The Pride flag is a symbol of hope and unity for the LGBTQIA+ community. It was created by Gilbert Baker in 1978, and has since become an internationally recognized symbol of queer pride. There are many different versions of the Pride flag, each with their own meaning and symbolism. Here's a look at some of the most popular Pride flags:
The Rainbow Flag
This is probably the most recognisable of all the LGBTQ flags. The six-coloured rainbow flag was created by Gilbert Baker in 1978 as a symbol for gay pride. The colours represent life (red), healing (orange), sunlight (yellow), nature (green), harmony/peace (blue), and spirit (purple). It is also one of the few symbols of pride that is internationally recognised, which makes it an iconic representation of LGBTQ rights around the world.
At Pride parades, you're likely to see several variations on this flag being waved around in celebration – such as a black and brown stripes added to represent people of colour or blue, pink, and white stripes added to represent transgender people.
The Bisexual Pride Flag
This one is pretty self-explanatory – it’s got three colours – pink (representing same-sex attraction), blue (representing opposite-sex attraction) and purple (representing both). Designed by Michael Page in 1998, this flag helps bisexual people show their solidarity with other members of the LGBT community while also expressing their own sexual orientation at events like Pride parades or marches.
The Pansexual Flag
Yellow, pink, and blue make up the pansexual pride flag. It symbolises the fact that pansexuals have romantic relationships with people of different genders and sexualities, including androgynous, agender, bigender, and genderfluid individuals.
As an ambiguous colour, yellow is ideal for representing non-binary attractions. Females identify with the pink stripe, while males identify with the blue stripe.
The Nonbinary Flag
Designed in 2014, the nonbinary pride flag features yellow, white, purple, and black horizontal stripes. Nonbinary people who do not feel like the genderqueer flag represents them can use this design alongside Roxie's.
In the yellow stripe are people who do not identify with a gender binary, in the white stripe are people who identify with many or all genders, in the purple stripe are people who identify as a mix of male and female, and in the black stripe are people who do not identify with a gender.
The Genderfluid Flag
In this flag, there are five horizontal stripes: pink for femininity, blue for masculinity, purple for both masculinity and femininity, black for a lack of gender, and white for all genders.
The Genderqueer Flag
Marilyn Roxie, a genderqueer writer and advocate, designed the Genderqueer Pride flag in 2011 with lavender, white, and chartreuse stripes. In Roxie's opinion, the lavender stripe represents androgyny and queer identities because it is a mixture of blue and pink, which are traditionally associated with men and women.
As in the transgender pride flag, the white stripe represents agender or gender neutral identities. Third gender and non-binary identities are represented by the chartreuse stripe, the inverse of lavender.
The Progress Pride Flag
In order to emphasise inclusion and progression, Quasar added a five-colour chevron to the Rainbow Flag. In addition to the six-coloured Rainbow Flag, which is widely recognized as the symbol of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBTQ+) communities, Quasar's Progress Pride Flag added five arrow-shaped lines.
Apart from the colours pink, light blue, and white used on the Transgender Pride Flag, the flag has black and brown stripes to represent marginalised LGBTQ+ communities of colour.
Conclusion:
There are many different kinds of flags that represent various aspects of the LGBTQ community. Each one has its own unique design and meaning behind it – from celebrating gay pride to expressing your identity through culture. So next time you see someone proudly waving one of these flags around – no matter which kind – know that they are showing their support for everyone in the LGBT community! Whether it’s at a march or parade, be sure to join them in showing your pride!