LGBTQ Symbols
Tags: Pride, Symbolism, Symbols, LGBTQ, Flag

LGBT Pride Flag

The LGBT pride flag was created in 1978 by San Francisco artist Gilbert Baker. Originally the flag included eight stripes but colors have been removed due to fabric availability creating the current and most recognized form. Each of the six colors has a meaning; red means life, orange means healing, yellow means sunshine, green means nature, blue means harmony, and purple means spirit.

Bisexual Pride Flag

Designed in 1998 by Michael Page with the aim of increasing bisexual visibility within society as a whole and the LGBT community. The pink stripe represents the possibility of same gender attraction; the royal blue stripe represents the possibility of opposite gender attraction and the stripes overlap to form a deep shade of lavender or purple, which represents the possibility of attraction anywhere along the gender spectrum.

Transgender Pride Flag

Designed by transgender woman Monica Helms and first flown at a pride parade in Phoenix, Arizona, USA in 2000. Helms described the meaning “The light blue is the traditional color for baby boys, pink is for girls, and the white in the middle is for those who are transitioning, those who feel they have a neutral gender or no gender, and those who are intersex. The pattern is such that no matter which way you fly it, it will always be correct. This symbolizes us trying to find correctness in our own lives”

Asexual Pride Flag

The Asexual pride flag was created in August of 2010 to help raise awareness of asexuality. Like the other pride flags each colored stripe has a different meaning; black means asexuality, grey means grey-asexuality (a grey area between asexuality and sexuality) and demisexuality, white means sexuality, and purple means community.

Intersex Pride Flag

Created in 2009 by Natalie Phox to symbolize the spirit of those who are born intersexed. The two outer lavender stripes symbolize spirit, while the middle stripe blends pink and blue to symbolize the mix between female and male.

Pansexual Pride Flag

No single creator is known for the pansexual pride flag but it began surfacing on the internet in 2010. The pink and blue stripes on either side symbolizes female gendered persons (regardless of biological sex) and male gendered persons (again regardless of biological sex) respectively, while the gold stripe in the middle represents those who identity as a mixed gender, genderless, or as a third gender.

Lambda

The greek letter lambda was originally used as the symbol of the Gay Activists Alliance of New York in 1970 and in 1974 was officially adopted as the symbol of gay and lesbian rights by the International Gay Rights Congress in Edinburgh, Scotland. The lambda signifies unity under oppression.

Gay Male Symbol

Popularized in the 1990’s. Comprised of two interlocking male gender symbols

Double Female Symbol

Popularized in the 1990’s. Comprised of two interlocking female gender symbols

Transgender Symbol

This is the most popular transgender symbol it originates from a drawing by Holly Boswell. A modification of the traditional vendor symbols, it depicts a circle with an arrow projecting from the top-right, as found in the male symbol, and a cross projecting from the bottom, as found in the female symbol, with an additional striked arrow (combining the female cross and male arrow) projecting from the top-left.

Bigender Flag

Bigender is a gender identity which can be literally translated as ‘two genders’ or ‘double gender’. Bigender people experience exactly two gender identities, either simultaneously or varying between the two. These two gender identities could be male and female, but could also include non-binary identities.

Bigender people may also identify as multigender, non-binary and/or transgender. If a bigender person feels that their identity changes over time or depending on circumstance, they may also identify as genderfluid, which describes any person whose gender identity varies over time.