Gay pride rainbow color meanings

The rainbow flag was created as a symbol of LGBTQIA+ pride and identity, and has since been used by millions of people around the world to signal safety, allyship and inclusion.

More recently, variations of the rainbow flag have become popular, it can be difficult to comprehend when to use each one, or even which is the “correct” one to use. Our advice is to use the flag that most aligns with your expression or values. If you are part of a team or organisation, formulate this decision together as a team or with your community.

To facilitate you work through this process, here’s a run down of the most popular flags and what they mean today.

Original Rainbow Pride Flag

You’ll recognise this flag as the “original” rainbow pride flag. This rainbow flag serves to signal pride - or allyship - to represent the entire LGBTQIA+ community.  

History of the Flag

The original rainbow pride flag was designed in by Gilbert Baker, an openly gay artist and activist. The flag originally featured eight stripes, each of which represented something different. From top to bottom, the stripes represented

Celebrating Pride and Progress: The Meaning Behind the Progress Pride Flag

As we celebrate Pride Month, we also take time to indicate on the work still needed to build a more inclusive and equitable society. One way we honour that commitment is by using the Progress Pride Flag in our celebrations.

The Progress Pride Flag was designed in by Daniel Quasar, a non-binary artist and graphic designer from Oregon. Quasar’s design builds on the traditional rainbow Pride Flag by incorporating the colours of the Transgender Flag, along with black and brown stripes. These additions represent Black, Indigenous and people of colour (BIPOC) in the 2SLGBTQ+ community, as good as individuals living with or lost to HIV/AIDS. The flag was created to emphasize the importance of inclusion and forward movement.

A Brief History of Pride

Pride has its roots in the Stonewall Riots of in Modern York City—a pivotal moment in the fight for 2SLGBTQ+ rights. At the time, homosexuality and dressing in drag were criminalized. The riots marked the launch of an organized movement advocating for decrimin

The Progress Pride flag was developed in by non-binary American artist and designer 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 original 'rainbow flag' was created by Gilbert Baker in to celebrate members of the gay and lesbian 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 nature, 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 period and legibility concerns, resulting in the six-colour rainbow flag most commo

Flags of the LGBTIQ Community

Flags have always been an integral part of the LGBTIQ+ movement. They are a clear representation meant to celebrate progress, advocate for representation, and boost the demand and drive for collective action. There have been many LGBTIQ+ flags over the years. Some have evolved, while others are constantly being 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 sun, emerald for serenity with nature, turquoise for art, indigo for harmony, and violet for spirit. 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 illustrate marginalized LGBTIQ+ people of color and the triad of adj, pink, and white from the trans flag, the desig