From a purely vexillological standpoint, I agree. Way too much going on.
HOWEVER, flags aren't just about pure aesthetics. They have meaning. And this flag (or at least the one without the gold and the purple circle) has entered the mainstream consciousness. It's come to represent LGBTQA issues with the BIPOC nod included. Since it's already gotten traction for a good cause, I'm all for it.
The more symbols that are added, the more diluted the meaning becomes though as each idea competes with the others for your attention.
The most powerful symbols are simple.
There’s also the fact that some black, brown or indigenous people do not feel their struggle is on the same orthogonal plane as the LGBTQ+ struggle and that equating “black oppression” and “gay oppression” flattens their specific issues.
If you want a coalition of many forces standing in solidarity under a single banner, that banner has to be all encompassing and simple. There’s a reason Cuba or the USSR didn’t put 1,000 symbols on their flags for every minority group within. A simple red or rainbow flag is more unifying than a flag with one hundred little symbols on it.
It’s also just bad flag design and aesthetics to cram a bunch of symbols in. All the best flags are simple.
From a purely vexillological standpoint, I agree. Way too much going on.
HOWEVER, flags aren't just about pure aesthetics. They have meaning. And this flag (or at least the one without the gold and the purple circle) has entered the mainstream consciousness. It's come to represent LGBTQA issues with the BIPOC nod included. Since it's already gotten traction for a good cause, I'm all for it.
The more symbols that are added, the more diluted the meaning becomes though as each idea competes with the others for your attention.
The most powerful symbols are simple.
There’s also the fact that some black, brown or indigenous people do not feel their struggle is on the same orthogonal plane as the LGBTQ+ struggle and that equating “black oppression” and “gay oppression” flattens their specific issues.
If you want a coalition of many forces standing in solidarity under a single banner, that banner has to be all encompassing and simple. There’s a reason Cuba or the USSR didn’t put 1,000 symbols on their flags for every minority group within. A simple red or rainbow flag is more unifying than a flag with one hundred little symbols on it.