LGBTQIA+
Pride flags
The Original Pride Flag
Gilbert Baker, 1978
The first rainbow pride flag was designed by Gilbert Baker, a close friend of Harvey Milk in 1978. It was inspired by Judy Garland's "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" and consists of eight stripes each pertaining to a different meaning. Pink stood for sex, red for life, orange for healing, yellow for sunlight, green for nature, turquoise for magic/art, indigo for serenity, and violet for spirit. The flag first flew during the Gay Freedom Day Parade in San Francisco.
The Traditional Rainbow Pride Flag
1979
Due to the difficulty in obtaining pink fabric and the odd number of colors during production, both of the pink and turquoise stripes were dropped from the flag. The flags utilization became popular following the assassination of Harvey Milk. The six-color flag is the most common pride flag and symbol used worldwide.
Philadelphia Pride Flag
June 8, 2017
In 2017, Philadelphia took a bold step toward LGBTQ representation with the introduction of the Philly Pride flag which included two new stripes of brown and black. The Philadelphia Pride Flag represents LGBTQ people of color, who historically were not always included in aspects of the mainstream gay rights movement.
The 14-page, full-size, in-color zine includes the collected artwork of local LGBTQ+ identifying artists: poetry, astrology, “queerscopes,” paintings, digital and mixed-media art, and fictional stories are among the offerings to be enjoyed by readers. “The LQ” was created to help unite the queer community, said Kye Hallows, “because we know how large it is and think that it might help others who aren’t familiar with the scene to feel supported and seen.” The art zines, funded by an Ogden Arts Grant, are available for purchase exclusively at Hallows’ record shop, Lavender Vinyl, located on Historic 25th Street.
- Standard-Examiner
Instagram: @the_lq_, https://linktr.ee/lqzine
The Progress Pride Flag
Daniel Quasar, 2018
Less than a year after the release of the Philadelphia pride flag, Daniel Quasar introduced a reworked version to be more inclusive. The white, pink, and light blue chevron design on the Progress Pride Flag reflects the colors of the Transgender Flag, while the brown and black stripes represent marginalized people of color. Furthermore, the black stripe was also meant to honor those lost to HIV/AIDS and the stigma surrounding those still living with HIV.
The Intersex Inclusive Progressive Pride Flag
Valentino Vecchietti, 2018
In 2021, Vecchietti an intersex activist added the yellow triangle with purple circle into the chevron triangle to represent intersex individuals, community, and rights. The new flag is a reflection on the underrepresentation of intersex under the LGBTQIA+ umbrella and within pride symbolism and imagery.
The Pride of Africa Flag
Johannesburg Pride, 2019
The pride of Africa flag was created to represent the diversity of Africa's LGBTQ+ community. The flag is inspired by all 54 African countries. After 30 years of advocacy, Johannesburg Pride has grown to become the most established and well-attended pride event in South Africa
The Queer People of Color Pride Flag
San Francisco Pride 2019
The Queer People of Color (QPOC) Pride Flag made an appearance at San Francisco Pride in 2019 and rose to prominence in 2020. The raised clenched fist in the center of the traditional rainbow flag indicates solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement. The QPOC flag also represents how intertwined the queer community and people of color have been over the years in their fight for equality, including in the early days of the queer liberation movement and the work of activist Marsha P. Johnson.
The Two-Spirit Pride Flag
The Two-Spirit Pride Flag uses two feathers to represent masculine and feminine identities. The circle symbolizes the unification of masculine and feminine identities into a separate gender, and the rainbow of colors represents modern LGBTQ identities.
The Bisexual Pride Flag
Michael Page, 1998
The bisexual pride flag was designed by Michael Page on December 5, 1998 to increase bi and bisexual visibility within the LGBTQIA+ community. The magenta stripe represents same-gender attraction, the blue stripe represents opposite-gender attraction, and the smaller lavender strip represents attraction towards both genders. The pink and blue blending together to create purple reflects the real world experiences of bisexuals as they can blend in with gay, lesbian, and straight communities.
The Biromantic Pride Flag
2016
Biromantic refers to a romantic attraction to two or more genders. Biromantic people may or may not be sexually attracted to two genders as well. This formula can be applied to any sexuality flag if the person identifies as biromantic.
Inclusive Biromantic Pride Flag
RemyWest123, 2021
In 2021, a more inclusive alternate biromantic flag was created with an expanding purple stripe to represent non-binary people and a color gradient to represent a greater number of gender identities and expressions. Biromantic people can be of many different genders and any sexual orientation.
The Bear Brotherhood Pride Flag
Craig Byrnes, 1995
The bear brotherhood flag was created by Craig Byrnes in 1995 to represent the bear subculture. A bear within gay male culture refers to a large-sized hairier man who projects a sense of “rugged masculinity”. The dark brown, orange/rust, golden yellow, tan, white, gray, and black stripes of the flag represent the fur of the bear.
The Trans-Inclusive Gay Men's Pride Flag
2019
The Trans- Inclusive gay men flag was created to increase the color range due to the previous colors being stereotypical to gender binary. This updated flag is inclusive of a much wide range of gay men, including but not limited to transgender, intersex, and gender nonconforming men. Turquoise and green represents community, healing, and joy. the whit represents gender non-conforming, non-binary, and transgender folks. The blue represents pure love, fortitude and diversity.
The Butch Lesbian Pride Flag
Butch lesbian typically refers to a butch woman who has a masculine expression. This can be either physically, mentally, or emotionally. This flag was created in the style of the Rainbow Pride Flag and the Lesbian Pride Flag, but with darker, more “masculine” colors as an alternative to the lighter feminine colors of the original. The color scheme, therefore, has more of a singular meaning rather than each color having its own individual definition.
The Achillean Pride Flag
Achillean refers to a man or man-aligned individual who is attracted to other men and men-aligned people. This describes all sexual orientations where someone male or man-aligned is attracted to others, serving as an umbrella term for men and non-binary people who are gay, pansexual, bisexual, queer, or other sexualities in which men are attracted to men. It is similar to and sometimes known as men loving men (MLM).
The Sapphic Pride Flag
The sapphic flag has two pink stripes on the top and bottom, symbolizing love. In the center there is a violet, which was historically given to women to symbolize their sapphic love. There's also a version of the flag with a pair of violets in the center that represents the love between two women.
The Pink Lesbian Pride Flag
2010
The all pink lesbian flag was altered from the lipstick lesbian flag created in 2010 and like the name says, represents the many different shades of lipstick. The pink lesbian flag is critiqued as the color only represents Femme lesbians. Many changes have been made to increase inclusivity and today there are over 13 variations of the lesbian flag.
The Sunset Lesbian Pride Flag
Emily Gwen, 2018
The sunset lesbian flag was created to be more inclusive towards butch, trans, and on-conforming women. Each color was given a representative meaning. The Dark Orange represents gender-non conforming, coral orange represents independence, and light orange which represents community. White represents the unique relationship to womanhood, pink represents serenity and peace, pastel pink represents love and sex, and dark pink represents femininity.
The All Lesbian Pride Flag
Lydia, 2019
The flag has expanded as an umbrella pride flag for all sapphic lesbian identities and has become known in internet circles as “the sapphic flag.” Lydia maintained violet in recognition of the early 1900’s tradition of lesbian women exchanging blue violets to the women they were secretly dating. Lydia based the flag design on one of Sappho's poems when she describes her lover as wearing violets, rosebuds, dill and crocuses. The violet represents sapphic love, the pink represents fragility, the yellow represents strength, and the dill green represents healing.
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The Labrys Lesbian Pride Flag
Sean Campbell, 1999
In 1999, Sean Campbell designed the labrys lesbian flag. A labrys is a double-headed battle-ax that can be traced back to matriarchal societies such as the masons of mythology. In the 1970s the labrys was adopted by cisgender woman as a symbol of empowerment by the feminist community. The purple in the flag represents cisgender women and is associated with Sappho's poetry. The black triangle symbolizes lesbians and is a call back to when the Nazis captured homosexual women and labeled them with black triangles for being “asocial”.
The Asexual Pride Flag
Visibility and Education Network, 2010
In 2010, the sexual Visibility and Education Network contest created a contest that challenged participants to create an asexual flag. Generally defined: asexual individuals lack sexual attraction to all genders. Within the flag black represents asexuality, gray represents Gray-asexuality and demisexuality, white represents non-asexual partners and allies, and purple represents community.
The Asexual Biromantic Pride Flag
A person who identifies as biromantic can be romantically attracted to multiple genders. When a person is asexual, they are not sexually attracted to anyone. Biromantic asexual's seek romantic, but not sexual, relationships with people of more than one gender identity.
The Demisexual Pride Flag
2010
The demisexual pride flag represents those who feel sexual attraction only to people with whom they have an emotional bond with. Demisexual is on the asexual spectrum and therefore mirrors many of the same colors. Within the flag white represents sexuality, and purple represents community. Grey represents demisexuality through the grey area between sexual attraction and sexuality and black represents sexuality.
The Genderfluid Pride Flag
JJ Poole, 2013
The genderfluid flag was created in 2013 to represent people whose gender identity and/or expression is fluid and may fluctuate at different times or in different circumstances. The flag’s five stripes express the diversity of genderfluidity. The pink stripe represents femineity and the blue stripe represents masculinity. The purple stripe represents a mix between femineity and masculinity. The black stripe represents the lack of gender and the white stripe represents all ganders.
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The Genderqueer Pride Flag
Marilyn Roxie, 2011
The genderqueer pride flag was created in 2011 by Marilyn Roxie to represent people whose gender identity does not fit within the male/female binary. In this flag, lavender represents androgyny and other queer identities, white represents agender identity and green represents those who identify outside the binary.
The Agender Pride Flag
Salem, 2014
The agender flag was created in 2014 to represent those that do not have a gender or are gender neutral. The black and white stripes represent the absence of gender, the grey stripes represent semi-genderlessness, and the green stripe represents non-binary genders because it is an invert of purple and outside the blue-pink gendered spectrum.
The Aromantic Pride Flag
2014
The Aromantic Pride Flag represents people who either do not experience romantic attraction or do so in a nontraditional way. The color green represents aromanticism, and it appears in two shades on the flag, along with white (for platonic and aesthetic attraction), gray (for gray-aromantic and demiromantic people), and black (for the sexuality spectrum).
The Demiromantic Pride Flag
2011
Often grouped under the asexual umbrella, demiromantic individuals only become romantically attracted to someone after forming an emotional bond with them. Black represents the sexuality spectrum, and grey represents grey-aromanticism and demiromanticism. White represents platonic and aesthetic attraction and green represents the aromantic spectrum.
The Intersex Pride Flag
Morgan Carpenter, 2013
The Intersex pride flag was created by Morgan Carpenter ( the cochair of Intersex Human Rights Australia) in 2013. The flag utilizes a purple circle which represents an unbroken and unornamented symbol of wholeness. Purple and yellow ere chosen as they were viewed as free from gender associations. Some intersex people may not identify as queer, so this this flag's use may be contested.
The Non-Binary Pride Flag
Kye Rowan, 2014
The non-binary pride flag was created in 2014 by Kye Rowan to represent those who identify as a gender other than wo/man and/or who are not wo/men exclusively. The flag has four even horizontal stripes. The yellow stripe represents being outside the gender binary, and the white stripe represents people who are many genders (as white is the presence of all light). The purple stripe represents the fluidity of gender experiences, and black represents agender and other genderless identities.
The Pansexual Pride Flag
Jasper V., 2010
Pansexuality is the romantic, emotional, and/or sexual attraction to people regardless of their gender. People of any gender identity can and do identify as pansexual. It was created to both increase pansexual visibility and differentiate the group from bisexual individuals. Within the flag, the pink represents attraction to those who identify as female, the blue represents attraction to those who identify as male, and the yellow stripe represents attraction to those who identify as genderqueer, nonbinary, agender, androgynous, or anyone who doesn’t identify on the male-female binary.
The Polysexual Pride Flag
Samlin, 2012
The polysexual flag represents those who are attracted to multiple genders, Within the flag, pink represents attraction to women, blue represents attraction to men, and green represents attraction to non-binary individuals.
The Androgyne Pride Flag
2011
Androgyne is a gender identity in which a person has a gender that is a blend of both binary genders or an in-between of masculinity and femineity. In this flag the pink represents femininity, the blue represents masculinity, and the purple is the combination or mix of both.
The Abrosexual Pride Flag
Mod Chad, 2015
The abrosexual flag represents those whose sexuality is changing or fluid. A person who is abrosexual may at times be pansexual but at other times heterosexual or asexual.
The Transgender Pride Flag
Monica Helms, 1999
The first transgender flag was created by Monica Helms in 1999 as a symbol of trans diversity and rights and was first debuted as the 2000 pride parade in Phoenix. She used pink and blue stripes to represent colors that have traditionally been associated with girls and boys, with white for people who are intersex, transitioning, or who don’t have a defined gender. Helms also created the pattern so that no matter which direction, it would fly correctly.
The Demigirl Pride Flag
2015
A demigirl is a gender identity describing someone who partially identifies as a woman or girl. In addition to feeling partially like a girl or woman, demigirls also feel partly outside the binary. That can include anything under the non-binary umbrella like agender, genderqueer, or xenogenders for example.
The Demiboy Pride Flag
2015
A demiboy is a gender identity describing someone who partially identifies as a man or boy. In addition to feeling partially like a boy or man, demiboys also feel partly outside the binary. That can include anything under the non-binary umbrella like agender, genderqueer, or xenogenders for example.
The Deminonbinary Pride Flag
Daniel Quasar, 2015
Deminonbinary typically refers to a person who partially identifies as non-binary. Deminonbinary individuals may or may not identify with other genders. They may also have a partial connection to other genders but not enough to identify as another gender
The Pangender Pride Flag
Cari Rez Lobo, 2015
Pangender is someone who feels comfortable with different kinds of gender labels and whose gender identity is not limited to one gender and may encompass all genders at once. Within the flag, yellow is for all genders that aren’t connected to female and male and are represented by the yellow color. Light red color denotes the transition between the genders of female and male and Light violet-pink represents female and male. Lastly, white symbolizes the union of all of the genders.
The Bigender Pride Flag
This pink, purple, white, and blue Pride flag represents different gender identities, with the white stripe in the middle inspired by the Transgender Pride Flag. Pink represents femineity, purple represents a combination of male and female genders, white represents non-binary genders, and blue represents masculinity.
The Trigender Pride Flag
Daniel Quasar, 2018
Trigender is a gender identity in which a person switches between or among several genders, including a third gender (genderless, a mix of masculine and feminine, or any other variety of genderqueer identities). Within the flag pink represents femineity and female genders. Blue represents masculinity and male genders. lastly, green represents androgyny and the/other genders.
The Genderflux Pride Flag
Daniel Quasar, 2018
Genderflux is a catch-all phrase for gender identities in which one’s gender or sense of the intensity of one’s gender changes over time. A person who is genderflux experiences a range of intensity within a gender identity. The dark pink represents women, light prink represents demigirls, and grey represents agender. Light blue represents demiboys, dark blue represents men, and yellow represents non-binary genders.
The Graysexual Pride Flag
Milith Rusignuolo, 2013
Graysexuality, also known as grey asexuality, gray-a, gray-ace, or grey-ace, is a word used to describe persons who identify as asexual but do not fall into one of the primary kinds of asexuality. Typically it is a person who experiences limited sexual attraction. It was intended to represent someone starting with no sexual attraction (purple signifying asexuality), then going through a single episode of attraction (grey to white) with white indicating allosexuality from the asexual flag, and then returning to asexuality.
The Hijra Pride Flag
Samir, 2018
The flag was created to represent the Hijra gender traditionally in south & south-east Asia. In India, the hijra is a formalized third gender status. As worshippers of the Mother Goddess Bahuchara Mata, their divine abilities are dependent on their asexuality. Pink and blue are for binary identities, white is for nonbinary identities, and the red represents divinity blessed by Rama.
The Maverique Pride Flag
Vesper H., 2014
Maverique is a nonbinary or abinary gender that has a significant gendered experience but is neither male nor female. It is defined by autonomy and inner conviction about a notion of gender that is unusual, atypical, and exists independently of standard gender conceptions. Yellow represents agender, white signifies autonomy and independence, and orange symbolizes inner conviction.
The Polyamory Pride Flag
Jim Evans, 1995
The polyamory flag was created by Jim Evans in 1995. The flag contains three strips each with specific meanings. The blue stripe represents openness and honesty of all parties involved in the relationships. The red stripe represents love and passion and the black stripe represents solidarity with those who must hide their polyamorous relationships from the world. The yellow pi symbol represents the infinite number of options for partners available to polyamorous people.
The Drag Pride Flag
Sean Campbell, 1999
In this flag the purple represents a passion for drag, white represents the blank slate when creating drag characters, blue represents self-expression and loyalty. The crown represents leadership within the community and the stars represent the many forms of drag.
The Feather Pride Flag
Sean Campbell, 1999
The Feather Pride Flag is a symbol for the Drag community, which encompass those who are into Drag Queens, Fancy Kings, their courts and fetishes. It has a phoenix in its center which symbolizes rebirth and fires of passion with which the drag community exercises to raise awareness and funds in their communities.
The Straight Ally Pride Flag
Daniel Quasar, 2018
The ally flag uses black-white "colors" of the heterosexual flag as a field, and adds a large rainbow colored "A" (for "Ally") to indicate straight support for the Gay Pride/Equal Marriage movement. A straight ally or heterosexual ally is a heterosexual and/or cisgender person who supports equal civil rights, gender equality, LGBT social movements, and challenges homophobia, biphobia and transphobia.