The Pride Flag: Love, Hope, and Safety (Blog)
Introduction
The rainbow flag is a symbol of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer pride, commonly used at 2SLGBTQIA+ rights events worldwide. The colors reflect the diversity of the community in addition to the spectrum of human sexuality and gender. It is far more than a flag. It is far more than a series of colours put together. The rainbow pride flag is a symbol of hope, safety, and love for 2SLGBTQIA+ individuals.
The History of the Rainbow Pride Flag
The original Rainbow Flag was created by gay artist Gilbert Baker in the late 1970s. Prior to that event, the Pink triangle had been used as a symbol for the queer 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.
Baker later revealed that he was urged by Harvey Milk, one of the first openly gay elected officials in the U.S., to create a symbol of pride for the queer community. Baker decided to make that symbol a flag because he saw flags as the most powerful symbol of pride. As he later said in an interview, “Our job as gay people was to come out, to be visible, to live in the truth, as I say, to get out of the lie. A flag really fit that mission, because that’s a way of proclaiming your visibility or saying, ‘This is who I am!’”
Gilbert Baker saw the rainbow as a natural flag from the sky, so he adopted eight colors for the stripes, each color with its own meaning. His rationale behind the flag was: “We needed something to express our joy, our beauty, our power. And the rainbow did that. We are an ancient, wonderful tribe of people. We picked something from nature. We picked something beautiful.”
The first versions of the rainbow flag were flown on June 25, 1978, for the San Francisco Gay Freedom Day parade. Baker and a team of volunteers had made them by hand, and now he wanted to mass-produce the flag for consumption by all. However, because of production issues, the pink and turquoise stripes were removed and indigo was replaced by basic blue, which resulted in the contemporary six-striped flag (red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and violet). Today this is the most common variant of the rainbow flag, with the red stripe on top, as in a natural rainbow. The various colors came to reflect both the diversity and unity of the community.
Each of the colours of the pride flag were specifically selected to represent something different.
Red = Life. This was likely chosen in recognition of the fact that blood is a vital life force of the body (and is red). Additionally, in many cultures, red is thought to represent passion; which is ideally where life originates from.
Orange = Healing. As a color, orange is believed to be a fun and celebratory color. Fun and celebration are both healing activities.
Yellow = Sunshine. The color yellow functions as the flag's radiant and bright center, and is said to stimulate new ideas and thoughts.
Green = Nature. There's a lot of green in nature, which is what this color on the original pride flag is meant to convey. Nature is a healing place, and the color green is associated with prosperity and growth.
Blue = Harmony. Little is more important than the ability to feel calm and in harmony with oneself. Blue is known as a relaxing color that soothes the soul.
Purple = Spirit. Purple is often thought of as a regal, royal color that, on its own, denotes pride. Like blue, purple is considered a calming color, but rather than being associated only with calm, the color purple connects us to the spiritual realm.
Not Just a Rainbow
The original pride flag, as created by Gilbert Baker, was meant to serve as an inclusive symbol that encompassed the wide diversity of sexuality and gender. However, queer and trans activists have challenged the fact that movements have utilized the flag to exclude and erase the voices of those in the community who are more minoritized. Thus, these advocates called for the expansion of the pride flag as a way of recognizing the expanding understandings of sexuality, gender, and human diversity.
Thus, in 2017, the Philadelphia Office of LGBT Affairs released the Philadelphia Pride flag, which added black and brown stripes to the rainbow Pride flag to recognize and uplift people of color in 2SLGBTQIA+ communities. This was in response to a longstanding history of discrimination and exclusion toward Black, Indigenous, and other People of Color (BIPOC) within predominantly white LGBTQIA+ spaces. The Black stripe is also sometimes used as a way to honour the victims who died due to HIV/AIDs.
In 2018, Daniel Quasar, an artist based in Portland, OR, designed the Progress Pride Flag. This flag incorporated the black and brown stripes of the Philadelphia Pride flag in addition to pink, white, and blue stripes in reference to the Trans Pride flag. The Progress Pride Flag has been celebrated by many in the 2SLGBTQIA+ community for its inclusivity. Quasar’s approach to representing multiple historically marginalized groups within 2SLGBTQIA+ communities is especially important given the role of transgender and gender diverse people of color in 1969’s Stonewall Uprising, which we commemorate each year during Pride Month.
Most recently, in 2021, Valentino Vecchietti designed an intersex-inclusive Pride flag, which includes a purple circle over a yellow triangle as a reference to the Intersex pride flag that was created in 2013 by Morgan Carpenter. Purple and yellow are used as intentional contrasts to blue and pink, which are typically thought of as gendered colors. Like BIPOC and transgender communities, intersex people have largely been underrepresented – or outright ignored – within broader 2SLGBTQIA+ movements.
While the rainbow flag remains the most recognizable symbol of the queer community to this day, many organizations and individuals are beginning to use either the progress or the intersex-inclusive pride flag, as a way to signify their appreciation for the diversity of the community, and to highlight the voices that have often been erased.
In addition to the various rainbow flags, there are other pride flags that are used to represent a wide variety of sexualities and genders. The most commonly recognized flag, after the rainbow flag, would be the transgender flag (with blue, pink, and white colours). There is also a flag to honour people who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, pansexual, asexual, aromantic, nonbinary, genderqueer, gender fluid, agender, intersex, and many more.
Why Pride Flags Matter
People often wonder why there are so many pride flags (they also often wonder why there are so many terms to describe sexuality and gender). Fundamentally, each flag (and term) helps to honour the uniqueness and beauty in every person – however they may describe and understand themselves. It can be incredibly powerful when a person thinks they are alone, but finds out that – not only is there a word to describe their experience – but that there is also a symbol for them. This can help people feel loved (by those who proudly display the pride flag), and can also help them to love themselves. Pride flags are a way for people to be seen, embraced, and honoured in their diversity.
Additionally, pride flags are a symbol of hope. These are an explicit resistance to and liberation from the cisheteropatriarchy. They emerged from a need to assert the presence of 2SLGBTQIA+ people and their community at a time when they tended to be overlooked by mainstream culture. By displaying a flag, activists of decades past were able to draw attention to their existence, find each other, and push for more inclusion. Thus, pride flags are a way to honour our queer ancestors who have fought for our rights to be visible, and a symbol of hope for a brighter tomorrow.
Most of all, pride flags are a symbol of safety. They are a visible sign to us – as queer people – that we will be safe in this space, and that the person who put up the flag (whether that’s a manager of a store, a teacher at a school, or a social worker at a service organization) is an ally, a safe person, and someone we can go to if we experience any issues. They help us to know that we are not alone, and that we matter. It can be a warm, inviting sign – a feeling of “coming home”. In a world where we constantly experience microaggressions, harassment, discrimination, and minority stress that comes from systemic homophobia and transphobia, seeing a pride flag lets us know that – for that moment, we are loved and we are safe.
Attacks on Pride Flags
Unfortunately, pride flags have been under attack by right-wing groups and individuals across Canada and beyond. The presence of the rainbow has incited hate from those who cannot stand the idea of our safety. In Canada alone…
City Councils and Townships in Hope, BC, Norwich, ON, Huron County, ON, and Petawawa, ON have each created bylaws to ban pride flags and all other non-civic flags, often under the justification that the Canadian flag is “representation enough”, and other flags are seen as “divisive”.
The York Catholic District School Board also voted against a motion to raise the pride flag at their district administration buildings.
Huron County, Ontario directed staff to create a policy to ban any special attachments for paramedic uniforms or stickers for emergency vehicles.
There were mass absences in a London Ontario elementary school in response to the school flying the flag in honour of International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia, and Biphobia (about ⅓ were also absent on Rainbow Day, which celebrates diversity and inclusion).
Also in London, Ontario, a church with rainbow doors found them vandalized with anti-trans graffiti in May 2023.
There have also been countless incidents of pride flags being burnt, torn, stolen, and vandalized across Canada.
Right-wing people target pride flags because they (literally) fly in the face of their power and privilege. Pride flags are a direct challenge to the cisheteropatriarchy. Claiming our visibility is a way of claiming our power and our strength in community. They hate the pride flag because of what it represents – a dismantling of the systems that grant privilege to some and oppression to others. They hate the pride flag because it gives us an opportunity to connect with other people in our community and our allies, thus building our strength and influence. They hate the pride flag because it represents hope for a brighter, more equitable future – which, to those in power, feels like oppression.
Don't Let Hate Quell Your Rainbow
If you are an ally who wants to fly or otherwise display the flag, do it. Every house or apartment, every office, every store, every restaurant, every school, every hospital that displays a proud rainbow shares a vital message of safety and acceptance. It may seem small – it's just a sticker, or a button, or a flag - but it truly matters. It can even be lifesaving for vulnerable queer folks – they know, by your rainbow, that they are not alone.
You will likely get backlash. You may have someone complain and demand that you take it down. They will probably throw some pleasant slurs and verbal abuse in the mix. You may even get your pride flag stolen, torn, vandalized, burnt, or otherwise damaged. If that happens, get a new one. And repeat as many times as necessary.
A few days ago, I read a lovely story online about a bookstore that had set up a pride section featuring 2SLGBTQIA+ authors. A woman complained. The manager responded by adding another shelf to the section, and warned her that for every complaint, a new shelf would be added. I wish every place would do that.
When people cave in to hate, they embolden the bigots, who think that they can get away with their hatred and violence. Remember that as an ally, you have a choice about whether or not to resist hatred. You have a choice – to cave in to hate, or to stand firm. I (and other members of the queer and trans community) do not have this privilege. No matter what we do, no matter what we wear, and no matter what we say, bigots will always target us. You are targeted when you stand in solidarity with us, because the bigots think that if they can scare away our allies, it will be easier to eradicate us all. DON'T LET THEM WIN. Show them that their hate will not drown out your love.
And remember - you should display your pride year round - not just during June. Far too many people and organizations are all rainbow for 30 days and then erase us on July 1st. We need your support all 365 days of the year. So keep those stickers, buttons, and flags up.
Now, a special note and shout out to my 2SLGBTQIA+ family who may be considering whether or not to fly your flags loud and proud. Please know that I get it. As someone who has had rainbow hair (and will be getting it dyed again soon), I understand the questions we have to ask ourselves about our safety, especially in spaces we may be unfamiliar with. Whatever decision you make is the right one for you. Your safety and wellbeing has to come first. So if you feel called to plaster yourself in queer pins and have rainbow hair, join me! If you don't want to be seen with anything rainbow, that's OK too. And if you're somewhere in between, you are valid.
Conclusion
As we enter Pride Month, I start to see rainbows going up in many places. Stickers and logos, pins and flags. And I am grateful that there are so many who are willing to take a risk to show their love for and solidarity with the queer community. I hope that this sign of allyship will continue year-round, and that we can count on these same people to write to their governmental representatives, to sign petitions, to support queer artists and businesses, and to march in our protests. Because allyship is a verb - it may start with a flag, but don't let it end with one.
