Symbols of Pride and the Politics of Gay Liberation

In the twenty-first century, pride flags have become synonymous with the contemporary LGBTQ+ community. The rainbow flag, for example, is probably the most recognisable symbol of the queer community ever. Yet, despite this, little has been written about the histories of this symbol. While historians have noted the origins of the rainbow flag, the process by which this flag became a globally recognisable symbol synonymous with this community remains a mystery. At present, the silences and unquestioned assumptions which permeate historical literature suggest that the rainbow flag attained its contemporary status almost immediately after Gilbert Baker first designed it in 1978. A closer examination of the symbols being raised during pride parades throughout the 1980s however, reveals the falsity of such narratives. Where we might today expect to find the rainbow flag, we instead find symbols such as the lambda or the pink triangle. This presentation thus seeks to re-historicize the history of the rainbow flag. In doing so, it explores the wider history of so-called pride symbols in the emerging LGBTQ+ community beginning with the 1970s. From the early attempts to use the lambda to the reclamation of the pink triangle, this paper asks how lesbian and gay liberation movements sought to represent their politics through the use of these pride symbols. It argues that, by paying attention to the symbols used during pride, we can learn much about both the national and transnational politics of the gay liberation movement. It also suggests that the histories of these early pride symbols are inextricably entangled with the histories of the later rainbow flag and the pride flags.