Lgbtq flags meaning original

The rainbow flag was created as a symbol of LGBTQIA+ pride and individuality, and has since been used by millions of people around the nature to signal safety, allyship and inclusion.

More recently, variations of the rainbow flag have become popular, it can be difficult to know when to employ each one, or even which is the “correct” one to use. Our advice is to utilize the flag that most aligns with your verbalization or values. If you are part of a team or organisation, formulate this decision together as a team or with your community.

To help you work through this process, here’s a run down of the most trendy flags and what they mean today.

Original Rainbow Event Flag

You’ll recognise this flag as the “original” rainbow pride 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 crafted in 1978 by Gilbert Baker, an openly male lover artist and activist. The flag originally featured eight stripes, each of which represented something different. From top to bottom, the stripes represented hot pink (for sex), red (for life), orange (for healing), yellow (for sunlight), lush (for nat

The History of 21 Ordinary LGBTQ+ Pride Flags and What They Mean

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Gilbert Baker Pride Flag

The most known of the Pride Flags, the Gilbert Baker Identity festival Flag unfurled for the first time at the San Francisco Gay and Lesbian Freedom Day Celebration on June 25, 1978, according to MOMA. Gilbert Baker, an openly lgbtq+ veteran, artist and activist, created the flag to encompass meaningful aspects of his community. The colors signify:

  • Pink: Sex
  • Red: Life
  • Orange: Healing
  • Yellow: Sunlight
  • Green: Nature
  • Turquoise: Magic
  • Blue: Harmony
  • Violet: Spirit
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LGBTQ+ Pride Flag

"A Rainbow Flag was a alert choice, natural and necessary," Gilbert said, of the original Pride flag. "The rainbow came from earliest recorded history as a symbol of hope." Once demand for Baker's flag continued to grow, the pink and turquoise stripes were removed to create it easier to mass-produce. This is the flag you'll probably see the most frequently.

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Philadelphia Pride Flag

While the original 1978 flag represented a number of aspects of the Gay community, its BIPOC members were not historically included. In 2017, a fresh fl

Here’s What the Alternative 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 alternative identifiers that stand for the diverse homosexual community. While many in the LGBTQIA+ community identify with the all-encompassing rainbow flag, each community has its have flag to portray 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 1978 at the request 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 Pride Flag 

This is the iteration of the Pride Flag that we all know today, used to symbolize the overall LGBTQIA+ collective. In this version, the pink and turquoise were exclu

The Progress Pride flag was developed in 2018 by non-binary American artist and designer Daniel Quasar (who uses xe/xyr pronouns). Based on the iconic rainbow flag from 1978, the redesign celebrates the diversity of the LGBTQ group and calls for a more inclusive society. In 2020, the V&A acquired a bespoke applique version of the Progress Event flag that can be seen on display in the Design 1900 – Now gallery.

'Progress' is a reinterpretation of multiple iterations of the pride flag. The original 'rainbow flag' was created by Gilbert Baker in 1978 to celebrate members of the gay and lesbian political movement. It comprised eight coloured stripes stacked on top of each other to evoke a rainbow, a symbol of expect. Baker assigned a specific meaning to each colour: pink for sex, red for life, orange for healing, yellow for sunlight, green for nature, 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 commonly used in the first decades of the 21st century.

Baker's flag was embra lgbtq flags meaning original

The History of the Pride Flag

With its bright colours and significant definition, the Rainbow Flag is a symbol recognised all over the world to represent the Diverse communities. It’s a symbol of long for, unity and empowerment to allow adore to be admire regardless of gender, ethnicity or labels. But where did this renowned flag come from? And how was the design chosen? 

The imaginative Pride Flag originates from San Francisco Activist Gilbert Baker, who desired to create an emblem of pride for the gay group. In 1978 the Rainbow Flag was created, as Baker recognised that a flag is one of the most significant aspects of identity, and wanted his creation to be a unified symbol of gratification for all those who identify within these communities. 

In England, homosexuality was decriminalised in 1967, with Scotland following in 1980, and Northern Ireland by 1982. Before this period, it was illegal to engage in ‘private homosexual acts’, and those caught or believed to be engaging in same-sex relationships could face imprisonment, common shame and a life-long criminal records. Society was homophobic, with those in same-sex relationships organism stripped of their basic freedom to love the p