I've seen a few posts about flags lately (flag analysis, blue flag). I'd like to zoom out a bit and ask: What do you guys think about flags in general? Not any specific flag, but the concept of flags overall?
A flag is meant to be big, to be recognizable, to claim space. Flags make sense for waving in pride parades, and they had a place in history. What I'm not so sure about is whether they make sense for the present day.
Gilbert Baker, creator of the original rainbow flag, created the flag to replace the previous symbol of gay liberation, the pink triangle, because the triangles are a symbol from Nazi concentration camps, and Gilbert wanted something without such a dark history. Here's a quote from him talking about the concept of flags, linking the idea the flags to revolutions:
I thought of the American flag with its thirteen stripes and thirteen stars, the colonies breaking away from England to form the United States. I thought of the vertical red, white, and blue tricolor from the French Revolution and how both flags owed their beginnings to a riot, a rebellion, or revolution. I thought a gay nation should have a flag too, to proclaim its own idea of power.
As a community, both local and international, gay people were in the midst of an upheaval, a battle for equal rights, a shift in status where we were now demanding power, taking it. This was our new revolution: a tribal, individualistic, and collective vision. It deserved a new symbol.
In the past, when I had thought of a flag, I saw it as just another icon to lampoon. I had considered all flag-waving and patriotism in general to be a dangerous joke. But that changed in 1976. The American Bicentennial celebration put the focus on the American flag. It was everywhere, from pop art to fine art, from tacky souvenirs to trashy advertising. On every level, it functioned as a message. After the orgy of bunting and hoopla surrounding the Bicentennial, I thought of flags in a new light. I discovered the depth of their power, their transcendent, transformational quality. I thought of the emotional connection they hold. I thought how most flags represented a place. They were primarily nationalistic, territorial, iconic propaganda — all things we questioned in the ‘70s. Gay people were tribal, individualistic, a global collective that was expressing itself in art and politics. We needed a flag to fly everywhere.
I guess I would say that I'm more on board with flags when they're revolutionary? But when the flag is of the current establishment, that's when it becomes more along the lines of, "I had considered all flag-waving and patriotism in general to be a dangerous joke"?
Nowadays, flags make me think of micro MOGAI flags, and rainbow merchandise brought forth by corporations during Pride month in order to make a quick buck.
But on the flipside, I do think having some symbol is useful. The one little gay bar in my town has a national flag but done in rainbow hanging in the window, to show customers what's up. It can be nice to have a little enamel pin to put on your backpack, so that your crush knows what's up when you can't figure out how to casually mention your sexuality in conversation without sounding contrived.
Maybe the distinction between flags and non-flag symbols is rather arbitrary, but I do kinda prefer non-flag symbols. Less loud, I guess. I like the ⚣ and ⚢ symbols, and I like the symbol in top right corner of the flyer for the first pride, that's ♀♀♂♂ but they're all linked up: 1) lesbian woman, 2) bi women, 3) bi man, 4) gay man.
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