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Lesbian flags

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Part of the LGBTQ series
LGBTQ symbols
      
Symbols
Pride flags

Various lesbian flags have been used to symbolise the lesbian community. Since 1999, many designs have been proposed and used. Although personal preferences exist, as well as various controversies, no design has been widely accepted by the community as the lesbian flag.

History

Labrys flag

The labrys lesbian flag was created in 1999 by graphic designer Sean Campbell, and published in June 2000 in the Palm Springs edition of the Gay and Lesbian Times Pride issue.[1][2] The design consists of a labrys, a type of double-headed axe, superimposed on the inverted black triangle, set against a violet background. The labrys is associated as a weapon used by the Amazons of greek mythology.[3][4] In the 1970s it was adopted as a symbol of empowerment by the lesbian feminist community.[5]Women considered asocial by Nazi Germany for not conforming to the Nazi ideal of a woman, which included homosexual females, were condemned to concentration camps[6] and wore an inverted black triangle badge to identify them.[7] Some lesbians reclaimed this symbol as gay men reclaimed the pink triangle (many lesbians also reclaimed the pink triangle although lesbians were not included in Paragraph 175 of the German criminal code).[7] The color violet became associated with lesbians via the poetry of Sappho.[8]

Lipstick flag

See also: Lipstick lesbian § Flag controversy

The lipstick lesbian flag was designed by Natalie McCray, and released on her blog This Lesbian Life.[9][10] The design has seven stripes in a gradient from purple (at the top) to white (in the center) to red (at the bottom), with a red kiss mark superimposed in the top left corner.[11][12] The flag symbolizes lipstick lesbians—slang for lesbians with a feminine expression. However, it has not been widely adopted.[1] Some lesbians have argued that the flag excludes butch lesbians, while others oppose its use due to remarks made by McCray deemed racist, biphobic, and transphobic.[13][14]

Pink flag

The "pink" lesbian flag was derived from the colors of the lipstick lesbian flag, with the kiss mark removed.[12] The pink flag attracted more use as a general lesbian pride flag.[15]

Orange-Pink flag

The "orange-pink" lesbian flag, modeled after the seven-band pink flag, was introduced on Tumblr by blogger Emily Gwen in 2018.[16][17] The colors include dark orange for "gender non-conformity", orange for "independence", light orange for "community", white for "unique relationships to womanhood", pink for "serenity and peace", dusty pink for "love and sex", and dark rose for "femininity".[17]

A five-stripes version was soon derived from the 2018 colors.[18]

  • Labrys lesbian flag created in 1999[1]
    Labrys lesbian flag created in 1999[1]
  • Illustration of Lipstick lesbian flag created in 2010[10]
    Illustration of Lipstick lesbian flag created in 2010[10]
  • Pink lesbian flag with colors copied from the lipstick lesbian flag[15]
    Pink lesbian flag with colors copied from the lipstick lesbian flag[15]
  • Orange-pink lesbian flag derived from the pink flag in 2018[17]
    Orange-pink lesbian flag derived from the pink flag in 2018[17]
  • Five-stripes variant of orange-pink flag[18]
    Five-stripes variant of orange-pink flag[18]
  • Lesbian pride variant of the gay pride flag with the double-Venus symbol[19][5]
    Lesbian pride variant of the gay pride flag with the double-Venus symbol[19][5]

Flags at events

  • Double-Venus rainbow flag at London Pride parade, England, 2011
    Double-Venus rainbow flag at London Pride parade, England, 2011
  • Double-Venus rainbow flag at Istanbul Pride solidarity demonstration, Berlin, Germany, 2018
    Double-Venus rainbow flag at Istanbul Pride solidarity demonstration, Berlin, Germany, 2018
  • Labrys flag at Berlin Dyke March, Germany, 2019
    Labrys flag at Berlin Dyke March, Germany, 2019
  • Labrys flag at Pride March, Rouen, France, 2019
    Labrys flag at Pride March, Rouen, France, 2019
  • Labrys flag at Pride Serbia, Belgrade, Serbia, 2019
    Labrys flag at Pride Serbia, Belgrade, Serbia, 2019
  • Double-Venus rainbow flag at Berlin Dyke March, Germany, 2020
    Double-Venus rainbow flag at Berlin Dyke March, Germany, 2020

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c Bendix, Trish (8 September 2015). "Why don't lesbians have a pride flag of our own?". AfterEllen. Archived from the original on 9 September 2015. Retrieved 8 June 2019.
  2. ^ Kasandra Brabaw (19 June 2019). "A Complete Guide To All The LGBTQ+ Flags & What They Mean". Refinery29. Archived from the original on 12 March 2021. Retrieved 6 July 2019.
  3. ^ "Gay Symbols Through the Ages". The Alyson Almanac: A Treasury of Information for the Gay and Lesbian Community. Boston, Massachusetts: Alyson Publications. 1989. pp. 99–100. ISBN 0-932870-19-8.
  4. ^ Murphy, Timothy F., ed. (2000). Reader's Guide to Lesbian and Gay Studies (1st ed.). Chicago, Illinois: Fitzroy Dearborn Publishers. p. 44. ISBN 1-57958-142-0.
  5. ^ a b Zimmerman, Bonnie, ed. (2000). "Symbols (by Christy Stevens)". Lesbian Histories and Cultures: An Encyclopedia. Vol. 1 (Encyclopedia of Lesbian and Gay Histories and Cultures) (1st ed.). Garland Publishing. p. 748. ISBN 0-8153-1920-7.
  6. ^ "Lesbians Under the Nazi Regime". Holocaust Encyclopedia. United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. 31 March 2021. Archived from the original on 25 March 2022. Retrieved 14 June 2021.
  7. ^ a b Elman, R. Amy. "Triangles and Tribulations: The Politics of Nazi Symbols". Remember.org. Archived from the original on 20 December 2016. Retrieved 10 December 2016. (Originally published in the Journal of Homosexuality, 1996, 30 (3): pp.1–11, doi:10.1300/J082v30n03_01, ISSN 0091-8369)
  8. ^ Prager, Sarah (29 January 2020). "Four Flowering Plants That Have Been Decidedly Queered (Sapphic Violets)". JSTOR Daily. Archived from the original on 3 February 2021. Retrieved 19 July 2020.
  9. ^ Mathers, Charlie (1 January 2018). "18 Pride flags you might not have seen before". Gay Star News. Archived from the original on 1 June 2021. Retrieved 4 June 2019. (The Mathers article shows the derivative design, but not the original flag.)
  10. ^ a b Redwood, Soleil (26 February 2020). "A Horniman Lesbian Flag". Horniman Museum. Archived from the original on 16 August 2023. Retrieved 21 November 2021.
  11. ^ McCray, Natalie (July 2010). "LLFlag". This Lesbian Life. Archived from the original on 11 October 2016. Retrieved 9 June 2021.
  12. ^ a b Rawles, Timothy (12 July 2019). "The many flags of the LGBT community". San Diego Gay & Lesbian News. Archived from the original on 12 July 2019. Retrieved 3 September 2019.
  13. ^ "Lesbian flag: The history, origins, meaning and symbolism". Cosmopolitan. 18 March 2021. Archived from the original on 24 January 2023. Retrieved 29 January 2023.
  14. ^ Kasandra Brabaw (19 June 2019). "A Complete Guide To All The LGBTQ+ Flags & What They Mean". Refinery29. Archived from the original on 12 March 2021. Retrieved 6 July 2019.
  15. ^ a b Andersson, Jasmine (4 July 2019). "Pride flag guide: what the different flags look like, and what they all mean". i. Archived from the original on 15 September 2021. Retrieved 15 September 2021.
  16. ^ Dastagir, Alia E.; Oliver, David (1 June 2021). "LGBTQ Pride flags go beyond the classic rainbow. Here's what each one means". USA Today. Archived from the original on 1 June 2021. Retrieved 1 June 2021.
  17. ^ a b c "LGBTQIA+ Symbols: New Lesbian Flag(s)". Old Dominion University. April 2020. Archived from the original on 2 June 2021. Retrieved 6 June 2021.
  18. ^ a b Murphy-Kasp, Paul (6 July 2019). "Pride in London: What do all the flags mean?". BBC News. Archived from the original on 17 June 2020. Retrieved 6 July 2019. (video)
  19. ^ "More Variations of the Gay Pride Rainbow Flag (2): Rainbow flags with double Venus symbol". Flags of the World. 21 September 2023. Archived from the original on 25 June 2024. Retrieved 25 June 2024.
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