New gay men flag

You might be familiar with the six-colored rainbow flag that is widely used to represent the LGBTQ+ community. But did you know that this is a relatively new rendition of the original? 

The original flag (shown here) was designed by activist, veteran, drag queen, and artist, Gilbert Baker, and made its debut at the San Francisco Gay and Lesbian Freedom Day Parade in He was inspired by the Rolling Stones song She’s a Rainbow, and the s hippies movement, assigning each color with a specific meaning:

  • Pink: Sex (later removed)

  • Red: Life

  • Orange: Healing

  • Yellow: Sunlight

  • Green: Nature

  • Turquoise: Magic (later removed)

  • Indigo: Serenity

  • Violet: Spirit 

The evolution to the six-colored flag used today happened out of practicality. 

After the parade in , require for the Pride Flag increased, but the adj pink fabric was hard to find in massive quantities. Then, the Paramount Flag Company started making a version out of the standard rainbow colors to help meet command, and a seven-color pride flag was the modern norm.

A year later,

Pride Flags

Flags are often used as symbols of pride. It is no surprise then that numerous pride 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 pride flags. If you contain 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 known 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 passion other men.

    Date:
    Creator: Redesigned by DeviantArt (Tumblr user)
    Flag meaning: The first iteration was created by pridenpositivity (Tumblr user). The flag contains the color blu

    The Progress Pride flag was developed in by non-binary American artist and designer 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 original 'rainbow flag' was created by Gilbert Baker in to celebrate members of the gay and lesbian 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 nature, 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

    LGBTQ+ Pride Flags

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

    Explore the flag collection below! Notice 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 color 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,