Year 9 Residential Chapel – Pride Month

of physical and mental challenges, and bonded together around the campfire, where we were treated to a number of performances from the group, proving that Roedean really has got talent!

Ms Boobis led this week's Chapel services, which marked Pride Month, focusing on the significance of flags and inclusion.

Ms Boobis: In the 1990s, Stewart Lee, one of my favourite comedians, performed a routine where he deconstructed the hymn ‘All Things Bright and Beautiful’. He pointed out that the repetition of the word ‘all’ in the hymn’s chorus makes it clear that G-d created ALL things, and that this renders the 13 specific things that are listed thereafter in the verses somewhat redundant. If G-d created all things bright and beautiful, then we can safely assume that, not only did he create a bird, he also created their tiny wings.

Sigrid: Unfortunately, inclusion isn’t always so obvious. Take the original Pride Flag, featuring horizontal stripes in rainbow colours, which debuted in 1978. The flag was designed by Gilbert Baker, after he was challenged by Harvey Milk to create a pride symbol for the LGBT community. Previously, the Pink Triangle had been used, but this retained with it the overtones of Nazi oppression, and the community wanted something more inspirational. Baker was inspired by the hippy movement in the 1960s and the lyrics of songs like ‘She’s a Rainbow’ by the Rolling Stones, which celebrates the unbridled vibrancy and freedom of the woman being described. When Harvey Milk was assassinated in November 1978, the calls for the realisation of this project became more urgent.

The colours in the flag each hold a specific meaning. Logistics of fabric dye availability and a preference for the symmetry of an even number meant that the original 8 colours went down to 6, with the remaining colours representing Life, Healing, Sunlight, Nature, Serenity, and Spirit. The message was of love, harmony, and unity, within a specifically hippyinfluenced context. In 2017, Baker added a lavender stripe to his original design to represent diversity. This was in response to the election of Donald Trump, and marked a recognition that the rainbow didn’t necessarily feel inclusive to all, even though that was what many felt it represented.

Maria: In 2017, the Philadelphia Pride Flag debuted. It added a black and brown stripe on top of the 6 colour rainbow flag to represent people of colour, who have often been erased from LGBTQ+ narratives. For example, it is only relatively recently that people have actively recognised Marsha P Johnson’s prominent role in the Stonewall uprising on 28 June 1969, the event that created the template for all Pride marches since, and the reason why June is World Pride Month.

Other versions of the Pride Flag have followed, building upon older versions to be increasingly inclusive. In the latest Pride Flag, each colour of the rainbow retains the same meaning Baker had assigned to them from the very beginning. The rainbow encapsulates all LGBTQ+ identities and sexualities.

The chevron pattern was added to represent the idea of progression or moving forward. The brown and black stripes remain from the Philadelphia Pride Flag, and reinforce the continuing aim of combating marginalisation within the community.

The blue, pink, and white stripes incorporate the flag of the transgender community – those who do not identify with the gender they were assigned at birth – who have been ignored throughout history, even within the LGBTQ+ community. The most recent addition is the intersex flag. This latest design reflects the recognition of intersex people – those whose biological sex is neither wholly male nor wholly female.

Matlida: This version of the Pride Flag is the most inclusive to date, but, of course, there are many LGBTQ+ identities that aren’t represented explicitly, such as non-binary, lesbian, and bisexual. That is why some choose to identify using their own more specific flags. In fact, there are now more than 50 different LGBTQ+ flags, representing different parts of the vibrant community.

The pride flags hold profound meaning for members of the LGBTQ+ community. No matter which flag, or flags, we choose, they are a symbol of our identities, something we can identify with, and that communicate our connections to each other. The purpose is in the name: to feel pride.