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Rainbow colors and gay pride

How Did the Rainbow Flag Change into an LGBTQ+ Symbol?

It’s not uncommon to see rainbow flags flying outside of homes and bars, pinned to shirts and on the back of bumpers—all with the proclamation that #LoveIsLove. But who created the rainbow flag, and why did it develop a symbol of the Diverse community?

The rainbow flag was created in by artist, designer, Vietnam War veteran and then-drag actor, Gilbert Baker. He was commissioned to create a flag by another gay icon, politician Harvey Milk, for San Francisco’s annual pride parade.

The decision to enlist Baker proved serendipitous, as the idea of a flag to represent the gay and woman-loving woman community had occurred to him two years earlier. As Baker told the Museum of Up-to-date Art during a interview, he had been inspired by the celebrations marking America’s bicentennial in , noting that the unwavering display of stars and stripes made him realize the cultural need for a similar rallying sign for the gay society. And as a struggling performative performer who was accustomed to creating his own garments, he was well-equipped to sew the soon-

The Progress Pride flag was developed in by non-binary American artist and planner Daniel Quasar (who uses xe/xyr pronouns). Based on the iconic rainbow flag from , the redesign celebrates the diversity of the LGBTQ community and calls for a more inclusive community. In , the V&A acquired a bespoke applique version of the Progress Pride flag that can be seen on display in the Design – Now gallery.

'Progress' is a reinterpretation of multiple iterations of the pride flag. The original 'rainbow flag' was created by Gilbert Baker in to rejoice members of the gay and sapphic political movement. It comprised eight coloured stripes stacked on top of each other to evoke a rainbow, a symbol of expect. Baker assigned a specific meaning to each colour: pink for sex, red for life, orange for healing, yellow for sunlight, emerald for nature, turquoise for magic, indigo for serenity and violet for soul. A year later the pink and turquoise stripes were dropped owing to a shortage of pink fabric at the time and legibility concerns, resulting in the six-colour rainbow flag most commo

History of the Rainbow Flag

The history of the rainbow flag is a opulent , fascinating, and very recent one!

Artist and activist Gilbert Baker is credited with creating the first identity festival flag, meant to symbolize the gay community. He was approached by Harvey Milk, the first openly gay person elected to public office in California, in to create a symbol of pride for the community. “Flags are about proclaiming power” Baker said.

Baker was inspired by the United States flag, with its series of stacked lines, and also by Pop Art of the time. Several communities at the time had reclaimed the Pink Triangle as a symbol of queer power. The Pink Triangle was used in Nazis concentration camps to identify men imprisoned for their homosexuality. Despite the Pink Triangle’s prevalence, Baker argued that there was a need for a new symbol “We needed something beautiful. Something from us.”

The flag was first flown in San Francisco’s United Nation’s Plaza in June of Some historians have argued that the idea of the rainbow flag came about because of the rainbow’s link to actress Judy Garland

LGBTQ+ Pride Flags

In the LGBTQ+ community, we signify our pride with flags. With many unlike identities in the collective, there comes many unlike flags to know. We have collected all of the flags and a guide to learn about all of the unlike colors of our community’s rainbow. We know that this may not be all of the flags that represent our collective, but we will update the page as fresh flags become popular!

Explore the flag collection below! Watch 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 after activist Harvey Milk asked artist Gilbert Baker to design a symbol of gay pride. Each dye represents a different part of the LGBTQ+ community: hot pink represents sex, red symbolizes life, orange stands for healing, yellow equals sunlight, green stands for nature, turquoise symbolizes magic and art,