LGBTQ+ Pride Month

THE RAINBOW FLAG

The original Rainbow Flag (top image) was designed by Gilbert Baker, an openly gay man, and a drag queen. He was urged by Harvey Milk, one of the first openly gay elected officials in the US, to create a symbol of pride for the gay community. The flag debuted at the San Francisco Gay Freedom Day Parade on June 25, 1978.

Originally eight stripes, the current version of the flag (bottom image) is six stripes.

• Pink: Sex
• Red: Life
• Orange: Healing
• Yellow: Sunlight
• Green: Nature
• Turquoise: Art
• Indigo: Harmony
• Violet: Spirit

Source

• Thad Morgan, "How Did the Rainbow Flag Become an LGBT Symbol?," History, June 2, 2017. (www.history.com/news/how-did-the-rainbow-flag-become-an-lgbt-symbol)

AGENDER

Agender is defined as not having a gender, or "lack of gender."

The flag was designed by Salem X in 2014. There are seven horizontal stripes in the flag:

• Black and white: an absence of gender.
• Gray: semi-genderlessness.
• Green: non-binary gender.

Source

• Sian Ferguson, "What Does It Mean to Be Agender?," Healthline, January 20, 2021. (www.healthline.com/health/agender)
• Rachel Alatalo, "Flags fo the LGBTIQ Community," OutRight Action International, August 7, 2017. (outrightinternational.org/content/flags-lgbtiq-community)

AROMANTIC

An aromantic person is someone who does not experience romantic attraction or does so in a significantly different way than is traditionally thought of.

The flag was designed by Tumblr user Cameron (@cameronwhimsy) from Australia on February 7, 2014.

There are five horizontal stripes:

• Green: aromanticism 
• Light green: the aromantic spectrum
• White: aesthetic attraction
• Gray: gray-aromantic and demiromantic people
• Black: sexuality spectrum

Source

• Samantha Lauriello, "What’s the Difference Between Asexual and Aromantic? We Called in the Experts," Health, February 27, 2019. (www.health.com/sex/asexual-aromantic-sexuality)
• The Gender and Sexuality Resource Center, "Pride Flags," University of Northern Colorado, April 23, 2021. (www.unco.edu/gender-sexuality-resource-center/resources/pride-flags.aspx)

ASEXUALITY

An asexual person is someone who does not experience sexual attraction or an intrinsic desire to have sexual relationships.

The flag was designed by a member of the Asexuality Visibility and Education Network (AVEN) as part of a contest in 2010.

There are 4 horizontal stripes:

• Black: asexuality
• Grey: asexuality and demisexuality
• White: non-asexual partners and allies
• Purple: community

Source

• "General FAQ," The Asexual Visibility and Education Network. (www.asexuality.org/?q=general.html#ex1)
• "The Asexuality Flag," Asexuality Archive, February 20, 2012. (www.asexualityarchive.com/the-asexuality-flag/)

BISEXUALITY

The flag was designed by Michael Page, and it was introduced on December 5, 1998.

There are three horizontal stripes: magenta (pink) 40%, lavender (purple) 20%, and royal (blue) 40%

• Pink: sexual attraction to same-sex only (gay and lesbian)
• Blue: sexual attraction to the opposite sex (straight)
• Purple: sexual attraction to both sexes (bi)

Source:

• Michael Page, "The History of the Bi Pride Flag," BiFlag, August 1, 2001. (web.archive.org/web/20010801185547/http:/www.biflag.com/Activism.asp)

Image: web.archive.org/web/20010801185547/http:/www.biflag.com/Activism.asp

GENDERFLUID

Genderfluid people are people whose gender changes over time. 

There are five horizontal stripes in the flag, which represent the fluctuations and flexibility of gender in gender-fluid people. 

• Pink: Feminnity.
• White: a lack of gender.
• Purple: the combination of masculinity and femininity including carious degrees of androgyny.
• Black: represents all other genders, third genders, and pangender.
• Blue: masculinity.

Source

• The Gender and Sexuality Resource Center, "Pride Flags," University of Northern Colorado, April 23, 2021. (www.unco.edu/gender-sexuality-resource-center/resources/pride-flags.aspx)

GENDERQUEER

Genderqueer is gender identity that is built around the term "queer." 

To be queer is to exist in a way that may not align with heterosexual or homosexual norms. Although it’s typically used to describe a person’s sexual orientation, it can also be used to express nonbinary gender identity. 

The flag has three horizontal stripes:

• Lavender: mix of blue and pink, colors associated with men and women, and represent androgyny as well as queer identities.
• White:  agender or gender-neutral identities.
• Chartreuse: inverse of lavender and represents third gender identities and identities outside the gender binary.

Source

• KC Clements, "What Does It Mean to Identify as Genderqueer?," Healthline, September 18. 2018. (www.healthline.com/health/transgender/genderqueer)

INTERSEX

Intersex people are those who do not exhibit all the biological characteristics of male or female, or exhibit a combination of characteristics, at birth.

The flag was created by Morgan Carpenter of Intersex Human Rights Australia in 2013.

It is a yellow flag with a purple open circle  - “The circle is unbroken and un-ornamented, symbolizing wholeness and completeness, and our potentialities,” the group states of the flag design.

Source

• Morgan Carpenter, "An Intersex Flag," Intersex Human Rights Australia, July 5, 2013. (ihra.org.au/22773/an-intersex-flag/)

LESBIAN

There have been several designs of the lesbian pride flag over the years.

• Top left: Labrys version
  • Designed by Sean Campbell in 1999, this design draws on Greek mythology. In ancient Greece, the Amazons were a tribe of warrior women who wielded the double-headed labrys axe. The black triangle refers to the symbol used to identify lesbians to in Nazi concentration camps.
  • The color violet became associated with lesbians via the poetry of Sappho
• Top right: Lipstick lesbian pride flag
  • Created in 2010, this design has 6 stripes in shades of pink and red, a white bar in the center, and a lipstick kiss symbol in the top left corner. It's said to represent femmes, or lesbians with a more feminine expression of their gender. It has been criticized for excluding butch women.
• Bottom left: 2018 version
  • Designed by tumblr user sadlesbeandisaster, this version has seven stripes.
    • Dark orange representing 'gender non-conformity',
    • Orange for 'independence',
    • Light orange for 'community',
    • White for 'unique relationships to womanhood',
    • Pink for 'serenity and peace',
    • Dusty pink for 'love and sex',
    • Dark rose for 'femininity'.
• Bottom right: current version
  • A 5-stripe version was created for easier replication.

Sources

• Sarah Prager, "Four Flowering Plants That Have Been Decidedly Queered," JStor, January 29, 2020. (daily.jstor.org/four-flowering-plants-decidedly-queered/)
• Claire Gillespie, "22 Different Pride Flags and What They Represent in the LGBTQ+ Community," Health, June 18, 2020. (www.health.com/mind-body/different-pride-flags-what-they-represent)
• "Lesbian flag: The history, origins, meaning and symbolism," Cosmopolitan, March 18, 2021. (www.cosmopolitan.com/uk/love-sex/relationships/a30254147/lesbian-flag/)
• https://official-lesbian-flag.tumblr.com/
• https://majesticmess.com/encyclopedia/lesbian-flag-sadlesbeandisaster/
• https://sadlesbeandisaster.tumblr.com/post/174514713156/honestly-my-ideal-lesbian-pride-flag-would-be-the

NONBINARY

Nonbinary means any gender identity that is not strictly male or female all the time. There are many different identities within this category including androgyny, genderqueerness, third gender, and transgender. 

The flag was created by Kye Rowan in 2014. The design includes four horizontal stripes:

• Yellow: people who identify outside of the gender binary.
• White: nonbinary people with multiple genders.
• Purple: those with a mixture of both male and female genders.
• Black: genderless identities.

Sources

• "Gender Alphabet," Safe Homes. (www.safehomesma.org/gender_alphabet.pdf)
• The Gender and Sexuality Resource Center, "Pride Flags," University of Northern Colorado, April 23, 2021. (www.unco.edu/gender-sexuality-resource-center/resources/pride-flags.aspx)

PANSEXUAL

Pansexuality is the attraction to people regardless of gender identity. 

The flag was introduced in 2010, which has 3 horizontal stripes.

• Pink: attraction to women
• Yellow: attraction to men
• Blue: attraction to everyone else (nonbinary gender, agender, bigender, genderfluid)

Source

• The Gender and Sexuality Resource Center, "Pride Flags," University of Northern Colorado, April 23, 2021. (www.unco.edu/gender-sexuality-resource-center/resources/pride-flags.aspx)

PHILADELPHIA PRIDE FLAG

The flag was designed by marketing firm Tierney and was revealed in June 2017.

The black and brown stripes were added to the top of the original pride flag created by Gilbert Baker. "The black and brown stripes are an inclusionary way to highlight black and brown LGBTQIA members within our community."

Source

• Ernest Owens, "Philly’s Pride Flag to Get Two New Stripes: Black and Brown," Philadelphia City Life, June 7, 2017. (phillymag.com/news/2017/06/08/philly-pride-flag-black-brown/)

TRANSGENDER

The flag was designed by Monica Helms in 1999 and was first shown at a pride parade in Phoenix, AZ in 2000.

• The top and bottom stripes are light blue, the traditional color for baby boys.
• The stripes next to them are pink, the traditional color for baby girls.
• The center strip is white for people that are nonbinary or feel that they do not have a gender.
   

Sources

• Stephanie Fairyington, "The Smithsonian's Queer Collection," Advocate, November 12, 2014. (www.advocate.com/arts-entertainment/art/2014/11/12/smithsonians-queer-collection)
• Aaron Sankin, "Transgender Flag Flies In San Francisco’s Castro District After Outrage From Activists," HuffPost, November 20, 2012. (www.huffpost.com/entry/transgender-flag_n_2166742)