Secret gay tattoo symbols

Historically, queer people have used tattoos as a means of identification. In the s and 50s, lesbians would get blue nautical star tattoos to make themselves visible to other queer women. The star would commonly be placed on the wrist, to be easily hidden by a watch to avoid police identification. Samuel Steward was an academic-turned-tattoo-artist who kept detailed journals chronicling his life and work, including his many sexual encounters with men.

Ace refers to the shortened word of asexuality. Asexual used the four aces found in a deck of playing cards to symbolise their identity and distinguish between different kinds of asexual in the spectrum. The double Venus symbol takes the Venus symbol, often representing the female sex in both some scientific fields and astrology and doubles and interlocks it, creating a symbol for the lesbian community. The double Mars symbol takes the Mars symbol, used to represent the male sex in both some scientific fields and astrology, and doubles it to create a symbol representing gay men.

Everyone should be able to love freely. Rainbow colors can be added to objects, or tattooed in a geometric design of your choosing. Prefer something more discreet? Try some tiny tattoos.

Wear your pride on your sleeve. This was about the time that I first learnt about HIV and a few years later unfortunately started to lose older friends to this horrible disease. I saw the work that Keith Haring was doing for the cause and the way he promoted a positive view and a need for all to take responsibility. I am lucky enough to have several original pieces of his work in my flat but wanted to share his work on a daily basis so decided on having the panel of tattoos done.