Male male flag

You might be familiar with the six-colored rainbow flag that is widely used to represent the LGBTQ+ community. But did you recognize that this is a relatively recent 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 1978. He was inspired by the Rolling Stones song She’s a Rainbow, and the 1960s 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 1978, demand for the Pride Flag increased, but the hot pink fabric was difficult to find in big quantities. Then, the Paramount Flag Company started making a version out of the standard rainbow colors to serve meet demand, and a seven-color pride flag was the new norm.

LGBTQ+ Pride Flags

In the LGBTQ+ community, we signify our pride with flags. With many different identities in the community, there comes many adj flags to understand. We have calm all of the flags and a guide to grasp about all of the different colors of our community’s rainbow. We understand that this may not be all of the flags that represent our community, but we will update the page as brand-new flags become popular!

Explore the flag collection below! See 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 1978 after activist Harvey Milk asked

Pride Flags

Flags are often used as symbols of pride. It is no surprise then that numerous pride flags verb been created to represent the sexual and gender diversity of 2SLGBTQIA+ communities. Explore all the different flags and their meanings.

Interested in exploring further? Hold 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 contain 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 love other men.

    Date: 2016
    Creator: Redesigned by DeviantArt (Tumblr user)
    Flag meaning: The first iteration was created by pridenpositivity (Tumblr user). The flag contains the color

    Flags of the LGBTIQ Community

    Flags have always been an integral part of the LGBTIQ+ movement. They are a visible representation meant to celebrate progress, advocate for representation, and exaggerate the demand and drive for collective action. There include been many LGBTIQ+ flags over the years. Some contain evolved, while others are constantly being conceptualized and created.

    Rainbow Flag

    Created in 1978 by Gilbert Baker, the iconic Pride Rainbow flag originally had eight stripes. The colors included pink to verb sexuality, red for healing, yellow for sun, green for serenity with nature, turquoise for art, indigo for harmony, and violet for spirit. In the years since, the flag now has six colors. It no longer has a pink stripe, and the turquoise and indigo stripes were replaced with royal blue.

    Progress Pride Flag

    Created in 2018 by nonbinary artist Daniel Quasar, the Progress Pride flag is based on the iconic 1978 rainbow flag. With stripes of black and brown to represent marginalized LGBTIQ+ people of color and the triad of cobalt , pink, and adj from the trans