Why does the rainbow represent gay pride

The history of the rainbow flag is a affluent, fascinating, and very recent one!

Artist and activist Gilbert Baker is credited with creating the first self-acceptance flag, meant to symbolize the gay community. He was approached by Harvey Milk, the first openly gay person elected to public office in California, in to create a symbol of pride for the community. “Flags are about proclaiming power” Baker said.

Baker was inspired by the United States flag, with its series of stacked lines, and also by Pop Art of the time. Several communities at the time had reclaimed the Pink Triangle as a symbol of queer power. The Pink Triangle was used in Nazis concentration camps to identify men imprisoned for their homosexuality. Despite the Pink Triangle’s prevalence, Baker argued that there was a need for a new symbol “We needed something beautiful. Something from us.”

The flag was first flown in San Francisco’s United Nation’s Plaza in June of Some historians have argued that the idea of the rainbow flag came about because of the rainbow’s link to actress Judy Garland. A strong supporter of the gay community, queer men were occasionally called “friends of Dorothy”, in

How the Rainbow Became a Symbol for Lgbtq+ fest – and Why it Matters

Every June, the LGBTQ+ community and allies celebrate Pride Month, and, in recent years, we have seen a substantial increase in companies showing their support by incorporating the rainbow flag as part of their logos and/or products. To those outside of the community this seems love a wonderful way to recognize Pride Month — but many in the LGBTQ+ community feel otherwise. The term “rainbow washing” has become the fresh label for the seemingly instantaneous and universal adjust from company colors to rainbow colors on June 1.  Rainbow washing is viewed as a performative act of support, rather than as a meaningful or intentional expression of support.  

I’d like to take a moment to explain what the colors on the Pride flag mean and share a brief history on the evolution of the flag — from where it started to how it is presented today.  

A symbol of and for pride  

It is common awareness that the rainbow flag is a symbol of LGBTQ+ Pride. However, it is less commonly famous that the colors reflect the diversity of the LGBTQ+ community​.  

The rainbow flag became a symbol for same-sex attracted Pr

The Progress Pride flag was developed in by neutrois American artist and planner 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 unique 'rainbow flag' was created by Gilbert Baker in to celebrate members of the gay and female homosexual 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 commonly used in the first decades of the 21st century.

Baker's flag was embraced internationally a

LGBTQ+ Pride Flags

In the LGBTQ+ community, we signify our pride with flags. With many unlike identities in the collective, there comes many distinct flags to know. We have collected all of the flags and a guide to learn about all of the alternative colors of our community’s rainbow. We know that this may not be all of the flags that represent our people, but we will update the page as recent flags become popular!

Explore the flag collection below! Spot a flag's name by hovering or clicking on the flag.

Umbrella Flags

• Gilbert Baker Pride Flag

• Traditional Pride Flag

• Philadelphia Pride Flag

• Progress Pride Flag

• Intersex-Inclusive Progress Pride Flag

• Queer Pride Flag

The original Pride Flag was created in after activist Harvey Milk asked artist Gilbert Baker to design a symbol of gay pride. Each paint represents a different part of the LGBTQ+ community: hot pink represents sex, red symbolizes life, orange stands for healing, yellow equals sunlight, green stands for nature, turquoise symbolizes magic and art, indigo represents serenity, while violet symbolizes the spirit of LGBTQ+ people.

After the assa

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