Two young men recently posted on Facebook that they don’t understand why the colour pink is associated with gay people. I got the impression that they thought pink just wasn’t a cool colour… That said, I do think that pink is a cool colour (yes, real men do wear pink) and here is why:
During World War II as Nazi Germany began its domination of Europe many people found themselves being rounded up and sent to concentration camps. Most people think only Jews were sent to concentration camps, but the fact is that many others including gypsies, Jehovah’s Witnesses, people with disabilities and homosexuals were also rounded up like animals. In concentration camps people were marked according to their “crime”.
Jews were marked with a Star of David, as you might have seen in movies. Gay men were marked with a PINK triangle badge for being homosexual, while lesbians were designated with a black triangle for “antisocial behaviour”.
Estimates of how many homosexuals died in Nazi concentration camps vary greatly, but most seem to believe that it was close to 100 000. Many died as a result of being experimented on my Nazi “scientists” and not because they were executed.
So in my long-winded history lesson I hope you now understand why pink is associated with gayness – it’s all because of those little pink triangles.
What is sad is that all of the other minority groups that were persecuted during the Holocaust have found full equality almost everywhere in the world, with the exception of homosexuals.
This reminds me of something I once read: While many minority groups are the target for prejudice and discrimination in our society, few persons face this hostility without the support and acceptance of their family as do many gay, lesbian, and bisexual youth.
