As the popularity of the flag grew, its design was adapted to meet demand, and by 1979, the six-color version became the official symbol for gay pride. Instead, it became a universal symbol for LGBT pride and began hanging from windows, flying high at demonstrations, and cropping up all over the country. Because it employed colors that were stereotypical of the gender binary, that edition was problematic This new flag includes a broader spectrum of LGBT men, including transgender, intersex, and gender-nonconforming males, among others. Originally hand-stitched and hand-dyed with eight colors - pink, red, orange, yellow, green, turquoise, blue, and purple - the rainbow flag became much more than a simple reaction to homophobic behavior. This modern gay men’s pride flag is a reimagining of a previous gay men’s pride flag with a variety of blue tones. History: The word bisexual comes from the Greek prefix bi meaning two. In 1978, though, a gay artist and civil rights activist Gilbert Baker, alongside the Grove Street gay community in San Francisco, made the first rainbow pride flag as a response to an anti-gay community that began using the pink triangle the Nazis used to identify gay individuals. Bisexuality: The physical or romantic attraction to two genders. You know the Pride flag well, but what is the meaning of the rainbow flag? Its history is as interesting as it is colorful.įrom peace movements to political parties, the rainbow flag has been the symbol of dozens of historical and cultural organizations.
Glenne McElhinney was a fellow member of the 1978 parade committee that worked on the flags. When Langlotz appeared in a panel alongside Segerblom, he openly referred to her as the woman who came up with the idea of the rainbow flag. You've seen it on buildings, bumper stickers, and front lawns, and you've waved one at parades, rallies, and protests. Paul Langlotz is a fellow activist and was a friend of James McNamara.