Last Updated on June 9, 2021
A new LGBT flag design released “to better represent intersex people” has drawn backlash from the LGBT and intersex communities.
The “Progress Pride” flag, which contains brown and black stripes to represent ethnic minorities, and blue, pink, and white stripes to represent transgender people, placed on top of the classic rainbow pride flag, has now received an update to allegedly represent the intersex community better. “Intersex” refers to a spectrum of medical conditions that result in people having variations in sex characteristics somewhere inbetween male and female.
Progress Pride flag gets 2021 redesign to better represent intersex people https://t.co/gLahkfgxMZ
— PinkNews (@PinkNews) June 7, 2021
The flag was designed by Valentino Vecchietti, of Intersex Equality Rights UK, who posted the flag on their Instagram page. The organization claimed that it had received lots of positive feedback from “intersex people and allies from all over the globe” who “said it is bringing them joy to see intersex inclusion.” The intersex symbol, which is a purple circle on a yellow background, was originally created by Intersex Human Rights Australia in 2013, and states that “the circle is unbroken and un-ornamented, symbolizing wholeness and completeness, and our potentialities.”
However, as usual, the political LGBT and intersex activists seemingly do not represent all of those who they claim to speak for. Backlash was swift online from many in the LGBT community, who slammed the new design as being “overly complex,” and noting that the original LGBT rainbow flag was meant to represent everybody. (READ MORE: Utah Student Cuts Down Intersectional LGBT Flag That Covered Cuban Flag, Crowd Cheers)
This is the Pride Flag I will always use.
To me, it represents all people of the LGBT+ Community Universally & I love it for that.
It's why it was created in the first place, to acknowledge one & all 🏳️🌈.#PrideFlag #OriginalDesign pic.twitter.com/OfOVMSLTgf
— Billy Harding (@BillyBoi100) June 8, 2021
I’m all for inclusion but our iconic rainbow flag has become overly complex.
— Mark Garrison (@MarkGarrison1) June 8, 2021
So the previous inclusive flag turned out to be non-inclusive. The more you "amend" it the worse it gets
— Ariel ♂️♂️🏳️🌈🇵🇱🇮🇱🇺🇦🇪🇦🇪🇺 (@Ariel80492037) June 8, 2021
In fact, intersex individuals themselves are also seemingly annoyed at the new design. National File spoke to one intersex political activist, who said the the new flag was “frankly insulting to a significant portion of the intersex community,” as many intersex people “reject being labelled LGBT+ or as a part of the Pride movement, because being intersex isn’t some identity or sexuality, it’s a biological condition”.
“Since the term has become well known, many trans people have attempted to use intersex to justify their bogus claims that sex and gender isn’t a binary or have even sunk as low to call themselves intersex thinking that it’s just some identity they can freely adopt,” said the activist. “‘Intersex’ is effectively umbrella term for a group of medical conditions, which causes a number of people a considerable amount of pain and suffering and long term health issues. The trans community’s fetishisation of intersex people is disgusting. Including it in the flag is just another example of this fetishisation.” She concluded, “This is simply the latest case of the LGBT+ community forcing the label onto us against our wishes.”
