Artigenda

The Flags of the Rainbow – Flags based on sexual orientation

The third part of the Rainbow Flags series focuses on the flags belonging to sexual orientation. This overview, like the flags belonging to identity, is not complete.

This third part series previously appeared on the website of De Goede Huisvader. Back then, it was a full article. Artigenda decided to make a series of these and make adjustments where necessary.

What are flags based on sexual orientation?

Another description could be flags representing sexual preference or orientation. In any case, these are not flags belonging to gender identity. An overview of flags based on gender identity was covered in part two of this series. The two volumes share a common feature: they are both incomplete. It is not possible to present a “complete overview”. New flags are added almost daily. Now, when it comes to sexual orientation, this might not be so bad unless you assume the situations where new designs replace existing flags. Or where existing designs are modified.

This happens, you can read more about this in the the first part of this series. There you can read about the developments that lead to the introduction of the the Progress Pride Flag and the The Global Inclusive Pride Flag.

Not complete

As mentioned in the introduction, this overview, like the previous parts of this series, is incomplete. Other websites will tell you they provide a “complete overview”. You have to ask the question of whether this is correct.

Firstly, it is because there are a lot of flags. In addition, because new flags are being added. The original version of this article was written as an article rather than a series in 2021. There is little left of that article because a lot has since been changed. For example, the introduction of new flags. For more information, read the explanation.

About the order of display

It does allow for clarity on whether something is important or not. When it comes to order, there is no distinction. The order of display/recording in this article is not an overview or display/reflection based on a degree of importance. No categorisation is applied in this area, just as it was not done in the second part. If a flag is not (no longer) included in this article, this does not necessarily mean that the flag or sexual orientation is not or no longer important (enough).

Aromantic Pride Flag

The Aromantic Pride Flag was presented on November 16, 2014, via the Tumblr account volbol by Cameron Whimsy. That was not the first design, as a total of three designs for the Aromantic Pride Flag were presented. Of the first design, it is not clear exactly who created it and what year it dates from. The other design is known to date from 2014 and was presented several months earlier than the flag currently in use. This flag was also created by its creator on November 16.

What is Aromanticism?

Aromaticism refers to a/the lack of sexual romantic attraction or orientation or a , which should not be confused with asexuality. However, aromanticism does have common ground with asexuality. The abbreviation for an aromantic person is aro. The opposite is alloromanticism or alloromantic, which is a reference to persons who experience romantic attraction on a regular and/or more consistent basis.

A person can be both aromantic and asexual, but it is too easy an assumption to say that this is always the case. It is not. Conversely, it is also the case.

Meaning of the Aromantic Pride Flag

The flag of 16 November 2014 is the best-known and most common flag for aromanticism. The flag is dark green, light green, white, grey and black. The meaning is as follows:

Green - light green: the aromantic spectrum and aromanticism itself, with any identity falling under it.
White: the ‘platonic’ stripe, friendship/platonic and aesthetic attraction/queer platonic relationships, as well as family relationships, the importance and validityhed of all non-romantic relties/feelings and forms of non-romantic love.
Black - grey: the spectrum of sexuality - recognising community diversity.

More about aromanticism and the Aromantic Pride Flag

Asexual Pride Flag

The Asexual Pride Flag was presented on August 11, 2010 and this was the result of a competition held by the Asexual Visibility & Education Network (AVEN). The goal was to enter the San Francisco Pride Parade. This was a success and the flag was adopted by the asexual community worldwide.

What is asexuality?

Asexuality varies from person to person. A description of the Dutch organisation NOA is available on the website. This is a Dutch advocacy organisation for asexual persons. NOA means in full: Nederlandse Organisatie Aseksualiteit. The description as available on the website is, translated into English:

Experiencing no or little sexual attraction towards other people.

Of course, an international/English-language website is also available. You don’t just rely on websites you must translate (yourself). The website of AUREA is the Aromantic-spectrum Union for Recognition, Education, and Advocacy. That’s about aromanticism. The website also includes information on asexuality, as this may belong within the spectrum of aromanticism.

The misconception is that asexual people have no desire for sex or never have sex at all. Different forms are possible, but the biggest mistake you can make is confusing asexuality with celibacy.

Meaning of the Asexual Pride Flag

The colours of the flag consist of black, grey, white and purple. Besides this flag, there is also the asexual symbol. This symbol is known from the card game: the ace. Asexual people have this symbol tattooed on their right middle finger or wear a ring to express their identity. Some go beyond that and use the ace playing card colours in other ways for their orientation: ace of spades for aromantic, ace of hearts for non-aromantic. The meaning of the colours on the flag is as follows:

Meer informatie over de Asexual Pride Flag

Bisexual Pride Flag/Bisexual Flag

After the original Pride flag was introduced in the 1970s, it took about 20 years for derivative flags to appear. The flag for the bisexual community, created by Michael Page, was one of the first flags presented. That was on December 5, 1998.

What is bisexuality?

Bisexuality involves romantic feelings, sexual attraction or sexual behaviour towards both persons of one’s gender, and persons of the opposite sex or persons regardless of their gender/gender identity. Closely related to this are pansexuality and polysexuality, although they should not be confused with bisexuality.

Meaning of the Bisexual Pride Flag

The flag consists of the colours pink, purple and blue and these colours have the following meanings:

More information on the Bisexual Pride Flag

Demisexual Pride Flag

It is not known who is responsible for the design of the Demisexual Pride Flag and in which year the flag was made. It was probably after 2010. It is not entirely certain. A touch of mysticism surrounds the flag.

What is demisexuality?

Demisexuality has nothing to do with demigender because that is a gender identity. Demisexuality is about sexuality. Sexual orientation is where the person in question can feel attraction only after a deep emotional connection or when a person does not experience primary sexual attraction, which is based on what one sees, smells or feels. The sexual orientation of the person in question does not matter.

Meaning of the Demigender Pride Flag

This sexual orientation falls within the asexual spectrum, hence the similarity with the flag associated with asexuality. The Demisexual Pride Flag consists of a black triangle, combined with the colours white, purple and grey. Despite the lack of history when it comes to the flag’s creator, it is then known what the flag stands for:

More about demisexuality and the Demisexual Pride Flag

Gay Men Flag/Vincian Pride Flag

Disclaimer for this section

This section explains why this flag was jacked by radical groups, who wanted to put forward their motives to exclude, discriminate against or otherwise damage certain groups. However, the original flag has nothing to do with this at all. Any suggestion of a promotion of these false claims and a relationship with this article is therefore rejected by Artigenda. The creator of this flag never intended you read further on, to spread hatred with this flag. It was only not brought this way by the very individuals who had alternative motivations towards transgender persons.

Any claim whereby the LGBTI+ community should be stripped of certain abbreviations directed against non-binary and transgender persons only harms the community. There is no LBTHI+ or LGBTQIA+ (or any abbreviation) without the letters following the first three letters! Not only is the abbreviation then no longer correct. The diversity of the community itself is thus disrupted, as is the balance.

This is the reason why a full explanation of this flag is given. In addition, there are plenty of special days/mentions on this website that relate to the entire LGBT+ community. Because everyone counts!

Instead of a flag to be shown, an explanation first. About the name/term vincian. There is still a chance that this name/term is not known. This makes sense, as it is a rarely used name/term. For convenience, let’s use the word term. The fact that the term is little used ensures that few search results come up.

Vincian refers to gay men. Is the flag below the flag that belongs to that group or not? Well, yes and no.

So what about this flag? The flag designed by Gilbert Baker in the 1970s was made for gay people. The question then is: what are gay people? In this case, gays are not the people represented by this flag. The flag designed by Baker was there for the entire community. The flag introduced many years later was there for a more select group. Gay men. So not for gay people. That’s good to remember. It can be confusing.

In 2021, the first version of the Rainbow Flags article was published through De Goede Huisvader’s website. De Goede Huisvader’s business activities have since shifted, therefore Artigenda used this article to turn it into a series. With some modifications. For example, the part about this flag. Developments followed one another. Confusion arose. Was this flag the right flag and were the creator’s intentions pure?

Origin of the Gay Men Pride Flag

The problem has everything to do with the multiplicity of flags and the fact that the flag was not widely accepted. Multiple designs were presented as THE design, without still having that acceptance. ‘All of a sudden’ there was such a thing as a “toothpaste flag” and thus a harmful situation was created for non-binary and transgender people.

The following flags were presented as being either the Vincian Pride Flag or the Gay Men Pride Flag.

"Toothpaste Flag"

The so-called “Toothpaste Flag” so similar to the Lesbian Pride Flag and the opposite of the Transgender Flag. The flag would not only target the transgender community. The flag would also be racist. Transphobic and racist motives would play a role within a certain section of the gay community that would be represented by this flag. It did not stop there, as there was more. The introduction of the flag was striking, as its creator indicated that the flag was unfinished. Certain radical groups that opposed transgender and non-binary people saw in the colours of the flag ‘proof’ that the creator was opposing these groups. All this caused the flag to be ‘tainted’. You can read more about this via the archived ArchivalFlags page. So the flag was hijacked by radical and hate groups. With that, a conspiracy was created about the “Toothpaste Flag.” The power of the internet and especially social media worked to the disadvantage of the flag’s creator. Not only did the spread take place quickly. The conspiracy theory spread even faster.

On websites such as Queer in the World (see this archived link), you can read more about the Gay Men’s Pride Flag. In the article, there’s no mention of the “Toothpaste Flag.” Queer in the World contains articles that aren’t characterised by hate. Were the Gay Men’s Pride Flag to be hateful, it would not have received any attention on this website. This is not the only source of interest. There is another source that is possibly even more important and that is Tumblr. An article posted on March 5, 2021 cleared all misunderstandings related to the flag. A clarification was also given on the colours used. These details showed why the flag was being changed. It had to do with the similarities between the flag and the Lesbian Pride Flag.

Chronological overview

The chronological overview of the Gay Men Pride Flag is as follows:

The first flag

The meaning of the first flag:

Dark green: the community.
Green/blue: inclusion.
Light green: joy.
Blue-green: She/he and pronoun non-compliant.
White: non-conforming gender/sex, non-binary, trans men.
Light blue: asexual and aromantic individuals.
Blue: love and attraction.
Dark blue: diversity.

The second flag

The meaning of the second flag:

Dark green: the community.
Green: healing power.
Light green: joy.
White: non-conforming gender/sex, non-binary, trans men.
Purple: strength, fortitude, determination.
Dark purple: diversity.

Sometime after the introduction of the second flag, a new flag was introduced. That was the Vincian Pride Flag. A flag that was meant to represent the community of men who are attracted to men. You can read more about the first and second flags via this archived page.

On the website of the Nonbinary Wiki, you can read that achillean is not only a related term to vincian. It is also another umbrella term for men who are attracted to men. This is just a very brief description. To be clear, the fact that this entry appears on the Nonbinary Wiki website does not imply an identity linked to gender identity. The website goes beyond “just” the nonbinary spectrum. So in this case, it is about sexual orientation and this is where the addition of MLM is important. This addition is an abbreviation of Man Who Loves Man. The term is a derivative of Achilles. A synonym for achillean is vincinan. This is a derivative of Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519). With that, evincing is a reference to Leonardo da Vinci. The only question is: why?

Leonardi da Vinci was claimed to have been homosexual and whether this was true, we do not know. Sigmund Freud (1856-1939), the famous Austrian psychiatrist, claimed in 1922 that it was. There is another theory against this, as the name may have to do with the Uomo universale, the Universal Man. That was what Da Vinci was. What wasn’t he into? Architecture, painting and sculpture. Of course, this has nothing to do with this flag. It has nothing to do with MLM. It does have to do with the way you can achieve anything, whenever you want to. Especially when you consider that Da Vinci lived at a time in history when not everything was possible or allowed. A good example is the secret writing he applied to some of his work. That is, of course, a brilliant thought. At the same time also a frightening thought, because Da Vinci could do everything only by taking certain measures, otherwise he had to fear the influence of the Vatican. The church, in other words. The same church that fought against homosexuality for centuries. Incidentally, that would have been a good reason for Da Vinci to keep his sexual orientation hidden. We don’t know.

There are plenty of reasons why the name vincian is used. Not everyone uses the name precisely because of the doubt. After all, there is no complete certainty. Therefore, others choose to use another name. That is wildean. The inspiration for this name can be traced back to Oscar Wilde (1854-1900). On the other hand, much of the community simply still sticks to words used for centuries. Gay, homosexual, homo, you name it.

Whatever word is chosen doesn’t matter. Unless the motivation is negative. If the motivation or underlying thought is positive, then there is nothing wrong. In any case, the flag has been hijacked by groups and individuals who want to spread hatred. The advice is mainly not to fall for that.

More information about the Gay Men Pride Flag and the Vincian Pride Flag

Lesbian Pride Flag

There are more flags with the name Lesbian Pride Flag. The most popular flag is the one designed in 2018 by Emily Gwen.

Female homosexuality: lesbianism

The term lesbianism has nothing to do with the way we refer to female homosexuals. If you want to refer to girls or women, who are attracted to other girls or women, use the word lesbian or lesbians (plural). Lesbianism itself refers to the romantic or sexual attraction between women. A girl or woman who identifies as lesbian is typically emotionally and sexually attracted to other girls or women. The term “lesbian” is derived from the Greek island of Lesbos, home to the poet Sappho, who wrote about love between women.

Throughout history, love relationships between women were often not understood or not seen. Just as this was not possible for love relationships between two men, it was also impossible for women. The only difference was: that women were not even allowed to choose their love in some cases. Nevertheless, relationships between women existed at all times. These went beyond sexual relationships. Different from what some make of it or think. Lesbianism is more than the sexual attraction.

Historical developments of the Lesbian Pride Flag(s)

Several designs have been presented for the lesbian community. The first was the Labrys Lesbian Pride Flag in 1999.

1999: The Labrys Lesbian Pride Flag

In 1999, the first flag for the lesbian community was presented. It seemed to be a powerful reference to antiquity. The flag was named the Labrys Lesbian Pride Flag. The symbol chosen, it is very similar to what was chosen by the Nazis in the concentration and extermination camps for those who were gay or lesbian. Remember, gays and lesbians were also persecuted by the Nazis. This flag evoked resistance from the beginning. However powerful it was intended to be, complete with a ceremonial double-bitted axe from Ancient Greece, there wasn’t a full adaptation of this flag. Still, you see the flag now and then.

Getting over the idea that there was a link between the black triangle and the events in history was one thing. Although designed with the best intentions, Sean Campbell was a man. He was a graphic designer for the Pride version of the Gay and Lesbian Times. At the time, a newspaper was published in California.

2010: The Lipstick Lesbian Pride Flag

It was not until 2010 that a new design was presented and that was Nathalie McCray’s design. Again, there was something wrong with that design, as it was not inclusive enough. The name alone says it all: The Lipstick Lesbian Pride Flag. Not every woman is a lipstick lesbian. This flag is related to the term lipstick lesbian that originated in the 1980s. Priscilla Rhoades was responsible for coining this term in 1982. She did so in the article “Lesbians for Lipstick,” that appeared in the San Francisco Sentinel. The term would subsequently evolve into a definition for women who put more emphasis on their feminity using make-up and certain clothing. Not everyone would agree with the description or designation. This was the same for the flag, so a new flag was introduced by McCray. This was the one without the kissing (im)print.

The problem was not so much the new flag -without the kissing print. The accusations levelled at the creator afterwards were the problem. Transphobic and racist, that not only caused a new flag to be presented (2018). It also ensured that that flag became the most popular and most accepted flag.

Meaning of the Lesbian Pride Flag (2018)

As the seven-colour flag has been the main flag for the lesbian community since 2018, superseding all flags, here is its meaning:

Dark orange: gender non-conformity.
Orange: independence.
Light orange: the lesbian community.
White: relationships unique to femininity.
Light pink: peace and serenity.
Pink: love and sex.
Dark pink: femininity.

The colour dark orange/gender non-conformity: this is about the connection that can be found with “things” that are seen as “standard” by/for a gender other than one’s own and with which standards are (can be) broken.

More information about the Lesbian Pride Flag

Butch Lesbian Pride Flag

It would have been an option to include the Butch Lesbian Pride Flag in the previous section. This is a seperate flag for the subculture within the lesbian community. This is because butch and femme lesbians occupy a separate position and not every woman identifies herself that way or feels a connection with it.

Origin

Within the lesbian community, butch is considered the opposite of lipstick lesbians. Because you then pretty quickly end up with terminology like masculine or “male”, this is immediately a tricky subject. Better to talk about breaking with traditional gender roles and expressions. All this can be traced back to the United States in the 1940s. It is about slang. A particular use of language, in other words, and it wasn’t positive at all. The term was introduced by men to describe a certain type of woman.

Based on traditional gender roles, people looked at what they saw and described a certain type, which they compared to men. Then something happened that even the fiercest opponent could not see coming. Certain women began to oppose this homophobia and lesbophobia. With this, the butch lesbians emerged. With them also arose the closely related terms like the stone butch, soft butch, butch and femme and femme.

Stone butch
A woman shows her identity in a socially traditional way.

Soft butch
A woman who shows her identity through some stereotypical characteristics, insofar as there are or may be any, without quite conforming to the stone butch type.

Butch en femme
Where the word femme is the French word for woman and is used for a certain type of lesbian relationship, in which one partner assumes a certain role and the other partner assumes a different role.

Femme
Literally the French word for woman, which actually means lesbian.

Is the flag presented via the account Butch Space on Tumblr the Butch Lesbian Pride Flag or not? That flag was presented in 2018? If you look at the post on this page, you will notice that that flag no longer applies according to the administrator of that page. That’s a different page, with the same flag. That’s right, because the original account, Butch Positivity on Tumblr, no longer exists. This entry is about the Butch Pride Flag, which would no longer be used. The entry mentions a flag from 2014, only the entry is from 2017. We know this because another post exists. That message is still available. At least, that message was available in 2024. There are two archived versions available. The first one is available on the website of The Internet Archive. The second on is from June 2024.

The flag from either 2014, 2017 or 2018 is not the flag from Dorian-rutherford. That flag is considered the flag for the butch lesbian community. One of the first publications of the flag was the one that dates back from August 25, 2016 on Devian Art.

Meaning of the Butch Lesbian Pride Flag

The Butch Lesbian Pride Flag, as designed in 2016, consists of the colours dark blue, mid-blue, grey-blue, white, lavender, mid-purple, dark purple and has the following meaning:

Red: passion and sexuality.
Light red and orange red: courage.
Light orange: joy.
White: beginning of a new life as a butch.
Beige: chivalry.
Orange: warmth and comfort.
Brown: honesty.

More information about the Butch Lesbian Pride Flag

Pansexual Pride Flag

It took a lot of people by surprise when on February 13, 2013, Tumblr user Jasper V (Just Jasper) announced that he was responsible for the design of the Pansexual Pride Flag in 2010.

What is pansexuality?

Pansexuality is the emotional, romantic and/or sexual attraction to persons regardless of gender or sex. Gender or sex plays no or a limited(er) role. Thus, sexual orientation applies or may apply to all gender identities, including female, male, genderqueer and identities that fall outside the binary spectrum. This may be so, but need not always be so. So it varies from person to person.

The word pansexuality includes the Greek word pan, meaning all or every. This stands for a broad spectrum of attraction. So this does not only refer to the persons. It refers to the degree of attraction.

The discussion of whether pansexuality is a subcategory of bisexuality is an interesting one. Not a correct one. Well, bi means two, whereas pan stands for all or any, as explained earlier. So this removes the suggestion that pansexuality is a subcategory of bisexuality.

Meaning of the Pansexual Pride Flag

The Pansexual Pride Flag consists of three colours, pink, yellow and blue. The meaning of the flag is as follows:

More information about pansexuality and the Pansexual Pride Flag

Polysexual Pride Flag

The first version of the Polysexual Pride Flag was presented in 2012 by Tumblr user Fuck Yeah Polysexuality, as seen in this archived Tumblr post.

What is polysexuality?

Polysexuality is a sexual orientation where an individual is attracted to multiple, but not necessarily all, genders. The term “polysexual” comes from the Greek prefix “poly-” meaning “many”. Unlike pansexuality, which involves attraction to all genders, polysexuality does not encompass every gender identity.

Polysexual individuals may be attracted to a variety of genders, but their attractions are not as broad as those of pansexual individuals. This orientation is distinct from bisexuality, which traditionally refers to attraction to two genders, though modern interpretations of bisexuality can include attraction to multiple genders.

Just as this applies to pansexuality, polysexuality is also subject to a debate on the extent to which polysexuality is not a subcategory of bisexuality. Bisexuality, the name says it all because of the presence of the (sub)word bi, assumes two genders or gender identities. This settles the discussion. Polysexuality is its category and not a subcategory.

Meaning of the Polysexual Pride Flag

The flag consists of the colours pink, green and blue. The flag has the following meaning:

More information about polysexuality and the Polysexual Pride Flag

About this series

The Rainbow Flags series is divided into four volumes.