Hannah Beazley, Western Australia’s Minister for Local Government, Disability Services, Veterans, Volunteering, Youth and the Gascoyne, has been a vocal supporter of the state’s LGBTQIA+ community. She has regularly attended events, spoken out against attacks on community members and publicly backed greater inclusion.
But when it came to this year’s Bisexual Visibility Day, the minister and her team appear to have got their flags mixed up.
While the bisexual flag is pink, purple and blue, Beazley shared artwork featuring imagery associated with the transgender flag, which is light blue, pink and white.
“It says bi visibility but there’s trans stars on the image?” one follower questioned on social media.
Perhaps the minister was embracing the intersectionality of it all. After all, a person can be both bisexual and transgender. Or perhaps it’s time to pick up one of those handy lanyards WAAC hands out at Fairday, complete with a guide to the ever-growing collection of community flags.
The post prompted some online discussion about the distinction between the two flags.
The bisexual flag was created by activist Michael Page in 1998. It features three horizontal stripes: pink (40 per cent) representing same-gender attraction, purple (20 per cent) representing attraction to more than one gender, and blue (40 per cent) representing attraction to different-gender attraction.
The transgender flag, created by Monica Helms in 1999, features five horizontal stripes in light blue, pink and white. The colours symbolise traditional gender-associated colours, as well as people who are transitioning, intersex, or identify outside the gender binary.
For a minister with responsibility for Disability Services and a strong record of support for LGBTQIA+ communities, it’s the sort of mistake unlikely to cause any lasting controversy. Still, on a day dedicated to bisexual visibility, some community members might reasonably expect the right flag to get a run.
Know your flags? Can pick out which ones represent gender and sexuality, and which ones are countries?
OUTinPerth contacted the Minister’s Office for comment.
