What do you think about the rainbow flag?

[DJLippy]

Does anyone else get a shudder when they see a rainbow flag outside a venue? Harry the Owl compared it to a Nazi flag and I'm inclined to agree.

I'm Bisexual so I should be thrilled to find all these inclusive spaces but I just feel a stab of anxiety and make a mental note to steer well clear. It's a real physiological reaction not something I can control.

A few years ago I used to love seeing the pride flag outside bars. I guess back then it actually meant something. Now I feel like it's actually a sign of exclusion - that anyone who doesn't believe that twaw is not safe there.

Also it does kind of imply that all the other venues are a threat to the LGBTQI++ people. I actually get a lot less grief being with a woman in a normie bar than I would in a gay bar. What's more its often just random cafes and shops which as far as I am aware have no gay history. Just feels like a cheap virtue signal by straight woke folk.

I'd be interested in hearing from people who are same sex attracted. Do you feel that the flag which used to represent your community been appropriated by male supremacists? Do you self exclude from spaces which fly the rainbow flag?

Me too, bisexual, and can't stand the stupid rainbow flag. Especially around Pride time when it's splattered all over every shop in the high street.
It's always irritated me when people bang on endlessly about being gay anyway, as though it's the most relevant thing about them.

Generally, I love rainbows. They're beautiful. I used to think the flag was wonderful, though for a long time I did have a gut reaction to it, as it symbolised something 'forbidden' to me when I was figuring out my own same-sex attraction. This is still not really okay in my family, they'd prefer I "keep my options open" to men. Now, I have an emotional response when I see the rainbow flag for different reasons. I figure that I won't be welcome. I see it as a symbol of intimidation. Because I don't want to "keep my options open" to men, however they identify. It's come full circle for me, in a weird way.

FAR WORSE, however, is that horrid redesign with the little triangle. I really don't know who thought that would be visually appealing.

I just find it exasperating to see it everywhere, like reminders of a cult I don't belong to, but which is slowly encroaching on my life. Actually it's not so much the rainbow flag I feel that way about, more the trans flag.

Hate it for all the above reasons and also because it is so childish.

It's a bit like the poppy, which went through a dodgy phase when it was being used to justify nuclear weapons and oppose peace campaigners, who responded with their own white poppy and were called names for so doing.

It all changed after Iraq when the Legion saw the need to disocciate themselves from the govt and its policies and emphasise that supporting the old soldiers in no way supported war. Then it became compulsory. The usual papers howled when BBC newsreaders weren't wearing poppies in July, and so wardrobe got on it and stuck one on everyone before they got in front of a camera.

Football joined in and started putting it on shirts, with just two dissenters to date, one Serb and one Irish player who still gets stick for it.

Now football has rainbow laces, with no one dissenting so far.

FAR WORSE, however, is that horrid redesign with the little triangle.
Oh goddess, the one with the trans colours literally barging in? Symbolism much. Oh and adding black & brown because apparently the LGB rainbow is whites only

I love rainbows, I love colour, I have bright coloured tattoos and clothing and hair. Including a tattoo of a rainbow which has personal/family symbolism to me, nothing to do with sexuality. As a young bisexual out and about, trying out different personas & finding ‘myself’, the rainbow flag in pubs and clubs as a student meant everyone welcome, no judgement, you’re safe to be yourself here, you’ll find others like you. Now it means to me - stay away women, your boundaries will not be respected, no other beliefs will be accepted here and women’s safety will be sacrificed on the alter of genderfeelz. It feels sinister, oppressive and coercive. It’s heartbreaking.

I still love rainbows and colour. Just not as a political symbol or opportunistic corporate bandwagon jumping.

Now I understand that Pride has been hijacked by the militant trans lobby, I would never spend money on anything that had a rainbow on it, or the Pride colours, it’s a right turn off. I’m also very dubious when I see it anywhere near children as it’s indoctrination.

I'm nominally straight (I'm attracted very strongly to some women but have never had a relationship or sexual encounter with another woman and unlikely to now, therefore I feel a bit uncomfortable saying 'hell yes, I'm bisexual!' It feels a bit like sexuality tourism for me to say that.) but for as long as I could remember I'd been a supporter of gay and lesbian rights. I used to love seeing rainbow flags hanging from pubs, clubs, student buildings... It gave me hope, made me feel that things were moving in the right direction, and made me happy.

Now they're everywhere and signify nothing. Just wokey corporate virtue-signalling, and promotion of TRA agendas. If anything, I find the badges, lanyards and corporate decals even worse. I saw someone wearing a rainbow NHS badge on the news last night. Why? WHY?? Who is that going to help? Who did he think he was representing?

Oh goddess, the one with the trans colours literally barging in? Symbolism much. Oh and adding black & brown because apparently the LGB rainbow is whites only

Exactly!!

Actual Rainbows not not rainbowey enough. Visible spectrum is exclusionary of infras, ultras, x-rays, y-rays and z-rays.

etc

”It's the TRA flag now. Avoid at all costs.
It is sad though, considering that it used to be a signal that this was a 'safe space', it now means baseball bats, 'I punch terfs' t-shirts, and misogyny.“

Spot on, @Catting.

It usually signifies rainbow washing now. In the way companies or dodgy individuals used to sponsor sporting events to ‘sports wash’ themselves with respectability, now they slap the rainbow on and ‘rainbow wash’ themselves with that instead. Bonus - it’s free and doesn’t cost money like buying a football team does.

I do think it’s self excluding and authoritarian. Like the absence means you’re homophobic...

And then the MRA/TRA stuff and honestly - it’s tainted

Oh goddess, the one with the trans colours literally barging in? Symbolism much. Oh and adding black & brown because apparently the LGB rainbow is whites only
Well, not seen that one. Agree about the 'barging in' comment. The pink and light blue for trans is just so stereotyped anyway.

And I'll admit the black and brown confused me because I'm more used to seeing brown and black as in the bear pride stuff..........A quick google ends up with far too many flags, which is frankly totally missing the point, surely! The idea of a rainbow flag was all colours. Except now some colours are more equal than others. And the pup pride version of the leather pride colours is frankly worrying. At least with leather pride it was generally acknowledged that a young man in leather chaps and a jock-strap:

a) Might get cold!
b) Was not intended to be suitable for children.

Whereas pup-pride seems to have no such restraint (no leash jokes please!).

Nope, once the T got added to the LGB, that was a step too far, there actually isn't common ground between them, and now that the rainbow has become everything and anything apart from boring (i.e. those without blue hair or interesting genders) heterosexuals.............

I think it has become synonymous with #no debate, cancel culture, compelled speech and regressive sex stereotypes. It has become synonymous with a sustained attack on freedom of speech. It has become synonymous with zealotry and authoritarianism. If its proponents can't see why this is a problem? So be it. It is unsurprising that the LGB component have split from this intolerant lobby group.

This thread is horribly homophobic.

FYI op and others the trans flag is completely different to the rainbow flag. Google it.

The rainbow flag primarily represents gay pride.

Shows how willing people are to throw lesbians and bisexual women under a bus .

As a lesbian the rainbow flag is very important to me and my community.

Does anyone else get a shudder when they see a rainbow flag outside a venue? Harry the Owl compared it to a Nazi flag and I'm inclined to agree.

Seriously WTF? A symbol of gay pride and gay equality is comparable to a Nazi flag.

I'm with you OP.

I'm also bisexual and until about four years ago i loved to see the rainbow flag flying. It made me feel accepted.

Not. Any. More.

I'm sorry to say but I now assume any organisation flying the flag has a strong undercurrent of misogyny at best and a culture of 'inclusion' towards violent and sexual criminals at worst.

It also makes me shudder. LGB people need our own flag.

This thread is horribly homophobic.
Sapphos
Nope. It isn't. Back that baseless accusation up with examples. Tossing around baseless insults is tedious. By the way? I find your completely redundant reference to the Nazi flag incredibly offensive Learn some history before tossing out fallacious and irrelevant comparisons.

I'm the same as many here. Used to love seeing it, even though I'm straight, I have gay and lesbian friends and it made me happy to think the world was an easier, more welcoming place for them.

Now it's practically a fear reaction. It's been hijacked by people who hate me because I won't say that a man is a woman.

BovaryX Eh? The comparison with the rainbow flag and the Nazi flag is in the OP. And yes that is incredibly offensive.

'Shuddering' at the sight of a flag that symbolises gay pride, gay equality and peace is absolutely homophobic.

To answer the questions in the OP:

I'd be interested in hearing from people who are same sex attracted. Do you feel that the flag which used to represent your community been appropriated by male supremacists?

No. How bloody ridiculous.

Do you self exclude from spaces which fly the rainbow flag?

No, I would feel particularly welcome. I may self exclude from places that flew the trans flag though.

Sapphos, read the bloody thread, don’t just make stuff up you’d rather argue against. People - mostly women who are same-sex attracted - are discussing their individual experiences and reactions to the rainbow flag given how the ‘community’ has capitulated to gender ideology in recent years. The whole point is that it doesn’t symbolise ‘pride & equality’ to many people any more, because it has been hijacked. Almost everyone has written how we used to find the rainbow flag really uplifting and welcoming - well, we didn’t change, but something in ‘the community’ did.

I thought woke ideology was all about respecting others’ lived experiences. Well, this is ours. Please, talk about how your own experience differs, but please don’t deny other people’s experiences.

I have loved everything to do with rainbows since I was a child and always used to buy clothes etc with rainbow colours. I am reticent to now and that feels really stupid in a way.

I'm straight. I used to feel very positive about rainbow flags. I don't so now. Now it feels it is about virtue signalling organisations, and even worse, misogyny. I am angry with myself for feeling this way as it doesn't align at all with my feelings for the LGB community but Stonewall and the TRAs have turned it into something it never used to be about.

Why is everyone ignoring the fact that trans has its own flag?

The rainbow hasn't been hijacked. It's still the gay pride flag, always has been. Bars with the rainbow flag outside are still the same gay bars as they always were, 75% gay men, 25% straight, gay and bi women. Might spot a trans person once in a blue moon.

TRAs can be found in the bars that fly the trans flag outside, which is a completely different bloody flag.

Sap
You claim that the rainbow flag symbolises peace and equality. It has become symbolic with a sustained assault against freedom of speech. Harry Miller. Maya Forstater. Professor Selina Todd. #No debate, cancel culture, denunciations. Own it.

It’s like those bits of tat with Keep Calm and Drink Prosecco printed on them. Ubiquitous, evidence of a less than inquiring mind, depressing corporate shit.

I shudder now whereas I would once have felt uplifted.