The bisexual flag has become a familiar sight at LGBTQ pride events with its stripes of pink, purple, and blue. While it's now wide...
The bisexual flag has become a familiar sight at LGBTQ pride events with its stripes of pink, purple, and blue.
While it's now widely used, one group attempted to claim legal ownership of it on Twitter, causing all bisexual hell to break loose.
On Wednesday, a group called BiNet USA tweeted that it was the "copyright" owner of the bisexual pride flag, sparking instant fury. BiNet is a nonprofit that advocates for people who are bisexual, pansexual, fluid, or otherwise attracted to more than one gender.
Twitter
In a series of now-deleted tweets, BiNet called out retailers that used the bisexual flag and claimed that its permission was required for the design's use.
Twitter
The bisexual pride flag was created in 1998 by activist Michael Page. As many have pointed out, a now-defunct webpage created by Page said the flag is "the only bisexual symbol not patented, trademarked or service marked."
But that's not so, according to the tweets from BiNet.
The account provided no proof of its claim. Simple geometric designs, like the bisexual pride flag, are generally not eligible for copyright protection. BuzzFeed News was also unable to locate the flag in a database of US trademarks, although registering in that database is voluntary.
BiNet has since deleted its Twitter account and has not replied to requests for comment. BuzzFeed News has also reached out to BiNet's president, Faith Cheltenham, but did not receive a response.
Cheltenham did post on BiNet's Facebook group saying there's been a lot of "misinformation" and that their intention is to address those making a profit with giving back. "If you’re selling stuff, are you giving back to community and how? Where do we see it?" she wrote.
The tweets sent shockwaves through the bisexual community, who have longed used the flag as a point of pride and community building. The reaction was swift and angry.
embarrassing for a bisexual advocacy group to demand that indie creators remove the bi flag from their work - legitimacy of copyright claim might still be in dispute but at the end of the day @binetusa is attacking artists, threatening small businesses, and being greedy
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This flag. The pink. The purple. The blue. These colours come together to make the Bi flag. This flag is YOUR flag. It is OUR flag. And no one, and I mean NO ONE, can take it away from us. EVER! #OurBiFlag
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@BiNetUSA claim they own the copyright for the bi flag... Let's show them who it really belongs to :)
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One of the people most shocked by the tweets was Jayne B. Shea, the person mentioned at the start of BiNet's Twitter thread.
Twitter
Shea is an author and advocate who runs a website that sells bisexual-themed merchandise. What she finds most bizarre is that, as a small business owner and community member, she was targeted first.
"It was just so strange and shocking because the first tweet had my handle in it, before people like Target," she told BuzzFeed News. "They seem to believe that I’m making a lot of money off of this."
She said her online store is just a side business and the money it makes goes toward buying booths at pride events to promote the bisexual community.
via Jayne B. Shea
"When I first started going to Pride, I was the only bi booth there," she said. "Over the years I’ve been doing this, I’ve seen the bi community have more visibility and representation."
She said BiNet had sent her a message on Facebook prior to the tweets asking for her legal name and address. She did not respond and has received no other formal communication from BiNet, such as a cease-and-desist letter. But it was all enough to shock her and make her worry about her business.
"I was shell-shocked. I was sobbing on my couch," she said. "It was a really scary few hours because I didn’t know if all the work that I’ve done was over. I thought that that was gone."
However, the community has rallied around her.
People like @JayneBShea are NOT exploiting our community for profit.
1- They are part of our community, first of all.
2- The items they sell allow the rest of us to be visible and be proud.
See Rowan Shaw 
's other Tweets
's other Tweets
She said the messages of support have helped her through this "bizarre" time.
What a day...
Thanks to everyone who has spoken out to support me and all of the other small, independent creators, artists, and advocates in our community.
I am beyond shocked, hurt, and extremely disappointed that as a bisexual activist, I was targeted in this way.
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It's unclear whether the tweets from the BiNet account were supported by any other members of its board. One member, Lauren Beach, tweeted that the organization's president was behind the tweets and that a statement is forthcoming.
She also tweeted about BiNet's long history of advocating for the community.
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Another member, Ron Suresha, tweeted that the board would be convening on Thursday.
I’m reserving comments about the bisexual pride flag until a BiNet board meeting that is to be convened today.
See Ron Jackson Suresha's other Tweets
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