editorial: flaggotry

I'm not a big fan of the Pride flag at the moment.

As a white, masculine-presenting queer, I understand why my perspective on the topic might be a bit of an eye roll to some. I'm non-binary but I rock a beard, so if I dressed and talked slightly differently, I could pass as a private-school educated, hot(?) straight white cis man- so there are a lot of advantages I have on the world stage over other members of the LGBTQ+ community. I know BIPOC community members have faced marginalization and exclusion to a greater extent than I will ever comprehend, and that there are other parts of the community that often don't get represented (I see you I's and A's) in the expanding LGBTQ+ alphabet. Despite a deep respect for those parts of our community, I still can't seem to figure out whether I'm team "if it makes you happy, do whatever you want with the flag" or team "don't fix what isn't broken."

I know that kind of binary is reductive, and neglects to reflect some important nuances, but for the sake of general argument, let's just go with it. I care deeply about our flag and what it represents, and I feel we need to have a serious conversation before we end up with a monstrosity like the City of Tampa’s.

I mean, really Tampa?

Where to begin? Well how about- at the beginning.

The two original flags (same design) were created by Gilbert Baker for the San Francisco Gay Freedom Day Parade in 1978. They were presented as an effort to overshadow the negative connotations associated with the existing symbol of the community, the pink triangle, which had originated as an identification of homosexuals in Nazi concentration camps.

The pink triangle .

The flags were hand-dyed and -sewn, and had eight rainbow-colored horizontal stripes, with a specific meaning assigned to each color:
PINK :: Sex
RED :: Life
ORANGE :: Healing
YELLOW :: Sunlight
GREEN :: Nature
TURQUOISE :: Magic/Art
INDIGO :: Serenity
VIOLET :: Spirit
(The meanings were loosely inspired by the recent hippie movement- if that wasn't obvious from the list.)

Original Design by Gilbert Baker

Queer political icon Harvey Milk was assassinated later that year, causing demand for more flags to rise. A lack of readily available hot pink fabric meant the pink stripe was dropped. For the following year's parade, the turquoise and indigo stripes were replaced with a single blue stripe. Baker wanted to decorate the street lamps with hanging rainbow banners, and to evenly separate the stripes on either side of the poles, he altered the design to have only six colors. This six stripe version then grew in popularity to become an internationally recognized symbol for the LGBTQ+ (then LGBT) community.

The most commonly used, six-stripe version we all know and mostly love.

After decades of use, concerns started to be raised that the flag was not adequately symbolic of the expanding range LGBTQ+ community members, so before his death in 2017 Baker proposed a re-introduction of his original eight-stripe design, but with a ninth, lavender stripe to represent "diversity." We won't know how successful his new iteration might have been, though, because it's introduction was quickly eclipsed by the Philadelphia pride flag, created for the city by a marketing firm who added brown and black stripes to the six-stripe flag. The Philadelphia flag was created to draw attention to issues faced by people of color within the community, but was heavily criticized at the time for being more divisive than inclusive. Heated public discourse resulted in some advocates proposing that a lack of support for the redesign showed a lack of support for BIPOC civil rights efforts- and in many circumstances, it unfortunately did.

The Philadelphia Pride Flag

A resurgence of support among racial equality movements (especially Black Lives Matter) helped further popularize use of the Philadelphia flag, and it's mainstream adoption inspired other less-visible factions of the LGBTQ+ community to implement additional changes over over the past few years, to include heightened visibility, especially for the trans community.

Progress Pride Flag designed by Daniel Quasar

Which brings us to the most recent iteration, presented this year by Intersex Equality Rights UK, as an effort to increase visibility for the Intersex community.

Intersex inclusive flag designed by Valentino Vecchietti for Intersex Equality Rights UK

I'm all about maximizing inclusion for anyone that feels underrepresented, but from a purely design-based perspective, it just looks a little poorly considered- especially (albeit stereotypically) for the queers. If I wasn't so thoroughly entrenched in the conversation about the recent, arguably contrived struggles to design a fully-inclusive flag, I would assume we were merely inviting the world to witness our communal descent into madness.

LGBTQ+ Flag master list by reddit user miinaroo

Yes, part of the beauty of the LGBTQ+ community is that it is so inclusive, but if you look at how many different communities are currently represented under the LGBTQ+ rainbow-each with their own unique flags, colors, and symbolism- it's obvious that if we continue to tack new stuff onto it incrementally, we will end up with a flag that more closely resembles a kindergarten art project than an organized representation of a diverse, but unified community.

There is a LOT going on with the intersex-inclusive flag already. With every redesign, more colors, stripes, and shapes are added. At the same time, I can't help but wonder, if these splinter communities are so concerned with inclusivity, why does each new design only include their own symbolism? It's as if they're saying "Okay, NOW it's finished," without considering any other LGBTQ+ factions that might also feel marginalized.

Also, if we are going to adopt the Intersex flag, is there any point at which the inclusive symbolic representations go too far? If we are going to make the argument that we should stand behind whatever alterations are made by any LGBTQ+ groups who feel underrepresented, wouldn't it stand to reason that we should also equally support the addition of, say, religious symbolism to the flag- or is that where we draw the line? I can imagine Christian gays often feel marginalized among the community, but i can also see putting a cross on the flag going over like - well, like a queer at the pearly gates. Furthermore, how would the "no kink at pride" faction feel about adding some Leather or BDSM representation? Should we even care until people start complaining? Will we listen to their concerns, or just jump to the conclusion (as some have already) that dissent is intolerable?

Leather Pride Flag

As far as the Intersex community goes, has anyone asked the non-LGBTQ+ Intersex folks about how what they think about putting their symbolism on our flag? I'm interested to know how those who live their lives as cisgender heterosexuals feel. Maybe they don't give a shit, but here have already been debates among the intersex community about whether to align with the LGBTQ+ community at all [reductive version: their identification as intersex is a result of non-binary physical anatomy, not an identification based on atypical gender or sexuality identification]. Thinking progressively, wouldn't the inclusion of their symbolism on the pride flag by an LGBTQ+ aligned Intersex organization therefore be a form of cultural colonization? Isn't there something genuinely fascist about redesigning an existing flag without fully consulting all facets of the community it represents, especially if there are pre-existing cases of dissent?

Intersectional Pride Flag proposal by Dennis Velco (July 2020)

On the other hand, all these random alterations might be quite beneficial to the LGBTQ+ community. Changes in the flag have so far fostered a lot of healthy discussion about where we stand on controversial issues, which helps us focus our priorities as a community and establish common ground. In situations like these, we can learn from the community and treat it as a microcosm of society at large. Each small resolution we come to may provide valuable insight on how progress can be made successfully on a grander scale.

Perhaps a flag constantly undergoing revisions might also make it easier to differentiate from the hyper-marketable, six-stripe version, and prevent us falling victim to the corporate “rainbow-washing” that is becoming more popular (and soul-sucking) every year. Major corporations continue ramping up their exploitation of the rainbow by slapping it on everything from sneakers to liquor bottles- a clever "sign of support" that has the convenient side effect of loosening the queer purse strings. So, maybe the constant churning out of new flag designs is the only way we can separate the legitimate supporters from the panderers?

Image via BuzzFeed

But then again, part of the goal of our flag is to promote visibility and wider acceptance. Arguably, the proven marketability of Pride-related merchandise is actually a very good sign, because it represents mainstream viability and exposes new audiences to positive LGBTQ+ representations. In a society controlled by free-market capitalism, is it better to just stick with what sells?

So, where do we go from here? Maybe we stay with what is already commonly used and recognizable? Maybe we form a committee to design a few all-inclusive options and put them to a big queer vote? Or maybe we just let the flag's evolution progress naturally over time, just like our community and its place in the world. We just have to realize that promoting discussion and informed dissent is a healthy part of that process. However we move forward, there's nobody I'd rather have on my side in tackling an activist design challenge than the queers.

Until we land on a more permanent and unifying solution- keep flying whatever flag you have handy, keep fighting for what you think is right, keep respecting those who fly whatever iteration they prefer, and keep proving to the rest of the world that even when we fly different versions, they are all the same flag.