Star Tattoos: Lesbionic?

Posted on 08. Apr, 2009 by Sasha in Featured

OK, so how many of you already knew that a tattoo of a nautical star used to be and may still be used as a sign for gays and lesbians to recognize one another on the street?

Is it just a nautical star or any star? Because that would explain a lot of star tats I’ve seen on some of my friends. Yet no one bothered to fill me in. I only came upon this little factoid of lesbian herstory listening to the lyrics of a song called butchfemme.

I’m curious as to what other secret codes do my fellow lesbian sistas use to wave the rainbow flag to one another in public without the whole (breeder) world realizing? Not that I care in the least about subtly. Shoot, I seriously wish we all walked around with a “Soooooo gay” button on our shirts just for the hell of it.

Well these are the sub rosa signs I’ve heard of:

All lesbians wear a silver ring on their middle finger. Check.

If a girl is a tatted up, she’s probably family. Not counting the California license plate that seems to be a requirement for every straight hoochie mama.

Extra body piercings. Check by proxy on this one, my girls got a few of those.

I remember a while back there was a little campaign that never seemed to really pick up steam where girls wanted to wear a purple yarn bracelet or something like that. I never got into that one, since I like my bling to be a little more blingy than something my grandma would knit with.

Short hair. But this only really works with butches and tombois and the occasional femme who’s usually dressed more eccentrically, like pin-up or rock-a-billy.

Other then that I can’t really think of any sure fire symbols we can adorn ourselves with to warn other women that we’re not just being friendly, we’re hitting on them.

So if you know of any other lesbian signals, or you do any of the ones mentioned let me know. I’m actually really dying to come to a consensus on this one.

Tags: middle finger rings, nautical star tattoos, star tattoos, tattoos

43 Responses to “Star Tattoos: Lesbionic?”

Good4u

08. Apr, 2009

Guess I’ve got this covered. I always wear a silver middle ring finger, I have several tattoos, several body piercings and short hair. But I’m not big on the purple string thing either.
C Dog

08. Apr, 2009

I don’t wear any jewelry EXCEPT for a silver middle finger ring that a friend gave me. But i didnt know it was a sign I was gay. I am, so cool I guess.
FemmeLA

08. Apr, 2009

I’m screwed. I’m a femme and I don’t have any of the things you mentioned but i’m going to start wearing a silver ring on my middle finger TODAY.
Dude

08. Apr, 2009

There’s this girl I work with and I really like her. But she wears a ring on her middle finger, has short hair, tattoos and her eye brow and tongue are pierced. Does this mean she’s gay? (I’m a guy). I want to ask her out, but not if it’s pointless.

Any advice?
Dude

08. Apr, 2009

Me again. I just wanted to explain why I’m on your blog. The girl i’m into is always reading this at work and I got hooked on you and Remi and all the stuff you used to do when you were single.
Sasha

08. Apr, 2009

Dear Dude, when I read your first comment I was going to tell you that it’s a 80% chance your crush is crushin’ on another chick and not you.

But THEN you go and say that she’s the one that turned you on to my blog? While I’m happy to have you as a reader, you’ve got to look at the situation. She’s reading a blog called CARD CARRYING LESBIAN and she LOOKS the part too??? Dude, I bet if you checked her wallet you’d find her Lesbian Card, laminated and all

Sorry Dude. I think you’re barking up the wrong lesbian.
Joe

08. Apr, 2009

Since I’ve seen you naked in my pool, I know you don’t have ANY tatts or piercings. So all I can say is you BETTER wear your middle finger ring at all times or us butches will just think you’re another hot straight chick. LOL.

I’m serious.
Joe

08. Apr, 2009

I almost forgot. Dude. She’s gay.
Becca

08. Apr, 2009

Yep.Dude. She is totally gay… I have 5 tattoo’s and I have a middle finger ring that is stainless steel with stars on it. The only thing I don’t have is weird peircings. I wanted to get my nose done really, really badly but they changed the policy at work for classification and now we can’t have those either. Totally sucks!
MelanieTrini

08. Apr, 2009

Well my wife and I both have star tattoos and didn’t even know it was a lesbian thing. so check!
We both have piercings, she’s got short hair but neither of us wear middle finger rings or purple strings.

oh and Dude – she’s so gay
Sasha

08. Apr, 2009

Wow Joe, thanks a lot. There’s nothing my girlfriend likes more then to read about other women who have seen me naked. Now I have to explain a bit rather then let my readers dirty imaginations go where they will ….

You see ….. Joe is a friend of mine down in the desert and she saved me from a very boring weekend. I was at a party at her house, there was lots of drinking, lots of women, a pool and no swimsuits. Sooooooo ….. you can see how that went.

NOTHING really happened. It was all innocent fun.
Gigi

08. Apr, 2009

Here’s the passage (with some pieces dropped) from “Boots
of Leather, Slippers of Gold: The History of a Lesbian
Community” by Elizabeth Lapovsky Kennedy and Madeilne D. Davis
copyright 1993 p. 189.

(talking about the 1940’s and 1950’s):

“…During this same time period, the cultural push to be
identified as lesbians- or at least different- all the time
was so powerful that it generated a new form of identification
among the tough bar lesbians: a star tattoo on the top of the
wrist, which was usually covered by a watch. This was the
first symbol of community identity that did not rely on
butch-fem imagery. We can trace this phenomenon back to an
evening of revelry in the late 1950’s, when a few butches
trooped over to “Dirty Dick’s” tattoo parlor on Chippewa
Street and had the tiny blue five-pointed star put on their
wrists. Later, some of the fems of this group also go the idea
one night and did it…The community views the tattoo as a
definite mark of identification…”the Buffalo police knew
[that] the people that had the stars on their wrist were
lesbians and they had their names and so forth. That it was an
identity thing with the gay community, with the lesbian
community”. The fact that the star tattoo was created by those
who were firmly into roles, in fact by the group that was
considered the butchy butches and their fems, suggest that the
force to assert lesbian identity was strong enough to break
through the existing traditions of boldness based in butch-fem
roles. The stars presage the methods of identity created by
gay liberation. In fact, the mark has become something of a
tradition in local circles and has seen a revival since the
1970s.”
criket

09. Apr, 2009

i grew up knowing a pink triangle to be a symbol of lesbianrepresintation. when i was 17 i got one tatooed to the web of my left hand. i have 11 tatoo all together and when i was younger i had my tongue and belly button pierced but no ring on the middle finger.
Joe

09. Apr, 2009

Sorry to put you on blast like that babe. But it was a night to remember.
J

09. Apr, 2009

Was wondering if the girl who sat on front of me in class was gay… or just artistic until she wore her hair up today and revealed a blue nautical star. Now I have no doubts.
Jul

09. Apr, 2009

Okay, I’ve always had horrible gaydar…so I am actually learning something from this. Cool!

The dating strategy of a woman with horrible gaydar is that I’d always just approach and ask out whoever I was into…which were usually kind of femme-like. .I figured the worst that could happen was a “no.” Turns out, I was with a lot of chicks who weren’t with women before….you’d be surprised how many women just haven’t had the opportunity. Anyway…

I don’t have any body piercings, no tats, no rainbows and have a bit longer than shoulder-length dark hair….I feel like I should wear an “I am gay” t-shirt? I just hate that more obviously gay girls tend to be the only ones people “see.”

They should know…we’re everywhere.
shamrockgrrl

09. Apr, 2009

i believe in the three second rule. generally, if someone of the same sex locks eyes with you for three seconds or more, they are family. doesn’t sound like a long time until you do it!
pk

09. Apr, 2009

my group of lez friends always take the piss out of me and my girl for being the ’straightest looking’ gay couple in the world. im so thinking i need to dyke up my look a bit…..star tattoo, here i come!
Deb

11. Apr, 2009

It is my understanding that silver thumbs rings were originally a ‘lesbian’ signifier and gold pinkie rings were a ‘gay’ male signifier.
Sasha

11. Apr, 2009

Hey Deb, You’re right, I totally forgot about the thumb ring. I actually go between the middle finger and the thumb ring thing. Maybe I should just wear both to make sure!
IrisH

12. Apr, 2009

So the wife is a nursing student. She was in the nursery the other day with a OB doc. She told me that she wasn’t wearing anything (ring wise) execpt for a silver ring with something on it. She said that she thought she was hitting on her….as soon as she said the ring thing…my dyke bell went off!!! Any ideas?!
CherishHellfire

13. Apr, 2009

I lost my silver ring, but a sure sign I’m not just being friendly is amount my pierced nipples poke out of my top. Less than an inch = friendly, more than an inch = Let’s dance!
Jackrabbit

13. Apr, 2009

silver ring-check.
middle finger-it’s gonna stay there now!
Carmy

15. Apr, 2009

I move we start wearing labryses. They’re cool, subtle, and pretty easy to find (at least, if you’re a geek/go to cons)
Sasha

15. Apr, 2009

I second that Carmy. I freakin’ LOVE labryses. and I already have 1! Not to mention it’s pretty hot when women wear tiny weapons dangling over their cleavage.
Jessica

29. Apr, 2009

Middle finger?? Seriously!? Awww man!! I’ve worn a plain silver ring on my right hand’s ring finger since I was like in grade nine! I can’t just switch now! I like it there too much. Plus it doesn’t even fit on my middle finger…
kelly

07. May, 2009

my cousin and ex gf both got rainbow stars on their backs/ or back of their arms and now they both date guys, i despise those who advertise that they are when THEY ARE NOT!!
you cannot just go by symbols.
i have no tats or piercings.. my hair is brown and longer than shoulder length although i used to keep it short, guys seem to hit on you a lot more when your hair is long, so i’m thinking of getting it cut again.. mostly i just inform those lost boys that they have to find a substitute..
it’s really sad when the horny boy says “what a waste”
wasted vaginal tract? is that what he meant? sigh… like there aren’t 50 straight women dying for his stupid penis he has to say i’m wasting my vagina b/c i won’t let him into it?? i really have issues w/ these stupid guys.. or “you’re pretty, you could get a guy..”
ugh… ok…ME NO LIKEY GUY.. HOW CLEAR CAN WE BE WITH THEM BEFORE THEY REALIZE IT’S NOT B/C WE’RE LACKING MEN IN OUR LIVES THAT WE “CHOOSE WOMEN IT IS NOT A CHOICE!
oops.. caps.. sry..
it’s hard to be a lesbian in this world.. clubs are for the drunk ones who escape from their shitty reality, dating friends of friends will always end up screwing up your friendships, or having lesbian couples as friends will sometimes have you being their choice for a 3rd in their relationship.. and no.. it does not end well.. someone always leaves the room in tears b/c someone else got more attn.
well from my 2 experiences/ mistakes.
i guess i don’t have any suggestions for meeting other women aside from don’t go by the signs, they sometimes lie.
just let people you care about know that you date women and they will introduce you to their friends.. or lead you into extremely challenging dramatic circumstances which you should have avoided, haha.
i’m a hermit now, i avoid the lesbian drama this way.. it works for me..
Pride

11. May, 2009

There all pretty good signs, except mines the best, a rainbow on my hip! its tight.
Mariposa

12. May, 2009

Ok so I have navel and tongue pierced! Star tattoos and a silver ring. So didnt know about the ring or stars! Something else I found out a few days ago a Lambda sign (heres a pic) —-> http://farm1.static.flickr.com/67/176457904_97f2c28d5f_o.jpg Is for gay and lesbian activists, so if she has that tattoo, SO GAY!!! LOL Something else I noticed and still not 100% sure is if u c a group of girls the most agressive one is prob a lezzy!
logan

03. Jun, 2009

im straight and i have a nautical star tattoo. hmm. missing link, eh?
Kiki

19. Jun, 2009

I have short hair a tongue piercing and two tattoos (I was researching getting a star tattoo and that’s how I ended up here)…my god I’m a lesbian and I didn’t even know it? This actually clears up allot for me. It explains all the strange looks I get from chicks, all this time I thought I just had one of those faces people mistook for someone they used to know.. So do hetro guys also recognise these signs? Am I only getting hit on by the freaks with a lesbian fantasy? It could explain a tragic long run of complete idiots.
Bill

20. Jun, 2009

This is a topic that should be made to be common knowledge outside the lesbian community. I get the feeling these are all intended as secret signals, but, as a straight man, I’m glad to have found this primer. It gives me the tools to nip inappropriate concupiscence in the bud and save time for everyone. I live in a small town, and I have never noticed any of the telltales. I don’t know if that’s because of the small population here or because I just haven’t been looking for them … but now that I’m armed with a list, you can be sure I’ll be looking from now on — and if I find them being displayed by someone I might have considered to be a likely candidate for the currently vacant position of Mrs. Bill, I’ll look elsewhere.

Kiki, to answer your question, I’d have to say most hetero guys know nothing about these signals. I’m generally clueless, but I’m not grotesquely clueless — if these were commonly understood signs, I feel confident I’d know it. That doesn’t mean you’re not being hit on by freaks with a lesbian fantasy (that really *is* common among straight men), but if you are, it’s not because they recognize your piercings or tattoos as advertisements.

Seriously, ladies. Let’s move all this to the front page, shall we? Imagine how much embarrassment it would save us all.
Kim

26. Jun, 2009

I wear a garnet gold ring on my pinky finger. It has a masculine design to it but just like the way it looks on my more than petite finger. I ocassionally get asked by other women if there is any significance to the style and the finger I wear it it on. As a straight women I did not know that Lesbian women used to wear pinky rings as a sign to other women.
Web Surfer

02. Jul, 2009

(I lost my silver ring, but a sure sign I’m not just being friendly is amount my pierced nipples poke out of my top. Less than an inch = friendly, more than an inch = Let’s dance!)

LOL
Michelle

20. Aug, 2009

I have a lot of gay friends and most of them wear thumb rings, have piercings and tattoos. And yes, i just got a star tattoo’d on me. Didn’t know. I’m so0o gay!
Dijah

13. Sep, 2009

I just found this blog today and I LOVE IT!!! From the stories on here to the comments. I think its just great. Keep it up!!!
Ivy

15. Sep, 2009

Well I have always wanted somone to point out the obvious signs because I have been missing them all these years. I try the 3 second eye contact thing but u never know if they are just being curtious & trying to look like they are paying attention. But my index is shorter, I wear a ring on my mid finger & I have a lebrae piercing. I think that piercing is a sure fire sign of ‘lesbo’ .Im glad I am half way there. I’d wear the rainbow crap but I don’t want people to mistake me for punky brewster. I think the star is next.
Marie

08. Nov, 2009

hi, i was wondering if you could help me figure out if this girl is gay. she has nautical star tattoos on her left wrist, other tattoos, a tongue piercing, and quite a few ear piercings. she wears a baseball cap sometimes, she makes eye contact and smiles at me a lot, has lightly touched my arm a few times, and seems flirty. but this doesnt necessarily mean she’s gay does it?
Sasha

08. Nov, 2009

Dear Marie, the only way she could look gayer, would be if she had the word “LESBIAN” tattooed on her forehead.

I say go for it! And then let me know what happens!
Heiferlips

29. Nov, 2009

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Name (required)

08. Dec, 2009

What do you think a butchy girl should wear as a swimsuit instead of the “norm”?
r

27. Dec, 2009

Rihanna has tattoos, chopped off her hair and has piercings. Hope springs eternal! And here I thought I was having a bad day: my faith in God is renewed.
AmbiiJayy

19. Jan, 2010

Okay, so Im 17, I have my tongue, belly, ears x 2, daith and tragus done, and I used to have my top lip, bottom lips, hand webbing, and nose done (Not all at once!)
My hairs brown and a bit longer than my shoulders, but even though Ive just ogtten out of my relationship with my ex that was for 10 months, people still dont pick me as a lesbian. I wonder why this is? They pick me as bi, just not a lesbian. Im about to get a tattoo of entwined female symbols, with the nautical star and vines, reckon that’ll clear things up?? haha itll be on the back of my neck.