Nobody is forcing you to use the winning flag. Feel free to use whatever flag you wish and please do not spread rumours about the flag being “forced on you”
Also please don’t be rude to either the flag creator or people who have chosen to use this flag, I’ve seen this happening quite a lot since the results came out and both mods would appreciate that people don’t do that.
Seeing a lot of misinformation flying around regarding lesbian flags this year, particularly the pink one, so here’s my attempt to set the record straight!
FAQ/Common Misconceptions andSources are listed below the cut - if anything in this post contradicts what you’ve heard, I’d encourage you to read through them before responding.
PleaseDO NOT promote flag redesigns on this post :)
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UPDATE 2 (2021):
First of all, a long-overdue note that @moral-autism kindly transcribed the bulk of this infographic here, for anyone looking for a text-only version!
Secondly, I have been contacted by @kiloueka, who created/uploaded the high resolution “Pink Flag” to the Pride-Flags DeviantArt account in 2015. They clarified that they did not independently leave out the lipstick mark to create a general lesbian flag, but had previously seen a kiss-less version in a tumblr post (likely one of the ones linked in the update below).
UPDATE: New Information
@deadicateddeath brought my attention to the existence of this pride flag compilation post on Tumblr, published 8 December 2013. This is now, to my knowledge, the earliest record of the pink stripes featured without the kiss mark. The same blog made another post (10 January 2014) which featured the pink flag and claimed that it was seeing use at the time.
I am extremely interested to know if there is any evidence of pre-2015 use of the pink flag outside of this blog, as I was unable to find any during my research.
Additionally, some people feel I have downplayed the extent of the labrys’s usage. As above, I included a note to acknowledge the prevalence of the symbols used in the labrys flag (separately and in combination), but this post is specifically focussed on flag designs, and I can’t find any indication of a labrys flag itself (whether Sean Campbell’s design, or a separate design) seeing much use pre-2015.
I would be extremely interested to see any evidence of this flag being used pre-2012, something which I did hunt for but could not find.
If you have any sources regarding either of these issues, please send them my way! I am 100% open to correction and clarification, provided it can be factually backed up.
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FAQ/Common Misconceptions & Source Requests
So… what flag should we use?
My primary motivation in making this was to clear up misinformation, not to tell anyone what flag to use. Use your own judgement, even make your own if you want, just don’t get stressed out if your flag isn’t “the” flag and remember that flag colours are not the only avenue through which to show pride!
The lipstick lesbian flag is an edited version of the pink flag, which is the original.
There is no evidence to support this. The lipstick lesbian flag had been documented online for years prior to the pink flag, as explained above.
The lipstick mark was removed to make the flag more inclusive.
There’s no proof of this - as explained above, the first instance of the mark being “removed” (i.e. not included) was due to it being too complex to easily convert into a high resolution image.
The pink flag is, and has always been, “the” lesbian flag.
The pink flag has only been in semi-common usage since 2016, and its use is still mostly confined to younger online communities.
The rainbow flag is the gay (man) flag.
The rainbow flag [32] was created by Gilbert Baker in 1978 to represent the LGBT community as a whole (I used his original 8-stripe design in the final panel). It does not belong exclusively to gay men, and it does represent lesbians. Please stop framing it like this:
when it’s actually like this:
This doesn’t mean we can’thave a specific flag for the lesbian community, but it’s not the case that we need to scramble the fill the gap left by a “missing” flag. Stop reading malice into my words… lmao.
The creator of the the lipstick lesbian flag/the labrys flag is a TERF.
I can’t find any information on Sean Campbell that would suggest this, and while a cursory browse through Natalie McCray’s social media did turn up some casual cissexism, nothing indicates she was a TERF. If you have sources that show otherwise, please send them my way!
What is a “Lipstick Lesbian”?
A feminine lesbian, and by many definitions, one who only dates other feminine lesbians. Natalie McCray’s edits to the Lipstick Lesbian Wikipedia page under the name “Nmdesigns” [7] show that she subscribed to the femme4femme definition.
Why don’t you want people to promote flag redesigns on this post?
This post was created to dispell misinformation and explore the online trails of lesbian flags prior to 2017. I don’t want to tell other people what flag to use, nor do I want others to use this post as a platform to tell other people what flag to use, because that’s not the purpose of this post.
I’m not a lesbian, can I reblog this?
I don’t mind who shares this, but if you want to add commentary as someone ouside the lesbian community, please think carefully on whether or not it is relevant or appropriate.
Can I repost this on Twitter/Facebook/etc?
I don’t mind, but I’d strongly recommend including a link back to this post in order to preserve the sources.
Actually, there is an official/agreed upon flag! It’s ______.
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Sources
Scupham-Bilton, Tony. “Putting Out Sean Campbell’s Flags”. The Queerstory Files, 21 June 2012. [archive]
(NOTE: This is by no means an exhaustive list of recent redesigns, nor am I interested in curating such a list. I am having difficulty tracking down the original posts for 17and31, if you recognise them please get in touch!)
just a bunch of random lesbian pride flags I made in my free time
[image description: 6 lesbian flags all made with different collages of pictures. the first being crystals, then fruit, flowers, glitter, fabrics, and sky photos. end id]
Reblog this with your favorite inclusive lesbian flag! I’m looking to make more moodboards with more flags outside of the pink/orange one or the all pink one!
Bonus points if you include the link to the original post!
this one is by far the best flag, it was created by @nillia (im stupid and don’t know how to link the post neatly) and was actually the flag the sunset creator stole from to make hers so ! yeah
Thank you for enjoying the flag I proposed back then, but I really don’t think anybody stole anything from me. It was a simple idea, to combine the pink & Butch flags in some manner. It makes sense that I wasn’t the only person that occurred to. People have similar ideas without knowing somebody else had the idea all the time.
Also, Pride flags are all meant to be free to use, edit, and modify for both personal and commercial use anyway-so stealing a flag is not a thing, imho.
That said, again, I’m really glad folks liked my proposal and it is nice seeing it get used. We also nonetheless enjoy and make pins with the popular sunset flag. I support any and all LGBTQ+ folks to use and/or modify whatever non-hateful flags they prefer. The last thing I want is for the flag I designed to be a point of contention between sapphics. I hope that clarifies my feelings and intent on this. Thank you!
“The symbolism of the flower derives from several fragments of poems by Sappho in which she describes a lover wearing garlands or a crown with violets.”
As per the request of @lesbianthor, I put together a violet-centric lesbian flag design! She really likes the 1900s symbolism of the violet as a subtle, quiet message to women who love other women that they are in each other’s company, and I did my best to incorporate both the modern bright purple and vintage vibes from lesbian history into one edit. I’m never going to be satisfied with that tricky shade of burgundy but oh well.
There are 5 stripes in total, and Lia and I worked together to hash out the meaning behind each one.
Navy Blue - Visibility for lesbians who are frequently erased from the media, the world, and sometimes even their own community. This includes (but is not limited to) trans lesbians, nonbinary lesbians, lesbians of color, butch lesbians, Jewish lesbians, Muslim lesbians, aro/ace lesbians, and any other lesbian under the sun who has ever mourned because of a lack of representation.
Purple - The middle road that questioning lesbians cross on their journey, as well as the ultimate decision to embrace their love of women.
Pink - The joy inside a lesbian’s heart when they experience their first crush; also readable as the blush on their cheeks when in the presence of attractive women.
Burgundy - Lifeblood of every lesbian who fought to bring the LGBT community into the light before, during, and after Stonewall so that the world could learn to accept that lesbians, gay men, bisexuals, trans people, and so many more identities outside of heterosexuality and the gender binary exist, which would allow the community as a whole to begin healing.
I don’t mind if people use this flag for edits, and it’s okay if nobody wants to use it at all, I know a lot of users are very attached to the lipstick lesbian flag. Plus, this is just one more flag to add to the heap of inspired flag designs that hundreds of other users have already created, and it’s certainly not the prettiest.
I don’t expect it to become the “next big lesbian flag”, but Lia believes that the violet lesbian flag should definitely be an option for those who want alternatives, especially with pride month coming up in only a couple of weeks.
honestly this one is better than that red-orange-white-pink one because it has the special symbolism and meaning for lesbians and our history besides just pink for femme red for butch white for gnc like seriously please spread this
I’m actually going to cry because you’re so nice AND you know color theory which is super validating?? and I just realized that I totally forgot to put the white stripe’s meaning in, oops
This is actually something that would be usable for embroidery. The colors are different enough, and I think we actually have all of these colors, or very similar to (it can be difficult to exactly match).
hi i made a new lesbian flag, since some of the others new proposed never caught my eye and some were kinda eye strainey
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meanings from top to bottom:
violets - historical meanings, lesbians have been here for a long time, and we can’t forget our history!
blue violet -for butches, a somewhat mix between violet and blue, based on leslie feignburgs book “stone butch blues” the blue mixed with violet is the complicated relationship between gnc some butches experience and their for other women.
lilac - trans lesbians, based off the trans lesbian flag, which is a somewhat lilac purple color
cream - for all lesbians, our unity. whether you’re trans, nb, ace lesbian or aro lesbian, disabled, a person of color, mentally ill/neurodivergent, chronically ill, butch femme or neither, etc. this community is a place for everyone (except for terfs)!
light pink - nb lesbians, based off the pink in the nb lesbian flag!
raspberry - for femme lesbians. it’s a somewhat cloudy color, representing even us femmes complicated gender relationships.
dark pink - the sensuality, romanticism, sexuality, love, friendship, freedom, and everything good and amazing about healthy lesbian relationships, friendships or romantic!
why’d i make a new flag?
as a latina asian lesbian i felt uncomfortable with the original creator of the lipstick lesbian flag as she is biphobic, racist and fetishistic to women of color, and she hates butches. these go against what many lesbians believe; butches are the reasons we are femmes, bi girls are out sisters, our friends, our wives and girlfriends, and if not for (trans!!) women of color we wouldn’t be where we are today.
