Suffragette lanyard

[Pocketfluff1]

I’ve recently started a new job in the NHS and I’m thinking about wearing my suffragette lanyard as an alternative to the pride/rainbow one I’ve been given. Am I potentially sabotaging my new job or can I get away with it by saying I just love feminism?!

What an excellent idea. Where would you get one? Etsy?

Ooh - can you alternate?

I got mine from Let Women Speak for £4. Just wondering if I am going to regret rocking the boat by wearing it but I really don’t want to wear the rainbow one because of what it now represents.

I'd be surprised if it caused a problem- most people recognise the suffragette colours as a feminist symbol, sure, but I doubt many people would associate it with being GC. I say go ahead!

Sorry - I must be behind what does it represent?

Ah bless you for trying.

Thank you ☺️ What can I say - I always like to try. Do you know what the OP is referring to? Perhaps you can enlighten me

I wore a suffragette lanyard (plaited from very narrow ribbon) in my last NHS workplace, and if anybody noticed they didn't say anything. Most of my colleagues opted for the rainbow ones which we were offered during the pandemic when "rainbows for the NHS" was a thing. If there had been any issue I'd have gone back to using the plain blue lanyard with an NHS logo that we'd had previously.

I wear a Suffragette shawl when I am working at home! Work for the NHS. Got asked once if I was Scottish 🤣

Is there anything in your contract or uniform code or anything like that about things like lanyards, badges, etc?

No, there’s nothing in the dress code policy about it. If asked, I might just feign innocence and say I just like the colours or something!

I use the Suffragette colours as much as possible in daily life. I did see recently though that the LGBTQXYZ community seem to have adopted those colours and defined them as "genderqueer" which, on googling, means God only knows what.

So the defiance you want to (and ought to) be signifying might be seen by some in that community as allyship.

Next thing to wonder - why have they adopted those colours for that category.

I'd just say "flag colours are allowed, yes?"

I had one. The only comment I ever had was from someone who asked me if I liked Wimbledon.

Haha, I knew they reminded me of something!

I saw those colours being used as genderqueer too, don’t know what that’s about

Seriously, they've even hijack our Suffragette colours for this 'gender'whatnow.

I’ve got a suffragette lanyard and wear it when I go into the office. However it’s a very boring admin role and not NHS or anything and not one person has noticed the colours.
I also have suffragette scarf, gloves and socks- no one has remarked 🤷🏻‍♀️

I saw a comment on reddit once that "tHeY StoLe oUr cOlours...waaahhh" 😭

No, the suffragettes bagsed them first, hon!

The American creator of the 'genderqueer' flag has said:

"I want to point out that, despite comparisons to the British suffragette flag, I had not to my knowledge ever seen it before creating the genderqueer flag. Some people have asked questions about this out of curiosity, and some with anger or bewilderment.
Of course, when I later moved to England for a while for grad school, I saw it all over place, such as at the People’s History Museum in Manchester. The history is important to know about, and I may have designed the flag differently if I had seen it at 20, but it is what it is. I know I would have used lavender as the jumping-off point, still, at any rate."

The moral of the tale is: if you're thinking of designing a flag, check what flags are already out there!

Yes, the hijacking seems to have been ignorance rather than malice.

I bet far more people know the British suffragette colours than the 'genderqueer' ones (or even that such a thing exists, tbh).

Is this the bit you aren't sure about? https://www.letwomenspeak.org/suffragette-2-0-lanyard-x-2

ie being able to clip your work ID card onto a pro woman lanyard rather than a rainbow one.

For OP is they object to a suffragetter lanyard then they should allow rainbow ones. ie is they see them as having a message then courts have ruled that both beliefs are worthy of respect!

I wear my suffragette colours one all the time. I'm at NHSE rather than at a trust.

I used to have a lanyard with paw prints on because I love my cats. These days I would be afraid to wear it as people might assume it meant I was a furry.

Can you get a plain blue NHS lanyard instead ? I wear one of those instead of a rainbow one.

Pressed send too soon on above post. If you are worried a bit about a suffragette coloured lanyard the blue one will stand out in contrast to the rainbow ones.