The LGBTQ+ community has a long and varied history with tattoos. In a time when it was illegal to be out and proud in Western culture, many LGBTQ+ people got tattoos to convey secret messages or as an act of defiance to authority.
The most common LGBTQ+-inspired tattoos are:
- The pink triangle tattoo: in Nazi Germany in the mid-1940s, gay prisoners in concentration camps were forced into wearing pink triangles as a badge of shame;
- Nautical star tattoo: in the late 1940s and 50s, some lesbians got a nautical star tattooed on their wrist as a signal to other lesbians;
- Scorpion/Biohazard tattoo: a gay man who is HIV+;
- Equals sign tattoo: this one’s fairly self-explanatory but it’s worth mentioning;
- Labrys (double-sided axe) tattoo: during the 1960s, lesbian feminists adopted the labrys tattoo as a symbol of strength and independence.
- Arm-band tattoo: a symbol that let the world know they enjoy anal fisting, etc.
The LGBTQ+ community has many symbols that represent this community as a whole. Even though society has taken great steps forward, the LGBTQA+ community is still looked down upon in some communities. Pride tattoos show that you’ve grown out of being afraid, and feel free to flaunt your true colours.
