The pink badge was reclaimed in the 1970s, as a symbol of protest against homophobia, however its origins were much more sinister. Using a pink triangle to identify homosexual men, which also included bisexual men and transgender women originated in the concentration camps of Nazi Germany. In comparison, Lesbian and bisexual women and trans men who relatively had fewer numbers imprisoned, would be classified as “asocial” and wear a black triangle.
The pink triangle was also assigned to sexual offenders, such as rapists and pedophiles. If a prisoner was also identified as Jewish, the triangle was superimposed over a yellow second triangle pointing the opposite way, to resemble the Star of David like the yellow badge identifying other Jews. Prisoners wearing a pink triangle were harshly treated, even by other prisoners.
Information of how many were imprisoned by the Nazis under the symbol of a pink triangle is hard to determine, but Richard Plant, estimates that “between 1933 to 1944” anywhere between 50,000 – 63, 000 persons were convicted for homosexuality.