Lesbian Flag|Everything you ever wanted to know about LGBT pride flags
It seems like every year there are more striped flags than ever to represent each group celebrating Pride. Like the multicolored colors used in the code for handkerchiefs (which some gay men used to flirt with), it can sometimes be difficult to remember which flag represents which subculture, just by looking at the flags used — the giant cloth ones. that span multiple city blocks, down to the tiny pride flag-inspired emoji symbols shared on social media.
And, in addition, the Pride flags are constantly changing. In recent years, the traditional rainbow-striped flag has been replaced or supplemented in some places by "more progressive" versions, which add colors to recognize groups that have historically felt excluded from the events of the pride.
Where do all these pride flags come from? Why do we need it? The answers to these questions are simple: they were born out of a need to affirm the presence of LGBTQ+ people and their community at a time when they tended to be overlooked by mainstream culture. By flying a flag, activists from past decades have been able to draw attention to their existence, to find each other, to push for greater inclusion. But the analysis of the meaning of each flag is a bit more complex. Explanations.
Overview of previously used symbols
Prior to the creation of the rainbow striped flag, the LGBTQ+ community tended to use the pink triangle as a symbol, adapted from the badge that gay prisoners were forced to wear in Nazi concentration camps. During World War II, the Nazis forced those perceived to be gay to wear a downward-pointing triangle in concentration camps. About 100,000 people were reportedly detained and over 75,000 killed, mostly gay men, but not exclusively. Subsequently, the most famous pink triangle is the one adopted by the advocacy group ACT UP in the fight against HIV/AIDS. There was also some use of the Greek lambda symbol, green carnations, blue feathers, the ace of playing cards, and a purple handprint.
Green carnations first appeared when Oscar Wilde adopted them for his inner circle in the late 1800s. The purple or purple hand dates back to a protest in 1969: after San Francisco's Examiner newspaper ran a homophobic editorial on gay bars, citizens demonstrated in front of the newspaper's offices. Employees threw ink at protesters, who then used the ink to mark the building with their handprints to show they were there. The Lambda symbol represents energy and balance, and was first used by the Gay Activists Alliance in the 1970s and later adopted by many other gay and lesbian organizations. In Montreal, Lambda Youth, Lambda Bowling League and Lambda Tennis are some of the groups that have adopted it. The labrys was the symbol of women in the 1970s for a number of lesbian and feminist organizations. Her popularity increased when articles about her origins appeared in feminist literature of the time. Today, the labrys has been replaced by other symbols, but can still be seen adorning jewelry and women's specialty stores. However, none of these symbols has become widespread as a global symbol of sexual and gender diversity communities in modern times. but can still be seen adorning jewelry and women's specialty stores. However, none of these symbols has become widespread as a global symbol of sexual and gender diversity communities in modern times. but can still be seen adorning jewelry and women's specialty stores. However, none of these symbols has become widespread as a global symbol of sexual and gender diversity communities in modern times.
What is the history of the rainbow pride flag?
The history of the Rainbow Pride Flag can be traced back to Harvey Milk, the famous San Francisco City Councilman, and his friend Gilbert Baker in the 1970s. Baker had served in the military and moved in San Francisco after his honorable discharge. There he befriended Milk, who challenged him to create a symbol for what was then more commonly referred to as the gay community. Baker with the help of two friends (Lynn Segerblom and James McNamara, who balanced the dyeing process and sewed the flag respectively) developed a rainbow version that had eight colors, with a hot pink stripe and a stripe turquoise.
Although it was often called the "gay pride flag" in its early days, the rainbow flag was very quickly embraced by a community much larger than gay men and perceived as inclusive of lesbians, bisexual people and trans or poly, asexual or queer people. The term “gay” or “gay” as a catch-all term for anything gender nonconforming is a vestige of the patriarchy that is fading away. Over the years, the rainbow striped flag has become the strongest icon of Pride. But over the years, groups within the queer community have felt the need to specifically assert their presence as well. Lesbian, bisexual, transgender and even leather groups created symbols for their communities and over time became more widespread. There are easily dozens of Pride flags, each slightly different. Because the flags represent different gay communities, rather than formal organizations, they are dynamic and flexible, and new ones may appear as old ones fall into disuse.
It seems like every year there are more striped flags than ever to represent each group celebrating Pride. Like the multicolored colors used in the code for handkerchiefs (which some gay men used to flirt with), it can sometimes be difficult to remember which flag represents which subculture, just by looking at the flags used — the giant cloth ones. that span multiple city blocks, down to the tiny pride flag-inspired emoji symbols shared on social media.
And, in addition, the Pride flags are constantly changing. In recent years, the traditional rainbow-striped flag has been replaced or supplemented in some places by "more progressive" versions, which add colors to recognize groups that have historically felt excluded from the events of the pride.
Where do all these pride flags come from? Why do we need it? The answers to these questions are simple: they were born out of a need to affirm the presence of LGBTQ+ people and their community at a time when they tended to be overlooked by mainstream culture. By flying a flag, activists from past decades have been able to draw attention to their existence, to find each other, to push for greater inclusion. But the analysis of the meaning of each flag is a bit more complex. Explanations.
Overview of previously used symbols
Prior to the creation of the rainbow striped flag, the LGBTQ+ community tended to use the pink triangle as a symbol, adapted from the badge that gay prisoners were forced to wear in Nazi concentration camps. During World War II, the Nazis forced those perceived to be gay to wear a downward-pointing triangle in concentration camps. About 100,000 people were reportedly detained and over 75,000 killed, mostly gay men, but not exclusively. Subsequently, the most famous pink triangle is the one adopted by the advocacy group ACT UP in the fight against HIV/AIDS. There was also some use of the Greek lambda symbol, green carnations, blue feathers, the ace of playing cards, and a purple handprint
Green carnations first appeared when Oscar Wilde adopted them for his inner circle in the late 1800s. The purple or purple hand dates back to a protest in 1969: after San Francisco's Examiner newspaper ran a homophobic editorial on gay bars, citizens demonstrated in front of the newspaper's offices. Employees threw ink at protesters, who then used the ink to mark the building with their handprints to show they were there. The Lambda symbol represents energy and balance, and was first used by the Gay Activists Alliance in the 1970s and later adopted by many other gay and lesbian organizations. In Montreal, Lambda Youth, Lambda Bowling League and Lambda Tennis are some of the groups that have adopted it. The labrys was the symbol of women in the 1970s for a number of lesbian and feminist organizations. Her popularity increased when articles about her origins appeared in feminist literature of the time. Today, the labrys has been replaced by other symbols, but can still be seen adorning jewelry and women's specialty stores. However, none of these symbols has become widespread as a global symbol of sexual and gender diversity communities in modern times. but can still be seen adorning jewelry and women's specialty stores. However, none of these symbols has become widespread as a global symbol of sexual and gender diversity communities in modern times. but can still be seen adorning jewelry and women's specialty stores. However, none of these symbols has become widespread as a global symbol of sexual and gender diversity communities in modern times.
What is the history of the rainbow pride flag?
The history of the Rainbow Pride Flag can be traced back to Harvey Milk, the famous San Francisco City Councilman, and his friend Gilbert Baker in the 1970s. Baker had served in the military and moved in San Francisco after his honorable discharge. There he befriended Milk, who challenged him to create a symbol for what was then more commonly referred to as the gay community. Baker with the help of two friends (Lynn Segerblom and James McNamara, who balanced the dyeing process and sewed the flag respectively) developed a rainbow version that had eight colors, with a hot pink stripe and a stripe turquoise.
Although it was often called the "gay pride flag" in its early days, the rainbow flag was very quickly embraced by a community much larger than gay men and perceived as inclusive of lesbians, bisexual people and trans or poly, asexual or queer people. The term “gay” or “gay” as a catch-all term for anything gender nonconforming is a vestige of the patriarchy that is fading away. Over the years, the rainbow striped flag has become the strongest icon of Pride. But over the years, groups within the queer community have felt the need to specifically assert their presence as well. Lesbian, bisexual, transgender and even leather groups created symbols for their communities and over time became more widespread. There are easily dozens of Pride flags, each slightly different. Because the flags represent different gay communities, rather than formal organizations, they are dynamic and flexible, and new ones may appear as old ones fall into disuse.
What do the Pride flags mean?
The original rainbow flag used eight colors to represent different spiritual and emotional aspects of the psyche. Hot pink, prior to its removal, represented sex; red signifies life; orange signifies healing; yellow means sunlight; green signifies nature; turquoise means magic and art; indigo (Turquoise and indigo were later replaced by royal blue) signifies serenity; and purple means spirit. Today, alongside the original eight-color rainbow version (which is enjoying a comeback) created in the 1970s you will also mostly see the six-color version, now the most widespread, and sometimes, a version designed by Daniel Quasar which adds a triangular chevron on one side, with colors honoring the trans community as well as people of color. This is commonly referred to as the "Progressive Pride Flag". You can also see adifferent version, launched in Philadelphia and Chicago a few years ago that puts black and brown stripes at the top before red.
The bisexual pride flag has also been used for many years. It has a pink block at the top, a thinner purple stripe, and then a blue block at the bottom. As designed, pink represents same-sex attraction, blue represents cross-sex attraction, and the thin purple stripe represents the span of the gender spectrum. The flag of the transgender community created by Monica Helms consists of five horizontal stripes: two in light blue, two in pink, and one in white in the center. The Pansexual Pride flag is made up of pink (representing attraction to women), yellow (attraction to non-binary people), and blue (attraction to male people) stripes. A less widely adopted Polyamorous Pride flag has a blue stripe (representation opening), red (passion) and black (solidarity) with a gold Pi symbol (emotional attachment) in the middle. A variation of the Poly flag turns the black stripe into a triangle and replaces the Pi symbol with a yellow stripe.
The Asexual Pride flag, created in 2010, has four stripes: black to represent asexuality, gray for demisexuality, white for allies, and purple for community.
Other variants of the Pride Flag include those of Gender Fluidity; those very popular in Montreal respectively for the Leather or Bear/Ours communities; a Polysexual Pride flag; the Gendered and Aromantic Pride flags; and even an Allied Pride flag, now quite rarely seen, which features a large rainbow triangle in the middle of black and white stripes.
Pride and business
Targeted advertisements, merchandise and company logos in the colors of the rainbow. Sometimes criticized, the “commercialization” surrounding the demands of the LGBTQ+ community has also helped to advance the cause. This phenomenon, which has already been going on for several years, and seems to have intensified recently. From the 1990s, private companies began to ally themselves with the LGBTQ+ community. At the same time, the concept of “pinkwashing” was born, which denounced the commercialization of the campaign against breast cancer. The label now sticks to certain companies accused of approaching the LGBTQ+ community to profit from it, monetarily or socially. However, this long-standing association between businesses and the community has benefited both parties. That said, from the moment the company is not authentic in its approach, that's when we start talking about "washing" and that it can harm brands that abuse it. A company that plays the inclusiveness card, if it plays it for the wrong reasons, in the long term, it generally pays the price, because we live in an increasingly transparent world. That said, we should not demonize the intentions of private companies, even if their business model remains based on capitalism. Because, let's face it, there are not many companies that have a misleading approach to their commitment to the LGBT community. If we look at the social effects in a global way, in particular in terms of acceptability, normalization, if we also look at the direct economic contribution of this kind of initiative,
Is there a Black Lives Matter Pride flag?
As there is no authority that oversees the pride flags, tons of variations exist. This is how over the last few years, we have seen at many demonstrations and parades, an increase in Pride flags combined with Black Lives Matter flags.
A popular version places a fist in the center of the rainbow stripes, with black and brown stripes making up the fist. Another simply places the words Black Lives Matter over the old-fashioned rainbow. Combining the two movements makes a lot of sense, because not only is the black Lives Matter movement coming from racialized queer women, but the two causes align with each other. The modern LGBTQ+ liberation movement has been impacted by queer and trans people of color and their struggle continues to this day, with both communities seeking justice, equality and freedom from oppression. And because many people belong to both communities, they are not two separate causes, but rather overlap.
In other words, it's great to honor the fight for civil rights by flying a flag; but even better to honor this fight by participating and fighting for equality for all.
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