Definition: A label for those who are a lesbian in the way that a tomato is a fruit. The label fits and is comfortable, but at the same time they have a different connection to using the lesbian label than the way that most lesbians do.
This is just my take on the flag! I loved the definition when I saw it, but I have an affinity for 7-stripe flags. No idea why, they’re just neat. Figured it’d be cool to give a slight spin on it. It’s pretty much the same as the original, just with more stripes and one version with a tomato symbol. I did not coin this term, I only made this flag for it.
Coined by infinitys.hoard on Instagram [link] (@galaxys-hoard on tumblr).
Image ID: The first image is a flag with seven even horizonal stripes. From top to bottom, the colors are orange, light orange, pastel orange, white, pink, light red, red. In the center of the flag is a vector image of a red tomato with a small green leafy stem on top. The second flag is the exact same thing without the tomato logo. End ID
there are many, many things wrong with queer discourse- it’s ahistorical, revisionist, pointless, very often racist (specifically anti-Black), completely English-centered, etc. etc. and all of those are things that absolutely are important and should be discussed more.
but one thing I’ve never seen mentioned or really discussed at all is how completely cissexist it is. the whole idea that ‘dyke’ is only ever associated with lesbian identity ignores how it is very commonly also aimed at trans people who were AFAB or CAFAB. the whole idea that ‘fag’ is only ever associated with gay men ignores all the AMAB/CAMAB trans people who have had that word thrown at them all their lives.
transmasculinity is very often the target of lesbophobia. lesbophobia is centered on misogynistic ideals of defining womanhood around perfect gender conformity performed for cis men. the same queerphobes who view lesbians as deviating from womanhood, view trans men, transmascs, and nonbinary people who were AFAB as women who are “wrong”. A bigot doesn’t know the difference between a butch and a trans man who doesn’t pass as cis. all they see is a deviance from the ideal of womanhood. sexuality and gender are inherently linked in normative definitions of the two- a cis lesbian often has similar experiences to a trans man. they are not the same, but the world sees them the same.
trans women who don’t pass as cis are very often perceived as gay men. the world views trans femmes the same way they view gay men: as “perversions” of manhood. Gay manhood is viewed as inherently less “manly”, and trans women are viewed as just “men in dresses” and there are links between these strains of queerphobia for a reason- because yet again, bigots don’t care how you personally identify- if they see a trans woman who doesn’t pass as cis, they will judge her the same way they judge a feminine gay man, and will use the same word, fag, to describe her.
the other day, I saw someone say “when has a femme woman ever been called fag?” because they genuinely didn’t believe femme women could say ‘fag’, and while that’s not true even for cis women, I saw that and just had to really sit back because as well meaning as this person was, it was clear trans people never even crossed their mind. trans femmes get called fag all the time. transmascs get called dyke all the time. that’s why this whole discourse over who can and can’t say fag or dyke within the queer community is always painfully cisnormative. trans identity is not some separate entity from gay identity. yeah, gay men both cis and trans can be lesbiphobic, gay women both cis and trans can hold prejudice against gay men, and cis queer people can be transphobic. but we all have much more in common than we think and it’s really time more people started acknowledging that.
and of course as always, race plays a pivotal part in this but I am not qualified to speak on that but I welcome additions from POC on how race plays a factor in this discussion.