Androsexual Pride Flag

Overview

To provide a symbol for androsexual identity, which describes attraction to men or masculinity in a gender-neutral way.

The flag's original creator is unknown. It was posted by the Pride-Flags DeviantArt account on April 23, 2016. The account serves as a repository for community-submitted flag designs. ^[1]

Identity & Context

Represented Identity

androsexual

Language Context

From Greek 'andro-' (man/male). Androsexual describes attraction to men or masculinity regardless of the attracted person's own gender. The concept has deep roots in sexology. Magnus Hirschfeld used 'androphile' in the early twentieth century to classify men attracted to adult males. Psychologist Ron Langevin popularized the androphilia/gynephilia framework in the 1980s, and Freund et al. (1984) defined androphilia as 'sexual interest in physically adult males.' The modern term 'androsexual' appeared as early as 1997 in a Usenet post. Researchers such as Sam Winter have argued that Western orientation labels lack easy translations in many cultures, making the androphilia/gynephilia terminology useful cross-culturally. ^[1][2]

Creators

Attribution notes

The original creator is unknown. The flag was posted by the Pride-Flags DeviantArt account on April 23, 2016, labeled 'Masc- (1).' It is thought to share a designer with the gynesexual flag. ^[1][3]

Origin

Specific Place

DeviantArt (Pride-Flags account)

Place Type

blog

Digital Origin

true

Digital origin; no verified physical location.

Earliest known appearance: April 23, 2016, on the Pride-Flags DeviantArt account. ^[1]

Dates & Chronology

Year Created

2016

First public use

April 23, 2016

Period in Use

2016-present

Documented in community wikis and flag reference guides. ^[1][3]

A distinct 'androphilia flag' with 4 stripes (black, gray, white, green) also exists and should not be confused with this design. ^[3]

Lineage

Indirect influences

Rainbow Pride Flag

Direct children

Androromantic Pride Flag

Related flags

Abroromantic Pride Flag, Abrosexual Pride Flag, Biromantic Pride Flag, Ceteroromantic Pride Flag, Ceterosexual Pride Flag, Demiromantic Pride Flag, Demisexual Pride Flag, Gyneromantic Pride Flag, Gynesexual Pride Flag, Omniromantic Pride Flag, Panromantic Pride Flag, Polyromantic Pride Flag

Thought to share a designer with the gynesexual flag. The androromantic flag uses the same base design. ^[1]

Lineage tree

Every record reachable from this one through documented parent and child relationships: 2 records across 2 generations.

This record

Androsexual Pride Flag

Children

Androromantic Pride Flag

Colors & Symbolism

The three stripes represent attraction to men or masculinity. The androsexual/androromantic and gynesexual/gyneromantic flags form a conceptual pair. The top blue stripe references the transgender flag, while the bottom purple stripe references the genderqueer flag. Both the green and purple bottom stripes from the respective flags appear on the genderqueer pride flag. Color meanings were not specified by the original creator; community speculation connects blue/cyan to attraction to men, brown to stability, and purple to attraction regardless of gender identity. ^[1][4]

Circulating values from SVG reconstruction.

This flag has no official digital palette. Color values shown are approximate.

Color meanings were not specified by the original creator. All meanings above are community speculation and should not be treated as authoritative. ^[1]

Hex values sampled from the circulating SVG reconstruction. These are not creator-issued values. The colors are consistently described as cyan, brown, and purple. ^[1]

Design

Aspect Ratio

3:5 · standard

Orientation

horizontal

Stripe Count

3

Layout

horizontal_stripes

Stripes (Top → Bottom)

Dark Blue / Cyan, Brown / Dark Maroon, Purple / Lavender

Three equally sized horizontal stripes. The stripes are described as cyan, brown, and purple by the ask-pride-color-schemes Tumblr. ^[1]

Three equal horizontal stripes: dark blue/cyan (top), brown/dark maroon (middle), purple/lavender (bottom).

Usage & Adoption

Online Usage

Wikis and community flag guides

Current Status

active

The flag circulates in online Queer and nonbinary communities, identity wikis, and pride flag reference guides. It is particularly used by nonbinary individuals for whom terms like 'gay' or 'straight' (which are defined relative to one's own gender) do not apply.

Image Archive

Flag design

Discourse & Debates

• Whether the androsexual/gynesexual terminology framework, rooted in clinical sexology, carries unwanted medicalized connotations when adopted as community identity labels. Some users prefer the clinical neutrality, while others find it cold or inaccessible compared to community-coined terms.

Common misidentifications

• Should not be confused with the 'androphilia flag' (4 stripes: black, gray, white, green), which is a different design

Common confusions

• Androsexual and androromantic use the same base design; the distinction is between sexual and romantic attraction

Androsexual describes attraction to men or masculinity regardless of the attracted person's own gender. This distinguishes it from labels like 'gay' or 'straight,' which are defined relative to one's own gender.

Footnotes & Citations

Image Sources

Rendering

three-stripe standard

• The Androsexual Pride Flag. Blue references the transgender flag, brown represents stability, and purple references the genderqueer flag. Colors are approximated from circulating images. · SVG reconstruction