Original gay pride flag
Hidden History of the Pride Flag
Dear community,
The modern pride flag is iconic. The six-stripe pride flag, which has inspired the Philadelphia Pride Flag, Progress Pride Flag, and its intersex-inclusive version are staples of Pride parades and festivals around the world. We see them plastered on products and printed on clothing each pride season.
For those interested in the history of our movement and its symbols, there is plenty of information out there about one of the creators of the original pride flag. That flag, the eight-stripe version, which included pink and turquoise stripes, was one of a set of two flags originally designed for the San Francisco Gay Freedom Day Parade, and hoisted in San Francisco’s Merged Nations Plaza on June 25, The other featured a field of tie-dyed stars in addition to the rainbow stripes.
As the story goes, Harvey Milk asked the chair of the celebration’s decorating committee, Gilbert Baker, to create a symbol for the LGBTQ+ community. Which he did. The flag became synonymous with Baker, who spent much of his life promoting the flag and
History of the Rainbow Flag
The history of the rainbow flag is a wealthy, fascinating, and very recent one!
Artist and activist Gilbert Baker is credited with creating the first identity festival flag, meant to illustrate 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
The History of the Pride Flag
With its bright colours and significant essence, the Rainbow Flag is a symbol recognised all over the world to represent the Gay communities. It’s a symbol of desire, unity and empowerment to allow care for to be desire regardless of gender, ethnicity or labels. But where did this renowned flag come from? And how was the design chosen?
The authentic Pride Flag originates from San Francisco Activist Gilbert Baker, who desired to create an emblem of pride for the gay people. In the Rainbow Flag was created, as Baker recognised that a flag is one of the most significant aspects of self, 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 hire in ‘private gay 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 genderqueer American artist and architect 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 unique 'rainbow flag' was created by Gilbert Baker in to celebrate members of the gay and female homosexual 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