Bisexual Pride flag

Page said that the message of the flag was the idea that the purple blends into both the blue and pink in the same way that bisexual people often blend unnoticed into both gay and straight communities.

The flag is reflected in the phenomenon of bisexual lighting.

Bisexual lighting is when producers use pink, purple and blue hues to make their stars shine, and has been spotted in a series of your favourite films.

The meme has appeared in several blockbusters including Black Panther, Atomic Blonde and Logan, as well as the wonderful music video for Janelle Monáe’s song “Make Me Feel.”

Trans Pride flag

Helms came up with the trans flag in 1999, after she met Michael Page, and he told her “the trans community needs a flag too.”

The idea for the design came to her quickly, with the blue for trans men, the pink for trans women and the white stripe in the centre representing the non-binary community.

She carried the flag everywhere with her for years, including to over a dozen colour guard Pride parades, but it didn’t start gaining popularity until 2013.

Progress flag

Graphic designer Daniel Quasar’s re-booted Pride flag 

In 2018, a designer began a campaign to “re-boot” the Pride flag to make it more inclusive by adding a five-coloured chevron to represent queer people of colour as well as the trans community.

Daniel Quasar, who identifies as queer and non-binary, recently made-over the six-coloured rainbow flag, saying they added a five-striped arrow to reflect “all aspects of our community.”

Lesbian Pride flag

Lesbian Pride flag

It has to be said that you might not find many lesbian Pride flags out at marches, however, it is an important symbol for many lesbians online.

The flag celebrates the L in the LGBT community with the beautiful hues of pink, though many lesbians opt for other symbols including the interlocking venus symbol, or the rainbow flag.

You might see this flag adapted somewhat, either mixed with other flags or with a bright red kiss in the corner to represent lipstick lesbians.

Intersex Pride flag

Intersex Pride flag

 Intersex means a person who is born with variations in sex characteristics including chromosomes, gonads, sex hormones, or genitals that don’t fit the typical “male” or “female” definitions.

Designed by advocacy group Intersex Human Rights Australia in 2013, the intersex Pride flag intentionally stays away from traditionally gendered colours of blue and pink to celebrate the intersex community.

Explaining the meaning of the flag, the group states: “The circle is unbroken and un-ornamented, 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.”

Pansexual Pride flag

Pansexual Pride flag

Many people see pansexuality as either an attraction regardless of gender or an attraction to all genders.

The creator of the flag is unknown, but it began to be used on the internet in 2010 and has since become a frequent sight at Pride events all around the world.

Pansexual people describe the flag as showing the attraction to men with the blue stripe, women with the pink and people of other genders with the yellow.

Asexual Pride flag

Asexual pride flag

Asexuality is a term used by people who have limited or no sexual feelings or desires.

According to the Asexuality Archive, the flag was created by a member of the Asexuality Visibility and Education Network (AVEN) as part of a contest in 2010.

As with many other flags, the four stripes each have their own specific meaning.

The black stripe stands for asexuality, the grey stripe for grey-asexuality or demisexuality, the white for allies and the purple for the asexual community as a whole.

Polysexual Pride flag

Polysexual Pride flag 

Polysexual is a term used for people who are attracted to two or more genders, but not necessarily all of them.

It can also be used as an umbrella term for identities such as bisexual and pansexual, but many use polysexual as an identity in itself.

The pink stripe is said to represent attraction to women, the blue attraction to men and the green as attraction to people of other genders.

Polyamorous Pride flag

Polyamorous Pride flag

Polyamoury is the term for people who have open sexual or romantic relationships with more than one person at a time.

Many polyamorous people also identify with another label within the LGBT+ community, and so it’s common to see polyamorous Pride flags.

Designed by Jim Evans, the flag represents honesty with the blue stripe, love with the red, and the fight against discrimination with the black stripe.

The pi symbol in the middle of the flag is used because it is the first letter in the Greek word for polyamory, and also represents emotional attachments to other people.

Non-binary Pride flag

Created in 2014 by 17-year-old Kye Rowan, the four stripes of the Non-binary Pride flag each represent a different part of the non-binary community.

The yellow stripe is for gender separate from the gender binary, white for those with multiple genders, the purple stripe is for those who are a mix of male and female, and black is for people without a gender at all.

Genderqueer Pride flag

Genderqueer flag 

Genderqueer is one form of non-binary identity that has its own flag, which was created by artist and filmmaker Marilyn Roxie in 2011.

The three stripes of the flag each have their own meaning, with androgyny represented with lavender, agender people represented with the white, and non-binary identities with the green.

Genderfluid Pride flag

Genderfluid flag 

Genderfluid is the term for people who find that their gender identity can shift, and the identity is often included under the non-binary umbrella.

The five stripes of the genderfluid Pride flag each have their own meanings, with the pink and blue for femininity and masculinity, the purple stripe for both masculinity and femininity.

The black stripe in the flag represents a lack of gender, and white is there for all genders.

Twink Pride flag

Twink flag 

This might not be a flag that you see on the streets of Pride events in London or New York, but the twink Pride flag is used online.

Twinks are one of the largest – and arguably most sexualised – gay subcultures.

A twink is often a young man (teens to early 20s) or one who looks younger than their age, who is typically attractive, lacking in body or facial hair and of a slim build.

Although there is no concrete definition of the flag, many see the pink as a celebration of the effeminate nature of many twinks, alongside the central interlocking symbol a well-known sign of male sexuality.

Leather Pride flag

BDSM community, leather pride flag 

Leather is a gay subculture heavily associated with kink and the BDSM community, with leather bars typically frequented by ‘bears’ and older gay men.

The flag was designed by prominent leather community member Tony DeBlase in 1989, presenting the flag at the International Mr Leather Convention in Chicago.

It is now commonly used in Pride parades by the leather subculture, as well as partially being embraced by the BDSM community.

Bear Pride flag

Bear community flag 

In the gay community, a bear is a man who is hairy and/or has facial hair, often with a ‘cuddly’ body.

Like leather and twink, the bear subculture has its own flag that is regularly seen at Pride events.

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.

*source:  PINKNEWS