That it first used eight stripes is significant, because it reveals clearly the now-obscured but then-accepted true intentions behind the meaning of this disturbing symbol. That is the version of the flag that started it all.
![symbols of the original gay pride flag symbols of the original gay pride flag](https://hips.hearstapps.com/hmg-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/images/gettyimages-1158967713.jpg)
![symbols of the original gay pride flag symbols of the original gay pride flag](http://cdn.cnn.com/cnnnext/dam/assets/190606171127-pride-flag-style-animation-1.jpg)
What did each color actually mean to the "gay pride" devotees? In any case, it was Gilbert Baker himself, who would later use the drag-queen name "Busty Ross," who chose the original eight-colored horizontal-striped pattern, and then, significantly, assigned specific meanings to each of these colors. Another factor is that, even since the Victorian era, it was commonplace for homosexual men to wear brightly colored fabric or flowers to subtly advertise to other homosexual men that they were of a similar inclination. Why a rainbow? Some suggest overtones of the original "gay icon" Judy Garland and her signature song "Over the Rainbow." Others think it more likely that the then-popular rainbow "Flag of the Races" inspired the adoption of a multi-colored symbol, as the "gay rights" movement had directly borrowed much from its civil-rights counterpart. With Milk's encouragement, it seems that artist Gilbert Baker then set out to create a flag that was destined to fly for the first time at San Francisco's "Gay Freedom Day Parade" on June 25, 1978, which was just months before Harvey Milk himself was killed, forever weaving together the martyr figure and the rainbow flag as core elements of the "gay pride" narrative. So at the very root of this diabolical symbol is its inspiration taken from Milk, an icon of the "LGBT community" who was, himself, while in his 30s, a perpetrator of same-sex sexual abuse of an underaged 16-year-old boy. Paul Kalchik just did? Your cardinal-archbishop, Blase Cupich, will try to burn you.Ĭoverage of Kalchik's brave act and Cupich's vindictive response is elsewhere - but let's look at the rainbow flag itself and the diabolical and mocking message that its inclusion on a banner also featuring the very cross of Jesus Christ Himself is really communicating.ĭid you know the rainbow flag was first adopted as a symbol for "gay pride" by way of a San Francisco artist named Gilbert Baker, who crafted the symbol at the behest of gay icon Harvey Milk, who himself, notoriously, is said to have had a 16-year-old boy as his live-in lover in the 1960s?įree clip from CHURCH MILITANT Premium WATCH MORE LIKE THIS
![symbols of the original gay pride flag symbols of the original gay pride flag](https://imageio.forbes.com/specials-images/imageserve/1223375632/0x0.jpg)
flag is still protected under the First Amendment as "symbolic speech." But try burning the notorious rainbow flag of the so-called "LGBTQIA community," as Chicago priest Fr. 1.You are not signed in as a Premium user we rely on Premium users to support our news reporting. 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. 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.
![symbols of the original gay pride flag symbols of the original gay pride flag](https://www.gannett-cdn.com/indepth-static-assets/uploads/master/5133381001/5c57db4e-5478-4d71-8c9b-fc16e579fbe0-rainbow.png)
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.