Why oppose the
“Progress” flag?
Who We Are
United Against Pride Profiteering is an alliance of LGBTQI+ people who are united in opposition to pride profiteering. We are appalled by corporations pretending to support LGBTQI+ rights and equality through advertising and participation in pride events while supporting anti-LGBTQI+ politicians, policies, and by failing to have LGBTQI+ people among their leaders or board members.
We are starting our work by exposing the ugly facts behind the “Progress” flag. While we certainly understand an applaud the desire to show support for trans and LGBTQ+ people of color as these communities are under attack, the “Progress” flag’s origin and blatant profiteering off the creative work of other requires LGBTQI+ people and our allies to boycott it until its “designer” takes several compensatory actions.
Here’s an interesting Op Ed
Honor Real Heroes
Monica Helms
CREATOR OF THE TRANS PRIDE FLAG
Author, More Than Just a Flag
Never made a dime off her flag.
Lives on Social Security.
Gilbert Baker
CREATOR OF THE RAINBOW FLAG
He never profited from the use of his flag
by others. He went to court to keep the flag
from being copywrighted. He died poor.
“I am very disappointed and upset that the creator of the Progress Flag used the colors of the Trans Pride
Flag without even asking me if he
could.
I have not made money off of my flag and I live on Social Security. I hope that he will donate his flag and like everyone else has and return all the profits to our community.”
Monica Helms
“Gilbert died poor but deeply enriched. He did not profit from the rainbow flag’s use by others, ever. That wouldhave been unimaginable for him and have gone against the freedoms and expressions that we all long for collectively, sub-identity wise, and Individually. As his most poetic maxim goes, “flags are torn from the soul of the people.”
Richard Ferrara