# Flags, “flag-shaggers” and the co-opting of historic symbols

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/rear-vision-how-history-shaped-today-1530908/flags-flag-shaggers-and-the-co-opting-of-historic-symbols
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/rear-vision-how-history-shaped-today-1530908/flags-flag-shaggers-and-the-co-opting-of-historic-symbols.md
Podcast: [Rear Vision — How History Shaped Today](https://stenobird.com/podcast/rear-vision-how-history-shaped-today-1530908)
Published: 2026-04-03T20:00:00+00:00
Episode link: https://www.abc.net.au/listen/programs/rearvision/rear-vision-flags-far-right-anti-immigration-flagshagger-history/106430748
Audio file: https://mediacore-live-production.akamaized.net/audio/02/j7/Z/6d.mp3
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JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/rear-vision-how-history-shaped-today-1530908/episodes/flags-flag-shaggers-and-the-co-opting-of-historic-symbols
Duration seconds: 1779

## Resource

Wrapping yourself in the national flag has become a common practice for far-right activists right across the Western world, particularly anti-immigration demonstrators. In the UK the co-opting of the Union Jack and the flag of St George has become so common it’s now described in derogatory terms as “flag-shagging”. In this episode, we explore the historic power of national flags as symbols of division, not just national unity. Guests: Dr Anne Platoff – Flag expert and former librarian, University of California, Santa Barbara Laura Scofield – Design Director, The Atlantic Dr Dominic Bryan – Professor of social anthropology, Queens’s University Belfast

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## Transcript

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