"Fuck Around and Find Out" Trans Pride Flag

Overview

To express trans defiance and resistance in the face of escalating political hostility. The design combines the Gadsden tradition's 'don't tread on me' sentiment with explicit trans pride colors and combative language.

The design concept draws on two cultural contexts: the broader pattern of Gadsden flag parody and reclamation within LGBTQ+ communities (which dates to the 1990s via Queer Nation's Street Patrol), and the specific 2020s moment of trans self-defense discourse responding to escalating anti-trans legislation across U.S. states. The 'FAFO' slogan, originally associated with biker culture and later adopted across the political spectrum, was reclaimed by trans communities as a defiance statement. ^[1][2]

Identity & Context

Represented Identity

Transgender community

Subcommunity

Trans self-defense and protest culture

Movement

Trans rights, trans self-defense, LGBTQ+ resistance

National Context

United States (primarily)

The design reflects a specific political moment in American trans politics, the anti-trans legislative wave of the 2020s and the concurrent rise of trans self-defense discourse. The 'FAFO' slogan carries a specific defiance posture that resonates with communities facing legislative and social hostility.

Creators

Attribution notes

No single creator has been identified. The trans FAFO gator design evolved from meme culture, with multiple artists independently producing versions. The core concept (a trans-colored alligator with the phrase 'Fuck Around and Find Out') circulates as a grassroots meme without a traceable original author. Independent versions have been produced by kimardt (Redbubble), NovaWilde (DeviantArt), Gemmed Firefly (flag vendor), and others. ^[3][4][5]

Origin

Country

United States

Place Type

online / print-on-demand platforms

Digital Origin

true

Digital-origin flag. Creator or earliest documentation associated with the United States, but no specific physical site of creation has been verified. Without a confirmed location, Indigenous land context cannot be responsibly attributed.

The design emerged from the intersection of Gadsden flag parody culture and trans self-defense discourse in the early 2020s. It exists primarily as a print-on-demand and merch-ecosystem design, though physical flags are manufactured and sold by multiple vendors. ^[3][4][5]

Dates & Chronology

Period in Use

~2020–present

The design circulates primarily through print-on-demand platforms (Redbubble, Etsy) and independent flag vendors (Gemmed Firefly, Gators Daily, Amazon). Physical flags are manufactured in multiple sizes. Academic documentation exists: the Harvard Ash Center's Crowd Counting Consortium recorded at least one instance of a 'Trans Pride flag with a picture of an alligator above the slogan Fuck around and find out' at 2023 Trans Day of Visibility events, which drew nearly 180 events across 155 cities in 49 U.S. states. ^[1]

The ADL's Center on Extremism maintains an entry on 'Fuck Around and Find Out (FAFO)' noting its cross-political adoption. While far-right groups (including the Proud Boys) adopted the slogan, progressive and LGBTQ+ communities independently reclaimed it. The trans FAFO design exists alongside rainbow, bisexual, nonbinary, and other identity-specific FAFO variants produced by the same vendor ecosystem. ^[2]

Lineage

Direct predecessors

Transgender Pride Flag

Related flags

Nonbinary Trans Flag, Rabies Pride, Rainbow Gadsden Flag, Transfeminine Pride Flag, Transmasculine Pride Flag, Transneutral Alternate Flag (2016), Transneutral Pride Flag

Sibling flags

Chicago Trans Pride Flag, Nonbinary Trans Flag, Progress Pride Flag, Transfeminine Pride Flag, Transmasculine Pride Flag, Transneutral Pride Flag

Part of the broader LGBTQ+ Gadsden flag parody family. Uses the trans pride flag's color palette (blue, pink, white) applied to the alligator motif. The design shares themes with the rabies pride flag, Both draw on trans defiance and the reclaiming of aggressive imagery as a form of community self-defense. The Gadsden parody tradition within LGBTQ+ communities dates to the 1990s (Queer Nation's Street Patrol logo) and was reinvigorated by the rainbow Gadsden flag's commercial availability from ~2012 onward.

Lineage tree

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

Ancestor

Transgender Pride Flag

This record

"Fuck Around and Find Out" Trans Pride Flag

Colors & Symbolism

A trans pride protest design expressing defiance and self-defense. The alligator replaces the Gadsden rattlesnake as a more aggressive, combative animal, rendered in trans pride colors (light blue, pink, white). The 'FUCK AROUND AND FIND OUT' text replaces 'DON'T TREAD ON ME,' using more directly confrontational language. The yellow background references the original Gadsden flag.

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

Alligator/gator in trans pride colors

Trans identity combined with fierce self-defense, the alligator is depicted as aggressive and ready to strike, rendered in the trans flag's light blue, pink, and white

Yellow background

Direct reference to the Gadsden flag's yellow field

Snake being eaten/defeated by the gator

In some versions, the gator is depicted devouring or fighting a Gadsden-style snake, symbolizing the defeat of the 'don't tread on me' libertarian/conservative tradition by Queer resistance

'FUCK AROUND AND FIND OUT' text

A warning and defiance statement, reclaimed from biker and far-right culture for trans self-defense

No single authoritative meaning statement exists because the design is a grassroots meme with multiple independent creators. The meanings above are synthesized from product descriptions, community discourse, and academic documentation.

Multiple independent versions of the trans FAFO design exist by different creators. The core palette uses the standard transgender pride flag hex values (light blue #5BCEFA, pink #F5A9B8, white #FFFFFF) for the alligator, with a yellow field (#FFD800) inherited from the Gadsden flag tradition. Specific hex values vary by version since the design exists as a meme rather than a single specification.

Design

Aspect Ratio

3:5 · standard

Orientation

horizontal

Layout

emblem_on_field

Center Symbol

Alligator/gator in trans pride colors (light blue body, pink belly, white teeth/details)

Additional Symbols

Dark foliage/grass beneath the gator, 'FUCK AROUND AND FIND OUT' text in dark serif/sans-serif lettering at bottom, In some versions, a snake being consumed by the gator

A yellow field bearing a large alligator rendered in trans pride colors, light blue on the back and limbs, pink on the belly and underbody, with white teeth and details. The gator is depicted in a coiled, aggressive posture on dark green foliage, in some versions devouring or fighting a small snake. Below the gator, dark text reads 'FUCK AROUND AND FIND OUT' in a serif or block-letter typeface. The design follows the Gadsden flag's basic layout: a central animal motif on a solid-color field with text below. The design includes detailed illustration work (the alligator is a complex, multi-colored drawing, not a simple geometric form). Exact reproduction requires the original illustration files, which vary by creator.

Usage & Adoption

Geographic Usage

United States (primarily)

Online Usage

Redbubble, Etsy, Amazon, DeviantArt, Social media (X/Twitter, Tumblr)

Event Usage

2023 Trans Day of Visibility events (documented by Harvard Ash Center Crowd Counting Consortium)

Current Status

active

The design circulates through the print-on-demand ecosystem and has been documented at protest events. It is not adopted by any organization as an official symbol. Physical flags are manufactured by Gemmed Firefly (in original and 2024 updated versions, multiple sizes), Gators Daily, and Amazon/eBay generic sellers. ^[4][5][1]

Image Archive

One of several circulating versions

Discourse & Debates

• Whether 'FAFO' imagery promotes a productive self-defense posture or feeds into narratives that characterize trans people as threatening
• The broader debate about armed vs. nonviolent trans self-defense in the 2020s

Common confusions

• Multiple independent versions exist by different creators, no single 'official' FAFO trans flag design
• Sometimes confused with the rainbow Gadsden flag, which is a separate design with a different history

The design is part of a broader FAFO + pride design family. Rainbow, bisexual, nonbinary, genderfluid, aromantic, and other identity-specific versions exist from various creators. The trans version with the alligator is the most widely circulated variant.

Footnotes & Citations

Image Sources

• Kim Bernhardt via Redbubble · verified
• Community-circulated rendering of the FAFO trans pride flag. The trans-colored alligator replaces the Gadsden rattlesnake. Multiple independent renderings exist. · Community reference image
• A second circulating rendering, with minor differences in alligator drawing and lettering. The visual variation reflects the flag's distributed authorship. · Community reference image
• A third circulating rendering. No single 'official' version exists. The iconography is held in common across community reproductions. · Community reference image