Question about rainbow symbol

[garybeck]

hello

I have a big rainbow painted on the walls of my staircase... and I also sell a "celebrate diversity" bumper sticker with a rainbow on it.

i've noticed a few comments that people have made on both... about how the rainbow is a symbol of gay pride.

I have nothing against gays or gay rights. I have many friends who are gay. But when I painted my wall, I did not have the direct intention of symbolizing gay pride. It was just a cool way of covering an otherwise boring white wall and I thought the kids would like it (and they do).

I was just wondering, if some people today consider the rainbow to exclusively symbolize gay pride?

Personally i think it's an all-encompassing symbol, symbolizing equal rights for all races and religions, gay pride, and there's even a reference in the bible to the rainbow being a reminder sent from God. I recognize all these, and more.

I thought that's the way most people see it... am I wrong?

I just thought it was kind of interesting when a few people see my rainbow and they say "cool... gay pride" when that was not really my focus when I decided to put it up there.

[JuniperLea]

In the early 70's...

There were rainbow stickers all over the place, and it was a hippie thing. I still have some towels from the 70's with clouds and rainbows on them. My granny gave them to me and when she passed on, I stopped using them. I'm a sentimental sap:) I remember it also being used as a symbol of racial unity.

[Vanje]

24. They sold rainbow decals in hippy Christian stores

Someone back then told me it signified the resurection , or God's promise or some such.
I had one on the back window of my first car (1962 Studebaker. Wish I still had it!)

[Jamastiene]

39. Ironically, the rainbow was God's covenant with Noah that

He would never again destroy the Earth by natural disaster; the story of Noah's ark.

What makes that ironic is when Falwell and Robertson made their rude ass comments about God destroying Earth because of gay people, it was an outright lie compared to what the Bible really actually says. Funny, God promised not to ever do that any more in the very same Bible those jerks never read and use against us all the time.

I love debunking the jerks who blame us on natural disasters.

:evilgrin: or should that be O8)

[Ian David]

1. ...

"Tell me again about the rainbow you painted on your wall."

[JuniperLea]

3. Are you insinutating said rainbow may be in the shape of a...

well... you know...

:rofl:

[garybeck]

4. LOL !!!

made me laugh!

to answer your question. I'm still stuck in the 60s. To me the rainbow is still a hippie thing, and if there is anything subconscious going on, that's where it's coming from. !!

peace

[Vanje]

25. LOL!

Sometimes a rainbow is just a rainbow.

[Cronus Protagonist]

2. I think it represents a celebration of diversity

Although, in WeHo, you would be sure to beleive it was exclusively gay. I guess it depends on context. Is the United Way a gay org? They use a rainbow... I say it's whatever you say it is :)

[Ian David]

5. Agreed. The rainbow is for ALL diversity, including gay diversity.

But I wish certain religio-fascist organizations would stop bastardizing the Humanist logo.




Yeah, I'm talking to YOU, Teen Challenge.

[bobbolink]

6. Do you care for some irony????

In the 1940s, the Catholic Church in Spain started a renewal movement called Cursillo, that not only became world-wide, but spread to most other denominations.

Their symbol?

Yeah, you guess it....

:hi:

[garybeck]

8. It goes back MUCH further than that!!

Genesis 9:13

I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth.

[bobbolink]

10. YEah, you're right....

And that's a good quotation.

I just thought you might like the irony of a Catholic rainbow icon... hehehe

Us Cursillistas have/had rainbows all over the place!! :rofl:

[garybeck]

13. And if we could take off our myopia glasses, we'd probably find

references to the rainbow in cultures and religions that go back much futher than Judeo-Christianity.

probably the first caveman (or cavewoman) who saw a rainbow ran into her/his cave and wrote about it on the wall.

[bobbolink]

22. "(or cavewoman) who saw a rainbow ran into her/his cave and wrote about it on the wall."

You were SPYING on me!!!

:rofl:

I don't remember seeing any art depicting rainbows in the ancient collections I saw in Greece, but I wouldn't be surprised if it were included. Same with Hawai'ians.... but rainbows have been mentioned in hula chants. (although that wouldn't be older than Genesis.)

It will be interesting if someone pops up with some references in ancient Africa!

Fine topic! :hi:

[Chovexani]

36. Hee. Well, the rainbow was an important symbol to the Greeks

It was associated with the Goddess Iris, who was a messenger of the gods. Early on the rainbow was her symbol, but in the later Greek myths, the rainbow was the road she took down from Mt. Olympus to the Earth.

The ancient Norse had a similar belief. A great rainbow called Bifrost was believed to connect Earth with Asgard, the world of the Gods, and only the Gods and mortals who have died honorably in battle can use it. The god Heimdall was said to watch over it constantly. When Ragnarok, aka the end of the world happens, Bifrost is supposed to shatter.

And among some Aboriginal tribes in Australia, there was the belief that a great Rainbow Serpent created the world and all life.

It really is amazing how it's a symbol that almost every culture has had some sort of grand belief about.

[Ian David]

28. There's a xian chrisTo-fascist group called "take back the rainbow" or somesuch.

Apparently, equality and tolerance aren't their cup of tea.

[Jamastiene]

40. That very story of Noah's Ark disproves the right wing preachers

who blame natural disasters on us. :evilgrin: or should that be O8)

[valerief]

7. Friends of Dorothy want to go Over the Rainbow with her. I dunno.

I always thought the Rainbow got a boost from a Wizard of Oz-Judy Garland reference.

[Ian David]

9. "We're friends of Dorothy" comes from there, too, I think. n/t

[TechBear_Seattle]

18. That is one theory

Another theory is that it comes from writer and poet Dorothy Parker, who had a large number of gay men in her social circle, and who was a very outspoken critic of anti-gay laws.

[valerief]

21. Yeah, that would explain friends of dorothy but not rainbow. I was referring to the origin of

rainbow in relation to the gay community.

[patrice]

11. All

no comment.

[eShirl]

12. remember Jesse Jackson's Rainbow Coalition?

[garybeck]

14. yes and it's still around

that's one of the reasons it surprises me when people see my rainbow and immediately assume it means gay pride.

[Buck Laser]

15. I have some rainbow suspenders from the 70s

...that I don't know what to do with. I got them for cross-country skiing, but the opportunities for skiing are pretty limited here in Austin. Anybody want them?

[garybeck]

16. I would wear them!

I'm still stuck in the 60s.

this is me:

[JuniperLea]

34. I'm stuck there too...

I was too young to be a real hippie, but I had the awesome opportunity to play one on stage for a while...

[garybeck]

38. I was too young in the 60s too, however we carried the torch through the 80s and 90s

and today.

I believe the 60s are alive and well.

[TechBear_Seattle]

17. The association comes through the rainbow pride flag

As already noted, the rainbow was a common symbol in the counterculter to represent racial harmony and diversity ("many colors, one heavenly creation") and as a representation of God's promise not to inflict a worldwide catastrophe upon the earth again.

It's association with gay pride came into being in 1978, when Gilbert Baker, an artist in San Francisco, created a flag of eight colors for the Gay Pride event that year. The Wikipedia has a good article about the Pride flag. Basically, the association with gay rights and the rainbow comes through this flag and the MANY items that have been created and marketed on its theme.

[MuseRider]

41. I met Gilbert Baker last June.

He is from Kansas. When I was in Wichita accepting an award along with other members of KEC at their PRIDE event I met him. I was only able to speak with him briefly but it was pretty cool to meet him. Cool guy.

[Zuiderelle]

19. Many people don't associate it with gay pride. Personally, I associate it with Diversity in general

Some people just like rainbows. I think it's great that some people say "cool... gay pride" to you though.

[alwysdrunk]

26. A rainbow flag hanging outside a bar means that's a gay bar

It started in the US and now it is worldwide. I had someone tell me (jokingly) that "sorry, rainbows are ours now". I also heard the University of Hawaii changed their mascot because of this. I really didn't get that global meaning until some point in the 90's.

[alwysdrunk]

27. Whoops didn't mean to post here, I thought this was GD:P

Sorry guys.

[Zuiderelle]

33. Oh NOW I remember you, you're this guy:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=132&topic_id=7661686&mesg_id=7665306

alwysdrunk
Thu Oct-30-08 08:55 AM
Response to Original message
87. Comments like this: The reason "liberal" has the taint that it does

You, and many other people on DU and in the world. Always, looking for something to be offended by, trying to use any small excuse to criticize people as being hate-filled and bigots. Most people don't want to be associated with that type of thought process, which is associated with being "liberal".


It's really a shame. Homophobia is a real problem in our country. You aren't helping anything by saying that use of a swear word makes one homophobic.

I guess you did make a mistake wandering into the GLBT forum.

[Zuiderelle]

32. Outside a bar, yeah, that makes sense. But elsewhere still just means Diversity to many.

I have a rainbow sticker on my car and I can't tell you how many people ask me what it means. It means Diversity and Gay pride to me. :shrug:

[Tangerine LaBamba]

20. To this old hippie chick,

it still means peace and love and brother- and sisterhood. It means all that. And gay pride is contained within that great big rubric. I even had sheets for my bed that had rainbows on them, with a matching comforter. Boy, do I wish I had them now!

It's interesting how symbols and words get co-opted and their definition narrowed. Just as you found your rainbow identified exclusively with gay, I wish the word "gay" had never been taken over to mean "homosexual," which is, I think a beautiful-sounding word.

On of my favorite old books is titled "Our Hearts Were Young And Gay," and no, she wasn't a lesbian. The title has a whole different meaning now. I've always thought that using the appellation "gay" to describe anyone was to diminish them, to make them nothing more than a trivial, jolly, very tiny word.

I love words.

[Lyric]

23. Yes, some people today do consider the rainbow to exclusively symbolize

gay pride. Not everyone, but some.

[Smarmie Doofus]

29. Do not panic.

But I'm pretty sure the vast majority of politically aware people associate it with the GLBT movement.

I always assume so... although I do realize the rainbow has been used metaphorically and iconically in other contexts in the past.

But the past is past.

[garybeck]

30. i'll have to disagree with that

I think today it still is all encompassing. Those who think it is exclusively a gay pride symbol are just not correct. no one can "own" the rainbow. it's one of the oldest symbols there is and it's been used by many groups. I believe it's a general symbol of diversity which includes gays.

[Smarmie Doofus]

31. The meaning of words changes over time....

>>>>I believe it's a general symbol of diversity which includes gays.>>>>

... and so do the meanings of icons. I think most people in America, 2008, think "gay" when they see the flag, or a rainbow decal. ( Not everyone; most people) I think since 1978, it has become less popular as a non-gay symbol ( for obvious reasons) as Gilbert Baker's design became almost universally adopted by GLBTs'.

As with words, icons and symbols mean whatever the user wishes them to mean.

Here's wiki:




>>> LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender) Pride (1978)
Pride flag (LGBT community)

Main article: Pride flag (LGBT community)

The rainbow flag, sometimes called 'the freedom flag', was popularized as a symbol of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) pride and diversity by San Francisco artist Gilbert Baker in 1978. The different colours symbolize diversity in the gay community, and the flag is used predominantly at gay pride events and in gay villages worldwide in various forms including banners, clothing and jewelry. For the 25th Anniversary of the Stonewall riots held in 1994 in New York city a mile-long rainbow flag was created and post-parade cut up in sections that have since been used around the world.

Originally created with eight colors, pink and turquoise were removed for production purposes and as of 2008, it consists of six colored stripes, which should always be displayed with red on top or to left. Aside from the obvious symbolism of a mixed LGBT community, the colors were designed to symbolize: red (life), orange (healing), yellow (sunlight), green (nature), blue (harmony), and purple/violet (spirit). It is most commonly flown with the red stripe on top, as the colours appear in a na>>>>>>

[TEmperorHasNoClothes]

35. For me the rainbow is LGBT awareness/pride

If I saw the rainbow I would assume you were gay, because the symbol is so common in the LGBT community. I think most people equate the rainbow with LGBT pride. What's important is what the rainbow means to you, not how others interpret it.

[99th_Monkey]

37. Yet another take on the rainbow, from the Bible, God's "Rainbow Covenant" with Creation/The World

So I'd say it's a pretty universal symbol, given that even the Fundies see the whole rainbow thing as a unifying motif. Interesting.

**********************************************************************************************************************
"God once destroyed everything on earth with a great flood caused by constant raining and only the people and animals on Noah's ark were saved. God promised his people from then on he would never destroy the earth by flooding again. To show this after it rains you sometimes see a rainbow. That is the sign God promised his people so they would not fear another world-wide flood.

"And I will establish my covenant with you, neither shall all flesh be cut off any more by the waters of a flood; neither shall there any more be a flood to destroy the earth.

And God said, This is the token of the covenant which I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for perpetual generations:

I do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between me and the earth."

Genesis 9:11-12
http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_is_the_Judeo-Christian_symbolic_meaning_of_the_rainbow