What does the color of the gay flag mean
The rainbow flag was created as a symbol of LGBTQIA+ celebration 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 grasp 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 assist 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 identity festival 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 painter and activist. The flag originally featured eight stripes, each of which represented something different. From top to bottom, the stripes represented
Flags of the LGBTIQ Community
Flags have always been an integral part of the LGBTIQ+ movement. They are a seeable representation meant to commemorate progress, advocate for advocacy, and amplify the request and drive for collective action. There have been many LGBTIQ+ flags over the years. Some contain 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 light, 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 Self-acceptance 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 tint and the triad of blue, pink, and ivory from the trans flag, the desig
The Progress Pride flag was developed in by non-binary 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 population. 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 original 'rainbow flag' was created by Gilbert Baker in to honor members of the gay and womxn loving womxn political movement. It comprised eight coloured stripes stacked on top of each other to evoke a rainbow, a symbol of wish. Baker assigned a specific meaning to each colour: pink for sex, red for life, orange for healing, yellow for sunlight, lush for nature, turquoise for magic, indigo for serenity and violet for energy. 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
Here’s What the Different LGBTQIA+ Flags Represent
LGBTQIA+
When we ponder 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 different identifiers that represent the diverse homosexual community. While many in the LGBTQIA+ community name with the all-encompassing rainbow flag, each group has its own flag to represent 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 original rainbow pride flag was designed by Gilbert Baker in at the request of Harvey Milk, the first openly same-sex attracted 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, use