I paid attention to the pride flags on display at the 2024 Kansas City Pride Festival.
I discussed the frequency of the most common pride flags in a previous article.
In this article, I will discuss the rare pride flags I observed at the festival.
Asexual
I observed someone wearing an asexual pride flag as I filmed the KC Pride Parade.
I don’t know if they participated in the parade or simply watched the parade, like myself.
I’ve seen asexual flags at previous pride events, but they are generally few and far between.
Asexual refers to someone who experiences little to no sexual attraction.
I discussed asexuality and the history of the asexual pride flag in an earlier article.
Aroace
I witnessed a couple people display aroace flags on Sunday during the festival.
I observed someone with a cloth mesh hand covering in the colors of the aroace flag.
The aroace flag represents people who are both aromantic and asexual, which means they don’t experience romantic or sexual attraction.
“Aro” is short for Aromantic, and “Ace” is short for Asexual.
This was the first time I remember seeing aroace flags in person.
I discussed the history of the aroace flag in a previous article.
I have never seen an aromantic flag, like the one below, at a pride event, which I find surprising. I previously believed those flags were more widely used than I've observed.
Transmasculine
I observed someone recording the pride parade who wore a transmasculine flag.
Transmasculine refers to someone who was assigned the female gender at birth, but identifies with a more masculine gender.
I discussed the terms transmasculine and transfeminine in an earlier article.
This is the first time I’ve seen a transmasculine flag at a pride event.
Intersex
On Saturday, I observed someone in a wheelchair displaying a large intersex flag. They were also topless, with the exception of nonbinary flag stickers that covered their nipples.
They pulled off the look quite well, but I chose not to ask to take their picture to post on the internet.
Intersex refers to someone with physical traits different than those traditionally considered male or female.
Nonbinary refers to someone with a gender identity that isn’t exclusively male or female.
This was the first time I’ve seen an intersex flag at KC Pride. I observed an intersex flag during last year’s Little Apple Pride Parade.
I discussed intersex identity and the intersex flag in earlier articles on Meticulous Musings.
Gay Man
I observed the gay man flag, next to a genderfluid flag, on a vehicle that was part of the pride parade.
Originally, the rainbow flag primarily represented gay people. Over time, it has come to represent the LGBT community as a whole.
The gay man flag was created to represent gay men, specifically.
I discussed the gay man flag in a previous article.
Gay men still primarily use the rainbow flag, but the gay man flag occasionally appears at pride events.
Leather
I observed two Leather Pride Flags during the parade.
A Leather Flag was mounted on a car that drove in the parade.
Many people collectively carried a giant Leather Flag in the parade.
The Leather Pride Flag represents people who dress in leather to have sex. It also can be used more broadly to represent kink and fetish communities.
I observed a Leather Flag during last year’s KC Pride Parade as well.
Drag
A Drag Pride Flag flew in the pride parade.
Drag is a genre of performance art that often includes exaggerated portrayals of masculinity and femininity.
Drag often features cross dressing as well.
Drag performers are known to dance, sing, and read books to children.
This is the first time I’ve seen a Drag Pride Flag at a pride event, even though drag performers have been a mainstay of quality entertainment during pride celebrations for a very long time.
8-Stripe Rainbow
An 8-Stripe Rainbow Flag flew in the pride parade.
This was the original version of the Rainbow Flag, created by Gilbert Baker and other gay activists, that flew in the 1978 San Francisco Gay Freedom Day Parade.
In 1979, Baker adopted the current Six-Stripe Rainbow Flag, partially due to the difficulty of obtaining hot pink fabric.
The Six-Stripe Rainbow Flag is the version most commonly used today.
Straight Ally
During the pride parade, I observed a straight ally flag, which is used by straight allies to show their support for the LGBT community.
Rainbow American Flag
I observed a Rainbow American flag during the pride parade.
I’ve seen
two different ways the Rainbow and American flags can be combined. This version
features the six stripes from the Rainbow flag and the blue rectangle and white
stars from the American flag.
According to the Los Angeles Times, a flag with a similar design was one of the first two rainbow flags created by gay activists in 1978 for the San Francisco Gay Freedom Day Parade.
Later in this article, I will showcase the other way the Rainbow and American flags are sometimes combined.
Rainbow Mexican Flag
During the pride parade, I observed a rainbow flag featuring a symbol found on the Mexican flag. The symbol is an eagle, sitting on a cactus, devouring a snake.
I previously observed a similar flag for sale during this year’s Little Apple Pride Festival.
American Flag
I observed two American flags on the float for the KC Veterans Administration Medical Center.
Palestinian Flag
Several Palestinian flags flew in the Pro-Palestinian protest at the end of the KC Pride Parade.
I discussed the protest in an earlier article.
Pride Merchandise
I took pictures of items for sale at various merchant booths at the KC Pride Festival.
In this photo, 12 pride fans are on display. Several featured designs from notable pride flags.
Starting from the top, we have:
- an asexual fan
- a fan featuring the American flag merged with the rainbow flag
- a rainbow cannabis design
- a rainbow hearts design
- a nonbinary fan
- a progress pride fan
- a demiboy fan
- a transgender fan
- a polyamorous fan
- a pansexual fan
- a queer fan
- a bisexual fan
This booth features three large flags in the back: a six-stripe Rainbow Flag, a Rainbow Mexican Flag, and a Panromantic Asexual Flag.
I discussed the panromantic asexual flag, shown below, in my article on sexual and romantic orientations.
Several interesting T-Shirts were for sale.
This booth sold colorful pride fans, flags, and parasols.
Several pride flags flew above one of the festival tents.
- A “Love is Love” flag
- A Rainbow Flag
- An Intersex-Inclusive Progress Pride Flag
- A Nonbinary Flag
- An American flag merged with a Rainbow Flag
- An Aroace Flag that has lost one of its connections to the flagpole
If you haven't already, you should watch my video of the Kansas City Pride Parade.
