Four years ago, I was thinking about the threats faced by the LGBTQIA+ community throughout the world, and got the idea to make a chai symbol in the colors of the pride flag.
The Hebrew word חי, meaning “living” or “alive,” is a Jewish symbol for life, and is worn by many Jews as a charm as well as a mark of Jewish identity.
Nowadays, living has become more important than ever for queer folks, as tyrants around the world bring down the full force of the state on the LGBTQIA+ community, aiming to make our lives as miserable and short as possible. They will not succeed.
LGBTQIA+ Chai (see above)
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The combination of chai with the LGBTQIA+ pride symbol was meant to do the following:
- Communicate that queer people are alive and full of life, regardless of any state oppression, just as Jewish people throughout the world are
- Provide another symbol for queer Jews like myself to use, to show our pride in being both of these
- Wish long and fulfilling lives upon queer Jews, queer people, and Jews
To these same ends, I made the following:
Lesbian Chai
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Gay Men Chai
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Bisexual Chai
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Pansexual Chai
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Transgender Chai
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Non-chai-nary Nonbinary Chai
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Intersex Chai
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Asexual Chai
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Aromantic Chai
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Hopefully these will serve as an inspiration to both communities and their intersection to keep living, no matter what. They can’t eliminate us, they can’t erase us. We will outlive them.