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.

I am putting rainbows all throughout every window as a result of this thread.

I don’t have children of my own so this putting things in windows has passed me by, but I might join in as my flat is on a main road. If it cheers a few isolated children up then good thing.

For those asking what ‘gender critical’ means, just a FYI most of the answers have come from those who (in my experience) generally seem to hang around on the FWR boards to disagree with people and tell us all how transphobic we are.

I can only speak for myself but for me saying I am GC is not about ‘anti-trans’ or the ‘legitimacy’ of anyone else’s identity etc. It is saying that, I believe that gender - that is sex-role stereotypes - is a social construct that ultimately is key to the oppression of women on grounds of our sex. It means that I don’t accept gender as something I have to have myself or as innate in any way. Think of it like an atheist - I don’t believe in gender, I think it’s made up rubbish and ultimately used as a tool to oppress - but that doesn’t mean that I don’t accept that other people believe in gender, and have the right to believe in gender and live their lives accordingly. I just don’t think they have the right to compel me to agree with their beliefs, the same as the atheist in me doesn’t think people of faith should have the right to require non-believers to live by their religion’s rules. Does that make sense? This has been a long thread to read through and I’ve started on the gin early seeing as no work.
Anyway, everyone should live and dress and love and behave as they wish and feel right for themselves - as long as they are not harming others (safeguarding is key) - just don’t require the rest of the world to bend around and adjust their own beliefs and lives for you to live yours, we all have to share the world. If you require me to believe what you believe, we’re going to disagree. Basically.

We like rainbows. So we painted them.

I want to see the sunshine after the rain
I want to see bluebirds flying over the mountains again
Sunshine after the rain
Oh where is the silver lining shining at the rainbow's end

Being sympathetic and understanding the differences is the important thing? Forcing opinions is opposite of that, I think. If you want no one to hurt your feelings, then you should be more open minded too, op. You are reading too much negatives into it, and in that process, you are doing exactly the thing you accuse others of doing it to you.
Personally, I have no clue what rainbow means to others, but for me, it's just simple beautiful thing that comes after the rain and cheers me up and look for bright days ahead.

When that rainbow's shining over you: That's when your dreams will all come true!

I look forward to being told how puppies just symbolise beauty and playfulness and who even cares who might have started the craze and why...

I look forward to you explaining the link between actual puppies, weirdos who dress up as puppies and rainbows.

I won't hold my breath.

This thread is simultaneously hilarious and terrifying.

But it has helpfully given me the brilliant idea of painting rainbows with my 5 year old tomorrow (had not heard about the window thing as I'm abroad) and I will be searching for YouTube vids of Rainbow for him too - I absolutely LOVED that show in the 1980s!

🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈

Our care home is having giant rainbows down by my amazing residents in our windows tomorrow - our way of saying thank you to our amazing community for helping us with cards, pictures and donations to brighten our residents lives.

This has really really upset me. When my beautiful boy was stillborn my 6 year old used to look at rainbows in the sky as being a slide for his brother in heaven. For us a rainbow is a symbol of our boy. How DARE you try and make it all about YOU! You don’t own the rainbow and yes we have one in our window. We actually have lots of rainbow references in our house. I suppose you think we shouldn’t do that either should we?

Okay that's just really sweet and has me in tears. I am sorry for your loss. The rainbow slide thing though is absolutely lovely.

Are you okay OP? Can you get some fresh air today?

I honestly can't see a problem with children drawing rainbows. They are a natural and wonderful thing for children to see and enjoy.

If you have a serious problem with this then maybe now is the time to seek help?

Thanks for that explanation, @Ponoka7

'You ok hun?' 🙄🙄😡😡😡😡

Faaaaaaaackin hell

@Hellobotoxmyoldfriend

I'm so sorry for your loss!
What a wonderful way of thinking about rainbows! 🌈🌈🌈

@Hellobotoxmyoldfriend sorry just seen you replied to someone else... it's been a long day with the kids making rain bows for my windows

Hello Bollox
So sorry for the loss of your little one you carry on using rainbow slides as a comfort to your child and take no notice of this . Children have loved rainbows since the year dot and nobody has a right to tell the parent of a child not to put a rainbow in the window ignore ignore ignore
Sunshine after the rain....

My personal feeling is that suddenly we're in a situation where it's difficult to deny that science matters and biology is real.

Yes, the feelings of trans people are irrelevant. But your feelings about the rainbow are very important and everyone should listen.

Not everyone sees rainbows the same way you do OP, for me as a lesbian, they are symbol of hope and acceptance (depending on usage e.g. rainbow flag outside a bar), you may see them differently, but you don’t get to dictate that other people stop using an innocent symbol they love that brings them joy because you don’t like it.

There is nothing inherently offensive about a rainbow, just because you associate it with a small group of people whose ideology you find offensive does not mean everyone else should stop enjoying and using rainbow symbols or drawings.

Oh Lord help us all, it's going to be a longgggg12 weeks.

Sadly a lot of women have been threatened with death and torture by males covered in rainbows

An awful lot more women have been actually killed by men wearing clothes. So do you find clothes in general triggering?

Too true, too true

This gets more and more bizarre.
You must be the only person on the planet who hates rainbows and puppies.
WT actual F?!
Are you offended by everything that other people use/view differently from you? Do you cry every time you see shoes because some one has a shoe fetish? Do you scream at whipped cream because some people like to squirt it in navels? You can only control you and how you respond to things around you so maybe you ought to just work on not being so offended by rainbows and puppies because some nasty men wear a rainbow coloured flag (note NOT an actual rainbow, just colours) and dress as puppies. As a rule, not everything is about you and not every one is out to get you.