What is FYFFH?
Fly Your Freak Flag High (FYFFH) is a collaborative art project and social movement. The FYFFH project makes the phrase “fly your freak flag high” real by encouraging people to make actual freak flags and fly them in parades, either at events or on their own.
We recognize that everyone has something freaky about them–everyone is special, different and unique in some way. That’s why we aim to reclaim the word “freak” as a compliment, not an insult. We’ve got to stop being embarrassed or shy about our freaky bits. Our freaky bits are what make each of us unique, fabulous and tremendous. It’s time to stand proudly in our full, complicated, compound selves–and that means honoring and celebrating all those freaky bits that we (or others) have a hard time with.
The FYFFH project enables exploration and appreciation of our complex, multifaceted selves with the eventual goal of building a whole society (heck, a whole world) full of conscious, satisfied people. Our theory: if we can fully appreciate our own selves, we can also appreciate others; and once we can appreciate others, we can start working together in an honest and powerful way to build the kind of world and the kind of future we all want to live in.
Join Us!
Freak [freek] –noun
- one who espouses radical, nonconformist or dissenting views and opinions that are outside the mainstream.
- any abnormal phenomenon or product or unusual object; anomaly; aberration
- (informal) a person who acts or dresses in a markedly unconventional or strange way
- (informal) a person who is obsessed with something specified (a baseball freak)
- one who is unrestrained, unorthodox or unconventional in thinking, behavior, manners, etc.
Hey you! Yeah, you. The weird, freaky one over there. I’m callin’ you out.
Does it feel weird that I’m calling you a freak? Well, you are. We all are. You’re not alone. Everybody’s got something freaky about them. Some of us have just a little, some have quite a bit–layers and whole constellations of freakiness. Think about it. There’s something about you that’s special, unique, different, aberrant, out of the norm.
Maybe it’s the funky way you dress, or that weird music you listen to. Maybe it’s the way you talk, or the things you talk about–maybe it’s what you believe, the truths you hold to be self-evident. Or maybe it’s what you do, what you make, or the people you make it with. Whatever it is, however much of it you have, it’s something that sets you apart from most other people, and I bet it’s brought you some embarrassment or disapproval–maybe just a little, maybe a lot. But listen to me– it’s also what makes you powerful.
Look, I need your help. I want to reclaim the word “freak”–I want to make it a compliment, not an insult. We’ve got to stop being embarrassed or shy about our freaky bits–you know as well as I know that our freaky bits are what make each of us unique, fabulous and tremendous.* It’s time to stand proudly in our full, complex, complicated, compound selves–and that means honoring and celebrating all those freaky bits that we (or other people) have a hard time with.**
* We urgently need a world full of unique, fabulous and tremendous people, because the more we appreciate our own and each others’ full fabulosity, the better and quicker we can pull together to fix what’s broken about our communities and our planet. (And you know there’s plenty of broken stuff to fix.)
** Just to be clear here, the kind of freaky I’m talking about honoring and celebrating here on this website is the PG-13 kind. I personally support any kind of freaky counterculture deviance as long as it involves mutual consent and respect for each others’ personal boundaries and bodies, as well as respect for the environment and for current definitions of property laws–but for the purposes of this project, we’re talking about things that are unconventional, not illegal.
FIRST: Make Your Freak Flag Real
You don’t have to be an artist to speak your truth in visuals (though I know there are some of you artist freaks out there, and I’m callin’ you out).
- Think about what makes you freaky, and how you might represent that visually (words, colors, symbols…)
- Make your own freak flag, out of whatever you want–click here or on the “Make” tab above for simple directions. You can do this as a solo project, or together with other people.
- Take a picture of yourself with your freak flag (or just take a picture of the flag itself if you’re feeling shy), and send it in to submissions@flyyourfreakflaghigh.com to go in the gallery of freak flags.
NEXT: Fly Your Freak Flag High
Once you’ve got a freak flag, think about places and times you can fly it, both virtual and IRL (that’s “In Real Life” for those of you who don’t speak acronym). On your wall? Sure. On your blog or web site? Rock it! Outside your abode? Go for it. At a concert? Classic. On your car, on a t-shirt, on tv? I dare you.
But flying our freak flags one by one is not enough. For even greater impact, we’ve got to fly our freak flags together: we’ve got to have ourselves freak flag parades. Our gallery of freak flags is a virtual parade, but I encourage us all to create parades IRL too. Get together with some other freaks, get some sort of music, and walk, run, pedal, ride, streak, dance, or march those flags around. Have someone take a video of your parade, and send it in to submissions@flyyourfreakflaghigh.com or post it yourself on our Facebook page. Will people gawk? Maybe. Will people be surprised? Probably. Will people approve? Who cares! Will people join in? I hope so.
THEN: Find Your Freak Tribe
Remember: you are not alone. Most of us are freaky in lots of ways, not just one or two. So the question “what kind of freak are you?” is going to evolve into “what’s your freaky blend?” and “where does your freaky overlap with other people’s freaky?” The more we see each others’ freaky proclamations, the more we’ll find powerful, meaningful connections and alliances–some familiar, some potentially new and surprising. Who knows what we could accomplish by making some mutually beneficial treaties between freak tribes?