Pride flags in France and Switzerland

[Sausagenbacon]

We've been on holiday for over a week, travelling through France and Switzerland. How many Pride flags, or pride-branded business, have I seen? Nothing.
It makes me realise how omnipresent it is in the UK.
Can anyone tell me why this is?

That’s interesting. It’s a breath of fresh air (and sad of course considering the circumstances) to see the union flag raised this week in their place in central London (yes I’m looking at you westminster uni on regent st and The Royal College of Nursing to name just two).

I was in Amsterdam a few weeks ago, they were very prevalent.

Always were in Amsterdam (old school style).

Now they are all the progressive flag.

Blarg. Proof that too many brownies and smokes are bad for the brain…

The UK is far more influenced by US culture, I'd say.

It seems much more prevalent in the Anglosphere/ English speaking. On a personal experience it is waaay more dominant in white middleclass girls. They may exist but I have never seen a black or Asian one.Relatively rare in lower/working class community too

I think it has got massively out of hand in the UK. I was really irritated on a recent visit to my Old Oxford College to see they were flying the PRIDE flag and so were several other Colleges (obviously to do with Stonewall influence).

Why should PRIDE get such a long period of promotion over the summer with all the supermarkets changing their logos (ASDA looking at you) for weeks on end?

I actually now dislike rainbows....and as people were saying on the 'bench' thread am practically triggered by them.

Anyone remember the smiley face in the 60/70s and the Aceeeeeed version in the 80s? Where’s Kilroy? in the 40s?…

Im waiting this one out. There’s a Halifax near my old office and it’s completely wrapped in the pride remix flag with pride hearts all over the windows. It’s a touristy/studenty area.

I was in Bruges recently and saw a 'progress pride' flag outside a cafe which was square-shaped so that most of it was the aggressive triangle and nearly all of the old rainbow had been cut off. Needless to say, we didn't stop there for a drink.

Yes I have seen the triangle bit seems to be eating the original stripes on a few. Not a mistake, I’ll bet!

Same here in Canada. I live in a rural area, but it's visible when I go into the nearby towns. But I went into the city about two weeks ago and I had never seen anything like it. Big flags in every business, in every government office on the streets. Pride related signs and posters everywhere, drag shows advertised, posters about queer education, crosswalks, slogans painted on the street, kids wearing shirts and glasses, more and more and more. (And we are not in Pride week here just to make that clear. It just seems to last the whole summer and some things seem to be permanent now)

I've never seen any other cause treated like this. Not cancer, not women's rights, not the environment, nothing.

I have seen some other causes trying to get in on it - BLM slogans on the bus alternating with the destination signs, and "Disability Pride" is clearly trying to leverage the popularity of regular Pride.

But there is something kind of disturbing at this level of focus on people's sex lives.

@MangyInseam
I agree that no other cause seems to get the same level of promotion, nor do they have the endless coverage.
Absolutely fine to have a pride week and pride events, but it seems to go on for literally months.

I live in Switzerland. Big city. You see them during pride month. And from people houses. But less out of the pride month I think.

One thing that has struck me here, and I'd be curious to know if it's the same elsewhere, is that Pride seems to have become the main summer festival. Canada Day gets some time, but not as much, and the local civic holiday most places here have around Aug 1st has really diminished.

I've sometimes thought that it seems like civic and place-oriented holidays are being replaced by a generalized gaudy rainbow summer sex festival. Sort of like a glitzy pagan thing, with the queer as the priestly caste.

I'm a fan of localized festivities, which are pluralistic in a much more immediate way, so I don't really think this is a great exchange.