesses

Red Political prisoners

Black Asocial/Roma

Green Criminals

I was thinking, maybe we should all start wearing RED triangles (see chart), as in "Political prisoners." I don't know about all of you, but that how I feel here in the red State of Georgia.

True, most won't understand it at first, AND it might confuse the "Reds," but that might be sort of fun.

[Burma Jones]

2. I always thought it represented razor burn...........

[sui generis]

16. yes, the original Burning Bush

sign of a bad bikini wax.

[Amy6627]

3. Can you share it? I have no idea what it means. Seriously.

[Worst Username Ever]

6. It is a symbol for lesbianism

and the triangle is the shape of a woman's....

After some research, it looks like the symbol goes back even further than the gay right's movement, as pointed out in the posts above.

[TahitiNut]

10. (Uhmmm...) See ...

http://www.pink-triangle.org/ptps/symbol.html

[Catherine Vincent]

18. Thanks for the link.

I didn't know it started way back then and why.

[Catherine Vincent]

11. um, well I guess I was half right.

I thought it represented all gays, not just lesbians?

[DrDebug]

19. Yes and no

Yes, it can be used for men. Black triangles can be used for women exclusively.

On the other hand an upside down triangle is also a symbol for the vagina and the right side up triangle for the penis (with balls).

[comsymp]

15. You ARE joking, right?

[LiberallyInclined]

20. huh?

used as a symbol for lesbianism because it is the shape of a woman's...???

that makes no sense at all. why would lesbians choose pink as a representative colour? why would they want to be represented by an image representative of their cooch? why would gay men be the main users of something that is supposed to be a symbol for lesbianism?

inquiring minds...

[TahitiNut]

9. See ...

http://www.pink-triangle.org/ptps/symbol.html

[Hobarticus]

17. Nazi Germany forced homosexuals to wear it...

like the Jews had to wear a yellow Star of David, to identify themselves to the public and government officials in the 30's and 40's.

Many minorities had their own color-coded 'markers'.

It was resurrected for the "Silence=Death" campaign, to raise public awareness about AIDS and the Reagan admin's total apathy.

So simple, so powerful.

[meganmonkey]

4. I hope you don't mind that you just made me laugh out loud!

I imagine you wouldn't have started a thread about it if you didn't think it was kind funny too :)

[Catherine Vincent]

13. Yeah, it is funny.

I'm kinda slow. And dense.:-)

[LiberallyInclined]

22. yeah- nuthin' funnier than nazi concentration camp i.d. procedures...

i don't know whether to :crazy: , or :eyes: .

[meganmonkey]

23. There is nothing funny about it as a Nazi symbol

...I'm not even going to bother. I have typed and retyped a response about 5 times and it just isn't worth it.

Peace.

[Catherine Vincent]

27. I agree. Nothing funny about the nazi symbol.

But you and I were giggling because I didn't know it meant a symbol for gay people. It had nothing to do with laughing at nazi stuff. In fact, I just found out thru this thread when it started.

But you're right, not worth explaining to some people.

[meganmonkey]

29. I'm glad you got it.

Humor can be hard to convey and understand on DU - I don't like offending people but I also don't like being judged..

:hi:

[LiberallyInclined]

31. so...pink triangles are funny, except for when they are symbols for gays..

i just don't get it at all...

what's the giggle-worthy thing about pink triangles...?

you must know- you started the thread...i'm just asking for a little clarification as to what the heck you're talking about, and where the humour lies.

[meganmonkey]

33. Nothing is 'giggle-worthy' about pink triangles

The fact that a long-time DUer didn't know what this rather common symbol means is giggle-worthy.

[LiberallyInclined]

28. i just don't see the funny part of it-

i guess i'm just a little thick that way...maybe you could enlighten those of us don't get the joke...?

[meganmonkey]

30. See cat_girl25's post #27. She explains it quite well, I think.

[LiberallyInclined]

32. really...? quite well?

pink triangles are funny, except when they are symbols for gay people...?


huh?

what's so funny about pink triangles?

[Catherine Vincent]

34. The pink triangle isn't funny.

What's funny is that it took me a while to figure out that it represented the gay community. I saw all the pink triangles as avatars here and thought it was pretty and simple until it dawned on me that there are no pink circles, squares, pentagons etc etc. And actually I will confess, I didn't actually get it. I had to type in "pink triangle" in google to figure it out.

I hope this explains it.

[comsymp]

24. Yeah, I got a real chuckle outta that, too~

Sticking with :eyes:

[CornField]

35. Whoa. You do realize: laughing at the situation, not at the symbol?

Sometimes I read things here and the only thing I can think for a few minutes is "whoa." This was one of those times. No one is giggling about gays, concentration camps, persecution or Nazi symbols. The humor lies in the fact that someone (obviously at least somewhat politically motivated) didn't understand the use of the symbol.

Now, I figure you can look at that in two ways:

1) Puff up your chest and be all offended because someone *dared* not to educate herself/himself on gay culture.

2) Do a Snoopy Dance of joy because people *don't* automatically recognize hateful symbols of oppression. After all, isn't it a good thing that one of the primary symbols connected to/with homosexuality is one that can be explained? What a great learning experience for those who didn't already know.

[sabra]

7. hmmm

guess you lean something new everyday?

[Catherine Vincent]

14. lean?

:hi:

[im10ashus]

21. Bless your baby heart!

Welcome to my big gay world. Oh, and welcome to DU!

:hi: