“B” stands for bisexual: a person who is physically, emotionally, or romantically attracted to people within more than one sex, gender, or gender identity “G” stands for gay: a person who is physically, emotionally, or romantically attracted to people within the same gender “L” stands for lesbian: a woman who is physically, emotionally, or romantically attracted to other women Let’s review the meaning behind these original letters. In the 1980s, the LGBT acronym gained popularity and was adopted by many activist organizations by the 1990s. Political movements such as the Stonewall Riots brought attention throughout the United States and around the world regarding the injustice experienced within this community - it was a pivotal time for the “gay rights movement.”Īs these movements progressed, people recognized that the term “gay” didn’t encompass all sexual orientations and gender identities. The year 1969 is often seen as a turning point in American history in shifting attitudes and politics regarding sexuality. However, these years also proved to be a monumental time for advancements within the LGBTQIA+ community. During the 1950s and 1960s, people in this group were often referred to as the “gay community.” The original initialism: LGBTīefore the origin of “LGBT,” the language used to describe this community was actually quite limiting. Read on to discover the history behind this colorful acronym. It’s important to note that gender identity is not determined by one’s sex assigned at birth and that sex and gender are not the same.Īs the world becomes more inclusive of people’s sexual orientation and gender identity, the letters within this acronym have similarly evolved. Gender identity describes a person’s internal sense of being female, male, or someone outside of that gender binary. Sexual orientation refers to a person’s physical, emotional, and romantic attraction to another person - such as being straight, gay, lesbian, or bisexual. According to Quasar, the colors in the chevron represent trans individuals, people of color, those living with HIV/AIDS, and deceased members of the LGBTQ+ community.The LGBTQIA+ acronym is used to describe either a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity. The flag was unveiled at Philadelphia’s Pride celebration in 2017 and remains the official LGBTQ+ flag of the City of Philadelphia.ĭesigner Daniel Quasar creates the “Progress Flag”, which combines elements of the 2017 Philadelphia flag and the trans flag with the traditional rainbow flag. “o matter which way you fly it, it is always correct, signifying us finding correctness in our lives,” Helms said of the flag.įollowing an outcry over racism in Philadelphia’s Gayborhood, the city commissioned the design of a new eight-color flag with black and brown stripes to recognize the contributions of LGBTQ+ people of color. The light pink and blue represent the colors traditionally associated with girls and boys, and the white represents transitioning, neutral or undefined genders, and intersexuality. Monica Helms, a transgender woman, creates the transgender pride flag. Page explained that the pink represents same-sex sttraction, the blue represents opposite-sex attraction, and the purple overlap represents attraction to both. Michael Page designs the bisexual pride flag, a three-color design.
The six-color flag is the most common LGBTQ+ flag worldwide. With only seven colors, activists noticed it was impossible to split in half to be displayed more easily in public, and so the turquoise stripe was eliminated as well. The six-color flag enters popular use following the assassination of Harvey Milk.The hot pink stripe was eliminated over the difficulty obtaining the fabric. From top to bottom, the colors represent sex, life, healing, sunlight, nature, magic and art, serenity, and spirit. The eight-color flag first flew over the San Francisco Gay Freedom Day Parade in June of 1978. Gilbert Baker, a friend of San Fancisco’s openly gay City Supervisor Harvey Milk, designs the first rainbow flag. Here’s a timeline of some of the major LGBTQ+ flags and what they stand for. The history of the Pride Flag goes back to the 1970s, and the design has changed numerous times over the years. Colorful flags are flown at many LGBTQ+ events.