Name/TitleBadge: Interlocked Venus symbols
About this objectSmall round pin badge with black background featuring twin green interlocked Venus / woman symbols. Probably obtained by donor at the 4th Christopher Street Gay Pride Day in Washington Square Park, New York City, 1973.
Date Made1973
Period1970s
Place MadeUSA, New York
Medium and MaterialsInorganic, metal and plastic
Inscription and MarksAround edge, printed: "N.G. SLATER CORP, N.Y.C. [11?]"
MeasurementsDia: 25 mm
Subject and Association KeywordsLGBTQ+
Subject and Association KeywordsPride
Subject and Association Descriptionhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Planet_symbols#Venus:
The Venus symbol, ♀, consists of a circle with a small cross below it. It has been interpreted as a depiction of the hand-mirror of the goddess, which may also explain Venus's association with the planetary metal copper, as mirrors in antiquity were made of polished copper (alloy), though this is not certain. In the Greek Oxyrhynchus Papyri 235, the symbols for Venus and Mercury didn't have the cross on the bottom stroke, and Venus still appears without the cross (⚲) in Johannes Kamateros (12th century). In botany and biology, the symbol for Venus is used to represent the female sex, alongside the symbol for Mars representing the male sex, following a convention introduced by Linnaeus in the 1750s. Arising from the biological convention, the symbol also came to be used in sociological contexts to represent women or femininity.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christopher_Street_Day:
Christopher Street Day (CSD) is an annual European LGBTQ+ celebration and demonstration held in various cities across Europe for the rights of LGBTQ+ people, and against discrimination and exclusion. It is Germany's and Switzerland's counterpart to Gay Pride or Pride Parades. Austria calls their Pride Parade Rainbow Parade. The most prominent CSD events are Berlin Pride, CSD Hamburg, CSD Cologne, Germany and Zürich in Switzerland.
Object TypeBadge
Object numberGWL-2023-20-3
Copyright LicenceAll rights reserved