Leather Gay Pride Flag 3x5 Feet Discover the HIstory of the Gay Leather Flag

The Leather Pride Flag

 is a symbol of leather subculture as well as kink and fetish subcultures more broadly, including BDSM. The flag was designed by Tony DeBlase in 1989.

The Leather Pride flag was designed by Tony Deblase in Chicago, IL. DeBlase explained his decision to create the flag:

For the 20th anniversary of Stonewall, I felt that the time was right for the Leather men and women who have been participating in these same parades and events more and more visibly in recent years, to have a similar simple, elegant banner that would serve as a symbol of their own identity and interests.

DeBlase described the flag design as follows:

The flag is composed of nine horizontal stripes of equal width. From the top and from the bottom, the stripes alternate black and royal blue. The central stripe is white. In the upper left quadrant of the flag is a large red heart.

DeBlase had no specific symbolism in mind when he designed the flag. He once said, "I will leave it to the viewer to interpret the colors and symbols."

DeBlase first presented the flag at International Mr. Leather (IML) on May 28, 1989. He considered the flag to be a first draft and expected the community would suggest changes to the design. While some community members wanted a say in the final design, the majority embraced DeBlase's original design as-is. To this day, the flag has not undergone any significant revisions.

Over time the flag has been embraced as a unifying symbol for members of the leather, BDSM, and fetish communities irrespective of sexual orientation. In 2019, the Schwules Museum remarked on the flag's impact:

The Leather Pride flag is at the beginning of a long line of similar flags, marking a turning point in the history of the mostly gay leather and BDSM movements: moving away from secret signs and symbols (hanky cloths, for example) to more obvious and public visibility, both in the gay scene and society in general.