We will be guided by this table.
Today we'll start with the flags of sexual orientation.
1. Rainbow flag.
Since the early 70s of the XX century, the rainbow flag has been considered the international symbol of gays and lesbians. At the same time, the initial meaning of this flag is often forgotten as a symbol of universal tolerance towards all people, cultures and religions.
As conceived by the artist, the flag was supposed to be eight-lane to demonstrate the diversity of this movement. Each stripe symbolized one of the components of the ideology of the gay movement:
hot pink - sexy
red - life
orange - health
yellow - sun
green - nature
turquoise - art
indigo - harmony
purple - strength of mind and spirituality.
In 1979, it became necessary to mass-produce rainbow flags for the gay pride parade. But at that time the production of some of the colors of the flag was impossible, so pink and turquoise were removed from the design of the flag, and indigo was replaced with blue.
At first, the order of the colors of the rainbow flag was reversed, that is, it began with purple and ended with red. After the color purple became the symbol of feminists, the flag took its current form.
Interesting fact:
As you can see, this flag has only 6 colors and it is blue that is missing. Therefore, in fact, it has nothing to do with the rainbow.
2. The flag of gay bears.
Gay bear culture emerged in the late 1970s and early 1980s in the United States (primarily in the state of California) as a response to the traditional public stereotyping of homosexual men as effeminate and effeminate, within which a significant portion of US gays no longer fit and did not want to fit.
Typical "bears" are mature, mature men who have a dense, stocky (sometimes overweight) build, hairy body, beards and mustaches. They are devoid of effeminate features and do not imitate women.
Bears, puppies, otters, wolves, gorillas, etc. are also distinguished in gay bear culture, depending on their social role, age and physique.
So, cubs are usually young "bears" of a dense build with a beard younger than 35 years old. "Puppies" are young "bears" with a thick build with a beard, often playing a passive role. "Wolves" - lean, tall, usually active gay men without facial hair of any age. "Otters" - lean, sometimes versatile gays of short stature, athletic build, often with abundant body hair.
Interesting fact:
"Bears" are considered only those gays who are attracted to men of this particular type. But this does not mean that if a gay looks like a "bear", then he is attracted to "bears".
3. Flag of lesbians.
With the same flag, everything is much more complicated, since many do not even know about it. It is generally accepted that the flag of lesbians is the same as that of gays - rainbow. Therefore, it was rather difficult to find detailed information about him.
In fact, this flag is composed of several symbols of the LGBT community.
Labrys is a double-bladed ax used as a weapon in the Mediterranean region. He was known in Ancient Greece as a symbol of a number of non-heteronormative deities: Zeus Labrandeus (* just find it *), Demeter (her cult included lesbian rituals) and the Minoan female goddess.
Winckel (patch) in the form of a black triangle. Used in Nazi concentration camps to denote individuals considered asocial, which included lesbians, prostitutes and women who did not want to have children. Now it is just a distinctive sign.
And of course purple is the color for feminists.
This flag reflects the struggle of women both for their rights and for the opportunity to decide for themselves whom they meet and how they should live. That is why the flag looks quite belligerent and proud.
Interesting fact:
Many believe that the flag of lesbians is the rainbow flag. Therefore, many of the representatives of this community do not even know about it.
4. Lipstick lesbian.
(Literally: Lesbians are lipstick. God, just let's not translate this, okay?)
The only information I could find about them was in English. So I'll translate the main thing for you.
This type of lesbians is preferred by the most feminine girls who wear dresses and skirts, use cosmetics and long hairstyles. That is, unlike ordinary lesbians, they differ in a specific preference for feminine girls who behave like girls and self-aware like girls. In short, no kicking.
Just like with the "bears", it is important to understand here that not every feminine lesbian is a follower of this particular trend.
Interesting fact:
The lipstick in the upper left corner seems to challenge society and indicate the preferences of these women, but there are options for the flag without lipstick, although this is rare.
(Addendum: okay, this term is not very common in Russian, so the closest, but not accurate translation of Gerontophilia)
It is more likely not sexual orientation, but sexual attraction.
Namely, attraction to women who are older than you. At the same time, if this is a young guy, then he remains heterosexual and the only thing strange in this regard is the difference in age. And if this is a girl, then she is already a lesbian, because she is attracted by another girl, but older than her.
Again, in the Russian segment there is little information on this particular type, so I advise (if you are interested) to look at the English sites.
Interesting fact:
It is very easy to confuse this flag with the asexual flag, which we will talk about next. But they differ in the last stripe. This flag has it bright pink, while the asexual has it purple.
6. Flag of asexuals.
Satirically speaking, "It's hard to believe, but people who don't want sex also exist."
Asexuality is a lack of sexual desire for someone, or a low level or lack of interest or desire for sexual activity. Asexuality can be considered the absence of sexual orientation, or one of its variants, along with heterosexuality, homosexuality and bisexuality.
Asexuality is generally not associated with the desire or unwillingness to have children. Asexuals who wish to have children can practice intercourse for the purpose of conceiving, but they can also opt for artificial insemination or adoption.
The international symbol is the ace of hearts. There are other insignia as well: a black ring on the middle finger of the right hand, a black-gray-white-purple flag or a badge with a piece of cake that says “I prefer dessert instead of sex”.
Interesting fact:
Due to misconceptions, many believe that asexuals do not experience emotional attraction either. This is not true. They are able to show sympathy and even love, with only one difference. They do not need to have intercourse to express their feelings.
And that's all for today, because the article was already quite long. And as I said before, I don't want the articles to be too long.
I found the letter below on Twitter today. The recipient of this letter (see below) asked if the flag of the Jewish Autonomous Region was gay propaganda or not.
A check (examination) was carried out in connection with the appeal of a local resident of the Jewish Autonomous Region to the Heraldic Council under the President of the Russian Federation, who suspected the flag of the Jewish Autonomous Region of promoting non-traditional sexual relations. Experts at the presidential Heraldic Council did not find any signs of such.
"On your inquiry regarding the flag of the Jewish Autonomous Region, we inform you that this flag does not contradict the current legislation of the Russian Federation and, therefore, there are no grounds for its cancellation or change.
On your inquiry regarding the flag of the Jewish Autonomous Region, we inform you that this flag does not contradict the current legislation of the Russian Federation and, therefore, there are no grounds for its cancellation or change.
In connection with your concerns about the similarity of this flag with the symbols of the gay movement, we explain that not every image of the rainbow is associated with sexual orientation. In particular, in the flag sphere there is an established flag of the gay movement, which is a panel consisting of seven equal horizontal stripes of rainbow colors. Variable and subordinate flags of homosexuals are built on the basis of what was described with the addition of inscriptions and images to the panel.
Obviously, the flag of the Jewish Autonomous Region, which is based on a white cloth, has nothing in common with the above-described flag.
Respectfully yours, G.V. Vilinbakhov
State King of Arms.
Performed by G. V. Kalashnikov ".
As far as we know, the current "liberal flags" (symbols) are orange, white or rainbow colored.
The wave of "peaceful" orange revolutions that swept through the former Soviet republics of the USSR (Ukraine, Kyrgyzstan) stumbled in the Caucasus, Azerbaijan and the Russian Federation.
In 2005 in Baku ( Azərbaycan Respublikası) I went to the city's boutiques to buy a trendy light-colored T-shirt. All T-shirts were of dark colors: black, navy blue, brown. But I wanted something bright. In the end, I went into a boutique and found there a single bright red T-shirt. I asked the seller why not, for example, orange T-shirts? The merchant replied that because of the "orange revolutions" we were forbidden to sell orange T-shirts (fabrics) ...
They started talking on the Internet that a wave of the Orange Revolution would soon sweep in Russia. However, the opposition chose peaceful white ribbons (flags) as its symbol, and almost immediately gay movements with rainbow flags joined them. The first thing that alerted me was the white banners and rainbow flags together.
It is known that a white cloth (flag) symbolizes surrender to the enemy, surrender, a sign of a demand for an end to hostilities, a sign of a truce or a proposal for negotiations, and the rainbow flag immediately became associated with the flag of the Jewish Autonomous Region. Why?
First, the rainbow flag itself carries information about the colors of the rainbow. Secondly, it cannot be the flag of a foreign state, but is close to the flag of the Jewish Autonomous Region and the flag of gay movements.
In the official reply of the State Herald Master G.V. Vilinbakhov it is said that "in the flag sphere there is an established flag of the gay movement, which is a panel consisting of of seven equal horizontal stripes of rainbow colors... The variant and subordinate flags of homosexuals are built on the basis of described with the addition of inscriptions and images to the panel.
Obviously, with the above flag, the flag of the Jewish Autonomous Region, which is based on a white cloth, has nothing in common"
.
In the Jewish Autonomous Region, the following explanations are given about the similarity of the two flags.
"God threw a rainbow from the sky to those lost in the desert as a symbol of hope. The originality of the flag of the Jewish Autonomous Region was noted by the Heraldic Chamber, there is a special conclusion. Gays used this divine symbol - a rainbow, but removed the blue color from the spectrum, and this is no longer a rainbow. people are trying to rebuild our lives, to impose their opinion on us - this will not lead to anything good, we will forget about honor, dignity, justice, and there will be no hope, "Valyaev explained.
And now the question is, why do the two liberal symbols of the white ribbon and gay movements go hand in hand?
If we conditionally combine them, then we will get a flag that no longer resembles the "Pride flag", as reported by the media, but the flag of the Jewish Autonomous Region of the Russian Federation. Then another question arises, what is the relation of the EAO It has to protest actions? Why was this particular flag design chosen for the EAO?
The perception of the flag of the Jewish Autonomous Region as a symbol of positive undertakings is natural for global history and culture, says Elena Troyan, the chief curator of the regional museum of local lore. In her opinion, the flag with rainbow symbolism adequately represents a multinational region with a common history. IA EAOmedia.
- At different times, there were waves of discussions related to the topic of similarity between the flag of the region and a certain category of the human community. But for me personally, this topic was closed when the representatives of the Heraldic Chamber gave clear explanations at the conference on heraldry. This became the starting point to find out for yourself the meaning of the rainbow as a specific symbol.
The rainbow is highly symbolic in Jewish culture. This is also a reflection of how the minor lamp was received on Sinai, along with the tablets and the oral Torah. Here the analogy just suggests itself. Seven candles in a minor key - seven colors of the rainbow. The width of the stripe on the flag is one to 40 to the width of the flag. Again, we return to the Bible, the Torah - for 40 years Moses led the Jewish people across the desert, a new generation grew up, the people were freed from slave psychology. We are talking about the traditions that are reflected in the flag of the Jewish Autonomous Region, - said Elena Troyan.
According to her, since people of different nationalities live in the region, one can recall world history. In particular, the story of the global flood - after the rain that poured 40 days and nights, the first thing that a man saw in the sky was a rainbow - a symbol of peace, a sign of a covenant between God and man that such terrible events would never happen again. In the Bible, the appearance of a rainbow after the flood is interpreted as a sign of God's forgiveness of human sins. And this is also embodied in the flag of the region..In Russia, the rainbow is present on the flags of the cities of Raduzhny in the Vladimir, Moscow regions and the Khanty-Mansiysk district, on the flag of the Patriots of Russia party. The flag of the Jewish Autonomous Region is a white rectangular cloth, along the horizontal axis of which there is a colored rainbow strip, consisting of seven narrow horizontal stripes: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, blue and purple. The rainbow flag was chosen by the "Party of Economic Freedom" founded by K. N. Borov, which caused the subsequent embarrassment (it was confused with the "gay flag").
Flag of the Jewish Autonomous Region
If glad If, according to Elena Troyan, "is very symbolic for Jewish culture," then the question arises: why do gays provoke the discontent of some Russian citizens with their "Pride flag" on the territory of the Russian Federation? For example, Adolf Hitler, after coming to power, his partyThe flag of the National Socialist Workers' Party of Germany (NSDAP) was approved as a national, and then as a state, national and commercial flag of Germany (Third Reich).
The "pride flag" is so named because it can only be used in gay parades. And for especially "inquisitive" give an explanation misleadingly called it "the flag of the world."
The "Peace Flag" (Italian: Bandiera della Pace) is one of the symbols of the international peace movement. Its author is considered to be the Italian philosopher, theologian and humanist Aldo Capitini, who demonstrated the rainbow banner on the first march for peace from Perugia to Assisi on September 24, 1961. The rainbow has been chosen as a symbol to celebrate diversity and a biblical sign of reconciliation. There is evidence that the rainbow banner as a sign of peace was proposed as early as 1949 and may have been borrowed from the cooperative movement.
On the territory of Russia, the "Pride Flag" has established itself in the hometown of the President and Prime Minister of the Government of St. Petersburg. That may sooner or later come the hour when the "Pride flag" will become, like the dream of the communists, not the flag of the World Revolution and not the "flag of peace" (in the sense of peace), but the "flag of peace" (in the sense of the Earth) under the rule of the world (Earth) government.
Pride flag of St. Petersburg
Shalom flag
***
Along with other celestial phenomena, the rainbow is one of the ancient symbols of humanity.
Now let's look at the coincidences and history of this flag. O some of the most famous and recognizable variants of the rainbow flag is an The Pride Flag (symbol of the gay and lesbian movement) and the Flag of Peace (symbol of the peace movement), as well as the flag of the Native American movement.
In 1924, the renowned French economist Charles Gide designed the rainbow flag to celebrate the International Day of Cooperatives. He emphasized that the rainbow symbolizes unity in diversity and the power of light, enlightenment and progress. The flag became the official symbol of the International Co-operative Alliance in 1925. In the post-war period, the Alliance begins to actively cooperate with the labor movement in many countries of the world.
Currently, the rainbow flag Pride flag, Freedom flag is the international symbol of the LGBT community. The rainbow flag consists of six longitudinal stripes, the colors of which follow the natural order of the rainbow from top to bottom: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple.
The original idea behind the rainbow flag is liberation. Any revolution begins with the word no. There is no injustice, no violence, no discrimination, no oppression, no slavery, no existence under the yoke of constant fear. Yes - love. The rainbow flag was designed by artist Gilbert Baker specifically for the 1978 San Francisco Gay Pride. The flag was first displayed on June 25, 1978.
It has been suggested that Baker's banner was inspired by the 'race flag' of the African American civil rights movement proclaimed by the Rev. Jesse Jackson: “Our flag is red, white, and blue, but our nation is rainbow - red, yellow, brown, black and white. - and we are all precious in the eyes of God. "
Initially, as conceived by the artist, the flag consisted of eight stripes. Baker assigns a specific value to each color:
deep pink - sexy
Red- life
Orange- health
yellow- sunlight
green- nature
turquoise- magic / art
indigo- calmness / harmony
purple- fortitude / spirituality.
Later, the pink and then turquoise stripes were removed from the flag, and at the same time the indigo was replaced by blue. According to the official version, the changes were made due to the economic and technical difficulties of mass production. Other sources indicate that one of the stores was selling surplus Rainbow Girls flags, which did not have a pink stripe, from warehouses to meet the increased demand.
The six-color flag has spread from San Francisco to other cities and has become a well-known symbol of the LGBT community around the world. There are various variations of the rainbow flag, as well as rainbow variations of national and regional Pride flags: Canada, South Africa, Spain, USA. 
Europride flag
The modern flag of Israel is unusual: two blue stripes and Magen David (Hebrew דגל מדינת ישראל - Degel Medinat Israel - "Star of David", "Shield of David") in the middle ... But why is he like that? What images gave him life?
Hexagram (six-pointed star), composed of two equilateral triangles, and serves as the emblem of Judaism and Zionism.
What do the two blue stripes mean besides the color of the sky?
In the creation of the flag of the State of Israel, the image of the tallit was used - a prayer blanket, a cape. Tzitzit brushes are inserted into the four corners of the tallit. Usually worshipers wear a tallit during morning prayer and Torah recitation. It is customary for the Sephardi to wear it at a wedding. Talit accompanies a pious Jew all his life, it is even customary to bury in a talit (talit). So this image for the flag of Israel is not at all accidental.
These signs, different in origin and meaning, help LGBT people to identify themselves, increase confidence and self-esteem in the face of discrimination and oppression. They demonstrate community unity, openness, pride and shared values. LGBT symbols play an important role in creating the visibility of a previously marginalized and invisible community. The most famous of these are the rainbow flag and the pink triangle.
Pink triangle Is the oldest and one of the most recognizable symbols of the community. It traces its history back to the days of Nazi Germany, in which homosexual men were persecuted as criminals. Together with other victims of the Holocaust, they went to concentration camps, where a pink triangle was placed on their clothes. According to various sources, from 5 to 15 thousand homosexual men were imprisoned in concentration camps. Most of them died as they experienced abuse not only by the guards and administration, but also by other prisoners.
In the early 1970s, LGBT organizations in the United States and Germany began campaigning to popularize the pink triangle as a symbol of the movement. It is now being used to perpetuate the memory of a tragic past, to manifest the struggle for human rights and to express hope for a new era of freedom, openness and pride.
Rainbow flag(also known as Pride Flag, Freedom Flag) is one of the most popular and well-known LGBT symbols. Traditionally, the flag consists of six longitudinal stripes, the colors of which are in accordance with the natural order of the rainbow from top to bottom: red, orange, yellow, green, blue and purple. The flag is intended to represent unity in diversity, beauty and joy of the LGBT community. He is the personification of pride and openness.
The rainbow flag was designed by Gilbert Baker specifically for the 1978 San Francisco Gay Pride. This year has become a historic year for the local LGBT community - for the first time in California, openly gay Harvey Milk was elected to political office (as a member of the city's supervisory board).
Bisexual flag... The first bisexual pride flag was designed by Michael Page and first appeared on the 1st anniversary of BiCafe on December 5, 1998. It is a rectangular flag of three horizontal stripes: a wide purple (lilac) stripe at the top, representing the field of attraction for homosexuals; a wide stripe of blue at the bottom, representing the opposite field of attraction (heterosexuals), and a stripe of lavender (purple) occupying the central part as a fusion of the two regions, which symbolizes attraction to both sexes (bisexuals).
Purple hand- a symbol of protest of the 60s, got its name in San Francisco. A group of homosexuals protesting against homophobia stained their hands with ink and left their palm marks on houses, vehicles, fences, etc.
The most popular and recognizable transgender symbol represents the signs of the female and male sex combined together - a ring with an upward pointing arrow indicating the male principle and a cross pointing downward indicating the female principle; sometimes a combined arrow and cross are also added to this.
In June, LGBT parades are traditionally held around the world; various flags, signs and symbols of the LGBT movement can be seen on the streets of cities. These symbols are diverse in origin and meaning, but they are united by the main goal - to make visible communities that have been pushed to the sidelines of society and erased from history. Moreover, in conditions of discrimination and suppression, these symbols defend the right of people to self-respect and pride.
The pink and black triangles appeared during the hard and terrible times of the Holocaust, but later became a sign of solidarity and the will to fight. Labrys is an ancient symbol that has retained its significance in people's lives to this day. The rainbow flag was created as a sign for the LGBT movement. But besides them, there are other symbols representing bisexuals, transgender people, people of leather culture and "bears" who, along with other groups, are part of the diverse LGBT community.
"Bears" form a distinct subculture in the gay community; they conduct their events and have their own code of conduct. Typically, bears are men of mature age, with dense facial and chest hair; some are large in stature and embody the working-class image of masculinity, although none of this is a requirement or the only indication.
Bears are almost always gay or bisexual men, but recently their communities have also included transgender men and those who avoid gender and sexual labels. Today bear clubs exist in many countries of the world.
The International Bears Flag was designed in 1995 by Craig Byrnes. The stripe color of this flag represents the hair color of the bears.
Skin subculture flag
The skin people community consists of those interested in leather clothing and accessories, sadomasochism, bondage, dominance, uniforms, rubber and other types of sexual fetishes.
The leather flag was designed by Henry Luster and first presented at the International Mr. Leather Competition in Chicago in 1989. This flag is most often seen in the gay community, but it includes all orientations.
Another name for the leather flag is "Black and blue flag with love".
Many people mistakenly believe that the rainbow flag is nothing more than a symbol of homosexuality. However, this is not entirely true, as I recently became convinced.
The rainbow flag today is a symbol of the great diversity of people, cultures, religions and universal tolerance for each other. Moreover, the rainbow plays the role of one of the important symbols in world religions. For example, in the Bible, it symbolizes the union between God and man, and also means transformation, different states of consciousness, the meeting of Heaven with Earth, a bridge between the world and paradise. And the Arab Druze (one of the offshoots of Ismailism) consider the rainbow flag to be a symbol of their community.
During the Peasant War in Germany (1524-1525), the German reformer Thomas Münzer chose the rainbow as a symbol of Eternal Divine Union, and in April 1525 a long, approximately 13-meter white flag was made, on which was placed a rainbow and a quote from the Bible: "Verbum domini maneat in etternum", which translated into Russian means "The Word of God is eternal." The uprising of the peasants was suppressed, the cunning German was executed by chopping off his head, and the situation of the peasants themselves only worsened, as the embittered nobles tightened the screws on them even more and with special zeal began to impose extortions on the villagers.
Since 1961, the rainbow flag has been used as the flag of the international movement for peace "Bandiera della Pace". The flag was designed by the Italian pacifist Aldo Capitini. The peculiarity of this flag is that the colored stripes are arranged in reverse order, i.e. from purple to red, and also the flag has an inscription in Italian "PACE", or in other languages - "Peace", "Paix", "Shalom", "Peace", etc. The flag was first used in a demonstration for peace on September 24, 1961, and in 2003, during the war in Iraq, many Italians supported the civilian Iraqi population and followed the call “Pace da tutti i balconi” (“Peace from all balconies” ), hung flags on their balconies and walls.
The Jewish Autonomous Region, in which only 1.2% of Jews live, has a flag, which is a white cloth, on the horizontal axis of which there is a colored stripe symbolizing a rainbow.
There are other flags in the form of a rainbow. For example, among the Incas.
Most of all, of course, I am delivered by the pixel flag of the Aymara Indians. If you look closely, you will notice that it is, in fact, a modification of the banner of the Inca empire, to the peoples of which these Inceans belong.
Or a flag like this. An unknowing person might think that this is a symbol for gay people in Great Britain, but it is not. This is the flag of Batasuna, the separatist National Socialist Basque Party operating in Spain and France and banned due to its connection with the terrorist group ETA.
Well, now about homosexuals. The rainbow became the worldwide banner of gays and lesbians in the 70s, when the artist Gilbert Baker, having borrowed the rainbow from a hippie, proposed it as a symbol of the gay pride parade, which was organized in San Francisco in 1979. As conceived by the artist, the flag was supposed to be eight-lane to demonstrate the diversity of this movement. Each stripe symbolized one of the components of the ideology of the gay movement: hot pink - sexuality, red - life, orange - health, yellow - sun, green - nature, turquoise - art, indigo - harmony, purple - fortitude and spirituality. However, due to imperfect printing technologies, it was necessary to abandon pink and turquoise colors and remove them from the flag, and replace indigo with blue. Thus, the flag became six-lane, and homosexuals lost their sexuality and were left without art. :)
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