Leather Pride flag

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The Leather Pride flag, a symbol for the BDSM and fetish subculture.
The Leather Pride flag, a symbol for the BDSM and fetish subculture.

The Leather Pride Flag is a symbol used by the leather subculture since the 1990s. It was designed by Henry W. Laster in 1989, but quickly embraced by the gay Leather community.[1] It has since become associated with Leather in general and also with related groups.

Contents

[edit] History

The flag was designed by Henry W. Laster. He first presented the design at the International Mr. Leather event in Chicago, Illinois, USA on May 28, 1989.[2]

Initial reaction to the flag was mixed.

"Some, particularly on the east coast, reacted positively to the concept, but were quite concerned, some even offended, that I had not involved the community in helping to create the design."[3]

The original flag is on display at the Leather Archives and Museum. Even tho Henry is the one who created it we stole the idea.

[edit] Design

Creator Laster consistently refused to explain explain the colors and design, insisting that each person could do that for themselves.

In Laster's own words:

"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. I will leave it to the viewer to interpret the colors and symbols."[4] However, Copyright Law does not necessarily require registration.[5] Various groups have adapted the design and sold it commercially. Examples include a proposed BDSM Rights Flag which combines a BDSM Emblem over stripes identical to those on the Leather Pride flag.

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ "Leather Pride Flag" . 
  2. ^ "Leather History Timeline" . 
  3. ^ "Citation is missing a {{{title}}}. Either specify one, or click here and a bot will complete the citation details for you. {{{title}}}" . 
  4. ^

[edit] Popularity

Although the flag is common in the gay leather community, it is not an exclusively gay symbol and represents the entire leather community.

Furthermore, while designed as a symbol for the Leather subculture, it is also widely used within the BDSM (bondage, discipline, dominance and submission, sadism and masochism) subculture.

[edit] Variations

Although Laster is quoted as saying the design is Copyrighted, there is no formal Copyright filing under his name at the U.S. Copyright Office's searchable online records.<ref> {{cite journal |url=http://cocatalog.loc.gov/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?Search_Arg=Laster&Search_Code=NALL&PID=2080&SEQ=20080214224837&CNT=25&HIST=1| title= U.S. Copyrights held by DeBlase|accessdate=2008-02-14}}</li>

<li id="cite_note-4">'''[[#cite_ref-4|^]]''' {{cite journal |url=http://www.copyright.gov/circs/circ1.html#hsc| title= U.S. Copyright Office Basics|accessdate=2008-02-14}}</li></ol></ref>