Why it matters

Before I deal with generalities, let me share a specific in the form of a letter I received. The emphasis is mine.

Dear Sir,

The symbol you are using has recently come to my attention. I have
visited your web site and noticed your concern for anyone who may already
be "using" the symbol or any potential copywrite infringements. The reason
this has come to my attention is that a few people in my area have
complained to me about being approached for BDSM while wearing
a very close variant of this symbol, which we as followers of a Druidic
path call a triskele.

To us it symbolizes the balance that must be maintained between any set
of elements (mind, body, spirit; etc.). Please bear in mind that this is not in
any way an admonishment or demand that you stop using it, just a notifi-
cation that you are most definately NOT alone in your use of this symbol
and its public display. I personally know of close to a thousand people
worldwide who follow similar religious paths that may be offended by your
use in this manner. Again, this is not any type of demand or rebuttal, simply
for your information. Regretfully, though, there are those in my circles who
would like to take action, and are presently seeking advise from the American
Civil Liberties Union for infringement upon religious freedoms and expression.
They liken it to neo-nazi organizations using the crucifix in their logos. I
personally doubt that any legal action will be taken (I don't feel they have a
case), and I am trying to dissuade anyone from taking any action of any form
as I feel it would go against one of our basic creeds of " an it harm none, do
as thou will".

Thank you for your time and understanding in this matter.

I understand and share your concerns.

Without going into great detail here, the idea behind what you know as
the BDSM Emblem was initially proposed and and promoted in a precise
manner. In brief, it was to be a symbol based on the Triskele -- which has
antecedents in Eastern as well as Celtic symbolism-- with (and pardon me
for shouting here) VERY SPECIFIC DETAILS. It was to be those details
which marked this one specific Triskele-based design as the BDSM Emblem.

We took this approach to enable those who wanted to find others of like
interests to identify themselves to each other in a silent way, without outting
themselves to a potentially persecuting public. Therefore, the symbol was
based on one that would otherwise go unnoticed. There were also other
historic/cultural reasons for choosing the Triskele, but that's not of importance
here.

What happened was that people started spreading the Emblem across the
Web without the background information required for proper understanding.
Some people took to considering ANY Triskele as a BDSM symbol which is,
flatly, wrong. A great portion of my effort with The Emblem Project has been
trying to educate the BDSM community otherwise, but it's proving to be an
uphill battle, especially as some other jewelry manufacturers within the com-
munity, most the the best of intent, have been producing what they call BDSM
jewelry featuring a wide variety of Triskeles.

Not only is it causing the trouble you mentioned, but people are paying money
for jewelry and tattoos, thinking they are wearing a symbol that means one
thing but which in reality symbolizes anything from the 3 faces of the Goddess
to a form of Okinawan martial arts to a school of Buddhist drumming.

I wish I had an easy answer, but if you and your community are willing to aid
in clearing up the misunderstanding, I'd sure be grateful. When approached by
somebody with a BDSM interest, the please let them know that what you wear
is absolutely NOT the BDSM Emblem and that they can find the details which
make for the real thing at the Emblem Project web site.
http://members.aol.com/quagmyr/emblem.htm

So there it is: precisely the sort of misunderstanding we wanted so badly to avoid. Certain BDSMers look like total offensive jerks simply because they didn't understand the symbol they were using. And we all look bad because of them. Nevermind that business about a lawsuit -- it isn't going to happen because there's absolutely no case there. Just look at the fact that some people were considering such a course as an illustration of how angry and upset they must have been.

I, for one, can't blame them. How would you like it if you were approached by somebody who thought that an innocent logo on your t-shirt was the international symbol for people who want to have sex with (fill in the blank with whatever disgusts you most).

Here's the bottom line. The BDSM Emblem was created to allow BDSMers fearing persecution to identify themselves to each other secretly. The key words are "identify" and "secretly." To aid in secrecy, the Emblem was created to look common enough not to arouse too much interest. To aid in identification, it was created with very specific and meaningful details.

The details matter. The meaning is in the details. That bears repeating. The meaning is in the details! An American Flag with black and red stripes and green 6-pointed stars on a yellow field is not an American Flag. Change the Italian flag's green to blue, and you have the flag of France.

If you approach somebody wearing the |Emblem, you want to be sure that what you are seeing truly is the BDSM Emblem and not a declaration of religious faith, cultural heritage or political affiliation. When you're wearing an Emblem, you want to be sure that other BDSMers can recognize it for what it is. You don't want them to ignore it thinking that you're wearing a martial arts logo. The only way to be sure is to have the details right.