hey so i decided to make my own design for a nonbinary lesbian flag!
long post maybe but i just want to explain my process before revealing my design proposal!
i dont usually venture into a lot of flag design related things but as a nb lesbian myself and as someone who cares a lot about color and design, ive always had a few gripes, well more than a few, with the “commonly accepted” nb lesbian flag (the pink and yellow one aka the “pink lemonade” design).
for instance, it’s always been kind of hard to parse the difference between the extremely light pastel hues and the way the colors just kind of blend together without any clear placement. another peeve i have with this iteration is that the colors themselves aren’t as representative of the nb spectrum as they could've been - i know it’s weird to say that pink is always The Go To “feminine” color and of course pink is in no way a girl/feminine exclusive color, but when paired with lighter, more pastel tones, the “pink lemonade” flag has to me always seemed more orientated towards feminine nb lesbians than all nb lesbians as a whole if you get what i’m saying.
ideally i’ve always figured that a nonbinary lesbian flag should try to strike a nice balance between both flags, incorporating elements of both in an equal way where an element of one is not dominating the presence of the other - i’m in no ways the first to think this, i’ve seen a metric ton of nb lesbian flag proposals where both the lesbian and nonbinary flag are made into one. but more often than not, it can come off as just putting the colors together and that’s really the extent of it.
it’s also incredibly important to mention that the creator/s of the “pink lemonade” nb lesbian flag have, from the accounts of those involved with them, done a lot of things to hurt a lot of people. i’m not going to get into specifics of what they’ve done both out of respect for those affected by the situation and to spare you the details that i don’t feel comfortable covering as someone not affected by their behavior directly, but suffice it to say if you do go looking for information about the creator/s of this design you will find accounts of the affected individuals recounting their experiences with them. be aware that this situation involves a lot of potentially triggering material on the creators behalf.
in the conclusion of the warning document, those affected have also stated that given everything the creators have done, that they wish for the pink lemonade flag and other flags made by them to not be used or circulated, as even if indirectly, it gives positive attention to those behind it. for that reason i feel it’s important to offer up an alternative design if only to get the current one to stop being perpetuated as The nonbinary lesbian flag given the toxic behavior its creator/s have exhibited, and in its place bring something that represents the nb lesbian community in a way not associated with their actions.
so to keep track here’s what my goals for my design of the nb lesbian flag have been:
removing any resemblance to the pink lemonade flag
designing the flag in such a way where it retains elements of both the lesbian and nb flags, but not so much as to where it’s ‘too derivative’ for lack of a better wording of either, making it something more subtle yet distinct
inclusivity of the nb experience, not just in variety of colors but in meanings behind the stripes and acknowledgement for all kinds of nb lesbians (xenogenders, transfems and transmascs etc)
making the colors of the flag go together and work in harmony with each other while also ensuring that each color is readable and that the color placement doesn’t blend into itself
with all that being said, after a few weeks of brainstorming and a few cases of trial and error, i finally drafted a design that really personally struck with me and after fine tuning it a little bit, here’s the design i came up with! introducing my proposal for the nonbinary lesbian flag, or as i’ve come to call it - the magma flag!
now you may be asking why i’ve dubbed this one the magma flag, and well to put it simply it’s because you can draw a cool little volcano with its colors (i know it’s technically called lava if it comes OUT of a volcano but sh. shUT UP let me have this it’s cool) and also because the colors have a warm, inviting feel to them!
what i’ve done here is keep the overall recognizable structure of the lesbian flag, specifically the sunset orange white and purple popularized by emily gwen, but added some aspects of the nb flag, like the prominence of the color yellow and deep royal purple and black, making it noticeably a mixture of the two while balancing the colors together in a way that flows nicely, but in a discernible way.
here’s the meaning behind each stripe! i put a lot of thought and meaning into these, and i made an effort to make sure that each one meant something significant to the community.
and finally, here’s some more saturated and muted alternative versions as well as simplified renditions of those in the style of the 5-stripe simplified sunset lesbian flag!
there’s no need to ask for my permission if you ever want to include this flag in any edits, icons or art, or any other forms of work - you have my full go ahead to do so! this flag is meant to represent the nb lesbian community as a whole after all. if you do end up using this flag there’s no need to tag me or anything - credit is appreciated but not mandatory if u catch my drift!
i’d love to hear your thoughts and feedback on this proposal and i hope everyone finds it as captivating as i do - you can probably tell by how much i’ve gone on about this but this flag design is something i’m really proud of and i put a lot of love into it, and personally i’m just glad that i’ve finally come up with a flag design that i feel satisfied with. i’m so excited to hear what you all think! thank you so much for reading, and if you feel so inclined, feel free to use it! <3
