Bisexual flag
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The bisexual flag, also called the bisexual pride flag, is a pride flag representing bisexuality, bisexual individuals and the bisexual community. According to Michael Page, the activist who created the flag based on a color palette designed by Liz Nania,<ref name="biflag">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="auto">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> the pink stripe represents attraction to the same sex, while the blue stripe represents attraction to the opposite sex. The purple stripe, the resulting "overlap" of the blue and pink stripes, represents attraction to both sexes.<ref name="biflag" />
Page designed the flag to increase the visibility of bisexuals among society as a whole and within the LGBTQ community. He aimed to give the bisexual community a symbol that is comparable to the rainbow flag for the greater LGBT community. The first bisexual pride flag was unveiled at the BiCafe's first anniversary party<ref name="flagspot">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> on December 5, 1998.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Design and colorsEdit
Page stated that he took the colors and overlap for the flag from the biangles, symbol of bisexuality.<ref name="biflag">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="auto">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The biangles symbol of bisexuality was designed by artist Liz Nania as she co-organized a bisexual contingent for the Second National March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights in 1987.<ref name="Dezeen">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The design of the biangles began with the pink triangle, a Nazi concentration camp badge that later became a symbol of gay liberation representing homosexuality. The addition of a blue triangle contrasts the pink and represents heterosexuality. The two triangles overlap and form lavender, which represents the "queerness of bisexuality", referencing the Lavender Menace and 1980s and 1990s associations of lavender with queerness.<ref name="auto"/>
Page described the meaning of the pink, purple, and blue colors:<ref name="biflag" /><ref>Template:Cite encyclopedia</ref>
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The pink color represents sexual attraction to the same sex only (gay and lesbian). The blue represents sexual attraction to the opposite sex only (straight) and the resultant overlap color purple represents sexual attraction to both sexes (bi). The key to understanding the symbolism of the Bi Pride Flag is to know that the purple pixels of color blend unnoticeably into both the pink and blue, just as in the 'real world,' where bi people blend unnoticeably into both the gay/lesbian and straight communities.{{#if:|{{#if:|}}
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Since the original design, the purple overlap has been reinterpreted and is now widely understood to represent attraction regardless of sex or gender.<ref name="Outright International v922">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
The flag is used in different aspect ratios; 2:3 and 3:5 are often used, in common with many other flags.Template:Source needed
In vexillological terms, the bisexual pride flag is a simple horizontal tricolor.
The exact colors given by Page are PMS 226 for the pink, 258 for the purple, and 286 for the blue:<ref name="flagspot" /><ref name="biflag" />
The pink stripe takes up two fifths of the flag, the purple stripe takes up the middle fifth, and the blue stripe takes up the other two fifths.<ref name="biflag" /> The flag has been most commonly oriented with the pink stripe at the top, but both orientations are acceptable.<ref name="flagspot" /> The flag is not patented, trademarked, or service marked.<ref name="biflag" />
In 1999, Michael Page established the use of the trillium flower as a symbol of bisexuality,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and in 2001, Francisco Javier Lagunes Gaitán and Miguel Angel Corona designed a Mexican variant of the bisexual pride flag, which is emblazoned with an emblem of a trillium flower.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Licensing controversyEdit
Template:See also In 1998, Page stated that the bisexual pride flag was "for free public and commercial use" and that it was "not patented, trademarked or service marked".<ref name="biflag" /> In April 2020, BiNet USA falsely claimed that it was the sole copyright owner of the flag and flag colors, and said organizations and individuals who wished to use the flag for commercial purposes would be required to obtain a license from the organization, despite having nothing to do with the flag's design or creation.<ref name="lgbtqnation">Template:Cite news</ref> BiNet's claim and the resulting controversy were covered by Out and LGBTQ Nation, which cast doubt on BiNet's claim and noted that the flag is not eligible for copyright.<ref name="lgbtqnation" /><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
BiNet USA ultimately ceased to use the flag on May 8, 2020, opting instead to use a different design.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Other symbols representing bisexualityEdit
Double MoonEdit
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Because many bisexuals objected to the use of a symbol based on the pink triangle, Vivian Wagner designed the double moon as an alternative way to symbolize bisexuality.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="2symbol">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
See alsoEdit
- Bisexuality in the United States
- Bisexual community
- Bisexual lighting
- Celebrate Bisexuality Day
- LGBTQ symbols
ReferencesEdit
External linksEdit
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