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Flags are, after all, meant to be flown - loudly and proudly! Below, we’ll walk you through the origin, meaning and colors of 21 LGBTQ flags, from the original pride flag to new pride flags flown today, so that you can understand which identity each flag celebrates. Demand increased after Harvey was assassinated on Novemand the Paramount Flag Company started selling the seven striped version - red, orange.
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Around 30 volunteers helped to hand-dye and stitch the first two flags for the parade. Although the symbolic use of bright colors has long been connected to queer culture, these flags, fittingly, are a highly visible, widerspread signal of queer identity compared to some of the slightly more covert LGBTQ+ symbols that preceded them. This flag had 8 stripes (from the top) hot pink, red, orange, yellow, green, turquoise, indigo and violet which represented sex, life, healing, sunlight. The original gay pride flag was seen in the San Francisco Gay Freedom Day Parade on June 25, 1978. 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. Today, there are dozens of LGBTQ+ flags representing just as many gender identities, sexualities and intersections of communities. Much like the communities they represent, these flags are in a constant state of evolution, expanding to better and more inclusively encompass every queer identity under the rainbow. Ever since the first rainbow-hued LGBTQ flag was created in 1978, pride flags have been a colorful symbol of queer identity.