Gay Vampire Goth Wants Black Stripe Added To Rainbow Flag
Why it gotta be black?
A gay man in Lancashire, England, is campaigning to have another color added to the rainbow flag, the most widely recognized symbol of the LGBT community, the Lancashire Telegraph reports.
Darkness Vlad Tepes, who identifies as a goth, wants a black stripe added to the flag to represent the growing gay gothic community.
“Very few goths are ever seen in the gay community but when they are they are not always welcomed due to their dark gothic fashion," Tepes explains. “Gothic intent is to dress black and in black. It’s easy to see that the current colors in the gay flag don’t really represent the gothic community. With a black stripe we will be treated as equals within the gay community."
Tepes, 27, has reportedly received support from other goths across England and in America. “Gay people are already accepted within the gothic community, only we don’t have a flag,” he says.
“We wish the gay goth community well but our view is that the rainbow flag already reflects the full diversity of LGBT people," responds Nigel Evans, a Lancashire LGBT charity representative. “We do not need to add further colors to differentiate gay goths.”
Tepes previously made headlines in 2016 when requesting acceptance of his "vampire" lifestyle, which includes drinking animal blood and sleeping in a coffin.
A Pride Centre in Melbourne added black and brown stripes to its rainbow logo last summer in support of indigenous and other Australians of color. That group was inspired by Philadelphia activists who added similar stripes to their Pride flag to honor LGBT people of color.
The original rainbow flag design by the late Gilbert Baker had eight colors—including hot pink, turquoise, and indigo—before evolving into the six-stripe flag we know today.