Having a gay old time in Peru
There seems to be persistent confusion regarding the old Inca flag, seen here on the left:
Not to be confused with the modern day Peruvian flag on the right, the ancient Inca flag was modeled after a rainbow, which the Incas regarded as gifts from the sun god Inti or Apu-Punchau.
Indeed this bright display of color is a trademark of Inca culture, and it is also found in traditional Inca dress. Each village created its own color palette and costume as a matter of identity and regional pride. The old Inca rainbow banner, known locally as whipala, was adopted in 1978 by the local government of Cusco as the official city flag. It can still be seen flying above cultural sites, government buildings, residences and places of business.
Now here’s where things get dicey.
The colors on the Inca flag are loud and proud and unapologetically fabulous. This may help explain why in this same year of 1978 the gay community adopted the rainbow flag or “freedom flag”, created by San Francisco based artist Gilbert Baker, to represent the diversity and inclusiveness of its own cause.
So here we have two flags that are practically identical, representing two groups that are far from it.
Fast forward to 2008. A city-wide strike was held in Cusco to protest the government´s plan of privitising the nation´s cultural sites to make a quick buck. As a demonstration of pride in their culture and their heritage the protesters marched through the streets waving the old Inca rainbow flag. They flew it freely and openly from every mast and public perch.
Imagine if you will the look of shock of the tourists who were unaware of the historical significance of the whipala. They walk around in an absolute daze, thinking they’ve unknowingly booked thier vacations in a modern day Sodom and Gomorrah.
Never fear all you anxious, overfed vacationers, there has been no gay invasion of the ancient capital of the Inca empire. Despite the omnipresent rainbow flags and the flamboyant local dress code, homosexuals will likely continue to comprise the accepted statistical norm of between 4 and 10 percent of the population down here. Still, we should try to clear up any confusion. I am here to help. Here´s how you can distinguish between the two cultures:
This is the ancient Inca flag:
This is not:
This is a traditional Inca festival:
This is not:
These are typical Inca village people:
These are not:
Any questions?
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on February 29th, 2008 at 1:38 pm
I learn something new everyday
on May 8th, 2010 at 6:01 pm
I dislike you comparing the gay community to Sodom and Gomorrah. That’s just disgusting and inaccurate. We aren’t rapists and you’d know that if you could define rape right. The pictures are not appropriate either really. I think you’ve looked too hard at the inappropriate side of our community, but do not neglect to think that there is an equal inappropriate heterosexual side to your community. Try focusing on us with our clothes on and you may find we aren’t so bad after all.
Otherwise the article is okay and it’s fine that you want people to make the distinction between the flags and culture of the Inca, but you should revamp it to be less offensive good sir.
on May 11th, 2010 at 10:01 pm
Thank you for your thoughts Righteous Atheist. I appreciate the comments, notwithstanding the fact that I think your criticisms are completely off base.
For starters, I don’t believe I ever used the word rape, nor alluded to or implicated anyone of rape anywhere in the blog post. I’m sure you’re aware of the etymology of the word sodomy. And I’m also sure you’ll agree that Sodom and Gomorrah have taken on a modern colloquial significance as places of “sexual sin” (in the Biblical sense). Knowing this, and knowing the church’s public position on gay sex, I don’t think it was such a stretch to invoke the word Sodom when describing a modern day city which has been overwhelmed by marching crowds waving rainbow flags. Unlike the Bible, no where in my blog do I make a moral judgment about homosexuality (or shellfish for that matter). I simply draw the comparison between two cities that both appear to be chock full of gay folks. In fact the entire tone of the piece is a not so subtle swipe at the narrow-minded tourists who turned white at the sight of so many rainbow flags.
As for the pictures, once again your indignation has blinded you to the point. I never claimed that the parade images are representative of how the average gay man dresses on his way to the office. I notice that you say nothing about the photographed Peruvians, but it should have been obvious that this is not how the average Peruvian dresses either. In both cases I am using hyperbole to exaggerate an already vast cultural divide in order to make the confusion between the flags that much more unlikely, hence that much more satirical.
As a parting note, I noticed that your log-in info originated from a website called cruelnetwork.com. Out of curiosity, I surfed over to the page. Interesting stuff. Now I think I understand.
Without having actually viewed the videos for myself, I’m going to assume that the participants in the “brutally raped” and “first forced sex” scenes are all consenting adults, and that these are carefully scripted scenarios which only imitate the illegal/immoral/disturbing acts they are portraying.
If you derive sexual satisfaction from a scenario (contrived or not) that depicts people being brutalized and violated against their will, this ought to be a giant warning sign that your sexual morality needs realignment. My own advice - and it is coming from a sincere place - is that I think you should really avoid this kind of filth. Aside from warping your healthy sexual appetite, it has obviously caused you to see all sexual reference though these filth-colored glasses. So long as you normalize this type of deviant behavior in your own life I’m afraid that you’re going to find overtones of rape, exploitation and persecution in just about everything. Even in persistent cartoon skunks:
Wanted for rape
on August 7th, 2010 at 2:19 am
Great piece! This is such a funny text. Especially the this is/this is not pictures are very helpful… errr… hilarious!
Thanks from the Netherlands…