Bi Sky

as a bi person, the bisexual flag brings me infinite joy and always puts a smile on my face, however as a person who has a Passion for Graphic Design, that undersaturated shade of purple infuriates me when it's used digitally

like, on an actual flag - which was its original purpose - it looks great!

those look fine! lovely, even! with the semi-transparent fabric, the way it catches the sunlight, it looks beautiful!

but now look at how it looks digitally

the pink and blue are so vibrant compared to the sad, lonely lavender!

and let's look at this statement from Michael Page, the creator of the bi flag:

(sidenote: he created this flag in 1998, so if his takes on bisexuality is different from yours, it's okay to notice that! a lot has changed since the 90s when it comes to lived experiences and the way we describe them. but, it's also important to respect his thoughts about this and the way he presented them, even if today, we'd probably not say that bi people "blend unnoticeably into both the gay/lesbian and straight communities.")

so in pantone colors, the pink is 226 C, the blue is 286 C, and the purple of the flag is 258 C.

but...here's the deal

Michael talks here about how the key to understanding the symbolism is to know that the purple blends into both the pink and blue. and on a physical flag, I think you can see that!

but digitally, it absolutely does not blend. it clashes badly, and looks oddly separate from the other two colors.

which got me wondering...what purple do you get if you actually blend 226 C and 286 C?

oh! oh, my god.

look at that! look at how nicely it fits between those colors!

look at it next to the original color scheme! look at how much more vibrant the purple is!

and friends. this is just blending through rgb! you get even more purple variations when you use other color spaces!

let's compare all of them:

(top: original, lab. middle: lrgb, lch. bottom: rgb, hsl)

look at all of the different purple options you can get just by combining these two colors!

if you want almost too-vibrant saturation, you can go hsl, if you want something more relaxed that's closer to the original, you can go lab or lrgb. and if you want to split the difference, lch is bright and violet, while rgb is there with its saturated but darker purple.

anyway, I guess I don't really have a point here? this isn't so much an informational post as it is Me Getting Weird About Colors, but I think it is a useful lesson about how colors look very different on screens compared to how they look on objects in real life.

and sometimes, I think it's okay to compensate for that.

out of all of these, this is my favorite bi flag:

it's the one where the colors were blended in lab color space. for me, the lighter, softer purple is close enough to the original bi flag purple, while also feeling like a smoother blend of the blue and pink

but that's just me! and it might not even look the same to you, since every screen is different, because technology is a nightmare!

anyway, thank you for coming with me on this colorful journey! I will now retreat back to inkscape and make pained sounds about inkstitch gradients until something tangible pulls me back into reality

i went ahead and reordered the colors a bit to keep the purple in the middle, hope that's okay!

BWWABF Pride Flag

BWWABF/BWWAB (reclaimed): a bi woman with a boyfriend.

Usually a slang/slur directed at bihet/bi duaric women and bi julietians (WLM)

“I Think…” by Leanne Franson, 1992

sorry, and i mean this lightheartedly, but the article title is so fucking funny out of context bc of the wording of “use” instead of “reclaim”

use this reaction image when ur bi bestie starts making jokes and it makes u biphobic 🫵🤨 /j

Bi Dykes have my whole heart + check out this amazing article I read explaining bi sapphic’s (aka selenic’s) reclamation of the slur dyke!

a snippet from the article I adore :3

We have a language philosophy who focuses on slur reclamation on our side. Twitter biphobes who insist selenics can’t reclaim dyke have like no research on their side <3

did you know there are bisexual flowers and they’re perfect

Alright *cracks knuckles* let’s list all of these (from left to right, each row starting from the top)

Violet bisexual (bisexual who is saph4saph) flag made by @pinescaperers

Bi femme and Bi Butch flags made by @disasterbisexual-moved

Bi Dyke flag made by @dykenotdeer

Lovecore Bi flag made by @ yuzukuro-archive

Bisexual flag made by Michael Page in 1998

Hecatic flag (for all bi sapphics) made by me!

Hesticarn flag (a “girly” version futch) flag made by me!

Goth Bi and Blood Bi flags made by @man4jiro

Selenic Flag (for all bi sapphics) on twitter made by @ LUV4SAPPHICS

Bihet insult-reclaimed flag made by @femmebis

Toxic Bisexual (stereotype reclaimed) flag made by @toxic-bisexual

Bi Girl flag made by @ bizexuality on twitter!

Bisexual Feminist flag made by me!

𐙚 ﹐dyke (reclaiming)

a slur that's used to target sapphics, especially ones that are butch, masc, and/or androgynous (not exclusive though)

flag meaning ꒱

dark brown represents black and brown sapphics, as they've historically been the backbone of our community and are so extensively targeted yet so underrepresented

purple represents butches and studs, and general sapphic masculinity and androgyny

pink(1) represents unapologetic queer love for women which may include nonbinary genders

pink(2) represents transgender and nonbinary dykes

orange represents gender nonconformity

im reclaiming the labrys (double-sided axe) as a symbol of empowerment and strength within ALL sapphics regardless of status (ex. bisexual, trans, nonbinady, pansexual, etc.) the labrys flag was adopted by violent queerphobic/misogynistic terfs. im reclaiming it from that hatred and using it as a symbol of sapphic strength and empowerment. i also added the sapphic flower symbol into the axe to emphasize sapphism.

my flag design + symbol ꒱

Brainless clogs >:(

Bisexual judgement

I read Bi: The Hidden Culture, History, and Science of Bisexuality by Julia Shaw and I was shocked at how much more severe the issue of biphobia and bimisogyny is than most people, even within the bisexual community, even realize. I’ve posted links to the relevant quotes from this book and organized them under these broad points:

bi men are targeted by both homophobia and biphobia; biphobia bi men experience is a materially distinct oppression than homophobia;

bi women are targeted by both lesbophobia and biphobia; bimisogyny, the intersection of misogyny and biphobia, is a materially distinct oppression from lesbophobia;

bisexuals of color, disabled bisexuals, and trans/nb bisexuals experience profound erasure from bi representation and scholarship, and access to necessary resources;

bi people experience "double discrimination"/biphobia from the straight and gay communities; bi ppl are at risk of discrimination for bisexuality specifically;

This biphobic discrimination in the gay community goes back decades;

the terminology used to describe gay rights is often exclusive of us to a damaging degree. this means in addition to specific biphobic struggles, bisexuals often must face generalized homophobia without the "buffer" of acceptance in the larger LGBT+ community and with some enhanced difficulties acquiring LGBT+ resources; and finally,

positive aspects of bisexuality and bi identity/nuance corner.

The most important information I found is that bi+ people have a higher rate of mental health issues, suicidal and self-harm issues, addiction, isolation, rape, IPV, stalking, abuse, and are less likely to be out as bisexual or to have strong connections to the larger LGBT+ community to act as a buffer against discrimination, as opposed to lesbians and gay men. They are also erased and denied access to LGBT+ spaces, resources, and legal protections. As opposed to gay men and lesbians, the particularities of the bisexual experience includes 1) experiencing double discrimination, 2) less likely to be out, resulting in mental health issues 3) bisexuals are more isolated on average than LG people, and 4) bisexuals struggle with internalized biphobia. I've broken down these arguments and sourced further information on the material affects of biphobia here on my Wordpress blog, since Tumblr won't let me post the full quote all at once, but you can find the quotes with the specific research and studies I'm basing these claims on in my tag for this book or under my general book quotes link, #education multiplies power