The meaning of the pride flag
The History of the Pride Flag
With its bright colours and significant meaning, the Rainbow Flag is a symbol recognised all over the world to illustrate the LGBTQ+ communities. It’s a symbol of hope, unity and empowerment to allow love to be love regardless of gender, ethnicity or labels. But where did this renowned flag arrive from? And how was the design chosen?
The original Pride Flag originates from San Francisco Activist Gilbert Baker, who desired to create an emblem of lgbtq+ fest for the gay community. In the Rainbow Flag was created, as Baker recognised that a flag is one of the most significant aspects of persona, 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 , with Scotland following in , and Northern Ireland by Before this time, it was illegal to engage in ‘private gay acts’, and those caught or believed to be engaging in same-sex relationships could face imprisonment, public shame and a life-long criminal records. Society was homophobic, with th
Flags of the LGBTIQ Community
Flags have always been an integral part of the LGBTIQ+ movement. They are a visible advocacy meant to mark progress, advocate for representation, and strengthen the demand and drive for collective action. There own been many LGBTIQ+ flags over the years. Some hold evolved, while others are constantly entity 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 essence. 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 Pride 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 color and the triad of cerulean, pink, and colorless from the transitioned flag, the desig
Pride Flags
Flags are often used as symbols of identity festival. It is no surprise then that numerous identity festival flags have been created to represent the sexual and gender diversity of 2SLGBTQIA+ communities. Explore all the different flags and their meanings.
Interested in exploring further? Take the online Positive Space: Foundations course to learn more about sex, sexuality, and gender diversity.
This resource is not intended to provide an exhaustive list of event flags. If you hold a suggestion for a flag to add or have any feedback on the information provided, please contact us.
Achillean Flag
Achillean: Men or men-aligned individuals who are attracted to other men and men-aligned people. It is sometimes famous as men loving men (MLM). Achillean individuals may or may not be attracted to other genders. While this label isn’t exclusive, it is used to unify men-aligned people or men who affectionate other men.
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Creator: Redesigned by DeviantArt (Tumblr user)
Flag meaning: The first iteration was created by pridenpositivity (Tumblr user). The flag contains the color bluThe Progress Pride flag was developed in by genderfluid American artist and artist 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 imaginative 'rainbow flag' was created by Gilbert Baker in to celebrate members of the gay and queer woman 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 essence, 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