But on another, it represents a deeper divide and frustration that exists within the LGBTQ community, and the realization that, in spite of the LGBTQ’s community’s ongoing fight for equality, civil rights, and progress, there’s still divisiveness and discrimination within the community itself. On one level, the conflict feels like a simple byproduct of disconnect between the message of the flag and the people criticizing it, rather than anything malicious. ✊ ✊ ✊ ✊ /xRTIWvZSOY- Chief June 15, 2017Īt a glance, fighting over the rainbow flag might seem unnecessary. White gays dont like us including PoC in the Pride Flag? How about fuck off. That’s a lot more elegant than some of the conversation surrounding the new flag, like people asking for a white stripe, or people claiming that adding to the two colors to the flag is disrespectful or that it’s racist for not explicitly including white people.Īnd those sentiments have been met with a vocal, spirited response: Though Beal believes that Philly’s adaptation of the rainbow flag should be viewed as an independent symbol from the one Baker created, he acknowledged that he supports the intentions behind it. “The only thing we would ask is that other people would not take it and put Gilbert’s name on it, because they didn’t do it in consultation with him, and he didn’t do it.” (Baker died earlier this year, on March 31.)
“The stripes were not chosen for skin color - they were chosen to reflect the spectrum of color in nature,” a longtime friend of Baker’s, Charley Beal told NBC. The flag has historically represented LGBTQ people as a whole, and critics of Philly’s changes to it believe those changes are unnecessary, since the flag is already a symbol of unity.
Philadelphia’s initiative to be more inclusionary toward nonwhite LGBTQ people comes from a good place, but its reception has been marked by controversy. To fuel this important conversation, we’ve expanded the colors of the flag to include black and brown.”
Especially when it comes to recognizing people of color in the LGBTQ+ community. A lot of good, but there’s more we can do. “In 1978, artist Gilbert Baker designed the original rainbow flag,” the campaign states. The colors, according to the Philadelphia Office of LGBT Affairs’ More Color More Pride campaign, represent inclusion of people of color in the LGBTQ community. The chevron forms an arrow indicating forward progress, but because it's at the left side of the flag, it also indicates that there's more progress yet to be made, especially in areas of intersectionality.The city of Philadelphia recently learned that the rainbow flag, a symbol of LGBTQ pride, isn’t quite as unifying as it may seem.įor Pride Month, Philly added two colors - black and brown - to the existing pride flag, and hoisted it outside City Hall. The stripes of the chevron represent LGBTQ+ communities of color, as well as transgender pink/white/blue stripes to better acknowledge these marginalized groups. This flag, designed in 2018 by Daniel Quasar, incorporates both the commonly used six stripe rainbow as well as a chevron of additional stripes on the left hand side of the flag. It was designed by Monica Helms, a trans woman, in 1999.Īs with many pride flags, there are several variations of the lesbian pride flag, but the version most commonly flown today includes seven stripes in shades of orange and pink/purple with a white stripe at the center. This flag celebrates the transgender community. Some people fall somewhere in between, some people are both, and some people identify as nonbinary: neither male nor female. Gender is much more complex than just male or female. People who are asexual may also be aromantic, or identify as homo-, hetero-, bi- or demi-romantic, or something else entirely! To help increase the visibility of people who identify as bisexual, Michael Page created this flag in 1998.Īsexuality and aromanticism each represent a spectrum that may or may not overlap. The rainbow Pride flag is a pretty recognizeable symbol, but did you know that there are many other flags to represent subcommunities that fall under the larger LGBTQ+ umbrella? Here are a few that may not be as familiar, along with books featuring characters and stories from the community each flag represents!