What the symbol  means...

It means ABBAMAIL believes that discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation is wrong.

It means ABBAMAIL believes that the systematic and society-condoned silencing of people who are different is wrong.

It means ABBAMAIL will not allow homophobic jokes or comments on our website, mailing list or forum space, and will ask anyone making such comments to stop or leave.

It means that if an ABBA fan on this site says that they are gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgendered or questioning their sexuality, ABBAMAIL will not make an issue of it, and will treat them with respect and dignity. The process of disclosing one's sexual orientation is referred to as "coming out."

What the symbol doesn't mean...

It does not mean that you have to be gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgendered or questioning your sexuality to visit and partake in the services provided by ABBAMAIL.

It does not mean that ABBAMAIL is a political activist in GLBT issues.

It does not mean that the management of ABBAMAIL.com are counsellors or experts regarding GLBT issues.

It does not mean that ABBAMAIL discriminates against heterosexual ABBA fans.

What does the Rainbow Triangle in the symbol mean?

The Rainbow Triangle combines two gay/lesbian images: the rainbow flag that has become a symbol of pride for sexual minorities across the world, and an inverted pink triangle which was worn by gay prisoners in the Nazi concentration camps, and has become a mark of remembrance and pride. "Anti-social" women, including many lesbians, were forced to wear an inverted black triangle in those camps.

Why does ABBAMAIL feel the need to be a "Safe Space"

Over the years the members of ABBA and their record company, Universal Music, have not actively supported or valued GLBT ABBA fans. Benny's comment (when asked about ABBA's popularity with the Gay community) "do we look like transvestites?" showed how unsympathetic and how little value members of ABBA place on ABBA fans who are GLBT. Unlike many other major artists, ABBA have never actively supported or raised money for AIDS charities or GLBT charities in general.

The ABBA fan forum, which existed for several years, on abbasite.com and which was run by Universal Music, allowed frequent attacks on GLBT forum members and allowed the administrators of the forum to push a right-wing, homophobic agenda. This is despite the fact that the key people who have contributed to the research and expansion of the ABBA catalogue over the last decade are, in fact, gay.

Some fan forums who have taken the place of the abbasite.com forum are run in exactly the same homophobic manner, silencing their GLBT members.

Still, in society, there are verbal and physical assaults against GLBT individuals - hate crimes which still often go unreported and unresolved.

If ABBA, their record company and some of their fans are being silent on GLBT issues and silencing those who raise them, ABBAMAIL needs to take a stand on this issue. To promote awareness of intolerance, bigotry, ignorance and harassment.