Are flamingos a gay symbol

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Speaker 1(00:04):
Hey, and welcome to the Short Stuff. I'm Josh, and
there's chalk, and this is short stuff, and we're talking
at extended last about a topic that has been on
my list for short Stuffs since basically the first time
we came up with short Stuffs, which is pink plastic
lawn flamingos, one of the all age great pieces of
yard art anyone's ever come up with. Do you hold them? No,

(00:28):
I'm not imply. Okay, you're not imply. Oh you'll you'll see.
I'll describe why I ponder owning a pink flamingo is
kind of mean. Engaging, all right, Okay, you're gonna do
that after the break. Is it going to be a
setup for a teaser? Yeah, maybe that will be a
set up. Let's tell them first about the inception of
these things. Everybody knows what we're talking about, right, Like
the plastic pink flamingos that people had on their lawns,

(00:51):
especially in the fifties and maybe the sixties. Um. Nowadays
they're super kitchy and campy. Um, but plastic lawn flamingos,
that's right. They were created by a bloke named Don Featherstone,
who was a sculptor who was

Expert reveals what the covert meaning of pink flamingos are on cruise ships

The sight of a pink flamingo inflatable bobbing about in a cruise liner swimming pool might appear innocent enough, but according to one cruise professional - it could be a sign that things could be about to get a little fruity.

Cody Candee, CEO of commute luggage firm Bounce.com, says the popular holiday floaty is used by swingers on some liners to make it clear that there might be a midnight buffet of a different kind on offer.

Candee says that major cruise brands, including Norwegian, Carnival, Royal Caribbean and - avert your eyes now Mickey - Disney, often unwittingly host couples looking to play away while they're on holiday.

The pink flamingo comes in the wake of another visual symbol apparently used by swingers at sea.

He explained: 'Many people are already aware of the upside-down pineapple as a well-known sign for swinging or "wife swapping" when displayed on a cabin door or an item of clothing.

'However, as the symbol becomes more widely recognised, many cruise lines are cracking down on the use of this symbol on cabin doors.

'Other subtle symbols, such as pink flamingos, are gaining pop

Photographs by Manab Das

At the very start of June month, I was preparing for the rainbow marketing and pinkwashing to kick-off, as is expected every year to cash in on Pride Month. As part of this month-long campaign, all the brands, organizations, people and communities alter their logos, adopt rainbow branding, while conducting talks, shows and much more every year to store the conversation going on the inclusion of people of marginalized genders and sexualities. As with every other year, all the spotlight that is deliberately kept away from me for the remainder of the year, suddenly falls on my face, as I am a gay performer in occupied spaces. Each of these spaces become a battleground for me to re-tell the story of my gender, sexuality and the significance of my existence.

While this was going on, I always had a 100% clarity on my sexuality. Initially at the age of 5 I experienced attractions to only two genders and came out as bi, but as I grew, I started getting attracted to folks from across the gender spectrum and began spotting as Pansexual. I always stick to my Pan identity firmly, but did not realize that even that would be invalidated.

Elegant, glamorous and outrageously pink, no-one should be too surprised that flamingos can be queer.

Among flamingos (Phoenicopterus ruber), both males and females form same-sex pairs. They feed, travel, and sleep with their partners.

According to studies, female pairs engage in “full genital contact.” It seems that male pairs don’t so much, but they can build super-sized nests to incubate, hatch and raise foster chicks. Sometimes they have no previous experience with different-sex partners and sometimes they’re bi.

They also form triads. One female partners with two males or one male with two females. With lots of sexual affection all around.

A lot of this behaviour has been observed only in captivity, but researchers possess also found super-sized nests in the wild, probably belonging to male-male pairs. There’s always more to discover.

One thing’s for certain, whatever flamingos are up to, they are always fabulous.

Queer Animals and Plants colouring books

Lesbian lizards, gay giraffes, multi-attracted red deer and sex-changing clownfish. This colouring publication celebrates the diversity of animals. We explore