Please don't put a rainbow in your window!

[RuffleCrow]

For the past few years the rainbow has sadly becomea symbol of silencing, sexual stereotyping and oppression for a lot of women and those in the LGB community. If you're thinking of putting one up, please think about how that may make women feel - many of whom have already experienced death threats and lost their friends and jobs thanks to those who wield the rainbow flag as a weapon.

I just saw two on my walk just now and it made me feel like shit. Not the intended effect I'm sure. Please consider something else: the sun coming out from a cloud, or a simple landscape. Thanks.

The massive thing you're missing is that these children are at home. Isolated with their parents doing something with zero hidden addenda. The parents are just doing a nice happy simplistic activity.

This is just a you issue.

This is all insane. My 3 year old did her rainbow this weekend for our window. It brought a bit of light into an otherwise dark time. When we’re ok to go out post isolation (Hopefully!) she’s looking forward to spotting more. These are children doing something nice ffs.

But the idea that any of the thousands of genderists out there could start a rainbow-painting craze for young kids on social media? No ! that's a step too far! Impossible! Conspiracy theory!
And what would the genderists be achieving by getting people who have no idea what a rainbow means to you to put a rainbow up where other people who don't know what a rainbow means to you can see it?

🌈 make me think of positivity because I've always known them to represent new life after a miscarriage.

Every time you post you dig yourself even deeper into the ridiculous hole you have made for yourself.

Stop. Overthinking. It.

What on Earth is a "genderist"?

@Cwenthryth of course it should be more than that - and it was positive for me before this started. but there has been literally no gap between everything you mention and this sm led craze starting. Nobody can be 100% certain whether it's coincidence or not. I am not claiming certainty. I am merely stating that i find it unsettling for the reasons given.

And for everyone saying "it's not the rainbow flag" of course it's not. Stonewall captured retailers wouldn't have dared put an actual rainbow flag on kids clothing either. We just got rainbows on flipping everything.

Maybe you are using this crisis to make your ideas more well-known to mainstream audiences, OP?

Good god imagine being so miserable that you would want to zap that tiny bit of joy from a child.

Fuck. Me. On a rainbow

I thought it was a natural phenomenon to do with rain and sunshine. I had no idea it had some hidden meaning.

Could someone advise who I complain to when I see one in nature?

CarolKirkwood perhaps?

FFS we’re in the middle of a pandemic and all one person has to bother about is rainbows in windows? Unfuckingbelievable.

This thread is utterly without doubt the most bizarre I've ever seen and that's saying something given some of the threads on this site over the years.

Genuine question though OP what would you say to the small child who had made the rainbow if everyone followed your advice and took them down?

How would you explain your random conspiracy theory to the child who only saw the rainbow as something pretty they had drawn??

OP, I seriously think you need to step away from the computer.

Zombie my (simple!) understanding is it means I believe you're either male or female yet you can express yourself as you like and others should be accepting of a non feminine woman or a non masculine man. Gender is made up by society to maintain oppression and stereotypes.

Therefore no one is born in the wrong body and you use spaces like loos, changing rooms, sports competitions and award shortlists that match your sex. Because anything else is potentially unsafe.

Someone much more articulate will post a better description soon, I'm sure!

I mean, I'm sure the other things you want kids to draw instead like suns and clouds and stars have also been used as symbols for something that offends someone somewhere.

Rainbows are natural phenomena, they're pretty and colourful and kids like them. The premise of this thread is bizarre.

Okay, hands up, what the hell is gender critical ?

A euphemism for people who believe in biology (erm, don't we all?) but with the difference in that it means they don't believe/support in people being trans, because, biology.

This ridiculous thread needs taken down

You can argue all this another time. At the minute small kids can put rainbows up above the streets and houses frankly.

The finest batshittery I've seen in a long time

Probably very simplistic way of putting it but to me being gender critical is rejecting harmful social conditioning and stereotypes, such as girls wear pink and boys wear blue etc. To a gender critical person 'gender' is a social construct and the only thing that separates males and females is biology.

The original meaning of a rainbow was a symbol of hope. It’s a lovely thing to reclaim back, coupled with the innocence of children

This ridiculous thread needs taken down

I actually hope it stays up and inspires every child of every mumsnetter to put up a rainbow in their windows.

For example, your suggestion

Please consider something else: the sun coming out from a cloud

Could be taken as representing the rising sun flag, along the same lines as you thinking that rainbows represent the lgbt flag. That's a flag that symbolises political oppression. Do you see how kids drawing suns is different to that, though?

The finest batshittery I've seen in a long time It's Aynsley China in terms of fine china/batshittery.

Do you tell the actual rainbows made to give over and piss off?!?