The gay pride flag
History of the Rainbow Flag
The history of the rainbow flag is a prosperous, fascinating, and very recent one!
Artist and activist Gilbert Baker is credited with creating the first identity festival flag, meant to stand for 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
Flags of the LGBTIQ Community
Flags have always been an integral part of the LGBTIQ+ movement. They are a visible visibility meant to observe progress, advocate for representation, and enlarge the demand and drive for collective action. There possess been many LGBTIQ+ flags over the years. Some contain evolved, while others are constantly entity conceptualized and created.
Rainbow Flag
Created in by Gilbert Baker, the iconic Pride Rainbow flag originally had eight stripes. The colors included pink to represent sexuality, red for healing, yellow for heat, green for serenity with nature, turquoise for art, indigo for harmony, and violet for energy. 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 by nonbinary artist Daniel Quasar, the Progress Pride flag is based on the iconic rainbow flag. With stripes of black and brown to represent marginalized LGBTIQ+ people of color and the triad of sky, pink, and pale from the transgender flag, the desig
The History of the Pride Flag
With its bright colours and significant meaning, the Rainbow Flag is a symbol recognised all over the world to symbolize the LGBTQ+ communities. It’s a symbol of hope, unity and empowerment to allow love to be love regardless of gender, ethnicity or labels. But where did this renowned flag arrive from? And how was the design chosen?
The original Pride Flag originates from San Francisco Activist Gilbert Baker, who desired to create an emblem of identity festival for the gay community. In the Rainbow Flag was created, as Baker recognised that a flag is one of the most significant aspects of culture, and wanted his creation to be a unified symbol of gratification for all those who identify within these communities.
In England, homosexuality was decriminalised in , with Scotland following in , and Northern Ireland by Before this time, it was illegal to engage in ‘private queer acts’, and those caught or believed to be engaging in same-sex relationships could face imprisonment, public shame and a life-long criminal records. Society was homophobic, with th
The Progress Pride flag was developed in by genderfluid 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 society. 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 imaginative 'rainbow flag' was created by Gilbert Baker in to celebrate members of the gay and queer woman political movement. It comprised eight coloured stripes stacked on top of each other to evoke a rainbow, a symbol of hope. Baker assigned a specific meaning to each colour: pink for sex, red for life, orange for healing, yellow for sunlight, green for world, turquoise for magic, indigo for serenity and violet for spirit. 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