Butch flags
Two community flags, one in oranges and browns, one in blues and purples, for butch lesbians and the wider butch community.
What the colours mean
- Red Passion and sexuality.
- Red-orange Courage, because being visibly butch takes it.
- Light orange The joy of being butch, despite the hardships.
- Off-white Renewal: finding yourself as butch as a kind of rebirth.
- Beige Chivalry, and the wish many butches have to protect others.
- Orange Warmth.
- Brown Honesty with yourself.
Colour codes #D42C00#EF7527#FF9A56#FFFCEE#FFCD88#FFAC09#A06F00
Download the flag PNG WebP SVG
Two flags, no official one
There is no single butch flag. The two most often seen are a seven-stripe orange flag, posted in June 2017 on the Tumblr blog butchspace, and an earlier seven-stripe flag in blues and purples, from 2016. Both were made by people posting under pseudonyms, and both are in use.
The orange flag
Its creator first said the colours did not mean anything individually, and that the flag was a warmer recolour of the lesbian flag. Three days later, drawing on suggestions from followers, they gave each stripe the meaning listed above. They consider the flag the community's to use.
The blue and purple flag
The earlier flag is credited to a Tumblr user whose original post has since been deleted, so its designer's own explanation has not survived. A historian quoted by Women's Health describes it as a reaction to the pink lipstick lesbian flag, in cooler colours.
What butch means
Butch describes a masculine gender expression with a long history in lesbian culture. It is not limited to cis women: trans and non-binary people are butch too, and the blog that published the orange flag describes itself as trans and non-binary inclusive.
Questions people ask
What are the colours of the butch flag?
The most common butch flag has seven stripes: red, red-orange, light orange, off-white, beige, orange and brown. An older butch flag uses blues, white and purples.
Is there an official butch flag?
No. Two community-made flags are in use, and neither has an official status.
Does the butch flag include trans people?
Yes. Butch is not limited to cis women, and the blog that published the orange butch flag describes itself as trans and non-binary inclusive.