Museum of Resistance and Resilience

FASHION

While this triangle undoubtedly carries a surplus of emotional trauma and serves as a reminder of the tragic history of gay men, during the ACT-UP movements beginning in the late 80s, many members of the LGBTQ adopted this emblem in hopes of reclaiming its history—to serve as a testament of the growth within the queer community and in hopes of demanding that history would never repeat itself. The pink triangle appeared everywhere: in radical art, on protest signs, in shows, and, particularly, on clothing. The adaptation of the pink triangle was an adoption of a completely new brand. Depicted in the picture below is a group of men all wearing shirts that have this iconic design on it—that is, the pink triangle coupled with the phrase “Silence = Death” (Aizenman, 2019).

Although this reclamation was primarily a social movement, it’s roots in bodily expression and fashion are undeniable; after all, what became an iconic signature of these protests had its origins in the uniforms of gay Holocaust prisoners. The triangle’s journey from the discriminatory sigil to the empowering symbol—from the demeaning clothing to the art form—is historical—a perfect example of the transformative and echoing impact that fashion has in remedying the past and rewriting the future.

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