Gay Man is a term used to describe men or man-aligned individuals who are attracted to men and/or man-aligned individuals. They are also sometimes simply referred to as "gay," however, that term has evolved into a more general term to describe same-gender attraction as a whole. Another term used is "homosexual male."[1]
Flags & Symbols
Gay men are often represented with the rainbow flag, however, as the flag became more indicative of the entire LGBTQ+ community, there has been more focus for gay men to have a flag of their own.[1]
The most common flag was created by Tumblr user gayflagboy in 2019. The turquoise to green represent community, healing and joy. The white represents gender non-conforming gay men, non-binary gay men and transgender gay men. The blue to purple represent pure love, fortitude and diversity. The creator of said flag was accused of stealing from the sunset lesbian flag and of being transphobic, but those claims have been debunked.[2]
Another gay man flag was created by Tumblr user gendertranny-starscream through a submission to Ask-Pride-Color-Schemes. It was created by inverting the colors of the pink lesbian flag.[3]
Subterms
| Label | Flag | Description | Coiner |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bear |  [4]
|
A term used to describe a queer man who is masculine and hairy, also usually heavy-set. | Craig Byrnes[4] |
| Otter |  [5]
|
A term used to describe a queer man who is lean and hairy, sometimes seen as being between bear and twink. | toadhops[5] |
| Twink |  [6]
|
A term used to describe a lean and more feminine queer man. | kaisuteknon[6] |
Sources
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 “Reddit - the Heart of the Internet.” Reddit.com, 2022, www.reddit.com/r/AskLGBT/comments/zh61xa/is_there_a_term_for_gay_men/. Accessed 22 Feb. 2026.
- ↑ Heckin’ Unicorn. “What Is the Gay Men Pride Flag and What Does It Mean?” Heckin’ Unicorn, Heckin’ Unicorn, 16 Sept. 2021, heckinunicorn.com/blogs/heckin-unicorn-blog/what-is-the-gay-men-pride-flag-and-what-does-it-mean. Accessed 22 Feb. 2026.
- ↑ ask-pride-color-schemes. “Ask Pride-Color-Schemes.” Tumblr, 3 Sept. 2017, ask-pride-color-schemes.tumblr.com/post/164946847169/i-also-made-a-gay-man-flag-by-inverting-the. Accessed 22 Feb. 2026.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Heckin’ Unicorn. “What Is the Bear Brotherhood Pride Flag and What Does It Mean?” Heckin’ Unicorn, Heckin’ Unicorn, 16 Sept. 2021, heckinunicorn.com/blogs/heckin-unicorn-blog/what-is-the-bear-brotherhood-pride-flag-and-what-does-it-mean. Accessed 22 Feb. 2026.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 toadhops. “Flag - Otter Pride by Toadhops on DeviantArt.” Deviantart.com, DeviantArt, 5 June 2018, www.deviantart.com/toadhops/art/Flag-Otter-Pride-748382884. Accessed 8 Mar. 2026.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Wikipedia Contributors. “File:Twinkprideflag.jpg.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 5 June 2009, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Twinkprideflag.jpg.
