Representing heterosexuality and cisgender identity
Representing heterosexuality and cisgender identity
Life (from the Rainbow Flag)
Healing (from the Rainbow Flag)
Sunlight (from the Rainbow Flag)
Nature (from the Rainbow Flag)
Serenity (from the Rainbow Flag)
Spirit (from the Rainbow Flag)
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The ‘straight ally’ flag emerged in the mid to late 2000s as a symbol for allyship with and to the Queer community on a blog called Queer & Straight Allies for Equality (Queer & SAFE), an Australian Queer collective with the aim of enlisting ally support for the Queer community. Contrary to commentary found on the internet, the ‘straight ally’ flag was not designed by a straight person.
It is comprised of black and white stripes representing heterosexuality/cisgender (being the absence of colour as found on the rainbow flag), defaced with a rainbow-coloured “A” which stood for ally and activism.
The flag arose as a symbol of allyship at a time where LGBTQIA+ rights such as marriage and adoption were dismissed as a “minority concern” that wasn’t of much importance to, or supported by, the general population. As such, it was hoped that the flag would help increase Ally-visibility within the community to show the vast support of Queer rights within the greater community, as well as being a symbol of allyship and Queer acceptance – that is, to show that one is ‘straight but not narrow’ – particularly at a time where “Heterosexual Pride” became synonymous with being anti-Queer.
It was also proposed to be a symbol for those who are parents or partners to Queer-identified people, that do not identify as Queer themselves, and to signify a space as being “Queer friendly” or a Queer safe space, rather than, for example, an Queer venue where a rainbow flag might be used.
That is, rather than being a Pride Flag, the Straight Ally Flag was meant to be a symbol of solidarity, rather than a symbol of Pride.
Later on, a different version of the flag was created using the transgender flag colours, as a symbol of allyship to the Trans community.