diff --git a/CHANGELOG.rst b/CHANGELOG.rst
index 41c4bca..56fa1ab 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.rst
+++ b/CHANGELOG.rst
@@ -3,6 +3,8 @@ Next Release
 
 Breaking changes:
 
+- Change addition of SELinux flags to volumes: SELinux flags are only added if
+  :py:attr:`~pytest_container.container.ContainerVolumeBase.flags` is ``None``.
 
 Improvements and new features:
 
diff --git a/pytest_container/container.py b/pytest_container/container.py
index a0e87fe..e05f706 100644
--- a/pytest_container/container.py
+++ b/pytest_container/container.py
@@ -175,9 +175,13 @@ class ContainerVolumeBase:
     #:
     #: Note that some flags are mutually exclusive and potentially not supported
     #: by all container runtimes.
+    #:
     #: The :py:attr:`VolumeFlag.SELINUX_PRIVATE` flag will be added by default
-    #: to the flags unless :py:attr:`ContainerVolumeBase.shared` is ``True``.
-    flags: List[VolumeFlag] = field(default_factory=list)
+    #: if flags is ``None``, unless :py:attr:`ContainerVolumeBase.shared` is
+    #: ``True``, then :py:attr:`VolumeFlag.SELINUX_SHARED` is added.
+    #:
+    #: If flags is a list (even an empty one), then no flags are added.
+    flags: Optional[List[VolumeFlag]] = None
 
     #: Define whether this volume should can be shared between
     #: containers. Defaults to ``False``.
@@ -191,15 +195,12 @@ class ContainerVolumeBase:
     _vol_name: str = ""
 
     def __post_init__(self) -> None:
-        if (
-            VolumeFlag.SELINUX_PRIVATE not in self.flags
-            and VolumeFlag.SELINUX_SHARED not in self.flags
-        ):
-            self.flags.append(
+        if self.flags is None:
+            self.flags = [
                 VolumeFlag.SELINUX_SHARED
                 if self.shared
                 else VolumeFlag.SELINUX_PRIVATE
-            )
+            ]
 
         for mutually_exclusive_flags in (
             (VolumeFlag.READ_ONLY, VolumeFlag.READ_WRITE),
diff --git a/tests/test_volumes.py b/tests/test_volumes.py
index aa38e32..0b213b7 100644
--- a/tests/test_volumes.py
+++ b/tests/test_volumes.py
@@ -31,6 +31,22 @@ def test_adds_selinux(volume: ContainerVolumeBase, expected_flag: VolumeFlag):
     assert volume.flags[0] == expected_flag
 
 
+@pytest.mark.parametrize(
+    "volume,flags",
+    [
+        (ContainerVolume("/foo", flags=[]), []),
+        (
+            ContainerVolume("/bar/", flags=[VolumeFlag.READ_ONLY]),
+            [VolumeFlag.READ_ONLY],
+        ),
+    ],
+)
+def test_does_not_add_selinux_if_flags_is_list(
+    volume: ContainerVolumeBase, flags: List[VolumeFlag]
+) -> None:
+    assert volume.flags == flags
+
+
 @pytest.mark.parametrize(
     "flags",
     [