Rainbow Flag
Gilbert Baker (1951–2017) was the designer of the first Rainbow Flag. With help from volunteers and fellow artist Lynn Segerblom, Baker constructed the worlds largest Rainbow Flag in 1978. His two original flags flew at the San Francisco Gay Freedom Day Parade in 1978. The creation of the Rainbow Flag has since become a symbol of gay pride around the world.
The Rainbow Flag, also known as the Gay Pride Flag and the LGBT Pride Flag, originally had eight horizontal stripes and each had a specific meaning:
Hot pink symbolizes Sex
Red symbolizes Life
Orange symbolizes Healing
Yellow symbolizes Sunlight
Green symbolizes Nature
Turquoise symbolizes Magic and Art
Indigo symbolizes Serenity
Violet symbolizes Spirit
In order to mass-create rainbow flags and use the symbol for other venues and events, the original flag has undergone a number of revisions. The pink and turquoise stripes were dropped by Baker due to cost and fabric unavailability. As a result, we most often use the more common six stripe Pride Flag (red, orange, yellow, green, blue, violet).
Over the years, the flag has adapted and groups all over the world have adopted the symbol and created their own versions of it with various meanings. In 2017, Gilbert Baker added a ninth stripe to his original eight stripe flag. The ninth color, lavender, symbolizes the diversity of the LGBTQ+ community.
Learn more about the Rainbow Flag with the GLBT Historical Society Museum & Archives