FreetheLGBT Pride Month Fiesta

Day 3: Fly your flags

You may have seen the rainbow flag flown during Pride Month and generally as a symbolic banner for the LGBTQ+ community. We all know this flag, but did you know there are loads more pride flags for all sexualities, gender identities, and types of romantic attraction?

Read on and become an LGBTQ+ pride flag know-it-all! There's also an interactive question at the end to get you all thinking.

Let's start off with the one we all know.

The rainbow flag. It's a universal banner for all things LGBTQ+ and is also the flag flown to show homosexual pride (there are others, though). From top to bottom its colors represent life, healing, sunlight, nature, harmony, and spirit. Some cultural variations also include pink for sexuality, turquoise for art, and brown to represent LGBTQ+ people of color.

The pink lesbian pride flag. This is one variation of the flag flown to show lesbian pride. There are others, but which one you (if you identify as a lesbian) adopt personally is your choice to make. This is just one of them. The various shades of pink symbolise the diversity in femininity, ranging from a fierce ruby red to a delicate rosy pink, to white, for those whose gender identity is neutral or non-binary. 

The purple lesbian pride flag. Another variation of the flag flown to show lesbian pride symbolizes strength and 'rebellion'. The striking lavender hue symbolizes the blending of pink (feminine) and blue (masculine), and features a double-headed axe which is symbolic of matriarchal tribeswomen. The black triangle dates back to Nazi-occupied Germany and was used as a symbol to identify homosexual females, which was considered 'anti-social behavior' at the time. This flag is all kinds of symbolism and history in one.

The transgender pride flag. This flag is flown to show trans pride, though there are others around. The colors used are specifically related to the colors chosen for baby boys and baby girls at birth, with white between them to encompass those whose gender is neutral or non-binary. The white strip is also used to symbolize transition, as one is considered to 'cross over' to the other side. This flag is purposefully symmetrical and can be flown either way up. This is to symbolize trans individuals finding 'correctness' through their transition. 

The aromantic pride flag. This is the most recognized form of the aromantic pride flag, though in some versions the yellow has been dulled to aid those with visual challenges or difficulties. First things first: why green? Well, since red is the color of romance and green sits opposite red on the color wheel, this color was chosen as a clever nod to symbolize the opposite of romanticism. Yellow is seldom used on pride flags so it was chosen in this case to represent platonic love (love between friends) and other non-romantic love. Black and grey were chosen to symbolize the inclusion of people who identify as asexual and those who reject traditional ideas of romance.

That's it for this Fly Your Flag installment! But we don't want you to go just yet.

Symbolism is really important when it comes to pride flags because this is a nod to diversity, strength, history, positivity, struggles, and much more. So here's a question for you...

If you could choose a symbol (such as the double-headed axe for the purple lesbian pride flag) what would you choose?

It can be anything you find meaning in or something that you connect with. Tell us in the in-line comments what your pride flag symbol would be and what it means to you. (We already know you're thinking of pizza, but that doesn't quite count.)