Happy pride to labrys lesbians!
“What’s the labrys flag?”
The labrys flag is the oldest lesbian flag. The labrys symbol (the axe) was used by the lesbian feminist movement in the 70′s, and in 1999 a gay male graphic designer named Sean Campbell put it with the triangle and the color purple, since all three have historical significance in the lesbian community.
“So it was made by a man? Shouldn’t lesbian flags be made by lesbians?”
Not necessarily? Remember this flag is 22 years old and the labrys itself is much older as a lesbian symbol. Plus, there are many edits/redesigns that were made by lesbians recently.
“Hey! But isn’t the labrys flag a TERF flag?”
It absolutely is not! The labrys flag is for all lesbians, including trans lesbians and those who support them!
“Isn’t the triangle holocaust imagery?”
It was one of the symbols used to target Rromani people, homeless people, disabled people, sex workers, gentiles who were in relationships with Jews, pacifists, lesbians, and other things deemed “asocial” by the Nazis. It’s been adopted by different human rights / social justice movements to symbolize the fight against oppression, including disability rights and 70’s-onward lesbian feminism.
People are right to be uncomfortable using the labrys flag that has the triangle, so there are edits that include other things or just have the labrys symbol by itself.
“I think it’s ugly!”
Good for you! Don’t use it then. This is not meant to be the official lesbian flag, is it simply one that many lesbians prefer to use for themselves for a variety of reasons. Keep your negative opinions to yourself.
Here are some of the wonderfully diverse labrys edits I have seen:
Sources under the cut:
