Rainbow flag (LGBTQ)

(Redirected from Gay flag)

The rainbow flag or pride flag (formerly gay pride flag) is a symbol of LGBTQ pride and LGBTQ social movements. The colors reflect the diversity of the LGBTQ community and the spectrum of human sexuality and gender. Using a rainbow flag as a symbol of LGBTQ pride began in San Francisco, California, but eventually became common at LGBTQ rights events worldwide.

Rainbow flag
The most popular version of the flag, with six stripes, first introduced in 1979
LGBTQ Pride flag
UseAssociation with the LGBTQ community
Adopted1978
DesignStriped flag, typically six colors (from top to bottom): red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and violet.
Designed byGilbert Baker
The rainbow flag is a symbol of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) pride and LGBTQ movements in use since the 1970s.

Originally devised by the artists Gilbert Baker, Lynn Segerblom, James McNamara and other activists,[1][2][3][4] the design underwent several revisions after its debut in 1978, and continues to inspire variations. Although Baker's original rainbow flag had eight colors,[5][6] from 1979 to the present day the most common variant consists of six stripes: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and violet. The flag is typically displayed horizontally, with the red stripe on top, as it would be in a natural rainbow.

LGBTQ people and allies currently use rainbow flags and many rainbow-themed items and color schemes as an outward symbol of their identity or support. There are derivations of the rainbow flag that are used to focus attention on specific causes or groups within the community (e.g. transgender people, fighting the AIDS epidemic, inclusion of LGBTQ people of color). In addition to the rainbow, many other flags and symbols are used to communicate specific identities within the LGBTQ community.

History

Origin

 
Gilbert Baker

Gilbert Baker, born in 1951 and raised in Parsons, Kansas, had served in the U.S. 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.[7] The inspiration for the original gay pride flags may have been the Brotherhood Flag from 1938.[8] The original gay pride flags flew at the San Francisco Gay Freedom Day Parade celebration on June 25, 1978.[9][10]

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".[11] 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."[12] People have speculated that Baker was inspired by the Judy Garland song "Over the Rainbow" (Garland being among the first gay icons),[13][14] but when asked, Baker said that it was "more about the Rolling Stones and their song 'She's a Rainbow'".[15] Baker was likely influenced by the "Brotherhood Flag" (with five horizontal stripes to represent different races: red, white, brown, yellow, and black) popular among the world peace movement and hippie movement of the 1960s.[16][17][18][19]

The first rainbow flags commissioned by the fledgling pride committee were produced by a team that included artist Lynn Segerblom.[20] Segerblom was then known as Faerie Argyle Rainbow; according to her, she created the original dyeing process for the flags.[21] Thirty volunteers hand-dyed and stitched the first two flags for the parade.[22] The original flag design had eight stripes, with a specific meaning assigned to each of the colors:[23][24][25]

Hot pink Sex
Red Life
Orange Healing
Yellow Sunlight
Green Nature
Turquoise Magic
Indigo Serenity
Violet Spirit

The two flags originally created for the 1978 parade were believed lost for over four decades, until a remnant of one was discovered among Baker's belongings in 2020.[26][27]

1978 to 1979

Original eight-stripe version designed by Gilbert Baker in 1978
Seven-color version due to unavailability of pink fabric (1978–1979)
Six-color version popular since 1979, with turquoise and indigo replaced with blue

After the assassination of gay San Francisco City Supervisor Harvey Milk on November 27, 1978,[28] demand for the rainbow flag greatly increased. In response, the San Francisco-based 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. The Paramount Flag Company 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.[29]

In 1979, the flag was modified again.[30] 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.[29]

1980s to 2000s

 
Rainbow flag at Pride London, 1999

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.[31]

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. Athletic director Hugh Yoshida initially 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.[32] 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, by athletic director Ben Jay, dictating that all men's athletic teams be nicknamed "Warriors" and all women's teams "Rainbow Warriors". In May 2013, all teams were once again called "Rainbow Warriors" regardless of sex.[33][34]

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.[35] 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 councillors 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 was the official flag of the claimed kingdom until its dissolution in 2017 following the legalisation of same sex marriage in Australia.[36]

2010s to present

 
The White House illuminated in the rainbow flag colors in June 2015

In June 2015, The Museum of Modern Art in Manhattan added the rainbow flag symbol to its design collection.[37][38][39]

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.[40]

An emoji version of the flag (🏳️‍🌈) was formally proposed in July 2016,[41] and released that November.[42]

A portion of one of the original 1978 rainbow flags was donated to the GLBT Historical Society Museum and Archives in San Francisco in April 2021; the section is the only known surviving remnant of the two inaugural eight-color rainbow flags.[9]

Polish nationalists trampled, 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.[43]

In Norway, the flag is reported to symbolize diversity, unity and inclusion, in addition to freedom to be whoever one wants to be and to love whoever one wants to love.[44]

Transnationalism

The rainbow flag has 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".[45][46] A floating signifier refers to the person giving the object its interpreted meaning and significance.[46] 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.[45]

In March 2016, rainbow stamps were created by a postal service common to Sweden and Denmark celebrating pride traversing borders internationally.[45] It has become common to display a rainbow in store fronts or on websites to indicate that the space is queer friendly.[45][47] Many government official buildings in different countries in Europe and America display the rainbow flag.[45][46]

In some countries, such as Saudi Arabia, it is illegal to sell (or wear) 'rainbow-coloured' items, as it apparently "indirectly promotes homosexuality" and claims to "contradict normal common sense".[48] The motives have aroused international criticism.[49]

Hidden Flags

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.

In 2018, Russia hosted the FIFA World Cup, which coincided with Pride Month. Since legislation banned displaying LGBTQ+ symbols, a Spanish advertising agency and a Spanish LGBTQ+ rights group came up with a clever plan for six activists, one from each of six countries with colors corresponding to the rainbow flag (Spain-red, Netherlands-orange, Brazil-yellow, Mexico-green, Argentina-blue, Colombia-purple), wore team jerseys during the World Cup. When they stood together, their jerseys formed a hidden rainbow flag, a symbol visible to the world but potentially less obvious to authorities. This action highlighted Russia's anti-LGBTQ+ laws while raising international awareness for the cause. State Federation of Lesbians, Gays, Trans and Bisexuals (FELGTB) partnered with LOLA Mullenlowe, a Spanish advertising agency, to conceive and execute the hidden flag campaign.[50][51]

In Poland on August 6, 2020, President Andrzej Duda was sworn in for a second term supporting an anti-LGBTQ+ campaign[52] 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.[53]

Critiques

Concern has been expressed among some of the rainbow symbol being white-washed and regressed to maintain a Eurocentric and colonial influence.[46] A concept called "pride for sale"[54] refers to an overflowing amount of publicity and advertising from big companies displaying the rainbow flag and selling pride merchandise during Pride Month, but as soon as Pride Month is over so are all of the promotions (see rainbow capitalism). There is also a critique made about how the pride flag has deviated too much from its purpose as a radical symbol for queer rights specifically.[46]

Notable variations

Notable Variations
Gilbert Baker nine-stripe Flag
Philadelphia eight-stripe flag
Progress Pride Flag
Social Justice Pride
New Pride Flag
Intersex Inclusive Progress Pride Flag

Gilbert Baker's nine-stripe flag

Gilbert Baker created a nine-stripe version of the flag in March 2017, adding a lavender stripe to symbolize diversity. Baker created the flag in response to the election of Donald Trump.[55][56][57][58]

Philadelphia eight-stripe flag

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.[59][60][61]

On February 12, 2018, during the street carnival of São Paulo, thousands of people attended a parade called Love Fest,[62] 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.[63]

Progress Pride Flag

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.[64] The flag design spread quickly as the Progress Pride Flag on social media, prompting worldwide coverage in news outlets.[65][66][67] 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 people, 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."[68]

Social Justice Pride Flag

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.[69][70] The flag was designed by Chennai-based gay activist Moulee.[71] 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.[72]

New Pride Flag

The rainbow flag design is diagonal black, brown, light blue, pink, and white stripes overlaid on a traditional six-color rainbow flag. The design is intended to represent transgender and queer people of color. Puerto Rican author and vegan activist Julia Feliz conceived the idea, and Hayley Brown designed the flag to focus on transgender and queer people of color.[73][74]

This design resembles a flag proposed earlier by Daniel Quasar, which used a chevron of similar colors on a rainbow background. Quasar's design aimed to represent the same identity groups. The new design's creators, Julia Feliz and Hayley Brown, do not acknowledge Quasar's design. Some critics allege that the new design appropriates aspects of the Puerto Rico Pride flag, while Quasar maintains their design was unintentional and supports the new campaign. The use of chevrons in flags is common, but diagonally placed stripes are less so.[73]

Intersex Inclusive Progress Pride Flag

In 2021, Valentino Vecchietti of Intersex Equality Rights UK redesigned the Progress Pride Flag to incorporate the intersex flag.[75] This design added a yellow triangle with a purple circle in it to the chevron of the Progress Pride flag. It also changed the color of green to a lighter shade without adding new symbolism. Intersex Equality Rights UK posted the new flag on Instagram and Twitter.[76][77]

Reception

The reception to new variations and iterations of the Pride Flag have been mixed.[78][79][80][81] Supporters have praised the focus on inclusion, and the highlighting the role and discrimination of people of color in the LGBT community. At the same time, some have expressed concern that the changes only act as a "performance, creating the impression of inclusion without real commitment", or that they have been "for the sake of branding", while not reflecting any actual "material steps towards real equality".[78] Others have remained critical, arguing that the original design already acts as a symbol of diversity,[82][79] and emphasized that the original flag was designed without any racial dimension in mind.[79] Other critics have called the variations "patronizing" and that they have taken away some "universality".[81] Both the Philadelphia Pride Flag and the Progress Pride Flag were met with some controversy and backlash for these reasons, but also praise and widespread adoption.[79][83]

Quasar's iteration of the progress pride flag is licensed under a Creative Commons license, which excludes commercial use; this has been criticised as not being in keeping with Baker's original intent for the first iteration of the flag. Quasar has stated openly that small organisations can use the flag commercially and the license was chosen to put restrictions on large corporations.[84][85] Quasar stated that: "A changing point for me was when I started to see it getting used in a way that I didn't personally agree with. Companies were snatching it up, making stuff out of it, and selling it without my attribution attached. It was purely rainbow capitalism based marketing…If you're going to make money off of something that I created within my community it's only fair that you give back not just to me as the artist, but the community itself, too."[84] Criticism of the flag has also been made by LGBTQ+ people of colour, who felt that the flag, despite its inclusive intent, was created without community consultation.[85]

Other 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.[86] 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.[clarification needed]

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.[22]

In 2002, another LGBT activist, Eddie Reynoso, recreated Gilbert Baker's original 1978 tie-dye flag,[87] incorporating a blue canton, with white stars that were painted to a pink color, as residents in states across the nation gained the right to same-gender marriage. The flag- named the Pride Constellation,[88] was first painted on a canvas—as a protest symbol during Nevada's constitutional amendment to define marriage as that between a man and a woman. In 2009, the flag was featured prominently on local and national news outlets as they reported on the California Supreme Court's ruling- to uphold the state's marriage equality ban.[89][90][91]

Reynoso later rearranged the stars by order of admission into the Union,[88] retaining part of Gilbert Bakers tie-dye flag and the Pride New Glory Flag.

In 2015, Reynoso's flag once again made national news after it was featured across various news outlets reporting on the Obergefell v. Hodges oral arguments at the Supreme Court.[92][93]

LGBT communities in other countries have adopted the rainbow flag.[94] 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.[95] 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."[96]

Government flags

Left: Rainbow version of the Polish flag; Right: Minnesota State Flag with Rainbow flag design on the field

While the rainbow flag has not been officially incorporated into the flags in any countries, some states and municipalities have flown the pride flag alongside the state flag to demonstrate inclusivity and support for LGBTQ+ communities.[97] Some countries, like Germany, allow the Pride flag to be flown on government buildings on specific occasions.[98] Some states, provinces and municipalities allow the Pride Flag to be flown on government buildings.[99] Embassies and consulates of LGBTQ+ friendly countries may fly the Pride flag alongside their national flag to show solidarity with the LGBTQ+ community.[100]

A spending bill passed in 2024 restricts flying any flag other than the US flag over US embassies. This means Pride flags cannot be flown on flagpoles at the top of embassies. However, this doesn't ban displaying Pride flags elsewhere on embassy grounds, like inside offices or on lower flagpoles. The Biden administration has stated their intent to work on repealing this provision.[101]

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.[102]

However, unofficial proposals and designs incorporating the rainbow flag into state, province, and municipalities flags exist, but have not gained widespread adoption.[103] [104][97]

Notable flag creations

Mile-long flags

 
The mile-and-a-quarter-long flag (2 km) stretching across Key West in 2003

For the 25th anniversary of the June 1969 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.[105] The mile-long flag, dubbed "Raise the Rainbow",[106] took months of planning and teams of volunteers to coordinate every aspect.[106] The flag utilized the basic six colors and measured 30 feet (9.1 m) wide. After the march, foot-wide (0.30 m) 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 LGBTQ marches worldwide.[105] 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.[107] The Guinness Book of World Records confirmed it as the world's largest flag.[108]

In 2003, Baker was again commissioned to produce a giant flag marking the 25th anniversary of the flag itself.[109] Dubbed "25 Rainbow Sea to Sea", the project entailed Baker again working with teams of volunteers but this flag utilized the original eight colors and measured one and a quarter miles (2 km) across Key West, Florida, from the Atlantic Ocean to the Gulf of Mexico.[110][111] The flag was again divided afterwards and sections were sent to over a hundred cities worldwide.[112]

Other large flags

 
Large rainbow flag being carried in the São Paulo LGBTQ Pride

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,[113] held in the city of Port Elizabeth, Eastern Cape province, South Africa.[114] It measures twelve by eight metres (39 by 26 ft), and flies on the country's tallest flag pole, which is sixty metres (200 ft) high,[114] and is in Donkin Reserve, in Port Elizabeth's central business district.[115] 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.[115] 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".[116] 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.[117][118] 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.[119] 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.[120][119][121] The giant flag was produced by the flag originator Gilbert Baker, and measures 131 square metres (1,410 sq ft).[122][123]

In June 2019, to coincide with the fifty-year anniversary of the Stonewall Riots,[124] steps at the Franklin D. Roosevelt Four Freedoms Park were turned into the largest LGBT pride flag.[125] The rainbow-decorated 12-by-100-foot (3.7 m × 30.5 m) staircase Ascend With Pride was installed June 14–30.[125]

Influence

Additional pride flags

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,[126] pansexual pride flag,[127] and transgender pride flags.[128]

Spirit Day

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.[129][130][131]

Notable incorporations of the rainbow flag

Freedom Rings

 
Freedom Rings on a keychain

Freedom Rings, designed by David Spada in 1991, are six aluminum rings, each in one of the colors of the rainbow flag. These rings are worn by themselves or as part of necklaces, bracelets, and keychains.[132] They are a symbol of gay pride, and were originally sold as a fundraiser for the 1991 San Francisco Gay Freedom Day Parade and quickly became a national trend. In June 1992, several of MTV's on-air hosts wore Freedom Rings in recognition of Pride Month, elevating their visibility.[133][134] They are sometimes referred to as "Fruit Loops".[135]

Gaysper

 
Gaysper

Gaysper is an LGBT symbol based on the ghost emoji "👻" with a rainbow flag background. It gained popularity in Spain from April 2019 after a tweet from the official account of the far-right party Vox, after which a multitude of users belonging to the LGBT movement began to use it as a symbol. The icon has established itself as an example of the phenomenon of reappropriation of elements of the anti-LGBT discourse in contemporary society through social networks.[136][137]

Rainbow crossings

 
Rainbow pedestrian crossing, incorporating rainbow flag and transgender pride flag colors

Beginning in the 2010s, cities around the world have begun installing rainbow crossings to celebrate the LGBTQIA+ community, many of which have been made permanent in cities such as Seattle, Paris, San Francisco and Sydney.

See also

References

  1. ^ "Long-Lost Fragment of First Rainbow Pride Flag Resurfaces After Four Decades".
  2. ^ "The Rainbow Flag: Lynn Segerblom & Lee Mentley". October 2, 2023.
  3. ^ "The woman behind the Rainbow Flag". March 3, 2018.
  4. ^ "HERSTORY – Meet Lynn Segerblom, One of the Creators of the Original 1978 Rainbow Flag - WeHo Times West Hollywood Daily News, Nightlife and Events". July 18, 2018.
  5. ^ "The Rainbow Flag". Retrieved May 29, 2021.
  6. ^ Gilbert Baker (October 18, 2007). "Pride-Flyin' Flag: Rainbow-flag founder marks 30-years anniversary". Metro Weekly. Retrieved March 13, 2008.
  7. ^ "MoMA Acquires the Rainbow Flag". MoMA.org. Museum of Modern Art. Retrieved May 5, 2016.
  8. ^ Campbell, Mark (November 16, 2014). "Marring the rainbow". The American. Retrieved June 5, 2023.
  9. ^ a b "Rainbow Flag". GLBT Historical Society. June 25, 1978. Retrieved June 17, 2021.
  10. ^ "What Is The Original Gilbert Baker Rainbow Pride Flag, And What Does It Stand For?". November 10, 2021. Retrieved January 25, 2023.
  11. ^ "Rainbow Flag: Origin Story | Gillbert Baker". April 11, 2019. Archived from the original on April 11, 2019. Retrieved June 11, 2019.
  12. ^ Mike Hippler (November 14, 1985). "Gilbert Baker: Street queen at the ball". Bay Area Reporter. Retrieved June 25, 2018.
  13. ^ The National Museum & Archive of Lesbian and Gay History; Lesbian and Gay Community Services Center (1996). The Gay Almanac. New York: Berkley Books. p. 94. ISBN 978-0-425-15300-0. OCLC 636576927.
  14. ^ Higgs, David (1999). Queer Sites: Gay Urban Histories Since 1600. Psychology Press. pp. 173–. ISBN 978-0-415-15897-8. Retrieved November 19, 2012 – via Google Books.
  15. ^ Fitzharris, Dustin (June 27, 2008). "True Colors Shining Through: The rainbow flag, a symbol of LGBT Pride, celebrates three decades". New York Blade. 12 (26): 9 – via EBSCO. I come from the '60s, so [the flag's] more about the Rolling Stones and their song 'She's a Rainbow,'" Baker said. "That era was a time when people were asserting themselves as artists in the true sense. But, I get the Garland thing, and being from Kansas, I double get it.
  16. ^ "World Peace Association: Brotherhood flag". Crwflags.com. Retrieved June 25, 2018.
  17. ^ Joye, Paula (November 18, 2011). "Wear it proud. Say it loud". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved April 7, 2021.
  18. ^ "Symbols of Pride of the LGBTQ community". Carleton College. Archived from the original on September 7, 2008. Noted as sourced to The Alyson Almanac from the college's library.
  19. ^ Goupil, Helene; Krist, Josh (2005). San Francisco: The Unknown City. Arsenal Pulp Press. p. 33. ISBN 978-1-55152-188-6.
  20. ^ "The woman behind the Rainbow Flag". Los Angeles Blade. March 2, 2018. Retrieved March 8, 2018.
  21. ^ Hailey Branson-Potts (June 8, 2018). "On the 40th anniversary of the LGBTQ pride symbol, artist wants her rainbow flag story told". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved June 25, 2018.
  22. ^ a b Witt, Lynn; Thomas, Sherry; Marcus, Eric, eds. (1995). Out in All Directions: A Treasury of Gay and Lesbian America. New York: Warner Books. p. 435. ISBN 978-0-446-67237-5. OCLC 37034700.
  23. ^ "San Francisco creator of gay flag shares story of strength, pride". ABC7 News. KGO-TV. March 1, 2017. Retrieved June 2, 2017.
  24. ^ How the Pride Rainbow Flag Came to Be (video). NBC News. June 23, 2016. Event occurs at 2:30. Archived from the original on December 21, 2021. Retrieved June 2, 2017 – via YouTube. It's a flag, it needed to have depth, and so I liked the idea that each color would represent an element of everyone's life.
  25. ^ Gilbert Baker: The Gay Betsy Ross (video). In the Life Media. June 23, 2016. Event occurs at 2:31. Archived from the original on December 21, 2021. Retrieved June 2, 2017 – via YouTube.
  26. ^ Melendez, Lyanne (June 5, 2021). "Original rainbow flag returns home to San Francisco after being lost for more than 40 years". 6abc Philadelphia. Retrieved June 10, 2021.
  27. ^ McGreevy, Nora (June 16, 2021). "Long-Lost Fragment of First Rainbow Pride Flag Resurfaces After Four Decades". Smithsonian Magazine. Retrieved May 21, 2022.
  28. ^ "San Francisco leaders George Moscone and Harvey Milk are murdered". HISTORY. Retrieved January 27, 2023.
  29. ^ a b "Unsung Heroes of the Gay World: Vexillographer Gilbert Baker: The Gay Betsy Ross". UK Gay News. April 17, 2008. Archived from the original on July 21, 2009. Retrieved September 23, 2009.
  30. ^ "History of the Pride Flag" (PDF). Retrieved January 27, 2023.
  31. ^ Russell, Ron (December 8, 1988). "Removal of 'Gay Pride' Flag Ordered: Tenant Suit Accuses Apartment Owner of Bias". Los Angeles Times. Part 9, 6.
  32. ^ Whitley, David (August 9, 2008). "More buzz over 'Bows". Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved December 17, 2008.
  33. ^ "Nickname Of UH Men's Teams To Be Rainbow Warriors". May 14, 2013. Archived from the original on November 2, 2019. Retrieved July 31, 2020.
  34. ^ Ben Kercheval (May 15, 2013). "Hawaii football changing name back to Rainbow Warriors". NBC Sports. Retrieved July 31, 2020.
  35. ^ Barkham, Patrick (June 4, 2005). "Council bans gay firms from flying the flag". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved July 31, 2019.
  36. ^ "Introduction". Gay and Lesbian Kingdom of the Coral Sea Islands. Archived from the original on July 10, 2007.
  37. ^ Lowder, J. Bryan (June 18, 2015). "MoMA Preserves Pride by Acquiring the Rainbow Flag". Slate. Retrieved June 24, 2015.
  38. ^ Antonelli, Paola; Fisher, Michelle Millar (June 17, 2015). "MoMA Acquires the Rainbow Flag". Museum of Modern Art. Retrieved June 24, 2015.
  39. ^ Martinez, Alanna (June 17, 2015). "The Rainbow Flag Joins the Museum of Modern Art's Collection". Observer. Retrieved June 24, 2015.
  40. ^ de Vries, Karl; Malloy, Allie (June 27, 2015). "White House shines rainbow colors to hail same-sex marriage ruling". CNN. Retrieved January 27, 2023.
  41. ^ Bhattacharya, Ananya (July 20, 2016). "Unicode receives proposal to add a rainbow flag emoji by the end of 2016". Quartz. Retrieved February 8, 2020.
  42. ^ "Emoji Version 4.0 List". Emojipedia. November 28, 2016. Retrieved February 8, 2020.
  43. ^ Hume, Tim (November 11, 2021). "The Far-Right Brought Chaos to Warsaw on Poland's Independence Day". Vice.
  44. ^ "Hva betyr regnbueflagget?". Ung.no. February 7, 2013.
  45. ^ a b c d e Klapeer, Christine M.; Laskar, Pia (September 3, 2018). "Transnational ways of belonging and queer ways of being. Exploring transnationalism through the trajectories of the rainbow flag". Identities. 25 (5): 524–541. doi:10.1080/1070289x.2018.1507958. ISSN 1070-289X. S2CID 150001156.
  46. ^ a b c d e Laskar, Pia; Johansson, Anna; Mulinari, Diana (February 28, 2017). "Decolonising the Rainbow Flag". Culture Unbound. 8 (3): 193–217. doi:10.3384/cu.2000.1525.1683193. ISSN 2000-1525.
  47. ^ Alm, Erika; Martinsson, Lena (February 28, 2017). "The rainbow flag as friction: transnational imagined communities of belonging among Pakistani LGBTQ activists". Culture Unbound. 8 (3): 218–239. doi:10.3384/cu.2000.1525.1683218. ISSN 2000-1525.
  48. ^ Basil, Zahid Mahmood,Yousuf (June 19, 2022). "Rainbow-colored toys and clothing are seized in Saudi Arabia for indirectly 'promoting homosexuality'". CNN. Retrieved February 7, 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  49. ^ "Saudi authorities seize rainbow toys for promoting homosexuality". BBC News. June 15, 2022. Retrieved September 7, 2022.
  50. ^ Bratek, Rebecca (July 10, 2018). "Activists create "hidden" rainbow flag to get around Russia's LGBTQ flag ban - CBS News". www.cbsnews.com. Retrieved July 19, 2024.
  51. ^ Zanger, Doug (July 10, 2018). "This Rainbow Flag Creatively Outsmarted Russian LGBTQ Laws". www.adweek.com. Retrieved July 19, 2024.
  52. ^ Kelleher, Patrick (August 6, 2020). "Terrified queer Poles are fleeing the country as homophobic president Andrzej Duda is sworn in for second term". PinkNews. Retrieved January 27, 2023.
  53. ^ Santora, Marc (August 6, 2020). "In Poland, the Rainbow Flag Is Wrapped Up in a Broader Culture War". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved December 7, 2021.
  54. ^ "Opinion | As more companies wade in, it's time to ask: Is Pride for sale?". Washington Post. Retrieved December 7, 2021.
  55. ^ "Our Enduring LGBTQ Symbols". sfbaytimes.com. March 9, 2017. Archived from the original on July 6, 2022. Retrieved March 22, 2017.
  56. ^ Haag, Matthew (April 2017). "Gilbert Baker, Gay Activist Who Created the Rainbow Flag, Dies at 65". The New York Times. Retrieved July 23, 2018.
  57. ^ Wong, Curtis M. (June 7, 2018). "The History And Meaning Of The Rainbow Pride Flag". Huffington Post. Retrieved July 23, 2018.
  58. ^ "Flags by Gilbert Baker". gilbertbaker.com. Retrieved July 23, 2018.
  59. ^ "More Color More Pride". Tierney. Retrieved June 1, 2020.
  60. ^ Owens, Ernest (June 8, 2017). "Philly's Pride Flag to Get Two New Stripes: Black and Brown". Philadelphia. Metro Corp. Retrieved June 10, 2017.
  61. ^ "Controversy Flies Over Philadelphia's New Pride Flag". NBC News. June 15, 2017. Retrieved June 18, 2017.
  62. ^ "Love Fest inunda o Centro de música baiana e amor à população LGBT". G1 (in Portuguese). February 12, 2018.
  63. ^ "Love Fest promove luta contra homofobia no Carnaval de SP". VEJA.com (in Portuguese).
  64. ^ "Beyond The Rainbow". www.uclansu.co.uk. Retrieved January 27, 2023.
  65. ^ "Trans, QPOC Inclusive Pride Flag Campaign Going Viral". www.newnownext.com. Retrieved November 11, 2018.
  66. ^ "This graphic designer has revamped the Pride flag to make it more inclusive". PinkNews. Retrieved November 11, 2018.
  67. ^ "Will Everyone Feel Included With Artist's New Pride Flag?". Advocate. June 8, 2018. Retrieved November 11, 2018.
  68. ^ ""Progress" A PRIDE Flag Reboot". Kickstarter. Retrieved November 11, 2018.
  69. ^ "LGBTQ meets caste, politics: Social justice pride flag at Chennai Queer LitFest". The News Minute.
  70. ^ "#GoodNews: Where LGBTQ Meets Caste – A Pride Flag Inclusive of All". The Quint.
  71. ^ "How Queer Artists Around the World Are Redefining Colour in Visual Culture". ELEPHANT. July 8, 2020. Retrieved February 1, 2023.
  72. ^ "The Social Justice Pride Flag". QCC Press Statement.
  73. ^ a b Bollinger, Alex (August 24, 2018). "Could this Pride flag that 'respects Puerto Rico' replace the rainbow flag?". LGBTQ Nation. Retrieved July 15, 2024.
  74. ^ "New Pride Flag". June 21, 2021. Archived from the original on June 21, 2021. Retrieved July 15, 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  75. ^ Parsons, Vic (June 7, 2021). "Progress Pride flag gets 2021 redesign to better represent intersex people". PinkNews. Retrieved June 10, 2021.
  76. ^ "The Progress Pride Flag Is Getting an Intersex-Inclusive Makeover". them.us. June 8, 2021. Archived from the original on July 10, 2021. Retrieved August 3, 2021.
  77. ^ Intersex Equality Rights UK [@intersex_equality_rights_uk] (June 5, 2021). "Slide 1. Happy Pride 2021! For our Intersex Inclusion Campaign we'd like to share with you our new intersex inclusive Pride Progress…" – via Instagram.
  78. ^ a b Green, Alex V. (June 23, 2021). "The Pride Flag Has a Representation Problem". The Atlantic. Retrieved July 18, 2022.
  79. ^ a b c d Compton, Julie (June 15, 2017). "Controversy Flies Over Philadelphia's New Pride Flag". Retrieved July 18, 2022.
  80. ^ Abad-Santos, Alex (June 20, 2017). "Philadelphia's new, inclusive gay pride flag is making gay white men angry". Vox.
  81. ^ a b Baggs, Michael (January 14, 2019). "Manchester Pride: Does the rainbow flag need black and brown stripes?". BBC. Retrieved July 18, 2022.
  82. ^ Allen, David (August 21, 2022). "How trans ideology hijacked the gay-rights movement". Spiked. Retrieved March 15, 2024.
  83. ^ Wareham, Jamie (July 12, 2020). "Why Many LGBT People Have Started Using A New Pride Flag". Forbes. Retrieved July 18, 2022.
  84. ^ a b Lang, Courtney (June 13, 2023). "Copyright, Pride, and Progress: Navigating Ownership, Representation, and Cultural Rights". Copyright Alliance. Retrieved June 17, 2023.
  85. ^ a b "Mysterious flyers asking to boycott Progress Pride Flag posted around SF's Castro District". ABC7 San Francisco. July 28, 2022. Retrieved June 17, 2023.
  86. ^ "U of T raises Progress Pride flag to mark the beginning of Pride Month". University of Toronto News. Retrieved February 1, 2023.
  87. ^ Liscia, Valentina Di (June 14, 2021). "Revel in the First Pride Flag, Long-assumed Lost, in San Francisco". Hyperallergic. Retrieved July 21, 2022.
  88. ^ a b "Marriage Equality Evolving Protest Flags (U.S.)". www.crwflags.com. Retrieved July 21, 2022.
  89. ^ Egelko, Bob (May 27, 2009). "Prop. 8 stands; more ballot battles ahead". SFGATE. Retrieved July 21, 2022.
  90. ^ "California high court upholds same-sex marriage ban". CNN. Retrieved July 21, 2022.
  91. ^ "California Supreme Court upholds same-sex marriage ban; lets stand existing gay unions". The Mercury News. May 26, 2009. Retrieved July 21, 2022.
  92. ^ "The Most Telling Quotes From the Obergefell v. Hodges Oral Arguments". Bloomberg.com. April 28, 2015. Retrieved July 21, 2022.
  93. ^ "Marriage Equality Supporters Camp Out At Supreme Court Days Before Oral Arguments". HuffPost. April 27, 2015. Retrieved July 21, 2022.
  94. ^ Wareham, Jamie. "Why Many LGBT People Have Started Using A New Pride Flag". Forbes. Retrieved February 1, 2023.
  95. ^ "South Africa Gets Own Gay Flag". March 16, 2012. Archived from the original on March 16, 2012. Retrieved December 7, 2022.
  96. ^ "South African Flag Revealed at MCQP". Cape Town Pride. December 22, 2010. Archived from the original on August 9, 2011. Retrieved April 4, 2011.
  97. ^ a b Zorthian, Julia (June 25, 2015). "How the Rainbow Flag Became an LGBT Icon". TIME. Retrieved July 15, 2024.
  98. ^ "Germany: Federal Government Allows Flying of Pride Flags in Front of Federal Government Buildings". Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. 20540 USA. Retrieved July 15, 2024.
  99. ^ Martin, Emily (June 26, 2021). "Pride version of San Antonio flag flies over City Hall for first time". KSAT. Retrieved July 15, 2024.
  100. ^ "German Embassy Lectures Hungary as Homophobic Violence Ramps up at Home". Hungary Today. July 20, 2023. Retrieved July 15, 2024.
  101. ^ Wang, Amy B. (March 25, 2024). "White House vows to repeal GOP-led ban on Pride flags over U.S. embassies". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved July 15, 2024.
  102. ^ Hernacka-Janikowska, Anna Maria (2020). "Znieważenie symboli i znaków państwowych – aspekty prawno-politologiczne". Studia Prawnoustrojowe (47). doi:10.31648/sp.5270.
  103. ^ Tribune, Louis Krauss Star. "What's a design expert's verdict on Minnesota's new state flag?". Star Tribune. Retrieved July 15, 2024.
  104. ^ "Pride Flags". The Gender and Sexuality Resource Center. Retrieved July 15, 2024.
  105. ^ a b San Francisco Neighborhoods: The Castro (Documentary). KQED-TV.
  106. ^ a b Lenius, Steve (June 6, 2019). "Leather Life: Stonewall 25 Memories". Lavender Magazine. Retrieved July 15, 2019.
  107. ^ "'Stilettos For Shanghai' Castro Screening To Spotlight Anti-LGBTQ Laws". Hoodline. August 4, 2017. Retrieved July 15, 2019.
  108. ^ Young, Mark C. (October 1, 1994). The Guinness book of records. Facts on File. pp. 307–. ISBN 9780816026463. Retrieved November 19, 2012.
  109. ^ "About the Pride Flag". Why We March. Retrieved January 27, 2023.
  110. ^ N.Y.), Lesbian & Gay Community Services Center (New York (1996). The Gay Almanac. Berkley Books. ISBN 978-0-425-15300-0.
  111. ^ The Guinness Book of Records 1995. Facts on File. 1994. ISBN 978-0-8160-2646-3.
  112. ^ Witt, Lynn; Thomas, Sherry; Marcus, Eric (September 26, 2009). Out in All Directions: A Treasury of Gay and Lesbian America. Grand Central Publishing. ISBN 978-0-446-56721-3.
  113. ^ Kimberley, Kathryn (September 24, 2012). "Gay pride spills over in Bay streets". The Herald. Archived from the original on July 29, 2014. Retrieved July 29, 2014.
  114. ^ a b McCormick, Joseph (December 4, 2014). "PHOTOS: Is this the biggest pride flag ever flown?". PinkNews. Retrieved July 8, 2019.
  115. ^ a b Igual, Roberto (December 2, 2014). "Look! Africa's biggest gay rainbow flag flies in PE". MambaOnline – Gay South Africa online. Retrieved July 8, 2019.
  116. ^ "NMB flies Pride flag at Donkin Reserve". Algoa FM. June 27, 2018. Retrieved July 8, 2019.
  117. ^ Giardina, Henry (April 8, 2018). "Venice to Fly World's Largest Rainbow Flag". The Pride LA. Retrieved July 8, 2019.
  118. ^ "World's Largest Free-Flying Pride Flag to Be Unveiled in Los Angeles For Venice Pride". Venice Pride. Retrieved January 27, 2023.
  119. ^ a b Zonkel, Phillip (April 3, 2018). "World's largest Gay Pride flag coming to Venice". Q Voice News. Retrieved July 8, 2019.
  120. ^ "Venice Pride Ends Pride Month By Representing the LA in NY World Pride March". Yo! Venice!. July 3, 2019. Retrieved July 8, 2019.
  121. ^ Girardeau, Merrill Lee (March 28, 2019). "Everything You Need to Know about The Planet's Biggest LGBT Event". WorldPride 2019 Guide. Retrieved July 8, 2019.
  122. ^ Zonkel, Phillip (June 3, 2018). "World's largest Gay Pride flag hoisted in Venice". Q Voice News. Retrieved July 8, 2019.
  123. ^ Branson-Potts, Hailey (June 8, 2018). "On the 40th anniversary of the LGBTQ pride symbol, artist wants her rainbow flag story told". L.A. Times. Retrieved July 8, 2019.
  124. ^ "50 Years After Stonewall, We're Still Disagreeing About What Happened There. That's Why the Archives Matter". Time. Retrieved January 27, 2023.
  125. ^ a b Aviles, Gwen (June 11, 2019). "New York City's 'largest LGBTQ pride flag' arrives at Four Freedoms Park". NBC News. Retrieved July 8, 2019.
  126. ^ "What Exactly Is The Bisexual Pride Flag, And What Does It Mean?". November 9, 2021. Retrieved December 7, 2022.
  127. ^ "What Is The Pansexual Pride Flag, And What Does It Stand For?". November 10, 2021. Retrieved December 7, 2022.
  128. ^ "What Is The Transgender Pride Flag, And What Does It Stand For?". November 10, 2021. Retrieved December 7, 2022.
  129. ^ "About #SpiritDay". GLAAD. June 28, 2016. Retrieved October 15, 2019.
  130. ^ Wackrow, Kyle (October 10, 2010). "Spirit Day to honor recent homosexual suicide victims". The Eastern Echo. Archived from the original on October 17, 2010. Retrieved October 26, 2010.
  131. ^ "Spirit Day — October 21, 2021". National Today. October 21, 2021. Retrieved January 27, 2023.
  132. ^ Van Gelder, Lindsy (June 21, 1992). "Thing; Freedom Rings". New York Times. Retrieved July 21, 2010.
  133. ^ "Freedom Rings Make Fashion Statement". Orlando Sentinel. July 17, 1992. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved December 10, 2017.
  134. ^ "Rings Thing". TV Guide. 40 (4 July 1992): 187. 1992. ISSN 0039-8543. Retrieved December 11, 2017.
  135. ^ Green, Jonathon (2006). Cassell's Dictionary of Slang. Sterling Publishing Company, Inc. ISBN 0-304-36636-6. Retrieved November 15, 2007.
  136. ^ Cantó, Pablo (April 29, 2019). "Cómo el 'fantasma LGTB' que asusta a Vox se ha convertido en un icono gay" (in Spanish). El País (Verne). Retrieved May 24, 2021.
  137. ^ Bonfill, Anna Zaera; Giménez, Yolanda Tortajada; Gálvez, Antonio Caballero (February 3, 2021). "La reapropiación del insulto como resistencia queer en el universo digital: el caso Gaysper". Investigaciones Feministas (in Spanish). 12 (1): 103–113. doi:10.5209/infe.69684. hdl:10115/34401. ISSN 2171-6080. S2CID 234065914. Retrieved June 8, 2021.