There are many more Pride flags than just the rainbow! Here are just some of them, with their meanings:
Bigender: a bigender person has two genders that they either switch between, or experience simultaneously. There are many bigender flag designs, with many of the color meanings in common: white stands for nonbinary identities and/or a shift from one gender to another, purple represents a combination of genders, pink represents femininity, and blue represents masculinity.
Original Rainbow: designed in 1978 by Gilbert Baker (June 2, 1951 – March 31, 2017), an American artist, drag queen and gay rights activist. The original flag included pink and turquoise stripes, but these were later removed because the fabric was too hard to source (Baker’s original flag was hand-dyed). The meanings of the stripe colors are: Hot pink = Sex, Red = Life, Orange = Healing, Yellow = Sunlight, Green = Nature, Turquoise = Magic/Art, Indigo = Serenity, Violet = Spirit.
Genderfluid: JJ Poole created this flag in 2012. It has five horizontal stripes: pink for femininity, blue for masculinity, purple for both masculinity and femininity, black for the lack of gender, and white for all genders
The Agender pride flag, created by Salem X in 2014, has seven horizontal stripes. The black and white stripes represent an absence of gender, the gray represents semi-genderlessness, and the central green stripe represents nonbinary genders.
Vincian: men of all kinds who exclusively love men, but sometimes also used as a variant of achillean (referring to any MLM attraction, exclusive or not). This 5-stripe flag is a simplified version of the 7-stripe original. There are several sets of color meanings for the stripes.
The polysexual flag has three stripes, pink representing attraction to women, green representing attraction to non-binary people, and blue representing attraction to men. A polysexual person is someone who is sexually and/or romantically attracted to multiple genders.
The Intersex flag was created in July 2013 by Morgan Carpenter of Intersex Human Rights Australia (then known as Organisation Intersex International Australia) to create a flag “that is not derivative, but is yet firmly grounded in meaning”. The circle is described as “unbroken and unornamented, symbolising wholeness and completeness, and our potentialities. We are still fighting for bodily autonomy and genital integrity, and this symbolises the right to be who and how we want to be.”
Asexuality is the lack of sexual attraction to others, or low or absent interest in or desire for sexual activity. The black stripe represents asexuality, the grey stripe representing the grey-area between sexual and asexual, the white stripe sexuality, and the purple stripe community.
A demigirl is someone who only partially identifies as a girl or woman, whatever their assigned gender at birth. They may or may not identify as another gender in addition to feeling partially female. The white is a reflection of the white at the center of the transgender flag, which stands for gender neutrality or a questioning and shifting of gender, pink represents femininity, and shades of grey indicate the partial nature of the gender—somewhat, but not entirely.
Leather: The leather pride flag is a symbol used by the leather subculture since the 1990s. It was designed by Tony DeBlase in 1989, and was quickly embraced by the gay leather community. It has since become associated with leather in general and also with related groups such as the BDSM community. Creator DeBlase left it to the viewer to interpret the colors and symbols.
The Trigender Flag represents a gender identity which can be literally translated as ‘three genders’ or ‘triple gender’. Trigender people experience exactly three gender identities, either simultaneously or varying between them. These identities can be male, female and/or any non-binary identities.
Androphilia: attraction to adult males, This term specifies the age of the loved one (as adult) but does not specify the gender of the person doing the loving.
Queer: No specific source for this one, but it appears to be a combination of all the flags.
Demiboy: A demiboy, also called demiguy, is someone whose gender identity is only partly male, regardless of their assigned gender at birth. They may or may not identify as another gender in addition to feeling partially male. The white stands for gender neutrality or a questioning and shifting of gender, blue represents femininity, and shades of grey indicate the partial nature of the gender—somewhat, but not entirely.
Pink Triangle: The downward-pointing pink triangle dates to the concentration camps in Nazi Germany. It was a symbol of persecution and discrimination that the Nazis used to mark homosexuals. The LGBT community re-appropriated the pink triangle and now proudly use it as a symbol of identity.
Pride Rainbow: the best-known symbol of the LGBTQ+ community, adapted from the original 8-stripe rainbow designed by Gilbert Baker to make mass production possible.
Gynephilia is attraction to adult females. This term specifies the age of the loved one (as adult) but does not specify the gender of the person doing the loving.
Aromantic: Someone who does not experience romantic attraction, or does so in a significantly different way than is traditionally thought of. The two greens represent the aromantic spectrum, the white represents platonic love and relationships, and the gray and black stripes represent the sexuality spectrum, representing aromantics of all sexual orientations.
The pansexual flag represents people whose attraction towards others is not determined by sex or gender identity. An online pansexual community helped create this flag in 2010. It originated as a symbol of the distinction between pansexual and bisexual identities. The three colors in the pansexual flag represent three different gender groups a pansexual individual is attracted to. The pink stripe represents those who identify as female and the blue stripe represents those who identify as male. The third yellow stripe stands for all of the individuals who identify somewhere along or beyond the gender spectrum.
Abrosexual: refers to an individual whose sexuality is changing or is fluid. The fluctuations might be erratic or regular. Some abrosexual people may be fluid between all sexualities, others may be fluid between a few.
Kye Rowan created the Nonbinary pride flag in 2014. It is intended to represent nonbinary people who did not feel that the genderqueer flag represents them.
Lesbian: created in 2018 by Emily Gwen. Colors of the original 7-stripe version include dark orange for “gender non-conformity”, orange for “independence”, light orange for “community”, white for “unique relationships to womanhood”, pink for “serenity and peace”, dusty pink for “love and sex”, and dark rose for “femininity”. A simpler 5-stripe version is used here.
Bear: In the gay community, a bear is a man who is hairy and/or has facial hair, often with a ‘cuddly’ body. Prominent Washington, D.C. bear Craig Byrnes introduced the flag in 1996 following several years of development. The flag was later distributed, with the colours representing the nationality and different hair – or fur – colours of bears around the world.
The first bisexual pride flag was unveiled at the BiCafe’s first anniversary party on December 5, 1998. The pink is for same sex/gender attraction, blue is for different sex/gender attraction, and purple is to represent the attraction across the gender spectrum.
Philadelphia People Of Color Inclusive Flag: Noting that queer people of color are often not fully included in the LGBT community, in 2017 the city of Philadelphia added two colors — black and brown — to the Pride flag in their honor. The city had previously faced accusations of racial discrimination in its gay bars, which led 11 queer nightlife venues to take antiracism training.
The Genderqueer flag was designed by Marilyn Roxie with input from the readers of Genderqueer Identities. Lavender symbolises androgyny or queerness, white represents agender identity, and green represents people with non-binary identities.
The Transgender Pride Flag was created by American trans woman Monica Helms in 1999, and was first shown at a pride parade in Phoenix, Arizona, United States in 2000. The flag represents the transgender community and consists of five horizontal stripes: two light blue, two pinks, and one white in the center.
Two-spirit: The term two-spirit was created in 1990 at the Indigenous lesbian and gay international gathering in Winnipeg, and “specifically chosen to distinguish and distance Native American/First Nations people from non-Native peoples.” However, the gender-nonconforming, LGBT, or third and fourth gender, ceremonial roles traditionally embodied by First Nations people, intended to be under the modern umbrella of two-spirit, can vary widely, even among the Indigenous people who accept the English-language term. No one First Nations’ culture’s gender or sexuality categories apply to all, or even a majority of, these cultures.
This information was gathered from multiple web sites, and may or may not be exactly correct. Let us know if something is not right!
Useful sources:
Nonbinary wiki: nonbinary.wiki
Gender Pride Flags and What They Mean: deconforming.com/gender-pride-flags/
Pride Color Schemes tumblr: pride-color-schemes.tumblr.com/
The Complete Guide to Every Queer Pride Flag: pride.com/pride/2018/6/13/complete-guide-queer-pride-flags-0
All of the flags you might see at Pride and what they mean: pinknews.co.uk/2020/06/01/all-of-the-flags-you-might-see-at-pride-and-what-they-mean/
With respect and gratitude, we recognize that we live, work, and play on the traditional, homelands of the Tla’amin Nation and Coast Salish People since time immemorial.