 Top Menu

(https://vadamagazine.com/)

 Main Menu 

History of the Pride flag

 18 February, 2023 (https://vadamagazine.com/features/vada-that/history-of-the-pride-flag)  Tim Firmager
(https://vadamagazine.com/author/tim-firmager)  Leave a comment (https://vadamagazine.com/features/vada-

that/history-of-the-pride-flag#respond)

 Share on facebook (https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?

 Tweet on twitter (https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?

u=https%3A%2F%2Fvadamagazine.com%2Ffeatures%2Fvada-that%2Fhistory-of-the-pride-flag)

 (whatsapp://send?text=History%20of%20the%20Pride%20flag https%3A%2F%2Fvadamagazine.com%2Ffeatures%2Fvada-
text=History%20of%20the%20Pride%20flag&url=https%3A%2F%2Fvadamagazine.com%2Ffeatures%2Fvada-that%2Fhistory-of-

 (https://pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fvadamagazine.com%2Ffeatures%2Fvada-that%2Fhistory-of-the-
that%2Fhistory-of-the-pride-flag)
the-pride-flag)

 (https://www.linkedin.com/shareArticle?mini=true&url=https%3A%2F%2Fvadamagazine.com%2Ffeatures%2Fvada-that%2Fhistory-of-
pride-flag&media=&description=History%20of%20the%20Pride%20flag)

the-pride-flag&title=History%20of%20the%20Pride%20flag)
 About Latest Posts

Tim Firmager (Http://Www.Seasonseatings.Net) Follow me

(http:/
Tim divides his time being a Digital Consultant in The City and as a food and travel
writer across the globe. When he's not working as one of the Lifestyle Editors here at Vada, he's planning his
next trip, or on the lookout for the latest food crazes or unusual foods in London's markets.
(http://www.seasonseatings.net)

During LGBT+ History Month 2023 we at Vada explore the history of the Pride flag, which includes a milestone
point in Key West – a travel destination we’ll be covering in an upcoming series.

1978 – Creation of the Pride flag

The first known Pride flag was sewn by Gilbert Baker, an early gay activist who was urged by Harvey Milk to
construct a flag to symbolise the value and dignity of what was then called “the gay community.” The first
iteration of this flag debuted at the June 1978 San Francisco Gay Freedom Day Parade, and featured eight stripes,
each a separate colour of the rainbow plus hot pink. Demand for flags increased after Milk’s assassination in
November 1978, but sometime after the hot pink stripe was removed due to unavailability of the colour.

In 1979, the San Francisco Pride parade organisers removed another stripe (turquoise) from the flag featured in
their parade, leaving a six-stripe version that many are familiar with, with each stripe having a separate meaning.
This iteration would become the standard of the Pride flag for the next several decades.

RELATED ARTICLE  Peter Tatchell: 'Cruelty is barbarism'

(https://vadamagazine.com/features/opinions/peter-tatchell-cruelty-barbarism)

In 1994, Baker made a mile-long version for the 25th anniversary of the Stonewall riots. By the 90s, this six-stripe
rainbow flag was an international symbol for LGBTQ+ pride all around the world.

2003 – PrideFest Key West

On the 25th anniversary from its creation, in 2003 a milestone to place in Key West, Florida, celebrating Baker’s
original eight-stripe Pride flag design (with hot pink and turquoise added back). The highlight of PrideFest Key
West 2003 was the unfurling of this 1.25-miles long and 16 feet wide — from the Atlantic Ocean to the Gulf of
Mexico along the entire length of Key West’s famed Duval Street – see the title image of this article, credit to Andy
Newman/Florida Keys News Bureau. This took Baker three months to sew more than 17,600 linear yards of fabric
weighing some three (imperial) tons, and nearly 3,000 people to unfurl its full length. Baker said of the event “My
dream is a reality today.” “We’ve made a great moment in gay history, and I know everyone has a smile on their
faces as big as the rainbow.”

Incidentally, the 2023 Pride event in Florida Keys will celebrate the 20th anniversary of this sea-to-sea flag event,
produced by the Key West Business Guild – visit gaykeywestfl.com (https://gaykeywestfl.com/about-us/) to read
more about the upcoming Pride events.
2017 – Representation of people of colour in the Pride flag

In 2017, the Pride flag was updated to reflect the desire of the queer community to become more inclusive. In the
city of Philadelphia during Pride Month 2017, the city unveiled a rainbow flag with black and brown stripes
added to the traditional six to represent people of colour in the queer community, whose voices and concerns
were often disregarded. This design continued for two further years.

RELATED ARTICLE  LGBT+ History month 2022 events and spaces to explore

(https://vadamagazine.com/entertainment/arts/lgbt-history-month-2022-events-and-spaces-to-explore)

2019 – Trans representation in the Pride flag

Then in 2019, the Pride flag evolved once again to embrace trans members of the community through the
inclusion of light blue, pink and white stripes. These stripes incorporate the transgender Pride flag created by
Monica Helms in 1999. The continued evolution of the Pride flag is a testament to the strength and diversity of
the queer community.

2021 – Intersex inclusion in the Pride flag

A further two years on from the addition of the light blue, pink and white stripes, Valentino Vecchietti of Intersex
Equality Rights UK made a further update to incorporate the intersex flag into the main Pride Flag. This design
added a yellow triangle with a purple circle in it to the chevron of the Progress Pride flag.

Many people immediately recognise the six-stripe rainbow flag, partly because of the design’s longevity and
because of their own experiences with its expression. However it is clear that iterations over its 55 years so far
that the Pride flag encourages us to keep examining who we are and to continue to represent everyone within
the LGBTQ+ community. The flag has transformed a long way since Baker’s original design.

Pride flag evolution from 1978 to 2021

(https://vadamagazine.com/1979-
(https://vadamagazine.com/1978- (https://vadamagazine.com/2017-
(https://vadamagazine.com/2019-
(https://vadamagazine.co
gilbert-baker-original- pride-flag) representation-of- trans-representation) intersex-
pride-flag) Pride flag from 1979 – people-of-colour) Pride flag 2019 design representation)
Pride flag 1978 design six stripes Pride flag 2017 design – trans representation Pride flag 2021 design
– Gilbert Baker – people of colour – intersex
original design representation representation

In writing this article, we acknowledge that there have been other iterations of the Pride flag developed over the
years, notably the ‘New Pride Flag’ design in 2018 by two-spirit design Julia Feliz, and the ‘Social Justice Pride
Flag’ designed by Moulee which was used in Chennai Queer LitFest in 2018.

RELATED ARTICLE  Manchester Walking Tours: a stroll through the city's queer history
(https://vadamagazine.com/features/manchester-walking-tours-a-stroll-through-the-citys-queer-history)

For those wanting to find out more about events for LGBT+ History month, visit lgbtplushistorymonth.co.uk
(https://lgbtplushistorymonth.co.uk/).

POSTED UNDER VADA THAT (HTTPS://VADAMAGAZINE.COM/CATEGORY/FEATURES/VADA-THAT)

TAGGED KEY WEST (HTTPS://VADAMAGAZINE.COM/TAG/KEY-WEST) LGBT HISTORY MONTH (HTTPS://VADAMAGAZINE.COM/TAG/LGBT-

HISTORY-MONTH) LGBT+ HISTORY (HTTPS://VADAMAGAZINE.COM/TAG/LGBT-HISTORY) PRIDE FLAG

(HTTPS://VADAMAGAZINE.COM/TAG/PRIDE-FLAG)

 Share on facebook (https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?

 Tweet on twitter (https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?

u=https%3A%2F%2Fvadamagazine.com%2Ffeatures%2Fvada-that%2Fhistory-of-the-pride-flag)

 (whatsapp://send?text=History%20of%20the%20Pride%20flag https%3A%2F%2Fvadamagazine.com%2Ffeatures%2Fvada-
text=History%20of%20the%20Pride%20flag&url=https%3A%2F%2Fvadamagazine.com%2Ffeatures%2Fvada-that%2Fhistory-of-

 (https://pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fvadamagazine.com%2Ffeatures%2Fvada-that%2Fhistory-of-the-
that%2Fhistory-of-the-pride-flag)
the-pride-flag)

 (https://www.linkedin.com/shareArticle?mini=true&url=https%3A%2F%2Fvadamagazine.com%2Ffeatures%2Fvada-that%2Fhistory-of-
pride-flag&media=&description=History%20of%20the%20Pride%20flag)

the-pride-flag&title=History%20of%20the%20Pride%20flag)

About Tim Firmager

Tim divides his time being a Digital Consultant in The City and as a food and travel writer across the
globe. When he's not working as one of the Lifestyle Editors here at Vada, he's planning his next trip, or
on the lookout for the latest food crazes or unusual foods in London's markets.

 (https://twitter.com/timmy_uk)
 (https://www.facebook.com/timfirmager)
 (http://google.com/+TimFirmager)
View all posts by Tim Firmager → (https://vadamagazine.com/author/tim-firmager)

 Vada in Paris: My first time at a Paris fashion show London Fashion Week: an editor’s view from the front
(https://vadamagazine.com/lifestyle/fashion/vada-in- row
paris-behind-the-scenes-fashion-show) (https://vadamagazine.com/lifestyle/fashion/london-
fashion-week-an-editors-view-from-the-front-row) 

YOU MAY LIKE THESE POSTS

 (https://vadamagazine.com/features/vada-that/history-of-the-pride-flag)

History of the Pride flag (https://vadamagazine.com/features/vada-that/history-of-the-pride-flag)

(https://vadamagazine.com/listings/events/christmas-light-shows-to-see-across-london)

Christmas Light Shows to see across London (https://vadamagazine.com/listings/events/christmas-

light-shows-to-see-across-london)

(https://vadamagazine.com/features/vada-that/top-10-albums-of-2019)

Top 10 Albums of 2019 (https://vadamagazine.com/features/vada-that/top-10-albums-of-2019)

(https://vadamagazine.com/lifestyle/travel/hotel-review-apurva-kempinski-bali-indonesia)

Hotel review: Apurva Kempinski – Bali, Indonesia (https://vadamagazine.com/lifestyle/travel/hotel-

review-apurva-kempinski-bali-indonesia)

(https://vadamagazine.com/features/vada-that/audiobook-review-alien-iii-director-dirk-

maggs-audible-studios)

Listen to me scream: William Gibson’s Alien III, a sort-of review

(https://vadamagazine.com/features/vada-that/audiobook-review-alien-iii-director-dirk-maggs-audible-
studios)

Leave a Reply

You must be logged in (https://vadamagazine.com/wordpress/wp-login.php?

redirect_to=https%3A%2F%2Fvadamagazine.com%2Ffeatures%2Fvada-that%2Fhistory-of-the-
pride-flag) to post a comment.

GEEK   (https://vadamagazine.com/category/geek) 
(https://vadamagazine.com/geek/technology/a-guide-to-running-an-lgbt-startup-in-2022)

A Guide to Running an LGBT+ Startup in 2022

(https://vadamagazine.com/geek/technology/a-guide-to-running-an-lgbt-startup-in-
2022)
 30 March, 2022 (https://vadamagazine.com/geek/technology/a-guide-to-running-an-lgbt-startup-in-2022)  Peter Minkoff
(https://vadamagazine.com/author/peter-minkoff)

Check out out top tips on setting up and sustaining a viable new LGBT+ business.

(https://vadamagazine.com/geek/games-geek/game-review-crash-bandicoot-4-its-about-time)
Game Review: Crash Bandicoot 4 – It’s About Time
(https://vadamagazine.com/geek/games-geek/game-review-crash-bandicoot-4-its-
about-time)
 12 October, 2020 (https://vadamagazine.com/geek/games-geek/game-review-crash-bandicoot-4-its-about-time)  Jake
Basford (https://vadamagazine.com/author/jake-basford)

‘Crash Bandicoot 4 – It’s About Time’ is not only a useful moniker for the way the audience feels, but also hints at
the plot. “Crash Souls” as has been dubbed by our Geek Editor is deceptively hard and necessarily so.

MUSIC   (https://vadamagazine.com/category/entertainment/music) 

(https://vadamagazine.com/entertainment/music/music-7-of-the-best-songs-w-c-6-february-2023)

Music: 7 of the Best Songs – w/c 6 February 2023

(https://vadamagazine.com/entertainment/music/music-7-of-the-best-songs-w-c-6-
february-2023)
 6 February, 2023 (https://vadamagazine.com/entertainment/music/music-7-of-the-best-songs-w-c-6-february-2023) 

John Preston (https://vadamagazine.com/author/john-preston)

John Preston rounds up the seven best songs of the moment!

(https://vadamagazine.com/highlights/music-top-10-albums-of-2022-part-2)

Music Review: Top 10 Albums of 2022 – Part 2

(https://vadamagazine.com/highlights/music-top-10-albums-of-2022-part-2)
 24 December, 2022 (https://vadamagazine.com/highlights/music-top-10-albums-of-2022-part-2)  John Preston
(https://vadamagazine.com/author/john-preston)

John Preston rounds off his list of the 10 best albums of 2022.

TRAVEL   (https://vadamagazine.com/category/lifestyle/travel) 
(https://vadamagazine.com/lifestyle/travel/road-tripping-in-america-a-guide-to-queer-cross-country-travel)

Road Tripping in America: A Guide to Queer Cross-country Travel

(https://vadamagazine.com/lifestyle/travel/road-tripping-in-america-a-guide-to-
queer-cross-country-travel)
 24 January, 2023 (https://vadamagazine.com/lifestyle/travel/road-tripping-in-america-a-guide-to-queer-cross-country-

travel)  Miles Oliver (https://vadamagazine.com/author/miles-oliver)

Thinking of crossing the USA by car? Check out our top tips for organising your very own queer American road
trip.

(https://vadamagazine.com/lifestyle/travel/hotel-review-the-gantry-london)
Hotel review: The Gantry, London (https://vadamagazine.com/lifestyle/travel/hotel-
review-the-gantry-london)
 24 November, 2022 (https://vadamagazine.com/lifestyle/travel/hotel-review-the-gantry-london)  Tim Firmager
(https://vadamagazine.com/author/tim-firmager)

The Gantry, a Curio Collection by Hilton hotel, in Stratford, London, recently celebrated its first birthday. We at
Vada were invited to the birthday celebrations and used it as an excuse to stay a night. The hotel provided the
accommodation. Here’s our review.

STAFF

Contributor Directory (https://vadamagazine.com/contributor-directory)

Vacancies (https://vadamagazine.com/vacancies)

ABOUT

Meet the Team (https://vadamagazine.com/meet-the-team)

Readership (https://vadamagazine.com/readership)

INFORMATION

Privacy Policy (https://vadamagazine.com/privacy-policy)

Terms & Conditions (https://vadamagazine.com/terms-and-conditions)

Copyright © 2022 Vada Magazine. All rights reserved.