The Leather Pride Flag
Designed
by author and publisher Tony de Blase (Fledermaus), who presented it at the 1989
International Mr. Leather contest in Chicago; it was subsequently widely adopted
throughout the US, especially on the gay male SM scene, and now enjoys some
popularity worldwide.
Though it is obviously inspired by the lesbian and gay rainbow flag, de Blase has been famously reticent in giving an explanation of the design. 'I did have definite reasons for creating the design and color scheme [but] I have never explained them to anyone else', he says. 'I prefer that the individual look at the flag and interpret it for him/herself, reading into it whatever he/she most wants to see.' The hand-sewn original now hangs in Chicago's Leather Archive and Museum, but its creator has allowed the design itself into the public domain.
It is rumored that the black and blue stripe either represent denim and leather or the black and blue marks. The white strip was to separate the TOP from the BOTTOM, and the Heart was to represent the love a Top should have for the Bottom.
The Meaning of The 3 Rings
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For the Submissive:
For the Dominant:
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The Five Truths
- A submissive's Place is to Honor their Mistress/Master
- A submissive's Duty is to Obey their Mistress/Master
- A submissive's Purpose is to serve their Mistress/Master
- A submissive's Pleasure is in accepting Guidance and Discipline
- A submissive's Joy is to Please their Mistress/Master.