More generalized, any kind of symbol representing something is not the something. The social labelling is very accessible, true now and true then.

There’s a Zen koan about that (with Zen coming from Chang which came from a meeting of Buddhism and Taoism in China) — about the finger pointing to the moon, and how all but one student looked at the finger.

In a different example, there is the distinction of virtue signaling and virtue (the “Te” in “Tao Te Ching”)