Why is rainbow gay pride colors
Each color of the original rainbow flag had a specific meaning to Baker. This flag has been adopted at other worldwide pride festivals including Manchester Pride 2019 in a bid to promote inclusion in the regions LGBT community.
This six-stripe flag has persevered since then, the only change being its increased popularity. Artist Gilbert Baker, who was a gay man and drag queen, is the creator of the original rainbow pride flag. In protest of the assassination of Harvey Milk, the flag was changed to be only six colors (dropping the indigo stripe), so that it could be split in half and evenly line two sides of the street while the parade When Baker first attempted to commercially produce the flag, hot pink wasn’t readily available, so the flag was reduced to seven colors. Rainbow road (Picture: Strava/Jack Longstaff) Every year, June 1 marks the start of Pride Month the month which commemorates the Stonewall Riots and serves as a celebration for LGBTQ+ people. Purple, or more accurately, lavender, also becameĪ popular signifier of gay pride in the 1960s.īaker’s original, self-made flag was composed of eight stripes: hot pink (for sexuality), red (for life), orange (for healing), yellow (for sunlight), green (for nature), blue (for art), indigo (for harmony)Īnd violet (for the human spirit). The additions, meant to represent LGBT people of color, brought feelings of excitement for many activists and advocates. Above the traditional top red stripe were new brown and black ones.
Symbol was the pink triangle, but because of its horrible significance not everyone felt comfortable with its symbolism. Last week, a new version of the rainbow gay pride flag flew over Philadelphia to kick off gay pride month. In the second half of this century, until the rainbow flag, the most recognized gay and lesbian
Carried in abundance at this past weekend’s New York City Gay Pride Parade, the rainbow flag hasīecome instantly recognizable as a symbol of diversity and acceptance.Īrtist Gilbert Baker of San Francisco was the first to appropriate the rainbow for this purpose in 1978, but bright colors have historically played a significant role in gay culture,Īccording to “ Sunshine and Rainbows: The Development of Gay and Lesbian Culture in Queensland” by Clive Moore:īright colors have always been forms of gay identification, particularly green, yellow, pink, lavender and purple. For centuries, the semiotics of the rainbow have evolved through the fields of art, scienceĪnd beyond, but have only more recently been associated with the lesbian-gay-bisexual-transgender community. Noah considered it a sign from God, Aristotle wrestled with its geometry and Dorothy sang about it as an escape from Kansas. Louisa Gouliamaki/Agence France-Presse - Getty Images