Having separate flags is good bcos it’s good to have a symbol for your particular identity to embrace but it also important to remember the rainbow flag unites us all. All LGBT+ people can use it. I feel like it’s somehow become assumed by a lot of younger lgbt+ people that it’s only fr gay men, which it isn’t and never has been
The rainbow flag when originally created by Gilbert Baker in 1978 actually contained 8 stripes that were assigned values and specific meanings that were meant to show what unites us and what we value as a community,
It took 30 people to hand dye AND hand stitch the first 2 pride flags- 30 people of various identities came together to create the first symbol of pride. Hot pink was removed due to fabric shortages and turquoise was mixed with indigo to have the darker blue we have today.
Having individual flags is great to show your identity but I think we shouldn’t forget that the rainbow flag isn’t reserved for gay men, it was created to show what we all have in common regardless of identity.
This year, on the 31 March, we lost Gilbert Baker, gay artist and creator of the gay pride flag. Today we would celebrate his 66th birthday. Let’s remember him as the wonderful person he was.
i just want to add to this post that the last update made to the official pride flag by Glibert Baker before he passed away was THIS:
the new lavender stripe at the very top was added to represent DIVERSITY and as far as i am aware, was added in retaliation against trump’s presidency. i’ve not seen many people use this version, and it deserves to be known.
We NEED to put sex and magic back on the pride flag right now
I’m fed up of people being like yea we need magic but not the sex one, sex positivity is vital to the lgbtq+ community it is not invalidating to asexual people to celebrate gay sex as something that is positive and beautiful and natural. We should be celebrating all the aspects of our community and this can include both asexuals and sex positivity
Asexual here to confirm: I have no interest in doing a sex but like it’s a colour on a flag, and considering the LGBTQ community’s history it definitely has a place there.
Also while we’re at it we should bring back the version with a lavender stripe for diversity too
here is Gilbert Baker’s 2017 nine-striped diversity pride flag:
ALT
the lavender represents diversity. the pink represents sex or sexuality (different sources say different things). the red represents life. the orange represents healing. the yellow represents sunlight. the green represents nature. the turquoise represents magic and art. the indigo represents serenity and harmony. the purple represents spirit.
adding more in honour of pride month 2022. when pink and turquoise were removed, ¼ of the meaning was removed. while the six-stripe version is definitely more recognizable and easier to produce, online spaces don’t have to worry about finding sufficient fabric. there is no reason for the lavender stripe pride flag to be so obscure.
you might notice that i’ve reused that source. the truth is, i can’t find more information online about the lavender stripe diversity pride flag. i keep calling it by different names because there is no official or agreed-upon name for it.
there is no reason for us to ignore the 2017 nine-stripe pride flag. honour queer history. know about gilbert baker’s last action. i don’t care whether or not you use it. but please, please learn about it.
This year, on the 31 March, we lost Gilbert Baker, gay artist and creator of the gay pride flag. Today we would celebrate his 66th birthday. Let’s remember him as the wonderful person he was.
i just want to add to this post that the last update made to the official pride flag by Glibert Baker before he passed away was THIS:
the new lavender stripe at the very top was added to represent DIVERSITY and as far as i am aware, was added in retaliation against trump’s presidency. i’ve not seen many people use this version, and it deserves to be known.
(Just for reference because Tumblr doesn’t make it easy to see timestamps and I see some confusion in the notes - this post was made in 2017, the year that Baker passed away. This coming week, on June 2, 2022, he would have been turning 71.)
This year, on the 31 March, we lost Gilbert Baker, gay artist and creator of the gay pride flag. Today we would celebrate his 66th birthday. Let’s remember him as the wonderful person he was.
i just want to add to this post that the last update made to the official pride flag by Glibert Baker before he passed away was THIS:
the new lavender stripe at the very top was added to represent DIVERSITY and as far as i am aware, was added in retaliation against trump’s presidency. i’ve not seen many people use this version, and it deserves to be known.
(Just for reference because Tumblr doesn’t make it easy to see timestamps and I see some confusion in the notes - this post was made in 2017, the year that Baker passed away. This coming week, on June 2, 2022, he would have been turning 71.)
[image: nine stripe updates Gilbert Baker flag, with colors in top to bottom order: lavender, pink, red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple. credit: Tomislav Todorović, 23 December 2017
text: In March 2017, shortly before his death, Gilbert Baker created a new version of the Rainbow Flag, by adding the ninth stripe in lavender color, next to the stripe in hot pink. This color is meant to represent diversity, something Baker thought is endangered in present-day America. He had made 39 copies of this flag with the intention to have them displayed in San Francisco in June, for the 39th anniversary of the Rainbow Flag. A video showing the making of one of these flags can be currently seen at Gilbert Baker website: https://gilbertbaker.com/, and also at the YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ef5sXewQWbA. The last article, accompanied with even more illustrations, was published in the San Francisco Bay Times issue of 9 March 2017, which can be read online here: https://issuu.com/sfbt/docs/03.09.17_final.small.
Every day in June, I will be posting an illustration that highlights an LGBT+ activist who I believe everyone should know. This series will be in no way comprehensive, & will include a multitude of identities, races, sexualities, and genders.
Gilbert Baker helps hoist one of the two original rainbow flags created by the decoration committee for San Francisco Gay Freedom Day | 1978 | ph: James McNamara, lead seamster of the flags
“China produces more rainbow flags than anyone. My nightmare is there is a factory with nearly slave labor, forced to live within the factory complex and get up every morning and have to churn out more and more rainbow tchotchkes.” He says he didn’t create the rainbow flag in order for others to profit off of “rainbow junk”.
He is horrified by some of the things he has seen. He says, “Walking down Castro Street, I can’t pay my rent, but I see rainbow dildos in the shop windows and rainbow keychains, rainbow rings, rainbow candles and so on.” He said it is similar to when the best music ends up as elevator music. He is gratified that the power of the rainbow caught on as rings, but that power can be diluted by over-commercialization.”
An artist an activist originally hailing from Kansas, Gilbert Baker came to San Francisco as a result of his military career, at a time when the gay rights movement was in its inception. Openly gay, Baker learned to sew and created banners and flags for the vibrant protest scene in the Bay Area. Baker’s most famous creation was the rainbow flag, which has become a global symbol of gay pride. Baker refused to copyright the flag, gifting it to the LGBT community at large. He continued his activism and artistic works until his death in 2017.
This year, on the 31 March, we lost Gilbert Baker, gay artist and creator of the gay pride flag. Today we would celebrate his 66th birthday. Let’s remember him as the wonderful person he was.
i just want to add to this post that the last update made to the official pride flag by Glibert Baker before he passed away was THIS:
the new lavender stripe at the very top was added to represent DIVERSITY and as far as i am aware, was added in retaliation against trump’s presidency. i’ve not seen many people use this version, and it deserves to be known.
He would be 71 this year! Happy birthday to a true legend ️⚧️️
Gilbert Baker helps hoist one of the two original rainbow flags created by the decoration committee for San Francisco Gay Freedom Day | 1978 | ph: James McNamara, lead seamster of the flags
This year, on the 31 March, we lost Gilbert Baker, gay artist and creator of the gay pride flag. Today we would celebrate his 66th birthday. Let’s remember him as the wonderful person he was.
i just want to add to this post that the last update made to the official pride flag by Glibert Baker before he passed away was THIS:
the new lavender stripe at the very top was added to represent DIVERSITY and as far as i am aware, was added in retaliation against trump’s presidency. i’ve not seen many people use this version, and it deserves to be known.
ALT
