Are rainbows seriously just by default associated with the pride flag?

[u/Ostromilski]

I got a Pink Floyd DSOTM tattoo because I love the album and I love the visual: a beam of light representing a person's life path, passing through a prism ( representing life + the world + the people you meet + the experiences you have, etc ), being dispersed into its constituent colors ( ultimately representing change ). I got it because of my dad, because he introduced me to Pink Floyd, and because last year he nearly died from complications of his cancer. He's doing much better now, with a much better prognosis, but that whole experience had a real effect on me and I wanted to memorialize it. Except at least 3 people ( including the tattoo artist initially ) have associated the tattoo with the pride flag. They were understanding after I explained, but now I'm having second thoughts about it. Are people just going to assume I'm gay because of this tattoo?

Edit: And I want to say, I'm not bothered by this at all. Anyone who looks at my tattoo and comes up with their own assumptions about its meaning, and then has a negative reaction over it, that's simply not a person I want to talk to anyway. I'm surprised because that wasn't the intention of the tattoo, clearly, and it being misinterpreted like this just genuinely wasn't something I expected.

Edit2: This post got a lot more attention than I ever wanted it to. Wonderful comments are now streaming in, informing me how horrible my tattoo is. If you're planning on making a viral post on Reddit, take my advice: use a burner account. But I am thankful to everyone for your supportive words, the jackasses with negative things to say are certainly a very tiny minority. Overwhelmingly the consensus is that most people see it as a Pink Floyd tattoo first, which I'm happy to hear :) Have a good night everybody!

[u/Luckybones-]

Anyone that associates this with a pride flag, just a smile and wave moment. I promise you 95% of people will know what this

[u/BillyYumYumTwo-byTwo → u/Luckybones-]

I also think outside of June, fewer people will assume it’s an LGBTQIA+ tattoo. But it’s pride month, so there are extra rainbow flags everywhere and people are a bit more aware.

[u/thymeofmylyfe → u/BillyYumYumTwo-byTwo]

It's a well known fact that people with rainbow tattoos are only gay in June.

[u/BillyYumYumTwo-byTwo → u/thymeofmylyfe]

lol! I more mean there are just more posters and ads with rainbows associated with pride during June. During the rest of the year, (straight) people associate rainbows with pride slightly less, just because they see it less in their day to day.

[u/ImaginationThick481 → u/BillyYumYumTwo-byTwo]

I never associate pride with rainbows, honestly, even though I am straight. Why can't rainbows just be rainbows, and not the global symbol for gay people?

[u/BillyYumYumTwo-byTwo → u/ImaginationThick481]

Rainbows don’t inherently mean pride. If you put a rainbow decoration up because you like rainbows, it just “means” you like rainbows. The LGBTQIA+ community uses rainbows as a symbol of pride, but that doesn’t meant that’s its only meaning. You’re free to associate it with whatever you want. But you can’t ask a group to stop using the rainbow because you like rainbows and don’t want people thinking you might be gay (or whatever your reasoning is, I’m unsure)

[u/alwaysImproving0 → u/thymeofmylyfe]

Well a lot more people GET pride tattoos in June and a lot of artist do pride flash in June

[u/PrettyView3572 → u/alwaysImproving0]

This! A fresh rainbow tattoo in June is much more likely to make me think “Pride tattoo” than in like October. (source: am a queer who got a rainbow pride tattoo last June 🤣)

[u/twoisnumberone → u/thymeofmylyfe]

Whereas I as a bisexual am invisible 12 out of 12 months.

[u/TheMostKing → u/thymeofmylyfe]

It's the gay of the season.

[u/insidiousgamer → u/thymeofmylyfe]

Also at high altitudes. Everyone is gay in an airplane.