Why a pink triangle?
In WWII concentration camps, the Nazis used a system of colored triangles to “mark” individuals. The most common was yellow, symbolizing a person of Jewish heritage. The pink triangle was used to identify male prisoners in WWII concentration camps who were sent there because of their homosexuality. Prior to WWII, pink was historically a male color as an offshoot of the virility of red. Pink was chosen not because it meant the wearer was feminine, but because they liked other men. Many in the mainstream also believe that a black triangle was used to identify and persecute lesbians and the symbol of the black triangle is gaining wider acceptance and meaning in today’s LGBT community. In some cases both a pink or black triangle was overlaid upon a yellow triangle to symbolize Jewish homosexuals.
