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Leather pride flag

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Leather pride flag
UseRepresents leather subculture
Adopted1989; 35 years ago (1989)
DesignNine equally sized horizontal stripes (from top to bottom: four of alternating black and royal blue, one white, and four of alternating royal blue and black) with a tilted red heart in the canton
Designed byTony DeBlase

The leather pride flag is a symbol of leather subculture as well as kink and fetish subcultures more broadly, including BDSM. The flag was designed by Tony DeBlase in 1989.[1][2]

History[edit]

The leather pride flag was designed by Tony DeBlase in Chicago, Illinois.[1][2] DeBlase explained his decision to create the flag:[3]

For the 20th anniversary of Stonewall, I felt that the time was right for the Leather men and women who have been participating in these same parades and events more and more visibly in recent years to have a similar simple, elegant banner that would serve as a symbol of their own identity and interests.

DeBlase described the flag design as follows:[1]

The flag is composed of nine horizontal stripes of equal width. From the top and from the bottom, the stripes alternate black and royal blue. The central stripe is white. In the upper left quadrant of the flag is a large red heart.

DeBlase had no specific symbolism in mind when he designed the flag.[4] He once said, "I will leave it to the viewer to interpret the colors and symbols."[1]

DeBlase first presented the flag at International Mr. Leather (IML) on May 28, 1989.[5] He considered the flag to be a first draft and expected the community would suggest changes to the design.[4] While some community members wanted a say in the final design,[6] the majority embraced DeBlase's original design as-is.[4] To this day, the flag has not undergone any significant revisions.[4]

red, blue, and black flag folded within a triangular storage case.
One of three original leather pride flags created by Tony DeBlase in 1989, on display at the Leather Archives & Museum.

In June 1989, the flag was used by the leather contingent in a Portland, Oregon pride parade, which was its first appearance at a pride parade.[7]

By 1990, IML had incorporated the flag's design into the sash awarded to IML contest winners.[8]

In 1991, Melbourne Leather Men became the first club to incorporate the design elements of the leather pride flag into their club colors.[7]

On December 12, 2000, NLA Florida presented a suggested pledge of allegiance to the leather pride flag at its holiday party in Fort Lauderdale, which reads, "I pledge allegiance to the Leather Pride flag, and the union of Leather people for which it stands, with safety, sanity and consent for all."[7]

For the 24th annual Folsom Street Fair, held September 30, 2007, the official poster artwork was a controversial photo featuring well-known LGBT and BDSM community members in festive and fetish attire including Sister Roma "as players in an innovative version of the culturally iconographic" The Last Supper by Leonardo da Vinci, complete with table draped with the leather pride flag and "cluttered with sex toys, whips, and various (BDSM) restraints".[9] The image by FredAlert[10] was used on the official event guide and produced as collector's posters that were displayed throughout the city as advertising for the event.

In 2010 DeBlase was inducted into the Leather Hall of Fame.[11]

Leather pride flag at Vancouver Pride Parade (2009)

Significance[edit]

Although the flag is common in the gay leather community, it is not an exclusively gay symbol, but rather for the entire leather community and fetish subcultures.[12][4]

In 2019, the Schwules Museum remarked on the flag's impact:[13]

The Leather Pride flag is at the beginning of a long line of similar flags, marking a turning point in the history of the mostly gay leather and BDSM movements: moving away from secret signs and symbols (hanky cloths, for example) to more obvious and public visibility, both in the gay scene and society in general.

Notable flags[edit]

Original flag (Chicago)[edit]

One of the three original flags that DeBlase assembled was donated to the Leather Archives & Museum (LA&M), where it is on public display.[14][12] LA&M also holds DeBlase's papers.[15]

Twin Cities Pride (Minnesota)[edit]

Since 1998, the Twin Cities Pride parade in Minnesota has featured a "curb-to-curb and a block long" leather pride flag measuring approximately 75 x 50 feet.[4] The first such flag was donated to LA&M in 2008.[4]

San Francisco Armory[edit]

In 2006, fetish pornography studio Kink.com bought the San Francisco Armory building.[16] The company flew the leather pride flag atop the armory and featured imagery of the flag atop the armory in the intro to many of its videos.[17]

Leather and LGBTQ Cultural District (San Francisco)[edit]

The leather pride flag is featured throughout San Francisco's Leather and LGBTQ Cultural District.[18] The San Francisco South of Market Leather History Alley, which opened in 2017, features the flag as well as metal bootprints honoring DeBlase, among other important members of the city's leather community.[19] Since 2023, a 20 x 30 foot leather pride flag has flown 80 feet high above Eagle Plaza (adjacent to the San Francisco Eagle).[20][21]

Variations[edit]

Although Tony DeBlase is quoted as saying the design of the leather pride flag, which he created, is copyrighted in the U.S. (as well as all countries where the Berne Convention standards apply), copyright is automatic, and need not be obtained through official registration with any government office. Once an idea has been produced as a tangible form, for example by securing it in a fixed medium (such as a drawing, sheet music, photograph, a videotape, or a computer file), the copyright holder is entitled to enforce their exclusive rights.

Nevertheless, variations on the original leather pride flag have been created. On September 18, 1990, Clive Platman (Mr. Australia Drummer) presented Tony DeBlase with an Australian version of the flag, incorporating the southern cross featured on the flag of Australia, with the original design of the leather pride flag.[7] On October 11, 1991, at the opening ceremonies of Living in Leather, a Canadian version of the leather pride flag was presented, which added to the original flag's design a row of red maple leaves running horizontally through the white stripe.[7]

Leather & Grace, a (now defunct) organization of Unitarian Universalist kinksters, founded in 2011, combined a red flaming chalice with the stripes of the leather pride flag for their logo.[22][23]

BDSM Rights Flag colour
The BDSM rights flag

The BDSM rights flag, designed by Tanos, a Master from the United Kingdom, is partially loosely based on the design of the leather pride flag and also includes a version of the BDSM Emblem (but not similar enough to fall within Steve Quagmyr's specific copyright claims for the Emblem). The BDSM rights flag is intended to represent the belief that people whose sexuality or relationship preferences include BDSM practices deserve the same human rights as everyone else, and should not be discriminated against for pursuing BDSM with consenting adults.[24]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d "The Leather Pride Flag". Archived from the original on 2018-02-16. Retrieved May 16, 2021.
  2. ^ a b Steve Lenius (2000-07-28). "Leather Life: Tony DeBlase, 1942-2000". Leathercolumn.blogspot.com. Retrieved 2020-04-28.
  3. ^ "25 LGBTQ+ Pride Flags and Their Meanings". Oprah Daily. 2022-06-02. Retrieved 2024-06-10.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g Lenius, Steve (2021-07-29). "Leather Life: Leather Pride Flag 101". Lavender Magazine. Retrieved 2024-06-10.
  5. ^ "Leather History Timeline". Archived from the original on 2010-08-03. Retrieved 2008-02-14.
  6. ^ "A Leather Pride Flag". leatherarchives.com. Archived from the original on 2008-09-15.
  7. ^ a b c d e "Timeline". Archived from the original on 2010-08-03. Retrieved 2018-06-24.
  8. ^ Croix, Sukie de la (2003-05-21). "International Mr. Leather Hits 25th Anniversary". Windy City Times. Retrieved 2024-06-10.
  9. ^ Gerstein, Josh (September 27, 2007). "Catholic Group Threatens Battle With Miller Beer Over Racy Ad". New York Sun. Retrieved 2007-09-29.
  10. ^ Cassell, Heather (27 September 2007). "Folsom art draws fire from the right". Bay Area Reporter. Vol. 37, no. 39. Retrieved 2007-09-29.
  11. ^ "> Inductees". Leatherhalloffame.com. Retrieved 2019-12-31.
  12. ^ a b "36 Queer Pride Flags You Should Know". Advocate. 2023-06-01. Retrieved 2024-06-10.
  13. ^ "Object of the Month May: Leather Pride Flag". Schwules Museum. Retrieved 2024-06-10.
  14. ^ "The Leather Pride Flag - Leather Archives & Museum". Leatherarchives.org. Retrieved 2019-12-05.
  15. ^ "KANE, "DRUMMER," AND DEBLASE — Rick Storer, Leather Archives & Museum — San Francisco Leathermen's Discussion Group". Sfldg.org. 2014-10-22. Retrieved 2020-04-24.
  16. ^ Lefebvre, Sam (2016-04-04). "The Armory, Kink.com's 'EDM Castle,' Besieged By Permit Complaints". KQED. Retrieved 2024-06-10.
  17. ^ Bote, Joshua (2021-07-26). "The San Francisco Armory's kinky legacy lives on". SFGATE. Retrieved 2024-06-10.
  18. ^ "SOMA Poles Wrapped with Leather Pride". Leather and LGBTQ Cultural District. Retrieved 2024-06-10.
  19. ^ Paull, Laura (21 June 2018). "Honoring gay leather culture with art installation in SoMa alleyway – J". J. Jweekly.com. Archived from the original on 2018-06-23. Retrieved 2018-06-23.
  20. ^ "Eagle Plaza". Leather and LGBTQ Cultural District. Retrieved 2024-06-10.
  21. ^ Padgett, Donald (2023-09-11). "SF Celebrates 1st Public Space Dedicated to the Leather Community & Queer History". Out. Retrieved 2024-06-10.
  22. ^ "Leather & Grace: L&G's Story". 28 August 2011. Archived from the original on 2015-05-18. Retrieved 2015-08-03.
  23. ^ "Leather & Grace | Unitarian Universalists for BDSM Awareness". Leatherandgrace.wordpress.com. Retrieved 2020-01-07.
  24. ^ "Informed Consent: BDSM rights flag". Archived from the original on 2013-05-02.

External links[edit]

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