Maybe the OP’s friend also drives a Subaru Forester, is unaware of the symbolism and should be apprised of that too. :dubious:
Or the OP should let the matter drop entirely and forget about it, as it’s none of his business and rehashing it would likely have negative consequences.
I have a labrys necklace. It was a gift, from Greece, by straight friends who know the lesbian symbolism. I normally don’t wear it, or a lambda pin. These are more obscure symbols for which I have little need.
I occasionally wear a rainbow pin or rainbow rings.
I refuse to wear a pink triangle, because I’m not interested in displaying what I perceive as Nazi/oppressor symbolism. I don’t care to attempt to “reclaim” it when it was developed to mark gay prisoners.
As I recall, it was used as a lesbian and feminist symbol in the 1970’s and 1980’s, most prominently on the covers of Mary Daly’s books. I remember when her Gyn/Ecology was a big deal. The Goddess-worshipping lesbian friends I had at that time would have instantly related to it. But I never saw anyone wearing one as jewelry, and I haven’t seen it in visual depictions in that context since the early 1980’s.
That said, I think you should just forget about your momentary embarrassment. It’s a bigger deal to you than to her, and referring to it would expand the embarrassment. She told you her take on it as a reference to Cretan history, and take it as that face value. If it has a deeper or other meaning to her, it is her business.
Sometimes I wear a Thor’s hammer pendant, and it doesn’t mean I am a follower of Asatru, just that I like the design and the history behind it. I also wear a winged heart ring sometime, because I think it’s beautiful and makes my heart feel light. But I’m not a Sufi, either. Nor does wearing a yin/yang symbol make me a taoist.
Only if she wears sensible shoes…then her sexuality is all but assured and if she is straight, she’s a horrible tease to all the lesbians out there.
(I used to be a Subaru-Forester-driving-sensible-shoe-wearing-short-haired-monogomously-married-to-a-man type of female - it confused a lot of people)
Looks like a lot of you missed Bound, a pretty cool movie in which the meaning of a labrys pendant was stated outright.
This should be in the dictionary next to “mansplain”.
Same here - I went to college in one of the largest gay communities in the world (Greenwich Village) and have had plenty of gay and lesbian friends, and have never heard of this particular symbol of lesbianism.
Hi Lizard, I noticed you used the well-known code phrase “a spot of tea”! in your first paragraph. Just to let you know, Bronies have their own meeting place in MPSIMS so you are more likely to find your fellow ML Pony guys over there. Cheers!
Anyway, have you considered the possibility that she’s a Greek fascist?
The fact I like rainbows does not make me LGBTQ… in my case, I just like rainbows.
While the labrys was (and probably still is at times) used by lesbians as a symbol there are a bajillion other reasons why someone might wear one, so don’t assume one piece of jewelry defines a person.
Wait, Subaru Foresters are also a symbol of lesbianism? That means that there isn’t one single straight woman in the entire state of Montana! No wonder I had such a hard time getting a date!
I’m familiar with all of these signifying links, but I’ve noticed over the years that more often than not, people don’t know them. You can’t assume anything, one way or the other.
Pinky rings were also worn by some lesbians as a signifier when I was young.
Not the kind of lesbian movie I’m usually interested in.
Yup, and for good reason. How Subarus Came to Be Seen as Cars for Lesbians - The Atlantic
Anecdote: many years ago my wife and I were looking for wedding music on CD. We stopped at a small mom & pop music and book store that had a profusion of rainbows displayed. My wife asked the proprietor if the rainbows were in support of gay rights.
With obvious indignation, the merchant drew herself back and sputtered, “This is a CHRISTIAN store! The gays STOLE the rainbow from GOD!”
How Promethean of them!
Another lesbian checking in… it’s a pretty old and now obscure symbol. As seen in this thread, a lot of lesbians wouldn’t even recognize it. So I doubt that’s your coworker’s intentions. If it is, good for her, and if it’s not, I seriously doubt lots of strangers will be assuming she’s gay when she’s not. Just that she likes axes, perhaps.
Ahemm … Any … Good pickup lines down in that direction. You know, like … “Wanna axe some bushes” or “My rusty lybris needs some oiling …” I can see even more potential if that was gay guy symbol.
“May I axe for your number?”
“Excuse my boldness, but I noticed that fine axe from clear across the room.”
Just to add another data point: I had a college study partner and friend, who wore a labrys necklace explicitly as a symbol of her lesbianism. She explained it to me, after the TA teaching our Intro to Biblical Hebrew class, a closeted gay man himself, recognized it.
This was in Georgia, in the early 90s.