"Online communities have been tremendously influential, giving people a virtual space to do research on possibilities and especially to find others who feel similarly," they said. Marilyn Roxie, the designer of the genderqueer Pride flag, told Majestic Mess that the rise in social media platforms and other internet hubs for queer people has been hugely important in leading to the creation of new flags.
There has been a meaningful uptick in new Pride flags since 2010, with versions for intersex, nonbinary, and agender people. Some, like the two-spirit Pride flag and the updated Pride flag, incorporate Baker's original design while adding more colors and elements to acknowledge both Native Americans and the broader POC community, respectively. Since Gilbert Baker first created the original rainbow Pride flag back in 1978, designers and activists of all genders, identities, and sexual orientations have made different iterations to reflect unique communities. It's also a celebration of the beauty and diversity of the experience, flown at Pride events all throughout the month of June. And because many people belong to both communities, they’re not two distinct causes but instead overlap.Over the past 40-plus years, the rainbow Pride flag has become a symbol synonymous with the LGBTQ+ community and its fight for equal rights and acceptance across the globe. Sometimes called the Resistance Flag (opens in new tab), according to Them writer Matt Baume: "The modern LGBTQ+ liberation movement was touched off by queer and trans people of color and their struggle continues to this day, with both communities seeking justice, equality, and freedom from oppression. The raised fist is a sign of unity and support as well as defiance and resistance, and the various colors on the fist represent diversity. No surprise, the flag has become more popular in 2020 and beyond. Johnson (opens in new tab), the Black drag queen who may have thrown the first brick (opens in new tab) at the Stonewall Inn riots) to the movements. Read on to learn more about the flags, their origins, and their meanings.Īs a representation of Queer People of Color, it's not known who the original creator of the flag was (opens in new tab) but represents solidarity with the BLM movement as well as the intersection of the queer and Black communities (including the importance of figures like Marsha P.
In a world in which students are expelled for handing out Pride flags to protest Florida's "Don't Say Gay Bill," the need to show support for LGTBQ+ rights-publicly as well as privately-is as important as ever. Recent Pride events have even more significance in conjunction with BLM protests and activities You may have seen the hashtag #BlackTransLivesMatter, for instance, or the raised-fist resistance Pride flag (more on that below). But what's powerful is that the breadth of LGBTQ+ representation continues to evolve, a nod to the diversity of sex, sexuality, attraction, and gender. There's also some disagreement about what should be considered the "official" flags, and controversy about some of the flags' origins and meaning. This list of 30 Pride flags utilizes information from a range of sources, in particular The Advocate (opens in new tab)'s comprehensive guide-but even outside of this article, there are many more iterations of Pride flags that exist, including flags from different countries (opens in new tab) and states flags that include relevant symbols and two or more flags combined into one.