The Color Purple won a Pulitzer Prize and was made into an film, the hue has been associated with LGBTQ+ people.The Ancient Greek lesbian poet Sappho wrote of attraction for younger women with "violet tiaras." But it wasn't until late in the 19th century that the public began associating lavender with queers, in part becaus of Oscar Wilde who wrote of "purple hours" spent with male sex workers.During the McCarthy era, the federal government began a witch-hunt to oust lesbians and gay men in civil service, in what was dubbed "The Lavender Scare" by historian David K.
Johnson, about 5,000 federal employees lost their jobs. After the Stonewall Riots, lavender armbands became a symbol of "gay power." During the same period, Betty Friedan,.