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| International Bear Brotherhood Flag | |
| Proportion | 3:5 |
|---|---|
| Adopted | 1995; 31 years ago (1995) |
| Design | Field of seven equally sized horizontal stripes: dark brown, orange/rust, golden yellow, tan, white, gray, and black; with a bear paw print in the canton |
| Designed by | Craig Byrnes |
| Part of theLGBTQ series |
| LGBTQ symbols |
|---|
| Symbols |
| Pride flags |
TheInternational Bear Brotherhood Flag, also known as thebear flag or thebear pride flag, is apride flag designed to represent thebear subculture within theLGBTQIA+ community. The colors of the flag symbolize species ofanimal bears throughout the world: dark brown, orange/rust, golden yellow, tan, white, gray, and black.[1] Though not necessarily referring tohuman skin color orhair color, the flag was designed with inclusion in mind.[2] The bear culture celebratessecondary sex characteristics such as growth ofbody hair andfacial hair, traits associated with bears.[3]
Craig Byrnes created the bear flag inWashington, D.C. in 1995.[4] Byrnes' undergraduate degree inpsychology involved designing a senior project about the bear culture that has exploded since the early 1980s, of which he had firsthand experience. He thought it might be fitting to design a flag that would best represent the bear community and include it with the results of his research. To do this, he received help from another influential member of the bear cultural community. Four variations weresewing machine-constructed and Byrnes won approval to display the four 3-by-5-foot (0.9 m × 1.5 m) prototype flags at theChesapeake Bay "Bears of Summer" events in July 1995.
The winning design (a version created by Paul Witzkoske)[5] is a field of simple horizontal stripes with a paw print in the upper left corner — a layout similar to theleather pride flag. The colors represent the furs of different bear species throughout the world as a sign of inclusivity.[2] The flag istrademarked.[6]
An International Bear Pridetartan was registered with theScottish Register of Tartans in 2015. It is based on the colors of the bear flag.[7]
