Remember this…
(This is taken/edited from a photo project I wrote for the characters in my novel where I combined the 7 deadly sins, 7 virtues, and 8 original colors of the pride flag (incorporating pink for sexual liberation in the other seven) to create something more empowering. I felt like I needed to put this out in the world rather than waiting after what happened in Orlando.)
Art was our vehicle for non-violent civil disobedience and ecclesiastical disobedience. Killing two birds with one stone. We kill ourselves over killing others and those of us who survive become stronger for enduring trials and tribulations.
As gay people we are challenged to let go of what we were taught about ourselves. When others would deem us separate from God, we have to settle it within ourselves and within our community. In America we are taught to hold until relieved. Pluralism is still the opportunity that binds us as a nation even when it divides our opinions and our views.
1. Red: Life, Lust, Chastity. We move away from the shame of our love. We are more than our outside appearances. We are more than the continued misdiagnosis that our love leads to a death sentence. In allowing our sexual liberation, we develop cultural practices and beliefs that point towards communal support and caring towards a wider social support network. We are agape.
2. Orange: Healing, Sloth, Diligence. We take the time to heal the wounds of the past and take time to escape the cruelty. Like wearing our scars in the bathroom mirror, standing bare and moving slowly towards our goals. We learn to accept the androgyny of having both good masculine and feminine traits.
3. Yellow: Sun, Gluttony, Temperance. Independence and interdependence in friendships and relationships. We are bullied to be self-restraining in love and affection. In our ability to be affectionate to men and women friends, lovers, and strangers. Yellow signifies friendship and giving flowers signifies affection. We encounter shame in showing affection in a more universal manner. But we show our affections in abundance regardless.
4. Green: Nature, Envy, Kindness. We plant peace. We work to remove hedges and barriers and try to remind others how much they revel in the beauty and diversity of nature but not in themselves. We are a part of nature and not apart from natural behaviors that others want to simplify and control.
5. Turquoise: Art, Pride, Humility. Pride is gentle, calm, and poised. There is an unlimited amount of unspoken pride in the personal expressions represented in art. Art has continued to bring religion forward and we have been some of the artists doing that. Humility stands for submission to divine grace and the strength to endure trial.
6. Indigo: Harmony, Wrath, Patience. The notion of a world continuing on in the future in spite of what others force upon the oppressed. We find our own path in life. Indigo is royal blue which represents acting above. Patience is the ability to endure suffering without getting angry. We act above the simple mindedness of cave wall shadows. We resist self-destruction and have faith that tomorrow will be better than today.
7. Violet: Spirit, Greed, Charity. We stand up to bullying, we give back to the community, and we provide encouragement and empowerment. We have developed our own ethos, ethics, and decencies. Transcendence provides us with a social and spiritual weapon for the hate speech that rains down from some high church pulpits. We are caregivers and we provided an example when our lovers, friends, and total strangers were dying from a “gay cancer”. The world became void of artistic expression and creativity. Just look at the magazines of the era and try to find the inspiring architecture, the timeless fashion, and the commentary on pop culture that was being ignored by people too busy fighting to survive.
