The leather pride flag is a symbol used by the

leather subculture Leather subculture denotes practices and styles of dress organized around sexual activities that involve leather garments, such as leather jackets, vests, boots, chaps, harnesses, or other items. Wearing leather garments is one way that pa ...

since the 1990s. It was designed by

Tony DeBlase Tony DeBlase (1942 - 2000) also known as Anthony DeBlase, was part of the BDSM and leather subcultures. He was the designer of the leather pride flag. Leather and BDSM activities In 1979, he founded ''DungeonMaster'' magazine (about sadomasochisti ...

, and was quickly embraced by the gay leather community. It has since become associated with leather in general and also with related groups such as the

BDSM BDSM is a variety of often erotic practices or roleplaying involving bondage, discipline, dominance and submission, sadomasochism, and other related interpersonal dynamics. Given the wide range of practices, some of which may be engaged ...

community.

History

The flag was designed by

. He first presented the design at

International Mister Leather International Mr. Leather (IML) is an international, though largely American, conference and contest of leather subculture, leathermen held annually in May since 1979 in Chicago, Illinois. Every year, the event corresponds to the weekend of the ...

on May 28, 1989. Initial reaction to the flag was mixed. According to DeBlase's article ''A Leather Pride Flag'',

Some, particularly on the
east coast East Coast may refer to: Entertainment * East Coast hip hop, a subgenre of hip hop * East Coast (ASAP Ferg song), "East Coast" (ASAP Ferg song), 2017 * East Coast (Saves the Day song), "East Coast" (Saves the Day song), 2004 * East Coast FM, a ra ...
, 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.

In June 1989, the flag was used by the leather contingent in a Portland, Oregon pride parade, which was its first appearance at a

pride parade A pride parade (also known as pride march, pride event, or pride festival) is an outdoor event celebrating lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer culture, queer (LGBTQ) social and self-acceptance, achievements, LGBT rights by country o ...

. On September 18, 1990, Clive Platman (Mr. Australia ''

Drummer A drummer is a percussionist who creates music using drum The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel-Sachs classification system, it is a membranophone. Drums consist of at least one mem ...

'') presented Tony DeBlase with an Australian version of the flag, incorporating the

southern cross Crux () is a constellation of the southern sky that is centred on four bright stars in a cross-shaped asterism commonly known as the Southern Cross. It lies on the southern end of the Milky Way's visible band. The name ''Crux'' is Latin for c ...

, which is from the Australian national flag, with the original design of the leather pride flag. On October 11, 1991, at the opening ceremonies of

Living in Leather National Leather Association International (NLA-I) is a BDSM organization, based in the United States with chapters in various cities in the United States and Canada. It was founded in 1986 as the "National Leather Association" (NLA), as a national ...

, a Canadian version of the leather pride flag was presented, which added to the original flag's design a row of red maple leaves running horizontally through the white stripe. Also in 1991, Melbourne Leather Men became the first club to incorporate the design elements of the leather pride flag into their club colors. On December 12, 2000, NLA Florida presented a suggested pledge of allegiance to the leather pride flag at its holiday party in

Fort Lauderdale A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...

, which reads, "I pledge allegiance to the Leather Pride flag, and the union of Leather people for which it stands, with safety, sanity and consent for all." For the 24th annual

Folsom Street Fair Folsom Street Fair (FSF) is an annual BDSM and leather subculture street fair, held in September, that caps San Francisco's "Leather Pride Week". The Folsom Street Fair, sometimes simply referred to as "Folsom", takes place on Folsom Street bet ...

, held September 30, 2007, the official poster artwork was a controversial photo featuring well-known

LGBT ' is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In use since the 1990s, the initialism, as well as some of its common variants, functions as an umbrella term for sexuality and gender identity. The LGBT term is a ...

and

community members in festive and fetish attire including

Sister Roma Sister Roma is an American drag queen activist, gay pornography director, fundraiser, entertainer and event host/emcee. He has been a member of San Francisco's Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence since 1987. Career Roma was the long-time art direct ...

"as players in an innovative version of the culturally iconographic" ''

The Last Supper Image:The Last Supper - Leonardo Da Vinci - High Resolution 32x16.jpg, 400px, alt=''The Last Supper'' by Leonardo da Vinci - Clickable Image, Depictions of the Last Supper in Christian art have been undertaken by artistic masters for centuries, ...

'' by

Leonardo da Vinci Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci (15 April 14522 May 1519) was an Italian polymath of the High Renaissance who was active as a painter, Drawing, draughtsman, engineer, scientist, theorist, sculptor, and architect. While his fame initially res ...

, complete with table draped with the leather pride flag and "cluttered with

sex toys A sex toy is an object or device that is primarily used to facilitate human sexual pleasure, such as a dildo, artificial vagina or vibrator. Many popular sex toys are designed to resemble human genitals, and may be vibrating or non-vibrating ...

whip A whip is a tool or weapon designed to strike humans or other animals to exert control through pain compliance or fear of pain. They can also be used without inflicting pain, for audiovisual cues, such as in equestrianism. They are generally e ...

s, and various (BDSM)

restraints Physical restraint refers to means of purposely limiting or obstructing the freedom of a person's bodily movement. Basic methods Usually, binding objects such as handcuffs, legcuffs, ropes, chains, straps or straitjackets are used for thi ...

". The image by FredAlert was used on the official event guide and produced as collector's posters that were displayed throughout the city as advertising for the event. In 2010 the leather pride flag's creator Tony DeBlase was inducted into the

Leather Hall of Fame Leather is a strong, flexible and durable material obtained from the tanning, or chemical treatment, of animal skins and hides to prevent decay. The most common leathers come from cattle, sheep, goats, equine animals, buffalo, pigs and hogs, ...

. Leather & Grace, a former organization of

Unitarian Universalists Unitarian Universalism (UU) is a liberal religion characterized by a "free and responsible search for truth and meaning". Unitarian Universalists assert no creed, but instead are unified by their shared search for spiritual growth, guided by a ...

who identified with the BDSM/

kink Kink or KINK may refer to: Common uses * Kink (sexuality), a colloquial term for non-normative sexual behavior * Kink, a curvature, bend, or twist Geography * Kink, Iran, a village in Iran * The Kink, a man-made geographic feature in remote east ...

community, was founded in 2011 by

Desmond Ravenstone Desmond Ravenstone ( Boston, Massachusetts) is a writer, blogger, activist and educator on sexuality issues, who has spoken on BDSM and other alternative sexual identities, and currently focuses on sex workers' rights. A former Unitarian Universal ...

. Their logo combined a red

flaming chalice A flaming chalice is the most widely used symbol of Unitarianism and Unitarian Universalism (UUism) and the official logo of the Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) and other Unitarian and UU churches and societies. Origins The symbol had it ...

with the stripes of the leather pride flag. The

San Francisco South of Market Leather History Alley The San Francisco South of Market Leather History Alley consists of four works of art along the Ringold Street alley, at 8th Street, in San Francisco's SOMA district honoring leather culture; it opened in 2017. Artworks Collectively titled ''Lea ...

consists of four works of art along Ringold Alley honoring leather culture; it opened in 2017. The four works of art are: engraved standing stones that honor community leather institutions including the Folsom Street Fair and leather pride flag pavement markings through which the stones emerge, a black granite stone etched with a narrative by

Gayle Rubin Gayle S. Rubin (born January 1, 1949 in South Carolina) is an American cultural anthropologist best known as an activist and theorist of sex and gender politics. She has written on a range of subjects including feminism, sadomasochism, prostitut ...

, an image of the "Leather

David David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...

" statue by Mike Caffee, and with a reproduction of

Chuck Arnett Charles "Chuck" Arnett (February 15, 1928 in Bogalusa, Louisiana – March 2, 1988 in San Francisco, San Francisco, California) was an American artist and dancer. His best known work is the Tool Box mural (1962). History Arnett grew up in Boga ...

’s 1962 mural that was in the Tool Box (a gay leather bar), and metal bootprints along the curb which honor 28 people (including Tony DeBlase, creator of the leather pride flag) who were an important part of the leather communities of San Francisco. One of three original leather pride flags which the flag's creator Tony DeBlase assembled as a prototype was donated to the

Leather Archives & Museum The Leather Archives & Museum (LA&M) is a community archives, library, and museum located in the Rogers Park neighborhood of Chicago. Founded by Chuck Renslow and Tony DeBlase in 1991, its mission is "making leather, kink, BDSM, and fetish a ...

. The Leather Archives & Museum also holds the papers of DeBlase.

Design

Creator DeBlase gave this explanation of the design:

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 Royal blue is a deep and vivid shade of blue. It is said to have been created by clothiers in Rode, Somerset, a consortium of whom won a competition to make a dress for Queen Charlotte, consort of King George III. Brightness The ''Oxford En ...
. The central stripe is white. In the upper left quadrant of the flag is a large red
heart The heart is a muscular organ in most animals. This organ pumps blood through the blood vessels of the circulatory system. The pumped blood carries oxygen and nutrients to the body, while carrying metabolic waste such as carbon dioxide t ...
. I will leave it to the viewer to interpret the colors and symbols.

Popularity

Although the flag is common in the

gay ''Gay'' is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'. While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late 1 ...

leather community, it is not an exclusively gay symbol and represents the entire leather community. Furthermore, while designed as a symbol for the

, it is also widely used within the entire

(bondage & discipline, dominance and submission, sadomasochism) subculture.

Variations and inspiration for other flags

Although Tony DeBlase is quoted as saying the design of the leather pride flag, which he created, is copyrighted in the U.S. (as well as all countries where the

Berne Convention The Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works, usually known as the Berne Convention, was an international assembly held in 1886 in the Swiss city of Bern by ten European countries with the goal to agree on a set of leg ...

standards apply), copyright is automatic, and need not be obtained through official registration with any government office. Once an idea has been produced as a tangible form, for example by securing it in a fixed medium (such as a drawing, sheet music, photograph, a videotape, or a computer file), the copyright holder is entitled to enforce their exclusive rights. Nevertheless, variations on the original leather pride flag have been created. On September 18, 1990, Clive Platman (Mr. Australia ''

'') presented the original leather pride flag's creator DeBlase with an Australian version of the flag, incorporating the

, which is from the Australian national flag, with the original design of the leather pride flag. On October 11, 1991, at the opening ceremonies of

, a Canadian version of the leather pride flag was presented, which added to the original flag's design a row of red maple leaves running horizontally through the white stripe. Leather & Grace, a (now defunct) organization of

Unitarian Universalist Unitarian or Unitarianism may refer to: Christian and Christian-derived theologies A Unitarian is a follower of, or a member of an organisation that follows, any of several theologies referred to as Unitarianism: * Unitarianism (1565–present) ...

kinksters, founded in 2011, combined a red

with the stripes of the leather pride flag for their logo.

The BDSM rights flag, designed by Tanos, a

Master Master or masters may refer to: Ranks or titles * Ascended master, a term used in the Theosophical religious tradition to refer to spiritually enlightened beings who in past incarnations were ordinary humans *Grandmaster (chess), National Master ...

from the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

, is partially loosely based on the design of the leather pride flag and also includes a version of the BDSM Emblem (but not similar enough to fall within Quagmyr's specific copyright claims for the Emblem). The BDSM rights flag is intended to represent the belief that people whose sexuality or relationship preferences include BDSM practices deserve the same human rights as everyone else, and should not be discriminated against for pursuing BDSM with consenting adults.

References

External links