Why those colors and the different sizes? Before Page created the flag, the bisexual community often used a triple triangle motif called Biangles. The bisexual flag has three stripes: one broad magenta stripe at the top, a similarly broad blue stripe at the bottom, and a lavender band in the middle. Designed by Michael Page, the flag first appeared on the now-defunct website Bi Cafe. The next popular flag to be introduced was the bisexual Pride flag in 1998. That decision left us with the six-colored flag that most of us know today.
Gay Pride New Orleans' history states that the committee removed the turquoise stripe so the colors could be divided evenly, with three on each side of the street. Then, following the assassination of San Francisco's openly gay commissioner Harvey Milk, the 1979 Pride Parade Committee wanted to use Baker's flag to honor him. Because pink wasn't a hugely popular color for flags, it wasn't an option for mass production, and Baker removed it. (a company that no longer exists today) to mass-produce his design for the 1978 Pride Parade in San Francisco. As Gizmodo reported, Baker approached Paramount Flag Co. The first rainbow flag included eight colors with different meanings: pink for sex, red for life, orange for healing, yellow for the sun, green for nature, turquoise for art, blue for serenity, and purple for spirit. However, the six-striped version often flown today isn't Baker's original design. As Mic previously reported, he picked the rainbow, a symbol from nature, because "it expressed our diversity in terms of our gender, our races, our ages, and all the ways that we're different and yet connected." In 1978, that changed when Gilbert Baker designed the rainbow flag. Although this is far from a comprehensive list, let's take a look at six of the more popular flags that you're likely to come across.īefore the rainbow flag, the pink triangle, used to mark gay people in Nazi Germany, was a symbol for the gay rights movement. Knowing the history and meaning behind different Pride flags can help you appreciate them better.
So from the bisexual Pride flag to the transgender Pride flag to the Philadelphia Pride flag, people across the world have designed their own flags to ensure that their communities are being celebrated. To some, that flag only represents small subsections of the LGBTQ+ community - namely, cisgender white men. Why would you need your own design, after all? Here's the thing: While the rainbow flag is great, not everybody feels represented by it. Sometimes, people like to dismiss any flag that isn't the rainbow one.
Don't worry, though, because I'm here to help break down the different Pride flag meanings. With all of the Pride flags flying around, it can be hard to keep track of each one. But if you've ever been to a Pride event then you know that the rainbow flag is never the only one to make an appearance. This month, rainbows are everywhere in celebration of Pride, as the rainbow flag has become ubiquitous with the LGBTQ community.