Akoisexual / Lithsexual Pride Flag (2014)
Identity Pride Flag ·
A pride flag for the akoisexual / lithsexual identity, the experience of sexual attraction that fades when reciprocated, or of not wanting it reciprocated. Tumblr user TheJasmineElf posted it on April 17, 2014, as "my official proposal for a lithromantic and lithsexual flag": one design explicitly serving both the sexual and romantic identities, with creator-published colors and meanings. [1] The lith prefix was challenged as appropriating the stone butch tradition, and cloud (Tumblr user cisphobeofficial) proposed the akoine alternative in May 2014, which the community shortened to akoi, a rename TheJasmineElf welcomed; the essay "On Lith and Stone" by queercaptainflint, who claims coinage of the lith term, defended it days later. [2][3] Both terms remain in use.
Key facts
- Designer
- TheJasmineElf (Tumblr)
- Created
- First documented public use
- In use
- 2014 to present
- Aspect Ratio
- 3:5 · standard
- Stripes
- 5
- Represented Identity
- akoisexual / lithsexual
Also known as
- Lithsexual Flag
- Akoisexual Flag
- Akoinesexual Flag
- Lith Flag (sexual)
- Akoi Flag (sexual)
- Lithosexual Flag
- Akiosexual Flag
Status Canonical Contested
Archive categories Sexual & Romantic Orientation Pride Flags
Overview
To provide a visual symbol for the akoisexual / lithsexual experience as part of the asexual spectrum, shared with the romantic counterpart by the designer's own framing. [1]
The flag emerged from the Tumblr a-spec micro-label community of 2014. TheJasmineElf's April 17, 2014 post proposed one flag for both the lithromantic and lithsexual identities, chosen from an earlier round of designs by community response, and asked readers to "boost it so more people can see it and have input." [1] This entry documents the sexual identity; the romantic identity is a sibling entry sharing the same origin post.
Identity & Context
- Represented Identity
- akoisexual / lithsexual
- Subcommunity
- asexual spectrum
Creators
The Creator
TheJasmineElf
Designer
TheJasmineElf is the Tumblr handle of the flag's designer; the blog, titled genderweird, has since been deleted, and no further biographical information has been documented. The designer engaged with the community renaming debate: when cloud (cisphobeofficial) proposed the akoi / akoine prefix in May 2014, TheJasmineElf replied "thanks Cloud! <3 I like it". [1][2]
So here is my official proposal for a lithromantic and lithsexual flag!
From the April 17, 2014 post.
I actually got quite a few messages from lith people (this was a big surprise after the awkward silence) and it looks like this is the most loved!
Same post, on the response to an earlier design round.
If you like this flag, please boost it so more people can see it and have input. If you aren't lith, I'd still appreciate boosting!
Same post.
Motivations
- To give the lithromantic and lithsexual identities a shared visual symbol, refined from an earlier proposal round by community feedback. [1]
Stated inspirations
Attribution notes
TheJasmineElf posted the flag on April 17, 2014, at 20:04 UTC as "my official proposal for a lithromantic and lithsexual flag": a single design explicitly offered to both the sexual and romantic identities. The original blog has since been deleted, but the post survives in full in a same-day reblog by cisphobeofficial, which preserves the text, the artwork, and the exact timestamp. [1] The design predates this post: it reports that an earlier design post had met "the awkward silence" before "quite a few messages from lith people" identified this version as "the most loved"; that earlier post has not been located. [1]
Origin
- Digital Origin
- Yes
No verified physical origin location. Without a confirmed location, Indigenous land context cannot be attributed.
Originated on Tumblr in mid-2014 within the broader a-spec micro-label community. Specific physical origin not documented.
Dates & Chronology
- Year Created
- First public use
- Period in Use
- 2014 to present
Both terms (lithsexual and akoisexual) remain in active use. The flag circulates primarily in a-spec wiki guides and Tumblr communities. [4][5]
The naming dispute is shared with the romantic counterpart. The lith prefix, from the Greek lithos ("stone"), was challenged as appropriating the stone butch tradition: asked to explain, cloud (cisphobeofficial) wrote that "lith translates to stone and thus references the stone butch identity that is specific to lesbian/MAS women." [6] On May 19, 2014 (May 18 in United States time zones), cloud proposed the alternative: "how about something with koine in it? it translates to common/shared/relationship so akoinesexual/romantic?" TheJasmineElf replied "thanks Cloud! <3 I like it". [2]
On May 22, 2014, Tumblr user queercaptainflint posted the essay "On Lith and Stone" defending the prefix, writing "I am the one who coined the term. My partner is lithromantic and we needed a word for it," and arguing that Stone "as a personal identity comes primarily from nonbinary transmasculine people" and "belongs to all queers." Cor (epochryphal, co/coself) reblogged the essay on May 27 with an addendum urging explicit inclusion of nonbinary CAFAB people who are not transmasculine. [3] No consensus has emerged; both prefixes remain in use.
Lineage
The sexual counterpart of the lithromantic / akoiromantic flag. Both flags emerged from the same 2014 Tumblr a-spec micro-label cluster. Some sources treat them as a single shared flag; this database separates them to distinguish the sexual and romantic identities.
Colors & Symbolism
The flag marks the experience of feeling sexual attraction without wanting it reciprocated, or of losing sexual attraction when it is reciprocated. The stripe meanings are the creator's own, published with the design. [1]
| Colour | Hex | Meaning | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Red | #F14952 | Community. In the creator's words, red "is traditionally a color of leadership, life, and sensitivity." [1] | Creator-published in the April 17, 2014 post; matches the artwork. [1] |
| Orange | #FF9E5E | Lith-ness, "as it does on a version of the aro flag." [1] | Creator-published in the April 17, 2014 post; matches the artwork. [1] |
| Yellow | #FFF546 | "Our varied relationships," with yellow traditionally representing "friendship, loyalty, and honor." [1] | Measured from the designer's artwork. The post text misprints yellow as #FF9E5E, the orange value. [1] |
| White | #FFFFFF | Romanticism and sexuality. [1] | Creator-published. [1] |
| Near-black | #2D2D2D | Aromanticism and asexuality. [1] | Creator-published as #2D2D2D (called "Black" in the text); the artwork measures #2A2A2A. [1] |
The meanings are quoted from TheJasmineElf's April 17, 2014 post, which published a hex value with each stripe. One value is misprinted in the original text: yellow is given the orange hex #FF9E5E, while the artwork itself measures #FFF546. The near-black stripe is called "Black" in the text but specified #2D2D2D. [1]
The palette is creator-published: TheJasmineElf's post gives a hex value per stripe. The post text misprints the yellow value (repeating orange's #FF9E5E); the artwork measures #FFF546, which is the value circulating in later guides. The near-black is stated #2D2D2D and measures #2A2A2A in the artwork. [1]
Design
- Aspect Ratio
- 3:5 · standard
- Orientation
- horizontal
- Stripe Count
- 5
- Layout
- horizontal_stripes
- Stripes (Top → Bottom)
- Red, Orange, Yellow, White, Near-black
Five horizontal stripes of equal height: red, orange, yellow, white, near-black. The designer's own artwork file is 500 by 300 pixels, exactly 3:5, with equal fifths. [1] The date recorded for this flag is the date of its designer's proposal write-up. The design itself is older: the post presents it as the version people had already responded to.
Five equal horizontal stripes, no symbols. Proportion 3:5 measured from the designer's original file.
A five-stripe horizontal pride flag proposed for the lithromantic and lithsexual identities together. From top to bottom: red (#F14952), orange (#FF9E5E), yellow (#FFF546 in the artwork; misprinted as #FF9E5E in the post text), white (#FFFFFF), and near-black (#2D2D2D stated; #2A2A2A measured). The meanings are the creator's: red for community, orange for lith-ness, yellow for varied relationships, white for romanticism and sexuality, near-black for aromanticism and asexuality. [1]
Usage & Adoption
- Online Usage
- Reproduced in a-spec pride flag guides on the MOGAI Wiki, Pride Flag Wiki, and LGBTQIA+ Wiki. Circulates primarily in Tumblr a-spec communities and wiki-based flag reference guides. [4][5], Catalogued with its stripe meanings by Pride Color Schemes in June 2016. [7] The Pride-Flags deviation titled "Akoisexual / Lithsexual", published 27 September 2015, carries a different five-band design in red, purple, white, grey and near-black, not this flag. [8]
- Current Status
- active
Both terms (lithsexual and akoisexual) remain in active community use. The flag is less widely circulated than its romantic counterpart but appears consistently in a-spec wiki compilations. [4][5]
Image Archive
Original artwork
Original release material
In-text images
Discourse & Debates
- Whether to use the lith prefix or the akoi prefix as the standard term. No community consensus exists; the flag's designer accepted the akoi proposal, while the prefix's coiner defended lith. The debate is shared with the romantic counterpart. [2][3]
- Whether the sexual and romantic identities share one flag or have two. The designer proposed a single flag for both; later guides sometimes present them separately. [1]
Common misidentifications
- Akoisexual / lithsexual is sometimes confused with the romantic counterpart (akoiromantic / lithromantic). The sexual version describes fading or unwanted sexual attraction; the romantic version describes fading or unwanted romantic attraction. The two identities can co-occur but are distinct.
- Sometimes confused with apothisexual (sex-repulsed asexuality), which is a separate identity.
Criticisms
- The lith prefix has been challenged on appropriation grounds: that lithos ("stone") invokes the stone butch tradition originating with butch lesbians and transmasculine people. Asked to explain, cloud (cisphobeofficial) wrote that "lith translates to stone and thus references the stone butch identity that is specific to lesbian/MAS women," later adding a link had persuaded them "it is indeed 100% appropriative." cloud proposed akoine on 19 May 2014, and accepted the shortened akoi the following day, reasoning it was "better to have a term that's unarguably non-appropriative" and that "lithromantic" literally reads as "romantically attracted to stones." TheJasmineElf welcomed the rename. queercaptainflint's May 22 essay "On Lith and Stone" defended the prefix from a firsthand position: "I am the one who coined the term. My partner is lithromantic and we needed a word for it." [2][6][3]
Two separate coinages, not one word with two spellings. Lith- was coined by the Tumblr user queercaptainflint, who wrote on 22 May 2014: "I am the one who coined the term. My partner is lithromantic and we needed a word for it. I'm not lithromantic myself; I'm quoiromantic. I am lithsexual, although figuring that out is a relatively recent thing." [3] Akoine- was proposed three days earlier, on 19 May 2014, by cloud (Tumblr user cisphobeofficial), after objections that lith- borrowed from the stone butch identity: "so, since lith is (potentially?) appropriative of lesbian and MAS women, how about something with koine in it? it translates to common/shared/relationship so akoinesexual/romantic?" [2] The shortened akoi- was a community form, not the coiner's; asked which was correct the next day, cloud answered "Akoine is what i originally came up with, but akoi seems to be more popular and it does roll off the tongue better for me too, so i'm just going to go with whichever one ends up catching on". [9]
Two further spellings circulate and neither is a coiner's. Akio- is a transposition of akoi-; its earliest located appearance is a widely reblogged explainer of 9 October 2014 which states the history correctly and the letters wrongly. [10] Litho- appears from 2015 and is now used as a headword by some reference works. Readers arriving by either spelling are in the right place; the forms used here are the ones the coiners used.
Footnotes & Citations
Sources and footnotes 10 sources
- 1. Social media NEW FLAG PROPOSAL: lithromantic and lithsexual flag (cisphobeofficial reblog of thejasmineelf-blog, post 83021608483). TheJasmineElf. Tumblr (2014-04-17). Accessed 2026-08-14
- 2. Social media akoinesexual / akoineromantic proposal and reply thread. cisphobeofficial (cloud). Tumblr (2014-05-19). Accessed 2026-08-14
- 3. Social media On Lith and Stone (epochryphal reblog of queercaptainflint, post 86509983303). queercaptainflint. Tumblr (2014-05-22). Accessed 2026-08-14
- 4. Akoisexual. MOGAI Wiki (Miraheze). Accessed 2026-04-26
- 5. Lithsexual Flag. Pride Flag Wiki (Fandom). Accessed 2026-04-26
- 6. Social media Ask thread on lith and stone butch appropriation. cisphobeofficial (cloud). Tumblr (2014-05-19). Accessed 2026-08-14
- 7. Social media Akoi- Akoine- Lith- Akoin-. Pride Color Schemes. Tumblr (2016-06-26). Accessed 2026-08-14
A community catalogue of 26 June 2016 listing four separate designs under one heading. It credits this five-stripe flag to thejasmineelf and records the same stripe meanings the designer published in 2014, which makes it independent corroboration of the recovered post rather than its source. It also documents a four-stripe thejasmineelf design in white, yellow, orange and purple with a black triangle over the hoist quarter, which this archive does not otherwise cover.
- 8. Image file page Akoisexual / Lithsexual. Pride-Flags. DeviantArt (2015-09-27). Accessed 2026-08-14
Published under the akoisexual and lithsexual names but showing a different design: five bands in red, purple, white, grey and near-black, measuring #F04951, #C773FF, #FFFFFF, #959595 and #010101.
- 9. Social media Is it Akoisexual/romantic or Akoinesexual/romantic?. Tumblr (2014-05-20). Accessed 2026-08-16
The coiner asked directly which spelling is correct, and answering.
- 10. Social media On autochorissexualism, akiosexuality and lesser-known gray-ace identities. Tumblr (2014-10-09). Accessed 2026-08-16
The earliest located use of the akio- spelling, in a widely reblogged explainer that states the term's history correctly.
Image Sources
- Rendering
- 2014 original by TheJasmineElf
- The designer's original artwork from the April 17, 2014 proposal post, 500 by 300 pixels. One flag was proposed for both the lithromantic and lithsexual identities. [1] · Credit: TheJasmineElf · Tumblr (cisphobeofficial reblog)
- The "LITH PRIDE" sidebar button TheJasmineElf offered with the flag, "styled after the ones at mypridebuttons." [1] · Credit: TheJasmineElf · Tumblr (cisphobeofficial reblog)