Gay carabiner
The carabiner. An iconic accessory for lesbians and queers all around. An enduring symbol of lgbtq+ aesthetic. Practical, understated, subtly provocative.
If you’re reading this and thinking “What!? My carabiner is gay!? Since when!?” Congratulations, you may have just found out that you’ve been appropriating queer society . Accusations of appropriation aside, your carabiner does have a history carved by butches, and if you’re waking up every morning and latching your keys to your pant loop, in a limp wrist way or not, then consider this article to be a required reading.
Butches and their carabiners: a suit made in blue collar workplaces.
The lesbian history of carabiners is one that originated from the entrance of American women into the labour force during WWII. During this time, butches, masc women and gender non-conforming lesbians were more likeley to serve “masculine” jobs, with many result employment as janitors and delivery and postal workers. The carabiner originally served as a utilitous and functional accessory, with these jobs requiring workers
Let’s learn more about this classic queer symbol
BY BELLA FRANCIS, IMAGES BY BELLA FRANCIS
Carabiners seem appreciate a relatively recent female homosexual signaller, but its history goes back further than you might think.
The belt side key ring, also called &#;the lesbian latch&#;, is one of the most enduring symbols of lesbian culture.
&#;When I first came out, the key ring was the first visual cue I learned of my new world,&#; wrote Christina Cauterucci for Slate. And she&#;s right! Since attending University in Manchester, I&#;ve had the privilege of going to the Gay Village most weekends. Besides Chappell Roan and Azealia Banks, one of the staple sounds I&#;ve heard over the past three years has been the jingle jangle of carabiners.
Although the phrase &#;carabiner&#; can be traced back to the 16th century, the modern carabiner we&#;re most familiar with today was first produced in by German climber Otto Herzog for hiking purposes. Over the next few decades, these became an easy and practical way for working-class people, as well as climbers, to carry around equipment or
“What does a womxn loving womxn look like?” feels like an age-old question &#; or, to be more realistic, a decades-old question. With Dressing Dykes, I aspire that I reply it at least regarding specific individuals, or lesbian styles at particular times and places throughout history. However, lesbianism exists in the heart, the thought and the body rather than in the wardrobe. Clothes are an addition of the woman loving woman self, a aware display (or, perhaps, a conscious veil). Because of this, the true ask is not “what does a female homosexual look like?” but “what clothing is a lesbian signal?”
Often, this comes down to items that have a wide-spread cultural meaning… in other words, woman-loving woman stereotypes. Stereotypical queer woman fashions, like practical footwear, are based in more facts than many other stereotypes in well-liked culture, since lesbians (and other homosexual people) have historically desired to grasp out to other members of their community. When this cannot be done with familial, pre-established bonds, in the way that communities may be forged in other marginalised groups, other methods are ne
'It's pretty obvious I'm queer': We asked young people how they use fashion to express themselves
From badges for your politics, jerseys for your sporting affiliations or eyeliner for your goth status, there's no shortage of ways that people use style to mark their identity.
This has been particularly important over history for LGBTQIA+ people to subtly signal who they are and what they like.
There's even a word to describe this phenomenon: flagging
So, how did flagging actually work? And is it something new people – especially those in queer communities – still participate in today?
Flagging explained
Flagging isn't just about what you wear, it's about what's expressed by what you wear.
In the new ABC iview series The Way We Wore, fashion historian from Adelaide University Madeleine Seys explains how clothes played a big role in the queer community, dating endorse to the s.
She says fashion was an significant tool for LGBTQIA+ people to find each other and build their communities in Australia, especially when homosexuality wa