A Different Angle: a random collection of essays and observations, mostly about lesbian/gay/bi issues. © Todd VerBeek, Radio Zero(tm)

Showing My True Colors

Whatever else it did (a topic I could go on for hours about, but not right now), the United States' decimation of Iraq made the streets of America considerably more colorful. Yellow "support our troops" ribbons were tied to anything that would hold them. Ribbons and flags of red, white, and blue appeared everywhere. Some wore blue ribbons to indicate that they opposed the war. A letter-writer in The Press suggested green ribbons (yellow + blue) for those who supported the troops, but opposed the war. The old red ribbons against drunk driving almost got lost in the shuffle.

All this color-coding reminds me (or would, if I had been born several years earlier) of gay bars in the 70's, where handkerchiefs of different colors in different pockets indicated one's preferred sexual activities and roles.

For centuries, people have used colors to indicate who they are and what they stand for (or perhaps, in the case of pocket-hankies, what they lie down for). It's a quick and easy way of expressing yourself without having to sit down and explain. So I got to thinking: If I designed my own banner or flag, what would my colors be?

I like the social-welfare associations of the color red, but red also suggests a hot temper. That's not me. Orange harks back to William of Orange, a good gay Hollander like myself. But it's also the color of the juice that anti-gay crusader Anita Bryant used to sell. Yellow is the color of fear and questionable journalism. Perhaps appropriately, it's also associated with a recent war. Blue is pretty cool, but it's also a metaphor for depression. Purple is a royal color, and I don't care much for monarchy. Black (with apologies to my African-American readers) is too strongly associated with evil. And white ... well, I, uh, can't wear white.

One color that's left is green. As it happens, green's been my favorite color since I was a kid. It's the color that makes human life possible, as green plants generate the oxygen we need. Green represents the environmental movement. And I like the, uh, "fun-loving" reputation that green M&Ms have. So green is good.

But one color alone is too plain, too one-dimensional. There's more to who I am and what I stand for than that. I want a color to indicate that I'm a proud gay person, as well. Lavender is nice, but it's too obscure. (I didn't even know what "lavender" looked like until I found it in my big box of Crayolas.) The classic color of our community, the badge of honor we wear from the Holocaust, is pink. So, that's it: The colors of my flag will be pink and green!

Wait a minute. Pink and green? Those are the utterly preppie colors that I completely rejected back in high school! They stand for upper-class, cliquish snobbery. What's more, they don't even look that good together.

OK ... so maybe this little project isn't going to work. No matter what colors I choose, there's bound to be some problem with them. I might just as well claim none of them ... or all of them.

All of them? Why not? After all, what makes one color better than any other? The only thing "wrong" with any of them is what other people think of them, and why should I let their perceptions run my life? Why not adopt for my flag, all the colors of the rainbow?

OK, so a rainbow flag's not a terribly original idea. But the more I look at it, the more I like it.

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