Rainbow Pride Flag

The Rainbow Pride Flag, also known as the LGBTQ+ Pride Flag, is a globally recognized symbol of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ+) pride, diversity, and social movements. Its most common modern iteration features six horizontal stripes of equal width in a vibrant rainbow color sequence: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and violet. The design is celebrated for its bold simplicity and its powerful, immediate visual impact as a banner of inclusion.

Unlike national flags, the Rainbow Pride Flag is a non-territorial symbol adopted by communities and organizations worldwide. Its design is not officially standardized by a single governing body, leading to variations in shade, proportion, and stripe count throughout its history. The flag's primary function is as a symbol of solidarity and visibility, flown at pride events, displayed on buildings, and used in advocacy to represent the LGBTQ+ community.

The flag's enduring power lies in its accessible and adaptable design, which has inspired numerous derivative flags representing specific identities within the broader community, such as the Progress Pride Flag. Its universal color symbolism transcends language barriers, making it one of the most recognizable symbols of human rights and equality in the modern era.

Each color in the original eight-stripe flag, designed by Gilbert Baker in 1978, was assigned a specific meaning: hot pink for sex, red for life, orange for healing, yellow for sunlight, green for nature, turquoise for magic/art, indigo for serenity, and violet for spirit. The most common six-stripe version resulted from the removal of hot pink and turquoise due to fabric availability, but the core symbolism of life, healing, sunlight, nature, serenity, and spirit remains associated with the rainbow.

Collectively, the rainbow is a historic symbol of hope, diversity, and the spectrum of human sexuality and gender. The flag's horizontal stripes symbolize inclusivity and unity, representing the coming together of different identities under a common banner. The flag's meaning has evolved to broadly represent LGBTQ+ rights, pride, and social progress, serving as a visual declaration of existence and resilience.

The flag was created in 1978 by artist and activist Gilbert Baker in San Francisco, at the request of Harvey Milk, one of the first openly gay elected officials in the U.S. The first versions were hand-dyed and sewn by Baker and a team of volunteers, featuring eight colored stripes. It first flew at the San Francisco Gay Freedom Day Parade on June 25, 1978. Following the assassination of Harvey Milk later that year, demand for the flag surged, cementing its role as a symbol of the community.

Practical production challenges led to modifications: hot pink fabric was scarce, so it was dropped, resulting in a seven-stripe flag. For the 1979 parade, when hung vertically from lamp posts, the center stripe (turquoise) was obscured, leading to the adoption of an even-numbered, six-stripe design (red, orange, yellow, green, blue, violet) which became the standard. The flag gained international prominence throughout the 1980s and 1990s, becoming the preeminent global symbol for LGBTQ+ pride.