everything you have been told about this flag is a lie:
how attacking its existence is a negative to the queer community
(formatting note: all images in this carrd are in a gallery at the end of each page due to the element limit and will be labelled accordingly)
after creating this carrd, it has come to my attention that a similar carrd exists @ gaymanflagfacts.carrd.co with sourced claims! check it out!
history of the lesbian flags
before 2018, the lesbian community used various flags, the most popular of which being the "lipstick" flag (shown below). ever since, this flag has been replaced due to its creator being a transphobic bigot (this is good!). ever since june 2018, the lesbian community has by in large embraced a new "sunset" design by emily gwen (go support her if possible! after finishing this carrd i implore you to read her sites linked at the end)
history of the mlm flags
now, the mlm community has actually made a flag decades before the lipstick flag: the bear flag (this would later inspire the lipstick flag !!! ). fast foward to the 2010s, in 2017 a tumblr user created this (now outdated) flag to represent men loving men, noting that lesbians' "like six" flags inspired him to create the flag. this flag has since been revised by another person, a transmasc mlm, to include (frankly prettier) colors with distinct meanings for each stripe, much like emily gwen's lesbian flag.
"the (original) mlm flag is a recolor of the lipstick lesbian flag!"
there are two points to be addressed here.
1.) recoloring flags in general
2.) recoloring a problematic flag
the mlm flag is NOT a hue shift of the lipstick lesbian flag. the colors on either mlm flag do not match with a ctrl u 180-degree hue shift of the lipstick OR sunset lesbian flags. the shades of green and blue ARE NOT THE SAME. the difference between the colors are comparable to the hue differences in the lipstick and sunset lesbian flags. for the colors of the lesbian and gay flags to best match, you have to vertically flip the sunset flag (keep this in mind)
even if the flag were a blatant hue shift (it isn't), this is not something to "cancel" the flag for. lesbians and gay men have different but in many ways intertwined histories, and it would be logical to potray this in the color theming of both flags. solidarity is important and not something to shut down for puritanical purposes.
the most valid argument against the mlm flag with regard to it in relation to the lesbian flag is that its color theming is stereotypically masculine. i understand this concern, but i may draw attention to the fact (and i do not say this to dunk on anybody) the sunset flag has been often used one of its pink colors to represent "femininity".
secondly, on the topic of "recoloring problematic flags", remember how i mentioned that you have to vertically flip and 180-degree hue shift the lipstick flag to get vaguely similar (old) mlm flag colors? well, flipping one of the lesbian flags makes it look chromatically similar to the other as well. by this same line of thought the sunset flag is a recolor of the lipstick flag, and as such this is a double standard (which lesbians SHOULD NOT have to be shunned for! do not take "cancel the lesbian flag" from this.)
"the mlm flag was made by a bigot!"
this refers to the creator of the older flag which is now outdated. the new flag's creator is not a bigot. the new flag has colors different enough to the old to constitute it as a new flag, if the difference of the sunset and lipstick flags are fair game (see: last page), you can't disavow the mlm flag in the same breath.
"the rainbow flag is being replaced!"
recently a tweet went semi-viral that claimed that the mlm flag is "replacing" the rainbow flag. the thread went as follows:
"dont care about flag discourse but it is crazy how homophobic it sounds to cast away the rainbow flag bc its for everyone therefore "doesnt count" as the gay man flag (...)
(...) all of the history and all of the shit gay men have gone through over the years just so young gay people can be like mmm kinda outdated! (...)
(...) it is also homophobic to equate being a gay man to being the opposite of a lesbian therefore needing a flag thats opposite colors. not to mention theres been a trend of mlm piggybacking off of lesbian terms lately but thats been spoken about enough."
i have already addressed some of these points in previous pages and some topics are not relevant to this, but i will go over the points made.
nobody is "replacing" the rainbow flag. we have simply recognized that at this point it is more of a general lgbt symbol used by mlm and wlw alike rather than a flag specific to an identity (which we accept). the rainbow flag still serves as a flag for us and nobody is disputing that. if anything, framing (not even totally) ceding the flag to a more general lgbt cause than specifically for mlms as homophobic is a little myopic, no? if every other identity can have their own specific flag, it makes no sense to exclude gay men from this. all doing this causes is needless infighting and no real progress is being made.
now the question will be asked: why not use alternative flags? this comes down to what part of the point of having a flag is: to be recognized for something. if a symbol something becomes widely recognizable, you really shouldn't attempt to fundamentally change it unless there is a well founded (and i mean WELL founded) reason to do so. the mlm flag is slowly reaching the point of recognition, much how the updated lesbian flag has beforehand.
a similar controversy is ongoing with the pan flag as well, which is quite upsetting as the pan flag we all know is very popular. this is because of a problematic creator and not-too-accurate color meanings. said creator is incredibly distanced to the flag at this point. you can separate the creator and creation of the vast majority of these flags as creators often do not profit or gain recognition from the flags. in the pan flag's case, the meaning of the colors can be reimagined (nobody ever mentions how you can reclaim the meaning of parts of a flag!!)
while i am not against people who use alternative flags (some are pretty i will say), pride flags need to be able to be recognized to serve any real purpose and as such i am not a fan of the constant redesigns of flags.
carrd over, support emily gwen.