In the sixties, when the quest for gay liberation began to emerge as an organised movement after the famous Stonewall riots, the lambda was selected as a gay symbol because of its historical associations. Its aggregate meaning symbolised justice, balance and the reconciliation of opposites; unity and the relationship of man/woman and society; freedom, equality and independence of the individual; and light. As acceptance of the lambda became more widespread, use of the symbol spread rapidly across the United States. The lambda's most recent historical association with light began to take on an added meaning, one of a social nature. In the early 1970s, New York City's Gay Activists Alliance selected the lambda, which member Tom Doerr suggested from its scientific use to designate "kinetic potential," as its emblem.
As a symbol of freedom for gay people, the lambda has come to represent the "light of knowledge shed into the darkness of ignorance" and promises hope of a new future, with dignity for gay men and lesbians everywhere. Today, the lambda is recognised as a unique international symbol for gay rights, for sexual liberation and for justice and enlightenment, as well as a needed balance in acceptance of differences by and within all humanity.
