Key Points
- The rainbow flag is a symbol of the LGBTIQ+ community, representing pride, support, and identity.
- The original gay pride flags flew in 1978 at a celebration in San Francisco.
- There have been several revisions over the years to make the flag more inclusive.
The rainbow flag is the global symbol of the LGBTIQ+ community, representing pride, inclusivity and support.
Over the years, the design has been updated numerous times to include and represent different parts of the community.
The flags will be a common sight across Sydney over the coming fortnight as WorldPride begins on Friday and runs until 5 March, with an estimated 500,000 people attending and bringing $112 million into the visitor economy.
For intersex equality campaigner Valentino Vecchietti, these changes to the flag represent developments in society and the LGBTIQ+ community.
"Just as we are living, breathing and evolving, so must our flag, and it needs to reflect our diverse senses of identity, our diverse sexual orientations and the diversity that we have in our sex characteristics and beyond," she said.
"And I think that's a beautiful thing; it's a very human thing to do, to keep evolving and developing, so our flag must represent that."
The first pride flag
The rainbow flag was at the request of Harvey Milk, the first openly gay man to be elected to public office in California in the United States.
Mr Milk reportedly urged Baker to create a symbol of pride for the gay community, and the rainbow flag made its debut at the 1978 San Francisco Gay Freedom Day parade.
American artist and civil rights activist Gilbert Baker created the first known rainbow flag as a symbol of pride for the gay community. Source: AAP / FREDRIK PERSSON/EPA
Throughout the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s, the flag gained prominence and was regularly featured in celebrations and promotions in the US and around the world.
It has become a signifier of identity and allyship, is often featured in parades and shopfronts, and even became an emoji in 2016.
Diversity and inclusion
In 2017, civil rights activist and community organiser Amber Hikes and the Philadelphia Office of LGBT Affairs updated the flag to acknowledge marginalised groups.
Their new flag added black and brown stripes to the rainbow flag to represent people of colour within the LGBTIQ+ community and highlight the issues they face.
In 2017, Gilbert Baker created a revision of his original flag, adding a lavender flag to symbolise diversity.
The following year, a festival in Brazil introduced a version with a white stripe in the middle, signifying diversity across sexuality, religion and ethnicity.
Progress pride flag and intersex inclusivity
In 2018, American artist and graphic designer Daniel Quasar released a redesign, titled the
This version is comprised elements of both the existing pride flag and the transgender flag, and includes black, brown, blue, pink and white colouring in addition to the rainbow stripes.
The chevron design also features a black stripe to acknowledge those who are living with HIV/AIDS and those who have died.
In 2021, Ms Vecchietti - who founded Intersez Equality Rights UK - redesigned the flag again, adding a yellow triangle with a purple circle in it.
Valentino Vecchietti designed the intersex-inclusive pride flag. Source: Supplied / Valentino Vecchietti
"The pride flag and existing in queer spaces means a lot to me and I knew that if we could get real intersex inclusion at pride, it would mean so much," she said.
"I wanted to create intersex inclusion, but also with huge respect for the previous iterations of the flag and the huge respect for the people who had been involved in creating space for their communities on that flag."
