Carabiner meaning gay
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Being queer is something that was and is still often dangerous to be, with persecution of the LGBTQ+ community being a common occurrence across much of human history. Still, feminine women have also incorporated it into their own style in their jewellery. During the 70s, there was widespread agreement that wearing the latch on the left side of the body indicated one was a top; while wearing it on the right indicated they were a bottom.
A common practice from the 1940s and lasting into the 1990s, even somewhat today, is for gay men to subtly flag their availability through wearing a handkerchief in one of their pants pockets. It's likely to have started as a trend in the mid-20th century, as a symbol for butch and masc-presenting women working blue collar jobs. Today, the flower has been widely adopted by the community.
Gay men also often flag with the carabiner, as well as wearing bracelets, jewelry (such as a ear piercings), and dressing in non-traditionally masculine ways. Despite some codes losing exclusivity, queer people continue to influence cultural trends and develop new ways of signaling identity.
The resilience and creativity behind queer coding highlight queer people’s ongoing role in shaping style and self-expression.
A Non-Extensive History of Queer Fashion: Carabiners, Handkerchiefs, and Other Flags of Queerness
Creative Direction by Rachael Mueller
Written by Hazel Leeker
Photography by Ellie McCleary
Modeled by Anna Berkheimer, Hazel Leeker, Claire Boumstein, & Daniel Castillo
Fashion in the queer community has had a long and storied history, much longer than that of the modern queer movement.
This trend is undeniable, with there now being multiple queer climbing clubs in the UK such as Not So Trad, Climbing QTs UK, and GOC Adventure Out.
DIVA magazine celebrates 30 years in print in 2024. In this sense, the carabiner was the lesbian version of the hanky code, a system where gay men would communicate their sexual preferences by wearing a coloured bandana in the left or right back pocket.
In recent years, the carabiner has become a more mainstream fashion accessory.
And she’s right! Disney films, influenced by heteronormative cultural ideals, often give villains exaggerated mannerisms or traits associated with queer stereotypes, a form of negative queer coding that plays into harmful stereotypes.
Characters like Ursula in “The Little Mermaid”, inspired by the drag queen Divine, Jafar in “Aladdin”and Scar from “The Lion King”are designed with exaggerated mannerisms, flamboyance or gender nonconformity.
Wearing a handkerchief in any way can be a manner of flagging such as wearing it around your neck, as a bracelet, or traditionally in your back pocket. Some of Sappho’s surviving poetry discusses the adornment of a lover (of which she had many at one time) in wreaths of violets, as well as hyacinths. However, in the 1970s, a group of lesbian feminists reclaimed the symbol, incorporating the identity of a Lavender Menace to counter-act against women's rights activists who purposely excluded queer women from the movement.
From then on, many gay men would wear green carnations on their lapels in order to show their sexuality.
So-called ‘sapphic’ violets served a similar purpose, though predominantly for women who loved other women. Examining this history of queer culture and its impact is very much important.
However, the symbol has evolved into a general symbol of queerness. They are a perfect visual signifier for a culture that contains a full spectrum of gender presentations.
It is interesting to note, however, how the use of the carabiner has come somewhat full circle in the lesbian realm. While these items may seem mundane, they often carry a deeper meaning.
Once solely associated with climbing, carabiners are an example of a classic queer symbol, particularly among lesbians and nonbinary people.
Green carnations were popularized by Oscar Wilde as a way for men to signal their attraction to other men. We're still adding to the collection, so if you don't see your group yet, give us a follow on social media so you'll be the first to know when a new collection drops!
Unlike other lesbian symbols, such as lavenders or the labrys, carabiners are versatile, easily wearable, and discreet. The code was utilized to communicate covertly in an era when homosexuality was criminalized.
Lavender & Violet
Purple has been synonymous with queerness throughout history; however, the lavender and violet shades hold a special place for lesbians.