Speak Its Name

The Love That Dare (Not)

movement and president of The National Organization for Women (NOW), Betty Frieden described lesbians as the “Lavender Menace” – alluding to the “Red Menace” of the Cold War. However, that didn’t stop lesbians from reclaiming the term, quickly spreading lavender’s meaning to the rest of the LGBTQ+ community.

Lavender isn’t the first instance of the LGBTQ+ community taking back a symbol of hate. The infamous pink triangle originates from Nazi Germany, the downward-facing triangle sewn into the clothes of gay men to not only identify but further dehumanize them. In 1972, an autobiography by Heinz Herger was published; The Men With The Pink Triangle. Following its publication, the pink triangle began to be reclaimed. LGBTQ+ people did not want this piece of history to be forgotten, and by reclaiming its symbol, they were able to achieve that. By the time of the HIV/AIDS crisis of the late 1970s and 80s, the pink triangle reappeared largely because of the AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power (ACT UP), who used a right side up version of the pink triangle to promote their message. In ACT UP’s manifesto, they wrote, “silence about the oppression and annihilation of gay people, then and now, must be broken as a matter of our survival.” Thus came the phrase “SILENCE = DEATH”, paired with the pink triangle.

The HIV/AIDS crisis devastated the nation, particularly gay communities. Lesbians did the most they could to support gay and bisexual men during this time, as they were the community affected the most. Unfortunately, because HIV/AIDS was called “the gay cancer” and thought to be a disease that could only be contracted by homosexuals, it was not acknowledged until 1985 by President Reagan. By this time, the disease made a huge impact on straight communities and children worldwide. Even then, it was only due to a news reporter prompting him with the question, and it wasn’t until 1987 that Reagan would give a speech about the HIV/AIDS crisis, nearly a decade after the disease had first appeared in the U.S.

Today, the LGBTQ+ community has fought many battles for its members’ rights, such as gay marriage being legalized nationwide in 2015. However, in recent years there have been several steps backward due to conservative leadership in government. The overturning of Roe v. Wade in 2022 was a turning point in the lack of autonomy millions of people have over their own bodies in the U.S. The overturning of Roe v. Wade followed multiple state laws taking away rights from transgender people, specifically minors. Several states have enacted a law involving the “checking” of a minor’s genitals to “prove” their gender, as well as disallowing transgender individuals from participating in sports. When one group faces discrimination, it will only bleed into other groups.

It’s been said over and over: we must not forget our history.

I fell a-weeping, and I cried, ‘Sweet youth, Tell me why, sad and sighing, thou dost rove These pleasant realms? I pray thee speak me sooth What is thy name?’ He said, ‘My name is Love.’ Then straight the first did turn himself to me And cried, ‘He lieth, for his name is Shame, But I am Love, and I was wont to be Alone in this fair garden, till he came Unasked by night; I am true Love, I fill The hearts of boy and girl with mutual flame.’ Then sighing, said the other, ‘Have thy will, I am the love that dare not speak its name.’