Pride Flags of Orientation

 19th. Yay!

So, last post, I mentioned the 'umbrella' flags, which are community wide. Today, I'm going to go into a bit more detail about the orientation flags and their colors, definitions, and so on. There are a lot and some of them are more common than others, some overlap with others, some were created but aren't often used, and some are created because the creator, or those around them, don't feel like they fit a definition of a flag that is already around. 

There are 8 'basic' flags, then I'll go into the others. I won't list them all because not all sites have all of them, so I might miss some, and I'm only looking for the sexual orientation flags, not the gender flags, which I'll cover next. 

The Lesbian flag. This particular one is referred to as a 'Sunset' Lesbian flag. There is a five stripe and a seven stripe version. This one was created in 2016 and replaces an older, less inclusive, version. It applies to any female-identifying person who is attracted to other female-identifying people. 

This is the gay flag. It applies to anyone that is attracted to another who identifies as the same gender. It technically applies to lesbians also, but is most commonly used for men. 

This is the Bi-Flag, and applies to anyone that is attracted to more than one gender. It was created in 1998 to raise the profile of bisexuality because it wasn't always a commonly known option and some people didn't like being labelled as just straight or gay. The colors don't represent gender, but rather an attraction to your gender, pink, the other gender, blue, and both, purple. 

Pansexuality flag. This flag is for anyone attracted to all genders. As with the bi-flag, pink and blue represent attraction to the same and opposite gender, while yellow is for everyone in between. 

The Asexuality flag. For those not sexually attracted to anyone. This isn't celibacy, because it's them not wanting sex, not them making a choice to ignore it. Being ace doesn't mean you have no libido at all, it just means you don't feel it for anyone else. Ace people can still masturbate or recognize that people are beautiful/hot. They just don't want to have sex with people. 

Demisexuality. Only being attracted to the package once they know the person inside. Personally, I think this one is pretty awesome and seems to be something of a religious ideal for some groups, because it's 'waiting for the right one' in some ways. That isn't to say that being demisexual automatically means you're religious or anything like that. I just really like it because it calls for a deeper connection instead of shallow lust, and it means that a relationship with them is going to always be based on something deeper instead of having to worry that it's just lust. But, that doesn't mean that the other sexualities aren't good and valid, or that I want to shame any of them for being attracted to the form before the soul. 

Polysexuality. Being attracted to more than one gender, but not all of them. Such as being attracted to women and non-binary but not men, or something like that. 

Polyamory. The last of the 8 I wanted to start with. It's for those that love more than one person at a time, such as triads, polycules, and so on. It can either be in the form of everyone loving each other, or it could be more of a bigamist/harem situation. Both are valid. This could also be a good relationship idea for those who are more Ace or Gray, that they can have a relationship where the other person is able to have their needs met without cheating, and they can have what they need in an emotional connection. 

Now for the others. This is going to be an interesting ride. 

Gray-Sexuality. A mix of those that are Demi, Ace, or somewhere near there. This is one of those umbrella flags too, for those that don't feel attracted nearly as much as society suggests they should be. For those that need a relationship to feel attracted to someone, for those that don't like sex, or only sometimes, or anything in between and around these options. Beyond being Gray-sexual, people can also be Gay, Lesbian, etc. 

Someone realized that there isn't a flag for straight people and made one. I don't know how I feel about this because it's a pretty boring flag and reminds me of old prison uniforms, suggesting they're locked in their thinking. I can't say traditional because, as I've been showing this month, traditional thinking is just as likely to be LGBT+ as it is to be the narrow-minded prejudice that passes for tradition in the minds of bigots. Anyone mind coming up with something a little bit better for them?

Abrosexual. This is for those whose sexuality is changing and fluid. The descriptions tend to describe this as something that changes quickly, making a relationship harder because they may be attracted to only a male one day and only a female the next, or they might be graysexual and not want sex at all half the time. This is a valid term, but it's also a new one that is still being described. 

When I first learned of this, the person explained that it was for those whose orientations changed over time, such as a trans person being straight for their birth gender, then getting hormone shifting medication and becoming straight for their new gender. 

My first thought was that this could be a term that people might use to describe how they spent years being straight because that's all they were taught they could be, then they figured out what they actually are, such as a catholic man with a wife and kids who realizes he's gay. It's not that he was lying all that time, but that they finally had the freedom to realize who they actually are under everything. I don't want to say that they choose to let themselves be otherwise, because I don't want anyone to think that this is a simple choice, but that might be an easier way for you to think of it.

This one made me giggle slightly because it's thought by many that Achilles was in a relationship with Patroclus, which is why he was so angry over the other man's death that he swore death on Troy, but many also say it was platonic. Knowing what I do of the Greeks, it's a coin flip which way it goes. This is the Achillean Flag, for men who love men. 

Matching that one is the Sapphic Flag, named after Sapphos, who I brought up earlier. This is for lesbians, or any female loving females. I love that it matches with the Achillean flag. 

Aromantic. This one is interesting to me in some ways because it's someone who likes sex but doesn't want/need a romantic relationship. A serial one-night-stand person, in a lot of ways. They can be entirely fulfilled by a close friendship, or several, or they might not need close relationships with anyone. 

In some ways, I can understand where they're coming from because I've never had a romantic relationship and while I'm curious, I don't think I need one to be happy. I do need friends though, and those are hard for me because I'm not good at people, but that's a different matter that you don't need to know about. 

This is the Demiromantic flag, which you can probably guess. It's the same thing to Aromantic as Demisexual is to Asexual. So, someone who might just want a relationship with someone after knowing them for a while. 

Omnisexuality. It's an attraction to all genders, but gender is to be considered in the attraction. I'm not sure how this is particularly different from Pansexuality, but it's an option people should have if that's what they think fits them better. 

This is another polyamory pride flag, different from the first one. It's fun. 

This is Pomosexuality. It's for those that don't feel like they fit any of the other labels, or don't want to fit another flag. It could also be for those that are still figuring things out, if they need one. 

So, that's all for today. Next time, I'll tell you all about a lot of gender options that are available for those that want them. I hope that at least one of these is interesting to you, and I hope that it'll help you understand someone else someday. 

Have fun, seeya soon. 

Sources:

HRC-- Pride Flags

University of British Columbia-- Equity and Inclusion Office-- Pride Flags

University of Colorado-- Cultural Connections-- Pride Flags

Bradbury Sullivan LGBT Community Center-- Pride Flags