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A Brief History of Asexual Flag And How It Was Chosen

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It has been 12 years since the current asexual flag was chosen to represent people identifying as asexual. Though asexuality has been well-known within the community, there is still a lack of knowledge of the flag’s history and meaning. 

Stick with us in this post to find out where the flag came from and how it was picked as an asexual symbol. 

asexual flag
The asexual flag

What Does it Mean To Be Asexual?

Everyone expressed their sexual orientation differently. Some may find sexual attraction toward men or women. Some find a sexual attraction to both. And some might feel that way toward all genders. 

Likewise, there are people who find no sexual attraction to any gender at all. They are called asexuals. 

Yes – it is possible for someone to have such sexual orientation if you might ever wonder. If over ten years ago, these people hid under their self-made cover, they are recognizable in today’s society. 

They have been confronted with many misconceptions and bad treats for their “lack of sexual feelings for others”. That is said to go against “standards by society”, which are obviously man-made. Meanwhile, asexuality is 100% normal according to scientists.

And while asexual people are not sexually attracted to others, it does not mean they cannot have intimate relationships. Additionally, the fact that many often integrate sexual feelings into romantic feelings causes a misunderstanding about asexuality.

That is also why people in the community needed to have a flag that raises awareness. Having a flag for asexual, besides, they can become more recognizable and understood in society. That would make their lives easier.

Origin of the Asexual Flag

The asexual pride flag (or ace flag) was chosen by AVEN (the Asexual Visibility & Education Network) to represent those identifying as asexual. 

AVEN is an online-based community that aims to raise awareness about asexuality. They are open for conversations, discussions, and activities about asexuality. 

AVEN logo
The AVEN logo features four colors: Black, Grey, White, Purple

In 2010, AVEN held an online contest to create a pride flag that represents those in the asexual community. There are many submissions and designs, but the winning one was a design with four horizontal stripes. It features colors that are similar to those on the AVEN’s logo, making it a bonus reason to win.

Although it was chosen by AVEN, the flag did receive lots of head nods from people within the community for its meanings. 

Asexual Flag Meaning

Like other LGBT pride flags, the asexual flag conveys the meaning through its colors. However, asexuality is not represented by the combination of all single hues on the flag. Only one color — black — says about the main sexual orientation here. Additionally, that is a unique point about it, which is unlikely to happen on the pansexual flag, bisexual flag, or omni flag, etc.

There are FOUR asexual flag colors as horizontal bars from top to bottom:

  • Black represents asexuality
  • Grey represents grey-asexuality (as those identifying an unknown part out of the main asexual types*) and demi-sexuality (as those feeling sexually attracted only to the person they love or have a romantic bond with)
  • White represents allies and non-asexual partners who give support to the community
  • Purple represents the asexual community as a whole

Myths About Variations of the Asexual Pride Flag

There have been a lot of online searches about some variations of the asexuality flag every month. 

“Biromantic asexual flag”, “panromantic asexual flag”, “aromantic asexual flag”, “lesbian asexual flag”, “non-binary asexual flag”, etc. — those are terms people have been trying to seek for information about.

| More: Aromantic Flag Meaning Explained by its Colors

It is not surprised to know that, since no flag can tell precisely about every single individual in a community. People would simply try to find other flags that sit more for them.

Despite that fact, there are no official recognition of those mentioned flags above. Some people might be willing to be represented by them — and it’s fine. But they are just not the chosen designs to represent the whole asexual community. Let’s be clear from there!

The Bottom Line

The asexual flag or ace flag has stood there side by side with the asexual community over a decade. It helps to raise awareness, and most importantly, acceptance toward asexuality.

It gets us feeling more needed to praise the flag because asexuality are usually mistaken as a pathology, which causes denial and stigma toward asexual people. 

If you have an asexual partner or simply support the community, raise the flag in the upcoming Pride Month!

If you love this post, share it with your friends and family! 

Thanks for reading 🙂 

*Watch this short video to learn more about the main types of asexuality:

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