In 1978, Gilbert Baker designed the rainbow flag, which became an international symbol of pride for LGBTQ individuals. Over thirty volunteers stitched and dyed the first two flags. The flag’s colors were all deeply symbolic: Pink symbolized sex, red a celebration of life, orange passion and healing, yellow brightness, green nature, turquoise magic, blue serenity, and violet a powerful message to take home with you. At the Gay Freedom Parade that year, Milk hoped to announce the new design.Īn artist and gay rights activist, Baker designed an eight-color striped flag immediately. In 1978, Harvey Milk, the first openly gay mayor in California, commissioned Gilbert Baker to design a symbol of the LGBTQ+ community. It is said the entire chain of events started with a single parade.
What led to the rainbow flag becoming a symbol for LGBT people? Hot pink was at the top, meaning sex, red meant life, orange meant healing, yellow meant sunshine, green meant nature, turquoise meant art, indigo meant harmony, and violet meant spirit.
There were eight colors on the original flag, each of which signified something distinct. For example, pink is the color of sex, red is the color of life, orange is the color of healing, yellow is the color of sunlight, green is the color of nature, turquoise is the color of art, and violet is the color of harmony.īecause LGBT people come in a range of races, ages, genders, and colors, rainbows symbolize togetherness in nature. Since Baker viewed the Rainbow as a natural flag, he chose eight colors, each of which has a meaning. Baker was later revealed to have been urged to create a symbol of pride for the gay community by Harvey Milk, one of the first openly gay elected officials in the United States.īaker created a flag as a symbol of pride because he saw flags as the most powerful symbol. Gilbert Baker, a drag queen and openly gay artist designed the first rainbow flag in 1978. Up until that point, the Pink triangle had been used by the community as a symbol. On June 25, 1978, the first gay pride flags were flown at the San Francisco Gay Freedom Day Parade.
Rainbow flags can be seen on many products. The first rainbow flag Baker designed had eight colors, though the most popular variant has six – red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and violet. Since its debut in 1978, the design has undergone several revisions, first to remove colors, then to add them based on fabric availability. The LGBT community uses many flags and symbols in addition to the rainbow to communicate different identities. LGBT people and allies use a rainbow flag and a variety of rainbow-themed items as an outward symbol of their identity. Pride events worldwide have been using rainbow flags as a symbol of LGBT rights since San Francisco in the 1960s. Known as the LGBT pride flag, the colors of this flag represent the diversity of sexual orientations and genders within the LGBT community. The rainbow flag represents pride and social movements associated with lesbians, gays, bisexuals, transgender people, and queers. The red stripe is on top when displayed horizontally, as it would be in a natural rainbow. You’re now looking at the modified version that was created in Colorado in 2017 by the University of Northern Colorado poly community, according to their website.The LGBT pride flag consists of six colors (from top to bottom): red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and violet. The history: It can be traced all the way back to Jim Evans in 1995, who “wanted to create an anonymous symbol for the polyamorous community,” according to the Gender & Sexuality Resource Center at University of Northern Colorado. “The infinity heart sign represents the infinite love for multiple partners at the same time,” according to the Gender & Sexuality Resource Center at University of Northern Colorado. And the infinity heart sign on top of all the colors is truly where you see its meaning. “Polyamory is a form of consensual nonmonogamy that emphasizes emotional connection among multiple partners,” says Elisabeth Sheff, PhD, author of The Polyamorists Next Door: Inside Multiple-Partner Relationships and Families, who previously told Cosmopolitan. The meaning: First, it’s important to understand the term.