Luke A.B.'s Blogging

Queer Vexillology- Flags I have created over the years (and across the internet): A collection In the years since I realised I was queer (2014) and since I was born (2000) the LGBTQ+ community has seen many new pride flags come into being with the express purpose of helping a community feel seen and represented symbolically. Since 2014, the various queer flags, the aromantic flag and the new 5-stripe lesbian flag have all come into being. The LGBTQ+ community has a penchant for making flags as a go-to symbol for any new gender, sexuality or relationship style term.  Personally, most of the flags I’ve ever created are variations of existing flags, but I have made quite a few in my time which people in my communities use.  But crucially, last year saw the use of one of my flags in a political sense. I haven’t yet publicly come forward about this, but a few days before the BBC Lily cade article fiasco happened, I was approached online by a BBC reporter whose office is less than t...

  A Short History of Packing, Penises and Pieces of Affirmation for trans men:   Trans men (and other transmasculine individuals) have long existed on this planet. But what isn’t often recorded is our history, particularly, our affirmation seeking history in the form of dysphoria relief. I am in fact, referring to packing- the practice of trans men, transmasculine people, female-to-male spectrum people and many nonbinary people giving ourselves penises.  Packers come in many shapes and sizes (just like their cis counterparts) and most trans people’s first packers are homemade, makeshift solutions to the empty space where a penis should be. Those with the cash can opt for soft body-safe silicone packers made by dedicated shops online, which offer an array of skin tones to match the user’s body. This is a hallmark of 21st Century trans society, the 18th, 19th and 20th Century trans men generally stuck to the homemade type.  Anders Magnus Åhrman (1777-?) was a trans man...