Popularity spiked again a decade later when a West Hollywood resident sued his landlord over the right to hang his flag outside his residence. The rainbow flag was created in 1978 by artist, designer, Vietnam War veteran and then-drag performer, Gilbert Baker. After the assassination of Harvey Milk on November 27, 1978, demand for the rainbow banner only increased. The rainbow flag has become synonymous for the LBGT community since it was created in the 1970s Credit: EPA What does LGBT stand for LGBT is an acronym for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender - a term used to represent the wider community.
Baker then took the design to Paramount Flag Company, which sold a version of the flag without hot pink and turquoise, which were replaced with blue for practicality purposes. It was first showcased at San Francisco’s Gay Freedom Day Parade on June 25, 1978.Īfter the design was unveiled, participants of the parade proudly waved the new symbol in solidarity. With the help of close to 30 volunteers working in the attic of the Gay Community Center in San Francisco, Baker was able to construct the first draft of the now world-renowned rainbow flag. The original LGBT pride flag contained the colors hot pink, meant to represent sexuality, and turquoise, meant to represent magic or art, depending on the. At the top was hot pink, which represented sex, red for life, orange for healing, yellow signifying sunlight, green for nature, turquoise to represent art, indigo for harmony, and finally violet at the bottom for spirit. The original flag featured eight colors, each having a different meaning. Six colored striped flag (from top to bottom): red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and violet. The colors in order, were hot pink to represent sex, red for healing, yellow for sun, green for serenity with nature, turquoise for art, indigo for harmony, and violet for spirit. The different colors within the flag were meant to represent togetherness, since LGBT people come in all races, ages and genders, and rainbows are both natural and beautiful. Gay Pride Flag Gilbert Baker created the gay pride flag in 1978, and it originally had eight stripes. 1963 Mary Kay launches her namesake company