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The SKY BLUE BANDS are designed to reflect positive symbols of commitment as well as empowerment and remembrance to the suffering of others during tragic times in history.
These are a few historical notes on some of the symbolism:
- Black triangle
In the Nazi concentration camps, the black triangle (equilateral, worn point down) was used to mark "undesirables," such as prostitutes, the mentally ill, and the retarded. Lesbians in the camp probably would have also worn the black triangle, although there is some debate about it. It is sometimes worn as a pride symbol by lesbians.
- Blue
A reference to the notion that all homophobia would end if everyone who was gay or bisexual would turn blue (or wear a blue dot on their forehead) for just one day. This idea is discussed in the short story "Am I Blue?" by Bruce Coville, where it is referred to as the Third Great Gay Fantasy (Am I Blue? Coming Out from the Silence, ed. Marion Dane Bauer, Harper Trophy, a short story collection for LGB youth), and in Bingo by Rita Mae Brown. Musician Tori Amos also used this reference in the song "Hey Jupiter" on Boys for Pele when she asked, "So are you gay? Are you blue?" (Tori Amos, while straight, is a great friend to the gay community and has been since she started playing in gay bars at the age of 12.)
- Pink triangle
The symbol gay men were made to wear in the Nazi concentration camps. It became a symbol of gay pride, and was first used to remind some homophobic Jews that homosexuals were in the concentration camps, too
The pink triangle has become one of the symbols of the modern gay rights movement, but it originated in Nazi concentration camps during World War II. In many camps, prisoners wore badges. These badges were colored based upon the reason for imprisonment. In one common system, men convicted for sexual deviance, including homosexuality wore a pink triangle. The icon has been reclaimed by many in the post-Stonewall gay rights movement as a symbol of empowerment, and, by some, a symbol of remembrance to the suffering of others during a tragic time in history.
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