What does the color of the gay flag mean
Flags of the LGBTIQ Community
Flags have always been an integral part of the LGBTIQ+ movement. They are a seeable representation meant to observe progress, advocate for visibility, and amplify the insist and drive for collective action. There have been many LGBTIQ+ flags over the years. Some acquire evolved, while others are constantly being conceptualized and created.
Rainbow Flag
Created in by Gilbert Baker, the iconic Pride Rainbow flag originally had eight stripes. The colors included pink to represent sexuality, red for healing, yellow for daystar, green for serenity with nature, turquoise for art, indigo for harmony, and violet for spirit. In the years since, the flag now has six colors. It no longer has a pink stripe, and the turquoise and indigo stripes were replaced with royal blue.
Progress Lgbtq+ fest Flag
Created in by nonbinary artist Daniel Quasar, the Progress Pride flag is based on the iconic rainbow flag. With stripes of black and brown to represent marginalized LGBTIQ+ people of paint and the triad of blue, pink, and alabaster from the trans flag, the desig
Here’s What the Unlike LGBTQIA+ Flags Represent
LGBTQIA+
When we think of Pride Month, the first image that typically comes to mind is the classic rainbow flag. However, many people don’t realize that along with the Rainbow Pride Flag, there are an array of diverse identifiers that stand for the diverse gender non-conforming community. While many in the LGBTQIA+ community identify with the all-encompassing rainbow flag, each community has its have flag to illustrate its unique contributions and stories within the community. Here’s a rundown of the different flags and what they represent.
The Gilbert Baker Pride Flag
The unique rainbow pride flag was designed by Gilbert Baker in at the demand of Harvey Milk, the first openly gay elected official in California. Gilbert chose the rainbow as it represents a symbol of hope.
Original flag colors and meaning:
Pink: sex; Red: life; Orange: healing; Yellow: sunlight; Green: nature; Turquoise: magic; Blue: harmony; Violet: spirit.
Rainbow Movement Flag
This is the iteration of the Pride Flag that we all understand today, use
The rainbow flag was created as a symbol of LGBTQIA+ self-acceptance and identity, and has since been used by millions of people around the world to signal safety, allyship and inclusion.
More recently, variations of the rainbow flag have become popular, it can be difficult to understand when to use each one, or even which is the “correct” one to use. Our advice is to use the flag that most aligns with your expression or values. If you are part of a team or organisation, formulate this decision together as a team or with your community.
To support you work through this process, here’s a run down of the most popular flags and what they mean today.
Original Rainbow Pride Flag
You’ll recognise this flag as the “original” rainbow event flag. This rainbow flag serves to signal pride - or allyship - to represent the entire LGBTQIA+ community.
History of the Flag
The original rainbow pride flag was designed in by Gilbert Baker, an openly gay musician and activist. The flag originally featured eight stripes, each of which represented something different. From top to bottom, the stripes represented
The Progress Pride flag was developed in by neutrois American artist and creator Daniel Quasar (who uses xe/xyr pronouns). Based on the iconic rainbow flag from , the redesign celebrates the diversity of the LGBTQ community and calls for a more inclusive society. In , the V&A acquired a bespoke applique version of the Progress Pride flag that can be seen on display in the Design – Now gallery.
'Progress' is a reinterpretation of multiple iterations of the pride flag. The authentic 'rainbow flag' was created by Gilbert Baker in to celebrate members of the gay and female homosexual political movement. It comprised eight coloured stripes stacked on top of each other to evoke a rainbow, a symbol of hope. Baker assigned a specific meaning to each colour: pink for sex, red for life, orange for healing, yellow for sunlight, green for world, turquoise for magic, indigo for serenity and violet for spirit. A year later the pink and turquoise stripes were dropped owing to a shortage of pink fabric at the time and legibility concerns, resulting in the six-colour rainbow flag most commo