Name/TitlePlacard: Born This Way
About this objectHandmade placard painted in the form of the Labrys Pride Flag bearing the slogan 'BORN THIS WAY'.
Date Made2024
Period2020s
Place MadeScotland
Medium and MaterialsInorganic, selloptape
Organic, card and paper
MeasurementsH: 297 x W: 418 mm
Subject and Association KeywordsGender Critical
Subject and Association KeywordsFeminism, feminist movement
Subject and Association Keywordsfeminist spaces
Subject and Association KeywordsHomophobia, transphobia
Subject and Association DescriptionOne of several protest placards brought to Glasgow Women's Library on Saturday 3rd February 2024 in protest against one of the zines included in a trans zine display within the library.
https://www.them.us/story/history-of-the-lesbian-pride-flag:
"The first well-documented design for a lesbian pride flag was the Labrys Pride Flag, designed by a gay graphic designer named Sean Campbell in 1999. The Labrys Flag features a white double-headed axe, called a labrys, superimposed on top of an inverted black triangle with a purple background. Campbell chose these images for their symbolism and connection to the lesbian community. Purple is a color that has been associated with lesbians and sapphics ever since the ancient Greek poet Sappho wrote of girls who wore crowns woven from violets. The inverted black triangle calls back to the identification system used by the Nazis in concentration camps to demarcate “asocial” prisoners, a catch-all term for people whose existence went against Nazi rule, including lesbians. The labrys itself is a weapon that is linked to a variety of ancient matriarchal societies, and is associated with the Amazons, a tribe of giant warrior women in Greek mythology. The labrys was also used by the lesbian radical feminist movement of the 1970s as a symbol of empowerment."
Named CollectionGlasgow Women's Library
Object TypePlacard
Object numberGWL-2024-10-1
Copyright LicenceAll rights reserved