LGBT flags for Pride Month: A field guide

As the LGBT community celebrates Pride Month, there will be a lot of Pride and LGBT flags flying high at the marches.

But if you’ve noticed, there’s more than one type of Pride flag with its customary rainbow colors.

Why are there so many different flags? Suzanne Grubb,a digital librarian, noted in Quora: “Not only do different groups (e.g., agender, genderfluid, asexual, polyamorous, pansexual, etc., etc., etc.) create their own flags to increase the visibility of their particular community, but there are a range of variations of the more widely used flags, modified by folks looking to convey different nuances in meaning.”

“Since the purpose of these flags is to lend visibility to a particular community, they are generally created so that the meaning can be derived by the color patterns — but because there is no single standard gay-playbook, several colors have overlapping/contradictory meanings,” Grubb added.

Here’s handy guide on some of the flags flying and what they mean:

LGBT flags: The Rainbow flag

The Rainbow flag or the Pride flag is the iconic flag we all know, with its six-colors covering the LGBT community and signaling its wide diversity. \

First created by artist Gilbert Baker in 1978, he was commissioned by gay politician Harvey Milk for San Francisco’s annual pride parade.

It was originally eight-colored and used hot pink, turquoise, and indigo. Now, not only is the six-colored recognized internationally, it’s also recognized by the Congress of Flag Makers and in public domain.

LGBT flags: Pink triangle flag

First used during the Second World War by the Nazis to identify homosexuals for their concentration camps, the LGBT community had taken the symbol as their own, turning the symbol of stigma into a source of pride.

LGBT flags: Lesbian flag

Featuring the labrys– or the double-headed axe– on a black triangle in a field of purple, this flag used to be a popular lesbian symbol in the 1970s.

The black triangle was used to denote “anti-social behavior” (which included lesbianism) during the Nazi period.

LGBT flags: Bisexual flag

First introduced in 1998 by Michael Page, the colors of this flag shows pink, purple, and blue to indicate bisexual people and give them their own rallying symbol.

LGBT flags: Transgender flag

Created by transgender Monica Helms in 1999, the transgender flag has two colors blue and pink representing male and female, while the white represents intersex, neutral, or other genders.

Helms described the symmetry as always having a ‘correct’ orientation no matter how you hang it to symbolize trans people finding “correctness” in their lives.

LGBT flags: Pansexual flag

The pansexual flag is made of three colors only– pink (love women), blue (love men), and yellow (love everyone else).

This flag is supposed to symbolize those people who are attracted to other people regardless of gender or sex outside the traditional gender binary.

LGBT flags: Asexual flag

The asexual flag shows black, grey, white, and purple to signify asexuality, or those who lack sexual attraction or have low interest in sexual activity.

This flag was first created in 2010 by the Asexuality Visibility and Education Network (AVEN) and was done online.

LGBT flags: Genderqueer flag

Created by Marilyn Roxie in 2010 with contribution from the genderqueer internet community, this flag has blue and pink gender colors for those who are a little of both.

Meanwhile, the green color is for those outside the binary and white symbolizes gender neutrality.

So what flags have you seen on your march? Tell us in the comment section below!