Rainbow flag (LGBT)
The rainbow flag is a symbol of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender (LGBT) and queer pride and LGBT social movements. Also known as the gay pride flag or LGBT pride flag, the colors reflect the diversity of the LGBT community and the spectrum of human sexuality and gender. Using a rainbow flag as a symbol of gay pride began in San Francisco, but eventually became common at LGBT rights events worldwide. Originally devised by artist Gilbert Baker, the design has undergone several revisions since its debut in 1978, first to remove colors then restore them based on availability  of fabrics. Baker's first rainbow flag had eight colors, though the most common variant consists of six stripes: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and violet. The flag is typically flown horizontally, with the red stripe on top, as it would be in a natural rainbow. LGBT individuals and allies currently use rainbow flags and many rainbow-themed items and color schemes as an outward symbol of their identity or support. In addition to the rainbow, many other flags and symbols are used to communicate specific identities within the LGBT community. History. Origin. Gilbert Baker, born in 1951 and raised  in Parsons, Kansas, had served in the US Army between 1970 and 1972. After an honorable discharge, Baker taught himself to sew. In 1974, Baker met Harvey Milk, an influential gay leader, who later challenged Baker to devise a symbol of pride for the gay community. The original gay pride flags flew at the San Francisco Gay Freedom Day Parade celebration on June 25, 1978. Prior to that event, the Pink triangle had been used as a symbol for the LGBT community, despite representing a dark chapter in the history of homosexuality. The Nazi regime had used the pink triangle  to identify and stigmatize men interned as homosexuals in the concentration camps. Rather than relying on a Nazi tool of oppression, the community sought a new inspiring symbol. A close friend of Baker's, independent filmmaker Arthur J. Bressan Jr., pressed him to create a new symbol at "the dawn of a new gay consciousness and freedom". According to a profile published in the "Bay Area Reporter" in 1985, Baker "chose the rainbow motif because of its associations with the hippie movement of the Sixties but he notes that the use of the design dates all the way back to  ancient Egypt." Baker also may have been inspired by the Judy Garland song "Over the Rainbow" (Garland being among the first gay icons). In addition, Baker was likely influenced by the "Flag of the Races" (with five horizontal stripes: red, white, brown, yellow, and black) popular among the World peace and Hippie movement of the 1960s. The first rainbow flags commissioned by the fledgling pride committee were produced by a team that included artist Lynn Segerblom. Segerblom was then known as Faerie Argyle Rainbow; according to her, she created the original dyeing process for the flags. Thirty volunteers hand-dyed  and stitched the first two flags for the parade. The original flag design had eight stripes, with a specific meaning assigned to each of the colors: The two original flags created for the 1978 parade were believed lost for over 40 years until a remnant of one was rediscovered among the possessions of Baker. 1978 to 1979. After the assassination of gay San Francisco City Supervisor Harvey Milk on November 27, 1978, demand for the rainbow flag greatly increased. In response, the Paramount Flag Company began selling a version using stock rainbow fabric with seven stripes: red, orange, yellow, green , turquoise, blue, and violet. As Baker ramped up production of his version of the flag, he too dropped the hot pink stripe because fabric in that color was not readily available. San Francisco-based Paramount Flag Co. also began selling a surplus stock of Rainbow Girls flags from its retail store on the southwest corner of Polk and Post, at which Gilbert Baker was an employee. In 1979, the flag was modified again. Aiming to decorate the street lamps along the parade route with hundreds of rainbow banners, Baker decided to split the motif in two with an even number  of stripes flanking each lamp pole. To achieve this effect, he dropped the turquoise stripe that had been used in the seven-stripe flag. The result was the six-stripe version of the flag that would become the standard for future production — red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and violet. 1980s to 2000s. In 1989, the rainbow flag came to further nationwide attention in the U.S. after John Stout sued his landlords and won when they attempted to prohibit him from displaying the flag from his West Hollywood, California, apartment balcony. In 2000, the University of Hawaii at Manoa changed its  sports teams' name from "Rainbow Warriors" to "Warriors" and redesigned its logo to eliminate a rainbow from it. Initially Athletic Director Hugh Yoshida said that the change was to distance the school's athletic program from homosexuality. When this drew criticism, Yoshida then said the change was merely to avoid brand confusion. The school then allowed each team to select its own name, leading to a mix including "Rainbow Warriors", "Warriors", "Rainbows" and "Rainbow Wahine". This decision was reversed in February 2013, when current athletic director Ben Jay forced all men's athletic teams to be nicknamed "Warriors" and all  women's teams "Rainbow Warriors", and again in May 2013 when all teams were once again called "Rainbow Warriors" regardless of sex. The rainbow flag celebrated its 25th anniversary in 2003. During the gay pride celebrations in June of that year, Gilbert Baker restored the rainbow flag back to its original eight-striped version and advocated that others do the same. He later unveiled his final version with nine stripes for the 39th anniversary of the first rainbow flag. Reportedly in response to Donald Trump's election, Baker added a ninth stripe in lavender (above the hot pink stripe at  the top) to represent diversity. However, much of the wider gay community has continued to use the better known six-striped version. In autumn 2004 several gay businesses in London were ordered by Westminster City Council to remove the rainbow flag from their premises, as its display required planning permission. When one shop applied for permission, the Planning sub-committee refused the application on the chair's casting vote (May 19, 2005), a decision condemned by gay councilors in Westminster and the then Mayor of London, Ken Livingstone. In November the council announced a reversal of policy, stating that most  shops and bars would be allowed to fly the rainbow flag without planning permission. In June 2004 LGBT activists sailed to Australia's uninhabited Coral Sea Islands Territory and raised the rainbow flag, proclaiming the territory independent of Australia, calling it the Gay and Lesbian Kingdom of the Coral Sea Islands in protest to the Australian government's refusal to recognize same-sex marriages. The rainbow flag is the official flag of the kingdom. 2010s. In June 2015, The Museum of Modern Art acquired the rainbow flag symbol as part of its design collection. On June 26, 2015, the White  House was illuminated in the rainbow flag colors to commemorate the legalization of same-sex marriages in all 50 U.S. states, following the "Obergefell v. Hodges" Supreme Court decision. An emoji version of the flag ( 🏳️‍🌈 ) was formally proposed in July 2016, and released that November. 2020s. After having been thought lost for over four decades, a portion of one of the original 1978 eight-color rainbow flags was rediscovered. Donated in April 2021 to the GLBT Historical Society, the section is the only known surviving remnant of the two inaugural rainbow flags. Polish nationalists trampled on, spat  on, and burned the rainbow flag during Independence Day marches in Warsaw in the 2020s. In one case a mob burned down a residential building because it was flying a rainbow flag and had a Women's Strike sign. Transnationalism. How the flag has influenced the globe. The rainbow flag has outgrown its original purpose and has instead been repurposed to manifest a multitude of transnational and globalized ways of being queer. In a few scholarly articles, the rainbow flag is described as a "floating signifier." A floating signifier refers to the person giving the object its interpreted meaning and  significance. Flags are ambivalent symbols that hold different ideologies, meanings, and agendas depending on the beholder. Therefore, the rainbow flag is a boundary object that not only brings together queer communities locally and transnationally, but can also create debates and conflicts. In the hands of the beholder the rainbow flag can become malleable in its significance. In March 2016 rainbow stamps were created by a postal service in Sweden and Denmark to celebrate pride and is a physical evidence of the rainbow pride flag traversing across borders internationally. The rainbow flag can physically connect and spread its messages across borders  physically, but it can also do this symbolically. The rainbow has become a symbol to show solidarity for queer rights, tolerance, and diversity. It has become common to display a rainbow in store fronts or on websites to indicate that the space if queer friendly. The rainbow flag is a symbol that not only creates a safe space for the queer community, but also creates interpersonal relations through experiences that connects queer folks across borders. A rainbow is a signal to identify allies and many people will wear the symbol to indicate so. Whether it is on their clothes, their  accessories, but one common item of jewelry is the pride necklace or freedom rings, consisting of six rings, one of each color, on a chain. The rainbow symbol grows increasingly globalized and radically altered by different queer communities based on their different culture and issues of concern. Therefore, in spite of its origin in America, the rainbow flag is now waved and donned by many individuals globally to represent their own version of solidarity. Many government official buildings in different countries, like Europe, America, and Sweden, display the rainbow flag as a way to demonstrate solidarity, diversity, and commonness. Today  in the Economic South and North the rainbow flag is used to symbolize sexual rights and challenge heteronormativity. Rainbow colors as a symbol of LGBT pride. The rainbow flag has found wide application on all manner of products. The rainbow flag colors are routinely used as a show of LGBT identity and solidarity. The rainbow colors have become so widely recognized as a symbol of LGBT pride and identity that they have effectively replaced most other LGBT symbols, including the Greek letter lambda and the pink triangle. The rainbow flag is a symbol that goes beyond its four corners and  is recognizable by its colors alone. The rainbow colors have become synonymous with pride, diversity, and liberation. In many cases activists and politicians have weaponized the rainbow to create a public and political statement to represent their liberal ideals and acceptance in diversity. There have been many activism statements made with using the rainbow colors to create “hidden flags,” in order to express their political agenda and support for gay rights and diversity. For example, in Poland on August 6, 2020, President Andrzej Duda was sworn in for a second term supporting an anti-LGBTQ+ campaign and the opposing politicians  planned beforehand to coordinate and wear a colored outfit to each represent a color of the rainbow to stand in protest. There is another instance where a group of Latin American activists created a “hidden flag,” with their outfits in Russia which bans the rainbow flag. The hidden flag is a subtle tactic that can be utilized in hostile environments for queer folks. The rainbow flag was created in America by Gilbert Baker in 1978, but the flag has become a visible cultural symbol that transgress national borders and has evolved to encompass more than just gay rights. It now  connects queer communities across borders. Critiques. There is a strong critique made by scholars and activists on the rainbow symbol being overly-commercialized and the circularization of these products is commodifying queerness. There is a concern of the rainbow symbol being white-washed and regressed to maintain a Eurocentric and colonial influence. Although rainbow products create a sense of connectedness and belonging for those who share similar experiences in oppression, exclusion, marginalization, and mistreatment, the products have become superficial at times. A concept called, pride for sale, during pride month there is an overflowing amount of publicity and advertising from  big companies waving the rainbow flag and selling pride merchandise, but it has been noted by activists and scholars that as soon as pride month is over so are all of the promotions. There is also a critique made about how the pride flag has deviate too much from its purpose as a radical symbol for queer rights specifically. However, one constant feature that remains the same across the board is that the rainbow flag is used to create and symbolize a social change, liberation, and intolerance for injustice. In Poland, some activists have been charged with crimes such as  offending religious feelings and "insulting a monument" for use of rainbow flags and symbols. In response, there is a slogan "Tęcza nie obraża" (The rainbow does not offend). Variations. Many variations of the rainbow flag have been used. Some of the more common ones include the Greek letter lambda (lower case) in white in the middle of the flag and a pink triangle or black triangle in the upper left corner. Other colors have been added, such as a black stripe symbolizing those community members lost to AIDS. The rainbow colors have also often been used in gay alterations of  national and regional flags, replacing for example the red and white stripes of the flag of the United States. In 2007, the Pride Family Flag was unveiled at the Houston, Texas pride parade. In the early years of the AIDS pandemic, activists designed a "Victory over AIDS" flag consisting of the standard six-stripe rainbow flag with a black stripe across the bottom. Leonard Matlovich, himself dying of AIDS-related illness, suggested that upon a cure for AIDS being discovered, the black stripes be removed from the flags and burned. LGBT communities in other countries have adopted the rainbow flag . A South African gay pride flag which is a hybrid of the rainbow flag and the national flag of South Africa was launched in Cape Town in 2010. Flag designer Eugene Brockman said "I truly believe we (the LGBT community) put the dazzle into our rainbow nation and this flag is a symbol of just that." In March 2017, Gilbert Baker created a nine-stripe version of his original 1977 flag, with lavender, pink, turquoise and indigo stripes along with the red, orange, yellow, green and violet. According to Baker, the lavender stripe symbolizes diversity. In June 2017, the city  of Philadelphia adopted a revised version of the flag designed by the marketing firm Tierney that adds black and brown stripes to the top of the standard six-color flag, to draw attention to issues of people of color within the LGBT community. On February 12, 2018, during the street carnival of São Paulo, thousands of people attended a parade called Love Fest, which celebrated human diversity, sexual and gender equality. A version of the flag, created by Estêvão Romane, co-founder of the festival, was unveiled which presented the original eight stripe flag with a white stripe in the  middle, representing all colors (human diversity in terms of religion, gender, sex preferences, ethnicities), and peace and union among all. In June 2018 designer Daniel Quasar released a redesign incorporating elements from both the Philadelphia flag and trans pride flag to bring focus on inclusion and progress within the community. The flag design immediately went viral as the "Progress Pride Flag" on social media, prompting worldwide coverage in news outlets. While retaining the common six-stripe rainbow design as a base, the "Progress" variation adds a chevron along the hoist that features black, brown, light blue, pink, and white stripes  to bring those communities (marginalized people of color, trans individuals, and those living with HIV/AIDS and those who have been lost) to the forefront; "the arrow points to the right to show forward movement, while being along the left edge shows that progress still needs to be made." In July 2018 the Social Justice Pride Flag was released in Chennai, India in the Chennai Queer LitFest inspired by the other variations of the Pride flag around the world. The flag was designed by Chennai-based gay activist Moulee. The design incorporated elements representing Self-Respect Movement, anti-caste movement  and leftist ideology in its design. While retaining the original six stripes of the rainbow flag, the Social Justice Pride Flag incorporates black representing the Self-Respect Movement, blue representing Ambedkarite movement and red representing left values. In 2018, marchers at the Equality March in Częstochowa carried a modified version of the flag of Poland in rainbow colors. They were reported to prosecutors for desecration of national symbols of Poland, but the prosecutors determined that no crime had been committed. The 2018 New Pride Flag by Julia Feliz integrates the historic and modern-day struggles of the LGBT movements with  racism, following intersectionality. The design adds the colors of the Trans Pride Flag with brown and black diagonal stripes, emphasizing the importance of trans people of color for the queer rights movement from its inception at the Stonewall riots. Since 2021 proceeds from the design go to a mutual-aid based US nonprofit aimed at BIPOC transgender and queer people and about spreading awareness on the disproportionate effects of transphobia and homophobia on these people. In 2021, Valentino Vecchietti of Intersex Equality Rights UK redesigned the Progress Pride flag to incorporate the intersex flag. This design added a yellow triangle  with a purple circle in it to the chevron of the Progress Pride flag. Intersex Equality Rights UK posted the new flag on Instagram and Twitter, and it since went viral on social media. Notable flag creations. Mile-long flags. For the 25th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots in 1994, flag creator Baker, aka Sister Chanel 2001 of the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, was commissioned to create the world's largest rainbow flag. The mile-long flag, dubbed "Raise the Rainbow", took months of planning and teams of volunteers to coordinate every aspect. The flag utilized the basic six colors  and measured wide. After the march, foot-wide () sections of the flag were given to individual sponsors after the event had ended. Additional large sections of the flag were sent with activists and used in pride parades and LGBT marches worldwide. One large section was later taken to Shanghai Pride in 2014 by a small contingent of San Francisco Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, and documented in the film "Stilettos for Shanghai". The "Guinness Book of World Records" confirmed it as the world's largest flag. In 2003 Baker was again commissioned to produce a giant flag marking the 25th anniversary  of the flag itself. Dubbed "25Rainbow Sea to Sea", the project entailed Baker again working with teams of volunteers but this flag utilized the original eight colors and measured across Key West, Florida, from the Atlantic Ocean to the Gulf of Mexico. The flag was again divided afterwards and sections were sent to over a hundred cities worldwide. Other large flags. The largest rainbow flag in the Southern Hemisphere is a six-stripe one first flown to mark the fourth Nelson Mandela Bay (NMB) Pride in 2014, held in the Eastern Cape province city of South Africa, Port Elizabeth. It  measures , and flies on the country's tallest flag pole, which is high, and is in Donkin Reserve, in Port Elizabeth's central business district. NMB Pride had the flag manufactured, in part, as a symbol for LGBT youth to feel empowered even if they were not able to come out. On the decision to fly the flag, a spokesperson for the municipality said, NMB "officially adds its voice to governments committing, firstly, to recognizing the LGBT community, and most importantly, to uphold the rights of the LGBT community". It is regularly flown for NMB Pride as well as March  21 which is Human Rights Day in South Africa, and International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, both commemorating the 1960 Sharpeville massacre. On June 1, 2018, Venice Pride in California flew the world's largest free-flying flag to launch "United We Pride". After its debut for Venice Pride, the flag traveled to San Francisco at the end of the month for SF Pride and the fortieth anniversary of the rainbow flag's adoption. United We Pride then had the flag sent to Paris, London, Berlin, Vancouver, Sydney, Miami, and Tokyo, ending in New York City for Stonewall  50 – WorldPride NYC 2019. The giant flag was produced by the flag originator Gilbert Baker, and measures . In June 2019, to coincide with fifty-year anniversary of the Stonewall Riots, steps at the Franklin D. Roosevelt Four Freedoms Park were turned into the largest LGBT pride flag. The rainbow-decorated staircase "Ascend With Pride" was installed June 14–30. The popularity of the rainbow flag has influenced the creation and adoption of a wide variety of multi-color multi-striped flags used to communicate specific identities within the LGBT community, including the bisexual pride flag, pansexual pride flag, and transgender pride  flags. Spirit Day, an annual LGBT awareness day since 2010, takes its name from the violet stripe representing "spirit" on the rainbow flag. Participants wear purple to show support for LGBT youth who are victims of bullying.