Production issues involving the availability of certain dye colors led to the removal of pink and turquoise, and indigo was changed to a more common blue color. Originally, each flag was hand sewn and dyed, but as demand grew, they had to shift to mass production. In its original design, each of the eight stripes had a specific meaning:
Milk and others sought a new symbol for LGBTQ+ communities that focused on inspiration rather than oppression Previously, LGBTQ+ communities had commonly used a downward pointing pink triangle as their symbol, a reference to the World War II Nazi practice of using pink triangles to identify gay men in concentration camps. Created by Gilbert Baker at the request of San Francisco City Supervisor Harvey Milk for the 1978 San Francisco Gay Freedom Day parade. The rainbow flag itself was first adopted in 1978 as an eight horizontal stripe rainbow colored flag. In 1999, Pride Month gained official national recognition by President Bill Clinton who declared June to be “Gay & Lesbian Pride Month.” LGBTQ+ Pride Month has become an annual occurrence each June commemorating the violent events at the Stonewall Inn.
By the 1980s and 1990s, the tenor for many of these events had shifted from protests to celebrations of pride and acceptance. Shortly after the Stonewall Riots in June 1969, pride marches and demonstrations were being organized in cities throughout the United States. Let’s explore the history of LGBT Pride Month and the meaning behind the LGBTQ+ Pride Flag - and its many iterations. Most of us know these flags are representative of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer pride, and that June is LGBTQ+ Pride Month, but how many of us know what those flags represent - and why there seems to be so many variations. Obviously, this list is not exhaustive, and there are regularly more pride flags being created to reflect different groups, but hopefully this information can prove useful as you learn about and champion the LGBTQ+ people in your life.Every June, whether it’s on television or social media, whether you’re walking down the street or visiting your favorite establishment, rainbow flags can be seen everywhere. "Though I started reading about gender and sexuality right away in my college library the first semester I started there, the online component allowed me to browse through forums and articles and to chat with people who seemed to identify like I did when I was in the process of figuring it all out." "Online communities have been tremendously influential, giving people a virtual space to do research on possibilities and especially to find others who feel similarly," they said. Marilyn Roxie, the designer of the genderqueer pride flag, told Majestic Mess that the rise in social media platforms and other internet hubs for queer people has been hugely important in leading to the creation of new flags.
There has been a meaningful uptick in new pride flags since 2010, with variants for intersex, non-binary, and agender people produced. Some, like the two-spirit pride flag and the updated pride flag, incorporate Baker's original design while adding more colors and elements to acknowledge both Native Americans and the broader POC community, respectively. Since Gilbert Baker first created the original rainbow pride flag back in 1978, designers and activists of all genders, identities, and sexual orientations have made different iterations to reflect unique communities. It's also a celebration of the beauty and diversity of the experience, flown at pride events all throughout the month of June. Over the last 40-plus years, the rainbow pride flag has become a symbol synonymous with the LGBTQ+ community and its fight for equal rights and acceptance across the globe.