27 Hidden LGBTQ+ Symbols, Signs & Secret Codes You Should Know
Growing up as an LGBTQ+ person has many challenges, but one of the biggest milestones is when we find our people. When we meet others like us, and discover that we're not alone. These days we have social media, where we can discover those people. But even now, away from our screen and out in public, we want to connect with others.
We always say that visibility is important, but it cannot come at the expense of safety. And safety is becoming more and more important as the culture wars rage. Outside of Pride Month, we may not often want to wear a giant rainbow across our chest. Maybe because we don’t feel safe to do so, or it's not appropriate, or maybe we just want something a bit more 'discreet pride' to wear out.
We're lucky that these days we have that choice. But in the decades and centuries before homosexuality was decriminalised, being visible could cost you your freedom, job, home, family, even your life. In many countries it still does. But finding others like us has always been important. For love, companionship, and community.
For generations, gay, lesbian, bi, queer, trans and ace people have sought out quieter ways to recognise one another. Sometimes it was a flower in a buttonhole. Sometimes it was a coded language, or a tattoo, a piece of jewellery or a symbol hidden in plain sight.
Many of these signs were born from necessity, when being openly LGBTQ+ could cost you everything. Others are much newer, created by today's community as fresh ways to express identity and find one another in an increasingly hostile world.
Some are instantly recognisable to millions of LGBTQ+ people. Others are known only within particular identities or communities. Some carry painful histories of persecution and resistance, and often they exist simply because our community has always loved creating ways to celebrate who we are.
Together, they tell a remarkable story.
Whether you're looking for a subtle way to express your identity, you're fascinated by queer history, or you're simply curious about the symbols that have helped our community recognise one another for generations, here are 26 hidden LGBTQ+ symbols, signs and secret codes you should know.
Hidden Languages
1. The Hanky Code
Before dating apps existed, gay and bisexual men developed ingenious ways to identify one another safely.
One of the best-known examples is the Hanky Code, also known as The Bandana Code, and ‘Flagging’, which began in gay leather and BDSM communities in the United States in 1971 and quickly spread across the world.
By wearing a coloured handkerchief in your back pocket you indicated what you were into. Different colours were specific to your interests, desires or kinks. And very quickly there were many colours.
And depending on whether you wore it in the left or right back pocket, it indicated whether someone was top, or bottom, or in some cases had other opposite wants or needs.
To outsiders it looked like nothing more than a fashion choice. To those who understood it, it was an entire language, without ever needing to say a word.
The number of colours (and their meanings) started with just a few. By 1980 it had reached 13 according to Bob Damron’s famous Address Book guide to every “cruisy area” in all 50 US States. Now it has reached more than 60, with many subtle variations and similar colours.
Although it isn't used as widely as it was in its heyday, the Hanky Code remains one of the most fascinating examples of how LGBTQ+ communities created our own methods of connection when open conversation simply wasn't possible. Or when finding the right person quickly, rather than having to spend time discovering if they were into the same things you were, was important.
2. Polari
Unlike the visual language of the Hanky Code, Polari was a coded verbal language used by many gay men in Britain throughout much of the twentieth century, particularly at a time when homosexuality was still illegal.
Borrowing words from Italian, Cockney rhyming slang, Romani, theatre culture and sailors' jargon, Polari allowed LGBTQ+ people to speak openly while remaining almost completely incomprehensible to everyone around them.
Words like vada (look), omi (man), palone (woman), and bona (good) became part of an entire hidden vocabulary that created both safety and community.
Although Polari is rarely spoken today, many of its words still echo through British queer culture. More importantly, it reminds us that language itself can become a symbol of belonging.
Identity Symbols & Pride Glyphs
Over the years, many identities have adopted simple glyphs that can quietly communicate who we are without needing bright colours or bold slogans. They're simple, elegant and often overlooked by people outside the LGBTQ+ community, which is exactly what makes them such effective subtle symbols.
3. Double Venus
The graphical Venus symbol (♀) evolved through millennia of ancient astronomy, shorthand linguistics, and scientific classification.
In 1751 it was adopted by a botanist as a shorthand for female parents. In the 1970s lesbian feminists began interlocking them into a Double Venus as an emblem of lesbian empowerment, and to celebrate woman-loving-women relationships.
4. Double Mars
The Double Mars followed the same path as the Double Venus as an astronomical and classification symbol.
A popular folk legend has it that the symbol represents the shield and spear of Mars, the Roman god of war. In 1970, UK activist newspaper Come Together, which was produced by the Gay Liberation Front, began featuring doubled, interlocking gender symbols on its covers.
5. The Transgender Symbol
Also known as the Trans Triad, this combines three distinct elements of the gender spectrum: The Mars Arrow to represent binary male, The Venus Cross, for binary female, and Striated Arrow Cross to represent androgyny, genderqueer, and non-binary identities. traditional male and female symbols with a third element to represent transition and gender diversity.
It was created in 1993 by trans author and activist Holly Boswell, who said that the central circle represents wholeness. It was temporarily placed within an inverted lavender triangle, but that was later dropped to leave the glyph that represents all trans people now.
Find Your Pride Symbol view the full collection
6. The Bisexual Glyph
The Bisexual Pride Glyph doesn’t have a specific originator, but has organically evolved out of 1970s and 1980s gay liberation graphics. Bisexual glyphs initially were designed with two male symbols and a female symbol (for bisexual men) or two female and a male symbol (for bisexual women).
There is now also a glyph with a male and female symbol at each end, with the loops structurally fused together to form a horizontal infinity sign in the middle in its own circle. The infinity symbol represents the vast gender spectrum, and the circle it sits in represents intersex individuals and non-binary gender identities, ensuring the symbol encompasses attraction to all genders.
7. The Non-Binary Symbol
The Non Binary symbol is a relatively recent Pride Glyph. Designed by Tumblr user Johnathan R. in 2012, this glyph consists of a circle, a vertical line, and an "X" over the top of the vertical line.
The "X" represents the third gender marker used on passports and legal documents. This is certainly a much less well known Pride Glyph. But it’s possibly the most elegant and stylish.
Great to wear for any enby people who want to go under the radar.
8. Empty Set Symbol
In 2009 Agender and Neutrois activists were looking for a symbol that meant "null" or "genderless", and the Empty Set Symbol (a mathematical concept to describe a set containing zero elements) was suggested in a forum.
The upshot was two glyphs. While there is some blurring of the interpretations, it's usually taken that the first, representing Agender people, has a circle with a horizontal slash across it. The circle represents a person, with the slash, communicating a total lack of binary gender markers.
In the Neutrois version a line extends upwards from the circle, but end is has no arrow, cross or X on it. This is seen as a total lack of any gender marker whatsoever. A subversion of the Mars and Venus glyphs.
9. The Pansexual Symbol
The Pansexual symbol evolved out of the Mars and Venus Pride Glyphs.
It uses a P (which is a shorthand for the Greek prefix 'pan-', which translates to "all" or "every") and adds an arrow on the lower end of the P to represent the Mars symbol arrow, and a cross across the lower arm to represent a Venus symbol cross. Together the combination means an attraction to men and masc/male identifying people, women and femme/female identifying people and all other genders.
It is one of the least known of all Pride Glyphs. And like many Pride Glyphs, it predates the Pride Flag for the community it represents, having been adopted in 2010.
Historic Symbols
10. The Pink Triangle
Few LGBTQ+ symbols carry as much emotional weight as the pink triangle. Originally used by the Nazis to identify men imprisoned for homosexuality in concentration camps, it was intended as a mark of persecution and shame.
Decades later, LGBTQ+ activists reclaimed the symbol, transforming it into one of resistance, remembrance and survival. During the AIDS crisis, organisations including ACT UP used the pink triangle to remind the world that silence cost lives.
Today it remains both a memorial to those we have lost and a reminder of the extraordinary resilience of our community.
11. The Labrys
The Labrys is a double-headed axe that has an ancient history, and was adopted by lesbian feminists during the 1970s due to its associations with the Amazons of Greek mythology, a tribe of warrior women. It appeared on one of the earliest Lesbian Pride Flags in 1999 (within a black inverted triangle on a purple background) and was embraced as a symbol of strength, independence and empowerment.
However, there have been several controversies around the flag, because it was created by a gay man, and it’s adoption by some TERF groups.
So while the flag has fallen out of favour with many lesbians, the labrys symbol itself is still very much recognised within feminist lesbian and dyke communities, and holds a special place in lesbian history. For many, it represents resilience, self-determination and a proud connection to generations of lesbians who fought for visibility and equality.
You’ll still see Labrys within feminist and Butch lesbian merch and on Dyke Marches as a defiant sign of lesbian strength and empowerment.
12. The Black Triangle
Like the Pink Triangle, the inverted Black Triangle has a difficult history. During the Second World War it was used in Nazi concentration camps to identify people labelled as "asocial", which included lesbians, sex workers and women who didn't conform to the patriarchal and nationalist expectations of the regime.
Like the Pink Triangle, it has since been reclaimed by parts of the lesbian community as a symbol of remembrance and resistance. While it isn't universally recognised today, as some lesbians believe it has too many negative connotations, it serves as an important reminder that queer history includes many stories that deserve to be remembered.
If you see it, it’s likely to be as part of a lesbian feminist design, often shown together with a Labrys and Nautical Stars.
13. Lambda (λ)
A single Greek letter that carries decades of meaning.
Lambda was adopted as the logo of the Gay Activists Alliance in New York in 1970 as a symbol of liberation and unity. This is because in chemistry it represents a catalyst.
Activists viewed this as the perfect metaphor for the GAA as the catalyst driving social change in the post-Stonewall years. The lowercase of the lambda also matches the letter "L," which was a nice shorthand for liberation.
It quickly spread through LGBTQ+ organisations around the world and in 1974 became one of the defining symbols of the early gay rights movement when officially declared the international symbol for gay and lesbian rights by the International Gay Rights Congress in Edinburgh.
You'll still see it in older Pride literature, archives and community organisations, and it's a lovely reminder that our movement has always been built on people coming together.
15. Nautical Star Tattoos
In the 1940s and 50s, lesbians adopted the five-pointed Nautical or North Star Tattoo, that had long represented ‘finding your way home, navigating difficult journeys and recognising others who had travelled similar paths’.
It originated amongst working-class, butch lesbians and their femme partners. And was usually placed on the top or underside of the wrist. Which allowed it to be hidden under a watch or a cuff during the day, while at work, and uncovered in bars at night to help identify each other. It became a symbol of finding your way home to a safe person or chosen family.
These days it’s often seen in butch lesbian and dyke designs alongside the inverted triangle and/or labrys.
Nature & Flowers
14. Green Carnations
One of the earliest examples of subtle queer signalling came not through a badge or a flag, but through a flower.
In the late nineteenth century, Oscar Wilde and members of his circle became associated with wearing green carnations in their buttonholes. Whether the practice was as widespread as later stories suggest is still debated by historians, but the green carnation has become an enduring symbol of queer history.
To almost everyone else, it was simply a flower. To those in the know, it could quietly communicate belonging.
17. White Lilies
White lilies have become a quieter symbol within parts of the lesbian community. Born out of the intricate paintings of calla lilies by American artist Georgia O’Keeffe in the mid 1900s.
In the 1970s lesbian art critics widely interpreted the delicate paintings as a representation of female anatomy. And the lesbian community rapidly claimed the lilly as an empowering symbol of lesbian identity and desire, and the beauty of women loving women.
The white lily is a great example of how flowers continue to offer subtle, elegant ways to express identity without needing obvious Pride imagery.
16. Violets
If you've ever wondered why violets appear so often in lesbian art and literature, the answer takes us back more than two thousand years.
The ancient Greek poet, and lesbian icon, Sappho, wrote about her lovers wearing violet crowns and garlands, and over time the flower became closely associated with love between women.
Today, violets continue to appear in jewellery, artwork and subtle Pride designs. They're beautiful in their own right, but for many sapphic women they also carry centuries of shared history.
18. The Seahorse
Of all the animals connected with LGBTQ+ identities, the seahorse may be the most fitting.
Male seahorses carry and give birth to their young, making them a powerful symbol for many trans fathers and transmasculine parents. It started to be a symbol of trans fathers in the mid 2010, but was vaulted into prominence in 2019 by the acclaimed documentary, Seahorse: The Dad Who Gave Birth featuring British Journalist and trans man Freddie McConnell.
Today it’s the recognised symbol for trans dads. And you'll increasingly find seahorses appearing in artwork, tattoos and community spaces celebrating trans parenthood. They're a reminder that nature often shows us that the religious doctrine on what constitutes a family is a reductive construct, and that families come in many different forms.
19. Butterflies
For many trans people, butterflies have become symbols of transition, growth and transformation. Like a caterpillar becoming a butterfly, the journey isn't about becoming someone else. It's about becoming who you always were.
The butterfly was originally adopted in the 1970s and 80s by support groups as a metaphor for transition and self discovery. It was merged with the new trans flag colours created by Monica Helms in 1999 by many trans artists, and then more visible community groups and organisations started to use the butterfly in their names such as the Butterfly Music Transgender Chorus. And the ITV drama Butterflies in 2018 further established it as a powerful symbol of the community.
It often appears in designs either with jewellery, or framing the Trans Pride Flag on clothing or accessories, or in its Unicode emoji form in social media and digital representations.
Modern Community Icons
20. The Biangle
Before either the Bisexual Pride Flag or the Bi Pride Glyph existed there was another symbol for the bisexual community. It was called The Biangle.
It was created in 1985 by artist Liz Nania and consisted of two inverted overlapping triangles. One in pink, to represent same sex attractions, and one in blue to represent opposite sex attraction. With the overlapping triangle in lavender to represent attraction to the whole gender spectrum. The triangle was still a powerful emblem of queer resistance and community.
The design colours were eventually the inspiration for the Bi Pride Flag. The Biangle is still seen regularly in Bi+ community designs.
21. The Double Moon
The Double Moon symbol was created in 1998 by Vivian Wagner, because there were a growing number of bisexual people wanted a symbol not rooted in historical violence and trauma. They wanted a softer, more organic symbol created to avoid the historical Nazi associations of triangular imagery.
The symbol comprises two crescent moons back to back, with the right one offset lower. But the colours often take different forms, with the most popular seeing both moons having a graduated change in colour from pink to blue. While some simply frame the colours of the Bi Pride Flag flag.
This symbol isn’t as widely recognised as the Biangle, but it has become a meaningful alternative for bisexual people looking for a quieter and more understated way to express identity.
22. The Carabiner
Sometimes practicality becomes culture. The lesbian connection to the carabiner originated as a practical tool for working-class butch women during World War II when women started doing heavy labour in huge numbers. Many women used the carabiner as a way to clip their keys to their belt loops.
After the war this utilitarian look became foundational to butch lesbian fashion, and in the 1970s it evolved into a similar identifier as the Hanky Code for gay men. Clipping the carabiner to the left belt loop signalled the wearer was assumed a dominant role, and on the right meant a submissive role.
The carabiner was taken from an underground symbol into prominence thanks to its appearance in queer literature and art.
The most famous of these is probably cartoonist Alison Bechdel, who became known through her long-running comic strip Dykes to Watch Out For. But in her acclaimed graphic memoir Fun Home, she detailed the profound "Ring of Keys" carabiner moment as her lesbian awakening.
Caribiners now come in a range of shapes: Standard shapes for a more classic look or functional need, and star, triangle or heart shaped carabiners are a more fashion choice.
Originally it was simply useful. Over time, it quietly became something much more. And now it’s even crossed into mainstream fashion. Today the humble carabiner has become an affectionate cultural icon, appearing in countless memes and conversations as one of those little things that many lesbians instantly recognise.
23. BLÅHAJ
Few modern LGBTQ+ symbols have appeared as unexpectedly as IKEA's blue shark. Known by its Swedish name, BLÅHAJ, the plush toy has become an affectionate mascot for much of the trans community.
It's origins are debated. But likely it's down to its blue, pink and white colours resembling those of the Trans Pride Flag.
Whatever the reason, spotting a BLÅHAJ in public has become an unexpectedly wonderful piece of trans culture. And they often appear at Pride events. I have a friend who takes their BLÅHAJ with them almost everywhere.
24. The Astronomical Comet
As language around gender continues to evolve, so do the symbols people choose to represent themselves.
The astronomical comet (featuring a central circle with three comet tails appearing top right) has been adopted by some non binary people as a symbol of existing beyond traditional binary categories of Mars (representing binary male genders) and Venus (binary female genders).
It suggests a celestial body that is completely different from the planets, which are locked into strict, clearly defined orbits. It also represents movement, exploration and refusing to be confined by fixed definitions.
It's still an emerging symbol, rather than one recognised across the whole community, but that's part of what makes it interesting. LGBTQ+ history didn't stop fifty years ago. We're still creating it.
25. The Double-A and Triple-A Battery
The humble battery has become a playful in-joke within parts of the community, representing people who identify as Asexual and Aromantic (double A’ identities) and Agender, Asexual and Aromantic (triple A identities).
It’s little known and many in the communities themselves may not even be aware of it yet. It's less a formal symbol than a piece of community humour, but that's part of its charm. Like many modern LGBTQ+ signifiers, it grew organically online as people found creative ways to celebrate shared identities.
Spotting a battery emoji or a joking reference to "running on AAA" often earns a knowing smile from people who understand the reference.
26. The Ace Playing Cards
The Ace card symbol is still comparatively new. So much so that there isn't full agreement yet over definitions. But widely, the Ace cards are accepted as representing Asexuality and the ace spectrum. Although there is debate over what the exact meaning of the different suits represent. And ask 10 ace people and you'll likely get different answers.
It's generally agreed that the suits are seen as having to represent some form of asexuality. As Spades is the dominant suit, it's taken to represent asexuality as a whole, although many also believe it represents aroace (aromantic asexual) people. Diamonds represents demisexuality, Clubs is greysexuality, and Hearts is alloromantic asexuality (in other words people who are romantic asexuals).
27. Abstract Pride Colour Palettes
Not every Pride design needs an actual flag. Increasingly, as the most prominent Pride flags have become more and more recognisable, LGBTQ+ artists create abstract artwork using the colours of identity flags without arranging them into recognisable stripes.
A landscape painted in trans colours. A geometric pattern in lesbian shades. A sunset inspired by the non-binary flag. Even our own non binary camo design.
To most people they're simply beautiful colour combinations and patterns. To someone who shares that identity, they can feel like home.
Why LGBTQ+ Hidden Symbols Still Matter
Cishet people would probably scoff at the idea of the need for hidden symbolism. Claiming that we’re accepted now, and don’t need to hide. But we know different. And certainly many LGBTQ+ people are fortunate enough to live openly. Pride festivals fill city streets, Rainbow Pride Flags fly from public buildings and millions of people wear their identities proudly. But many of us still don’t feel safe being visible everywhere.
Quiet visibility still matters. Some people aren't out at work. Some aren't safe at home. Some simply prefer clothing and accessories that feel a little more understated. And many of us know the quiet joy that comes from another LGBTQ+ person noticing something that everyone else walks straight past.
A smile on the train. A compliment in a café. A knowing glance at a bookshop or gallery. Those moments have connected our community for generations.
The symbols may change, but the feeling stays the same.
Find more in our knowledge base
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Learn More About Different Sexualities
Learn More About the Gender Spectrum
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