flags don’t become a symbol for a movement unless they’re widely accepted. I made that flag to reflect my own values, it’s my artwork. it’s up to the people to decide how they use it. I don’t expect everyone to want to use it or for it to be “officially” adopted as the symbol of the movement. I’m not the authority on fat liberation. I actually like that the flag I designed makes people uncomfortable. I feel like that aligns with what I know about fat liberation. yeah, it will poke at insecurities for some people, but so does the word “fat.” I know folks who can’t even say that word, they have to use euphemism. that’s the reason FAT is front and center in the name of our movement. one major pillar of fat liberation is to not play into respectability politics. we are about taking up space, rejecting the idea of being a “good fatty.” this movement is for people who call themselves BAD FATTIES, fat bitches, fat freaks, whales, and deathfats. our mentality as a movement is “we don’t make ourselves smaller to be digestible, you can choke.” I took those values and applied it to the flag. and I like that it’s tongue in cheek with a bit of humor! the group of activists that began the fat liberation movement called their group the Fat Underground for the initials “F.U.” !! and I wanted to capture their spirit in this flag. the KILLER whale is a play on stereotype that also represents liberation. we’re taking away the power of an insult by embracing the majesty of the creatures we’re compared to. killer whales are fiercely protective of their community. so if the folks who look at that flag and assume it’s mean, they’re not understanding what this movement is even about and frankly, I’m not concerned about that. the people who find their way into the movement will eventually realize what it means. as for your comment about being taken seriously: any flag representing fatness will come off as a joke to people who don’t believe that fat people are an oppressed demographic. anything and everything we say is a joke to them, no matter how delicately we put it. so I’m not interested in playing to them. I’m interested in making fat art that resonates with bad fatties and makes them feel powerful. check my tag #fat lib flag for all of the amazing art folks in my community have created with this flag. don’t like it? don’t use it!