Here’s What the Different LGBTQIA+ Flags Represent

LGBTQIA+

Here’s What the Different LGBTQIA+ Flags Represent

June 7, 2022
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June 7, 2022
30
Twitter Facebook

When we think of Pride Month, the first image that typically comes to mind is the classic rainbow flag. However, many people don’t realize that along with the Rainbow Pride Flag, there are an array of different identifiers that represent the diverse queer community. While many in the LGBTQIA+ community identify with the all-encompassing rainbow flag, each group has its own flag to represent its unique contributions and stories within the community. Here’s a rundown of the different flags and what they represent.

The Gilbert Baker Pride Flag

The original rainbow pride flag was designed by Gilbert Baker in 1978 at the request of Harvey Milk, the first openly gay elected official in California. Gilbert chose the rainbow as it represents a symbol of hope. 

Original flag colors and meaning: 

Pink: sex; Red: life; Orange: healing; Yellow: sunlight; Green: nature; Turquoise: magic; Blue: harmony; Violet: spirit

Rainbow Pride Flag 

This is the iteration of the Pride Flag that we all know today, used to symbolize the overall LGBTQIA+ community. In this version, the pink and turquoise were excluded from the flag so it would be easier to mass-produce.  

Queer People of Color Flag

While the designer is unknown, the flag represents the crossings of the Black and queer communities in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement. 

Philadelphia’s People of Color Inclusive Flag

Created in 2017, this version adds black and brown to the rainbow flag to represent the unique challenges faced by Black and brown people in the LGBTQIA+ community. 

Transgender Flag 

Created in 1999 by Monica Helms, according to Pride, an online publication dedicated to queer pop culture and entertainment, the pattern on the flag was created in a way that no matter how you fly the flag, it will always be correct. 

Flag colors and meaning:

Blue: represents boys; Pink: represents girls; White: represents those who are transitioning, have no gender, or are gender-neutral

“Progress” Pride Flag

Designed by Daniel Quasar, this flag adds the colors and stripes from Philadelphia’s pride flag (black and brown) and the ones of the transgender pride flag (pink, blue, and white) to the original pride flag. Many now use this as the symbol of Pride Month. 

Bisexual Flag

Since bisexuality comes in many forms, the colors on this flag are meant to symbolize the different types of attraction that exist. According to Pride, Michael Page, the flag creator, wanted to create something bisexual people feel a connection to. 

Flag colors and meaning:

Magenta: same-sex attraction; Royal blue: opposite-sex attraction; Lavender: attraction to both sexes

Lesbian Flag 

This flag originally had a red lipstick kiss mark on it; however, over time this version was phased out and a new iteration was introduced with orange stripes to represent those that are gender nonconforming. 

Flag colors and meaning:

Dark orange: gender nonconformity; Mid orange: independence; Light orange: community; White: unique relationships to womanhood; Light pink: serenity and peace; Middle pink: love and sex; Dark pink: femininity

Intersex Flag

Intersex is defined as those whose bodies do not align with the gender binaries of males or females. This includes those with both genitals or other differences. The flag’s colors of yellow and purple were chosen as they are typically seen as nonbinary colors. 

Asexual Flag 

Asexuality.org defines the term asexual as having a lack of sexual attraction. Those who identify as asexual feel sexual attraction infrequently, in certain scenarios, or only if there is a strong emotional connection.

Flag colors and meaning:

Black: represents asexuality as a whole, Gray: represents gray asexuality and demisexuality; White: represents sexuality; Purple: represents community

Nonbinary Flag

Created in 2014 by Kye Rowan, the nonbinary flag represents those who are nonbinary and identify as neither male nor female. 

Flag colors and meaning:

Yellow: represents genders outside of the gender binary; White: represents people who identify with many or all genders; Purple: represents genders that are a combination of male and female; Black: represents people who are agender.

Straight Ally Flag

The combination of the rainbow with black and white stripes represents allies’ support of the LGBTQIA+ community. 

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Happy Pride Month! Is there a flag that’s missing? Sound off in the Comment section below and tell us what that flag means to you. 

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  • Dave McDonald

    Associate Director, Social Media Twitter Profile

    Dave McDonald is associate director of social media in BU’s Office of Public Relations, managing all University social content and strategy. He holds a bachelor's degree in public relations from Quinnipiac University. In his free time he enjoys running, concerts, and all things geeky. Profile

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There are 30 comments on Here’s What the Different LGBTQIA+ Flags Represent

  5. I like the general rainbow as a catch-all for all types of people, in general. Lots of people seem to be caught up in having their “own” colors included in these various flags, which in a sense have become more meaningless and complicated every year that a new one emerges, each with their own sense of importance. Some people are missing the point here. The colors don’t have to represent any singular groups specifically. Impossible to remember them all. Just stick with the one rainbow flag and it’s a much more powerful as a symbol of diversity. Keep it simple.

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    1. Depends on if you strictly dress as the “opposite” gender or if you feel a different gender than your assigned gender fits better. Could be gender fluid, genderqueer, trans, or none of the above. Many people “cross dress” and that’s where it ends. Society’s definition of what clothes should be assigned to which gender is arbitrary, at best. For example, women wear menswear every single day and no one bats an eye. And men wear kilts in Scotland and flowing religious garb in all kinds of cultures, and it has no bearing on their gender identity.

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  7. are you going to update this to show all the other flags like gay or pan and I have another question do I identify as poly if I like two people at the same?

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  14. There is no all inclusive pride flag. Where are the straight people represented in the LHBTQIA+ flag??? They aren’t.
    If you want full inclusivity stop inventing new kind of people.
    There is only one kind of people : Humans are unique in their diversity and divers intheir uniqueness.

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    1. I’m bisexual, non binary, asexual, and abrosexual (my sexual attraction changes, genderfluid is often mixed with abrosexual, which is where your gender changes) and I find this really heartwarming since a lot of kids at my school are homophobic. Most of my LGBTQ friends are leaving next year, and the others are quite rude, so it’s just kind of nice to find kind and supportive people in the world.

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