_What do all the Pride flags mean?

As the Pride Community celebrates not just sexual attraction, but romantic attraction and gender identity, many people relate to multiple flags. There are over fifty different identities with flags to represent them. This matters because visibility saves lives, and no one should feel shame for expressing themselves.

Emeree Mastin shares this simple guide to the most used flags and what the acronym LGBTQIA means.

The Rainbow Flag (1978)

You’ve probably seen this renowned flag, first flown in the San Francisco Gay Freedom Day parade on 25 June 1978. But did you know the original Pride flag had eight, not six colours?

The Original Pride Flag (1978)

The Original Pride flag was first flown in 1978 and included pink and teal. Its creator, Gilbert Baker, assigned the following meanings to the colours:

Pink – Sex
Red – Life
Orange – Healing
Yellow – The Sun
Green – Nature
Teal – Art and Magic
Blue – Serenity
Purple – The Spirit

The Philadelphia Pride Flag (2017)

The city of Philadelphia adopted the Rainbow Flag adding black and brown stripes to represent Black, Indigenous, and People of Colour (BIPOC).

The Progressive Pride Flag (2018)

The Progressive Pride Flag was created in 2018 and is based on the Philadelphia Flag. The light blue, pink and white stripes represent trans and non-binary individuals, and the brown and black ones represent marginalised People of Colour (POC) communities.

According to its creator, Daniel Quasar: “The black stripe has a double meaning as it is also intended for those living with AIDS and the stigma and prejudice surrounding them, and those who have been lost to the disease.” The arrow points to the right to show forward movement and illustrates that progress (towards inclusivity) still needs to be made.

The New Progress Pride Flag (2021)

The latest version of the Progressive Pride flag, designed by Valentino Vecchietti from Intersex Equality Rights UK, is inclusive of the Intersex community. It aims to highlight the devastating history of “correction” surgery committed against intersex people at birth.

The Lesbian Pride flag

This flag is inclusive of transwomen and celebrates women who love women.

Dark orange – Gender non-conforming
Orange – Independence
Light orange – Community
White – Unique relationships to womanhood
Pink – Serenity and peace
Dusty pink – Love and sex
Dark rose – Femininity

The New Gay Pride Flag

This flag represents men who love men. It’s inclusive of intersex and gender-non-conforming people as well as transmen.

Green – Community
Teal – Joy
White – Trans/Non-binary/gender non-conforming
Light blue – Masculinity
Purple – Fortitude
Indigo – Diversity

The Bisexual Pride Flag

This flag represents anyone who loves people of either two or more genders.

Pink – Same sex attraction
Purple – A combination of same and opposite sex attraction
Blue – Opposite sex attraction

The Transgender Pride Flag

This flag represents anyone who was born in the wrong body. Many people who transition to their preferred gender celebrate with this flag. According to its creator, Monica Helms, the flag's designed to be hung in any way and still be correct.

Blue – Colour regularly associated with boys
Pink – Colour regularly associated with girls
White – representing non-Binary people

The Queer Pride Flag

The term Queer, previously well known as a slur, is being reclaimed by some members of the Pride Community. This term is more ambiguous and nuanced and is used by those who prefer not to use more specific labels.

Pinks together, and blues together – Same sex attractions
Orange and green – Non-binary people
Black and white – The asexual, aromantic, and agender spectrum

The Intersex Pride Flag

This flag represents those born with both female and male reproductive organs. Yellow and purple defy the pink and blue colours, which are usually connected to the female/male binary. The circle signifies those who are intersex are not missing a piece; they are whole and do not require “corrective” surgery at birth.

The Asexual Pride Flag

Designed by the Asexual Visibility and Education Network (AVEN) in 2010, this flag represents those who do not experience sexual desire.

The colours represent:

Black – Asexuality
Grey – The grey area between sexual and asexual
White – Sexuality
Purple – Community

For further information please contact:

Emeree Mastin

Department Coordinator, SCA

Asset Management Services, Australia

+61 3 8682 0628

emeree.mastin@au.knightfrank.com

Sources:

The Complete Guide to Queer Pride Flags
Gay Flag Blog
How Did the Rainbow Flag Become a Symbol of LGBTQ Pride?
Daniel Quasar redesigns LGBT Rainbow Flag to be more inclusive
Queer 101
Queer In The World
The Progress Pride Flag Is Getting an Intersex-Inclusive Makeover
GLBT Historical Society