Valcup is Life

sit down and shut up because I'm about to learn you a thing

This:

is the ORIGINAL polyamory pride flag. Jim Evans created it in 1995 in fucking MS Paint. Not using hearts was an intentional choice to: avoid stepping on the leather pride flag's toes, allow people to use it without immediately outing themselves to those not in the know, and be easily input into MS Paint. The infinity heart symbol did not exist at the time and certainly wasn't available in MS motherfucking Paint. The color symbolism is blue for honesty, red for love, black⚫ in solidarity for those that cannot be out to the world at large, and gold for the high value of each relationship. sources (x, x)

There are valid complaints that people want a pride flag that does advertise what they are, and that this design is hard on the eyes. However. Many polyamorous people still use this flag to represent themselves, most of them 35+ years old. As a personal favor to me, please do not say you hate this flag. Say the colors are too bright till you're blue in the face, sure. But to openly hate this flag is to disparage your predecessors and denounce your history.

The earliest polyamory pride flag to incorporate the infinity heart symbol that I could find actually made its debut on tumblr in 2016. The infinity heart was established as a polyamory pride symbol by this time. ratlab-art intentionally kept the original color symbolism, while using hues generally considered a little more pleasant to look at.

This one, obviously, set the precedent for numerous other iterations of the same idea -- tweaking the colors, swapping the pi for the infinity heart. I will not be posting all of them, because I doubt I could track them all down anyway. The icon I currently use on this blog is one such iteration. But this one uniquely puts the black stripe in the middle, which does make for a nice contrast with the gold.

and of course

This is the "new poly flag" designed by Red Howell for the polyamproud online vote, which took place in 2022. They call it the "tricolor polyamory pride flag" (presumably, not to distinguish it from the other established flags, but to distinguish it only from the others that were in their run-off) Its symbolism is as follows: the triangle ▶️points forward for progress and is off-center to represent the non-traditional nature of polyamory, white⚪ represents possibility, blue for honestly, magenta for love, purple for unity in the community, gold for perseverance, and obviously the heart for love.

It has garnered controversy, because they kind of... openly disparaged every previous polyamory flag and claim theirs is the one true poly flag. They do still say you can use any flag you like, but the whole vote was predicated on the assumption that no one wanted the existing designs, and no pre-existing designs were included in the vote. And that it was bad to have variants of the same flag, even though you see that with many pride flags, including the rainbow flag. Many old school polyams still don't know this design, let alone that there was a single vote years ago, which they missed. However. This flag has quickly become a popular design, especially among the younger generation. So if you would be so kind, please do not say you hate this flag. Say you're frustrated with how the process of choosing it happened, by all means. But to openly hate this flag is to disparage the next generation and sever yourself from new directions in the community.

finally,

A couple of honorable mentions made by Em Essex in 2019 and Molly Colleen Bennett Wilvich in 2020, respectively. They don't get full write-ups, but they're an additional couple of the more unique (without being downright obscure) flag designs.

This sick bleach shirt I made. Something to showcase my undying love for prehistoric cave art.

WREN: I fucking hate homework! Algebra sucks.

🩷: Tough shit, you still gotta do it.

WREN: UGH, I hate this! (slams his bedroom door)

🩷: Grouchy and moody, just like his father.

WREN: I fucking hate homework! Algebra sucks.

🩷: Tough shit, you still gotta do it.

WREN: UGH, I hate this! (slams his bedroom door)

🩷: Grouchy and moody, just like his father.

Made, Turned, Undone by the blood maiden.

Gazan women living under Hamas rule are describing sexual abuse by men in senior positions, sexual extortion in exchange for aid or money, and exploitation by those in positions of power, according to testimonies obtained by Britain’s Daily Mail.

The accounts are emerging amid growing concern that the terrorist organization has reasserted control in much of the Gaza Strip, while global attention is fixed on Iran.

A Gazan man, who identified himself as a member of the Al-Qassam Brigades, the “military” wing of Hamas, confirmed to the Mail the dire situation facing widows. He said he had reported to the leadership that some Al-Qassam members were exploiting martyrs’ widows” in a tent in the Gharabli area of Deir al-Balah.

He said he was ordered to remain silent. “We told them this was an insult to our honor and pride,” he said, adding that he destroyed the tent in anger.

Another Gazan man confirmed that a similar thing happened to his neighbor, who was blackmailed by “one of the Hamas charity organizations. They wanted her to prostitute herself in exchange for a food parcel, an aid voucher, or 100 shekels [about $33].”

These testimonies come against the backdrop of broader allegations of sexual violence during the conflict, including testimony from several former hostages such as Romi Gonen and Arbel Yehoud, who told the Mail that she was sexually abused every day in captivity after being abducted from her kibbutz on Oct. 7, 2023.

Meanwhile, Hamas, which has refused to disarm as part of a ceasefire agreement, continues to rule almost half of the Gaza Strip with an iron fist. According to sources on the ground who spoke to the Mail, the exploitation of vulnerable women and girls is routine.

Abdullah, a pseudonym, a journalist with Jusoor News, spoke to the Mail from his hiding place out of fear that Hamas would find him. “Unfortunately, there are many such cases. It is a very widespread phenomenon. In every area, many women are exploited, especially widows and divorceés, because they have no support or income. Their vulnerability is being exploited, and the situation is getting worse by the day.”

‘You cannot expose me. I am the government here.’

Noor, also a pseudonym, a divorced mother of four who was displaced from her home during the war, spoke to the Mail from Gaza in a whisper over the phone, for fear of being caught. She described sexual coercion in exchange for aid, which began when a religious figure started harassing her at the lowest point of her life.

“I wasn’t getting any aid, so I went to a charity. I am a mother of four, displaced by the war and not part of a recognized displacement camp, so I got no assistance. I went to an Islamic charity that distributes aid to the displaced and needy in Gaza. I was received by a man who looked religious, like a sheikh. He said he would stand by me and help me. I told him I was separated from my husband. He said, ‘Oh, separated? A beautiful woman like you?’”

He took Noor’s phone number, which she said she believed would lead to fatherly support, but instead, he suggested a late-night video call.

“From the beginning, the way he spoke to me felt like harassment. I’m much younger than him. I trusted him because he was an older man. I saw him as a father figure. He’s my father’s age, but he harassed me directly. I was afraid, of course. He chased after me. I asked him how he could speak to me like that, and I told him he should be ashamed. I said I would expose him. He said, ‘You cannot expose me. I am the government here.’”

Noor said this reflects a broader pattern in which vulnerable women become targets because they have no breadwinner and depend on aid. “They exploit women’s distress, but the women are too afraid to speak.”

He would not let her leave

Another woman reported: “One charity in Gaza is unfortunately the biggest perpetrator of these acts. From its chairman to its doorman, it is done by all the employees and members there, as if the organization was set up for the purpose of sexual harassment, psychological abuse and the harassment of young women.”

During the war in the Gaza Strip, the AP news agency documented several incidents in 2025, including the case of a 38-year-old woman who believed she would finally receive the help she needed for her six children. After weeks of struggle, she was told that a certain man could help her with food, aid and work.

She turned to him after being separated from her husband and forced to close her business, but then he took her to an empty apartment, complimented her and ordered her to remove her head covering. She said he told her he loved her and would not force her, but at the same time would not let her leave. Eventually, she said, sexual contact took place. She declined to provide further details, saying she felt fear and shame.

“I had to cooperate because I was afraid. I wanted to get out of that place,” she told AP. Before she left, she was given 100 shekels. Two weeks later, she received a box of medicine and a food parcel. “The job she had been promised never materialized,” the report said.

Abdullah, the journalist, added: “Hamas exploited media channels and spread exaggerated or false numbers. Hamas lied about everything. They stole the aid, created the hunger narrative, and the naive West believes it. They have no respect for anyone.”