The Pride Flag was created by Gilbert Baker to represent the multitudes of people that identify as a part of the LGBTQ+ community. In a 2015 interview, he revealed the rationale behind the design of the pride flag, stating, “We needed something to express our joy, our beauty, our power. And the rainbow did that,” (1)
The Pride Flag has become a symbol of liberation and protest for LGBTQ+ rights and is flown around the world.
Here is a brief history of the Pride Flag:
In 1978, artist and gay rights activist Gilbert Baker designs the first rainbow flag. The original eight-color flag flew at the San Francisco Gay Freedom Day Parade in June 1978. From top down, the colors represent sex, life, healing, sunlight, nature, magic and art, harmony, and spirit.
In 1979, the pride flag was using six colors. A few colors were removed, leaving the six-color flag is still used to this day.
The bisexual pride flag is created in 1998. The pink represents attraction to the same-sex, the blue represents opposite-sex attraction, and the purple overlap represents attraction to both.
In 1999, the first transgender pride flag is created. The light pink and blue represent the traditionally boy and girl colors while the white represents people who are transitioning, neutral or undefined genders, and intersexuality.
In 2018, Daniel Quasar created the “Progress Flag”, which combines elements of many past and current pride flags. The new colors in the chevron represent (from left to right) trans individuals, people of color, those living with HIV/AIDS, and deceased members of the LGBTQ+ community.
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For more information about the different pride flags, visit this site!
Footnotes:
(1) Jacopo Prisco, A Colorful History of the Rainbow Flag, CNN, June 2019.
