The main flags associated with the L/L and related scenes have interesting histories and significant political and social struggles associated with them. Just click on any of the small flags to go to information about that flag. ........... Leather Pride Flag .....The leather pride flag was designed by author and publisher Tony DeBlase (Fledermaus). Tony debuted it at the 1989 International Mr Leather contest in Chicago, and, because he placed the design into the public domain, it was then adopted throughout the US—especially on the gay male SM scene—and now is used worldwide. .....Tony, now deceased, never gave an explanation of the design. "I did have definite reasons for creating the design and color scheme [but] I have never explained them to anyone else," he said. "I prefer that the individual look at the flag and interpret it for him/herself, reading into it whatever he/she most wants to see." .....The hand-sewn original now hangs in our own Leather Archives and Museum in Chicago. Though it emerged from the gay male scene, the flag has been adopted by the pansexual community... Bi Pride Flag .....The first Bi Pride Flag, designed by Michael Page, was unveiled on Dec 5, 1998. The intent and purpose of the flag is to maximize bisexual pride and visibility. This bi flag is for free public and commercial use. In designing the Bi Pride Flag, I selected the colors and overlap pattern of the "bi angles" symbol. I selected, which to me, is the most attractive combination of pink, purple and blue. .....The pink color represents sexual attraction to the same sex only (gay and lesbian), the blue represents sexual attraction to the opposite sex only (straight) and the resultant overlap color purple represents sexual attraction to both sexes (bi). The key to understanding the symbolism in the Bi Pride Flag is to know that the purple pixels of color blend unnoticeably into both the pink and blue, just as in the 'real world' where bi people blend unnoticeably into both the gay/lesbian and straight communities. Fisting Pride Flag .....The Fisting Pride Flag was designed by me, JLubeJack in 2004. Based on the Leather Pride design by world-famous author and publisher Tony DeBlase (see top flag, above). .....It incorporates black and blue stripes (for BDSM?), the white stripe for purity of purpose, and the raised red fist for both fisting activism and our wonderful and fulfilling kink itself. .....My design is being put into the public domain and is not not patented, trademarked or service marked.; if you'd like to get digital files, just e-mail me. Gay Pride Flag .....The bold, cheerful stripes of the Rainbow Flag have represented gay and lesbian community pride for 20 years. Gilbert Baker of San Francisco originally designed a flag with eight stripes: pink, red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet in 1978. .....According to Baker, those colors represented, respectively: "sexuality, life, healing, sun, nature, art, harmony, and spirit." Baker dyed the materials for that first flag, and he sewed the stripes together himself. .....When Baker approached the Paramount Flag Company in San Francisco about mass production and sales of his flag, it was reduced to seven stripes (the hand-dyed hot pink color Baker had used in the prototype was not commercially available). .....In that same year, San Francisco’s city supervisor, Harvey Milk was assassinated. He was the first openly gay man to hold that position. The Pride Parade Committee wanted to show the community’s unity in the wake of this tragedy, and voted to use Baker’s flag in the 1979 Pride Parade. To evenly distribute the colors along each side of the parade route, the indigo stripe was eliminated at that time. Bear Pride Flag This flag is adopted by the International Bear Brotherhood, although there does not seem to be one single symbol that represents bears in general. The Flag shown was designed in 1995 by Craig Byrnes. The stripes represents all the bears of the world—white for polar bears, black for black bears, and browns for brown bears... Transgender Pride Flag The Transgender Pride Flag was designed by Captain John in 1999. It embodies all aspects of the transgender or transsexuals' identities. It incorporates both blue for male and pink for female. The lavender-colored sex symbol can also designate FtM/MtF/or Intersexed/Both/Shifting. Both flag designs/symbols can be used to encompass all types of gender variation.
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