Leather pride flag

The leather pride flag was designed by Tony DeBlase in Chicago, Illinois. DeBlase explained his decision to create the flag:For the 20th anniversary of Stonewall, I felt that the time was right for the Leather men and women who have been participating in these same parades and events more and more visibly in recent years to have a similar simple, elegant banner that would serve as a symbol of their own identity and interests. DeBlase described the flag design as follows: He considered the flag to be a first draft and expected the community would suggest changes to the design. the majority embraced DeBlase's original design as-is. To this day, the flag has not undergone any significant revisions. By 1990, IML had incorporated the flag's design into the sash awarded to IML contest winners. In 1991, Melbourne Leather Men became the first club to incorporate the design elements of the leather pride flag into their club colors. 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. (2009) ==Significance==

Over time the flag has been embraced as a unifying symbol for members of the leather, BDSM, and fetish communities irrespective of sexual orientation.The Leather Pride flag is at the beginning of a long line of similar flags, marking a turning point in the history of the mostly gay leather and BDSM movements: moving away from secret signs and symbols (hanky cloths, for example) to more obvious and public visibility, both in the gay scene and society in general. == Notable flags ==

Original flag (Chicago) One of the three original flags that DeBlase assembled was donated to the Leather Archives & Museum (LA&M), where it is on public display. Twin Cities Pride (Minnesota) Since 1998, the Twin Cities Pride parade in Minnesota has featured a "curb-to-curb and a block long" leather pride flag measuring approximately 75 x 50 feet. The company flew the leather pride flag atop the armory and featured imagery of the flag atop the armory in the intro to many of its videos. Leather and LGBTQ Cultural District (San Francisco) The leather pride flag is featured throughout San Francisco's Leather and LGBTQ Cultural District. The San Francisco South of Market Leather History Alley, which opened in 2017, features the flag as well as metal bootprints honoring DeBlase, among other important members of the city's leather community. Since 2023, a 20 x 30 foot leather pride flag has flown 80 feet high above Eagle Plaza (adjacent to the San Francisco Eagle). File:LeatherPride.jpg|Twin Cities Pride, Minnesota File:Leather pride flag SF.jpg|San Francisco Armory (2008) File:BDSM flag in front of the San Francisco Eagle Bar.jpg|Eagle Plaza, San Francisco File:Ringold Alley, San Francisco.jpg|South of Market Leather History Alley, San Francisco == Variations ==

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 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 Drummer) presented Tony DeBlase with an Australian version of the flag, incorporating the Southern Cross featured on the flag of Australia, with the original design of the leather pride flag. Leather & Grace, a (now defunct) organization of Unitarian Universalist kinksters, founded in 2011, combined a red flaming chalice with the stripes of the leather pride flag for their logo. The BDSM rights flag, designed by Tanos, a Master from the United Kingdom, 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 Steve 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. ==See also==