…from this Pantheon of multi-hued striped variations on a theme?
THE FUCKING LEATHER FLAG!
FURTHERMORE…from the dozens of images that were returned via an online search, only a very small percentage of them included it.
And while we're on the subject, if every variation of sexual expression wants to be included in the pride flag, why not just go for this?
It's got a full spread of colors and a nice, neutral background. Oh wait…the front color is orange which (at least in the hanky code) traditionally means "anything, anywhere, anytime." We can't have that. Some might be offended by the blatant implication of licentiousness. And oh yeah…that's a caucasian hand. Can't have that either; it will probably offend some as a symbol of white supremacy holding all others in their grip.
How about this one?
Oh wait…that one has distinct lines. Someone may feel left out and unrepresented. How about this one?
Nope, that's not gonna fly either. Doesn't include white, black, gray, or brown.
What about this one?
It's got white, black, brown and pretty much every color you can think of, with no distinct lines. You should be able to find your own, unique spot in there. But remember, the human eye can only perceive about one million colors, so don't go micromanaging your sexual identity too much otherwise there won't be a color for you.
I remember when the Bear flag came out. I remember when the Leather flag came out. I thought they were neat and recognized that while most human identifiers with those flags were gay, there were probably many straights in the mix, too, somewhere.
I understand the perceived need for everybody to have their own Pride flag, BUT if somebody looks at it and wonders what it might mean (not knowing what each of the many variations might be, in the first image), the resulting thought might be "alphabet soup queers" and let it go at that. So much for that grand marketing exercise! Therefore, having failed the marketing test, default to the current Pride flag and be done with it. Just like in many cases, the simplest way is the best.
Excellent post!