Questioning is a term used to describe individuals who are in the process of discovering, or are exploring their orientation, gender identity, gender expression, or any other aspect of their identity.[1] This can be a transitory, periodic, or ongoing experience for an individual.[2]
There is no wrong time to start exploring one's identity. While some individuals are certain about their identity from a young age, some don't start questioning until older adulthood.[3]
Flags & Symbols
The most popular questioning flag was created by Roblox user SwocksOne in 2020. The flag contains a large question mark in the center to represent that one is questioning their identity.[4]
Another questioning flag was designed by Tumblr user Protego-Et-Servio on June 17, 2016. The magenta was chosen because pink and purple are often representative of sexuality in other pride flags, the white represents a vast amount of possibilities, the teal was chosen because the creator has never seen it in another pride flag and felt it could help differentiate questioning from other identities, and the black represents being on the aromantic and/or asexual spectrums.[5]
A gender questioning flag was created by an individual named Roswell in 2017. The colors were chosen from other pride flags. The pink and blue at the opposite ends of the flag symbolize the gender binary, with their darker and lighter shades representing the gender spectrum. The yellow and green represent genders that are not man or woman, nor anything in-between. The gray represents questioning, placed in the middle to represent a literal gray area between identities.[4][6]
Another gender questioning flag was created by DeviantArt user Okay-Google on September 26, 2021. The pink represents femininity, yellow represents being non-binary, green represents being agender, blue represents masculinity, and purple represents being genderqueer.[7]
A gender and sexuality flag was created by Reddit user Seriusli onn February 22, 2024. The turquoise represents confusion, the pastel yellow represents discovery, the orange represents exploration and the coral represents acceptance.[8]
Another gender questioning flag was created by Reddit user BillNyeTheGuy24 on June 17, 2021. The grey represents the validity of questioning, the black represents racial diversity, the yellow represents the non-binary community, the pink represents being feminine or a woman, the blue represents being masculine or a man, and the white represents the transgender community.[9]
Community
Statistics
A pair of studies done by Elizabeth M. Morgan were done to research how many individuals have questioned their orientation at some point in their lives. In the first study, 53% of straight men and all of the queer men involved stated that they have questioned their sexuality at some point. The second study concluded similar findings among straight and queer women.[2]
Sources
- ↑ PFLAG. “PFLAG: About the Q.” PFLAG, pflag.org/resource/about-the-q/.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Wahl, David W. “The Other “Q”: Questioning One’s Gender or Sexual Orientation | Psychology Today.” Www.psychologytoday.com, 2 July 2021, www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/sexual-self/202107/the-other-q-questioning-ones-gender-or-sexual-orientation.
- ↑ University of Wisconsin Milwaukee. “Questioning | LGBTQ+ Resource Center.” Uwm, uwm.edu/lgbtrc/support/questioning/.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Staff, Gayety. “What Is the Questioning Flag?” Gayety, 18 July 2022, gayety.co/what-is-the-questioning-flag. Accessed 16 Mar. 2024.
- ↑ protego-et-servio. “Questioning Flag.” Tumblr, 1 June 2016, protego-et-servio.tumblr.com/post/146076428472/questioning-flag-im-not-sure-if-others-feel-the. Accessed 16 Mar. 2024.
- ↑ Payne, Alice. “Sexuality Flags & LGBT+ Symbols: The Ultimate Pride Guide.” Vispronet, 5 Aug. 2020, www.vispronet.com/blog/sexuality-flags. Accessed 16 Mar. 2024.
- ↑ Okay-Google. “Gender Questioning Flag by Okay-Google on DeviantArt.” Www.deviantart.com, 26 Sept. 2021, www.deviantart.com/okay-google/art/Gender-Questioning-Flag-893007158. Accessed 16 Mar. 2024.
- ↑ Seriusli. “Reddit - Dive into Anything.” Reddit.com, 2024, www.reddit.com/r/QueerVexillology/comments/1ax2609/redesigned_questioning_flag_gendersexuality/. Accessed 30 Dec. 2024.
- ↑ ---. “Reddit - Dive into Anything.” Reddit.com, 2021, www.reddit.com/r/lgbt/comments/o2cfle/my_genderquestioning_flag_proposal_read_comments/. Accessed 30 Dec. 2024.