Grid of fifteen Pride flags under the heading Pride Flags and What They Stand For

← Back to the blog

Did you know that there are more than 20 different Pride Flags?

June is #Pridemonth, the most colorful month of the year since the LGBTQ+ pride is celebrated. The RAINBOW flag is used widely but it is not the only flag that people in the community connect with. Did you know that there are more than 20 different Pride Flags?  Grounded Kids Yoga is a safe space for gender expression. We celebrate authenticity!

Straight Ally flag | Volvo Group

Straight Ally Flag

The Straight Ally flag is using the black-white “colors” of the heterosexual flag as a field, it adds a large rainbow colored “A” (for “Ally”) to indicate straight support for the Gay Pride/Equal Marriage movement.
A straight ally or heterosexual ally is a heterosexual and/or cisgender person who supports equal civil rights, gender equality, LGBT social movements, and challenges homophobia, biphobia and transphobia. A straight ally believes that LGBT people face discrimination and thus are socially and economically disadvantaged.

Gilbert Pride Flag | Volvo Group

Gilbert Baker Pride Flag
Gilbert Pride Flag , the flag that started it all…
It was created in 1977 by Gilbert Baker, an artist, activist, and openly gay military veteran. Tasked by Harvey Milk, a historic figure in the fight for LGBTQ rights, to create a flag for the queer community, Baker created a rainbow flag with eight different colors.
Inspired by the classic song “Over the Rainbow” from the 1939 film The Wizard from Oz, Baker created a rainbow flag to represent LGBTQ folks. Each color in the flag also had a specific meaning.Hot Pink symbolizes sex
Red equals life
Orange symbolizes healing
Yellow stands for sunlight
Green represents nature|
Turquoise equals magic & art
Indigo stands for serenity
Violet represents the spirit of LGBTQ people
8-Color Pride Flag | Volvo Group
6-Color Pride Flag

The 6-Color Pride Flag is one of the most well-known and used LGBT flags throughout history. This flag includes the colors red, orange, yellow, green, indigo, and violet on it.
Hot pink wasn´t included in the fabrication of these flags, because the fabric was hard to find. As the demand for the flag started to rise after the assassination of gay San Francisco City Supervisor Harvey Milk on November 27, 1978.
In 1979, the flag was modified again. Aiming to decorate the streetlamps along the parade route with hundreds of rainbow banners, Gilbert Baker decided to split the motif in two with an even number of stripes flanking each lamp pole. To achieve this effect, he dropped the turquoise stripe that had been used in the seven-stripe flag. The result was the six-stripe version of the flag that would become the standard for future production.

Philadelphia Pride Flag | Volvo Group

Philadelphia Pride Flag

The Philadelphia Pride Flag came out in response to the demand of more inclusivity across the LGBTQ+ community. The flag launches in 2017 as part of the “More Color More Pride” Campaign in Philadelphia and was designed by a small Philly-based PR agency.

The addition of black and brown stripes to the traditional pride flag symbolized people of color, who historically were not always included in aspects of the mainstream gay rights movement.

Lena Waithe, an American actress, wore the Philadelphia Pride Flag as a cape at the 2018 Met Gala. She is a powerful advocate for black people within the entertainment industry and this flag spiked in popularity after she elevated its visibility.

Transgender Flag | Volvo Group

Transgender Flag

The Transgender Flag was first created in 1999 by Monica Helms, a transgender woman. Light blue and pink are featured because they’re the traditional colors associated with baby boys and girls, respectively. The white stands for those who are intersex, transitioning or those who don´t feel identified with any gender.
Transgender people have a gender identity or gender expression that differs from the sex that they were assigned at birth. According to Amnesty International, 1.5 million transgender people live in the European Union, making up 0.3% of the population. And more than 1.4 million trans adults living in the U.S., which is about 0,5% of the population.
Violence against the queer community affects trans people of color the most. Therefore, the Transgender Flag is so important! The trans community needs representation and resources to be visible without fear.

New Progress Pride Flag | Volvo Group

New Progress Pride Flag

Given the evolving nature of the LGBTQ+ community and society at large, the Progress Pride Flag integrates many of these flags into one. Thankfully, it has been redesigned to place a greater emphasis on “inclusion and progression.” Our community is such a huge umbrella of different kind of people and that is what makes us so special, that is what makes us so unique and that is what makes us so powerful.
The modern pride flag now includes stripes to represent the experiences of people of color, as well as stripes to represent people who identify as transgender, gender nonconforming (GNC) and/or undefined.
Daniel Quasar’s flag includes the colors of the trans flag, as well as black and brown stripes harkening back to 2017 Philadelphia Pride Flag, which sought to further represent the queer and trans identities of black and brown people. Those two stripes also represent those living with HIV/AIDS, people who have passed from the virus and the overall stigma surrounding HIV/AIDS that remains today.

In 2021, the Progress Pride Flag was revised by Valentino Vecchietti of Intersex Equality Rights UK to incorporate the intersex flag. In the new design, the chevron of the Progress Flag includes a yellow triangle with a purple circle in the middle.

Nonbinary Pride Flag | Volvo Group

Nonbinary Flag

In 2014, Kye Rowan created the Nonbinary Pride Flag to represent people whose gender identity does not fit within the traditional male/female binary. The colors of the nonbinary flag are yellow, white, purple, and black. The colors each symbolize a different subgroup of people who identify as nonbinary.
Yellow signifies something on its own or people who identify outside of the cisgender binary of male or female. A cisgender person would be a person whose gender identity matches their sex assigned at birth. White, a color that consists of all colors mixed, stands for multi-gendered people. Purple, like the lavender color in the genderqueer flag, represents people who identify as a blending of male and female genders. Finally, black (the absence of color) signifies those who are agender, who feel they do not have a gender.
Some non-binary/genderqueer people use gender-neutral pronouns. Usage of singular ‘they’, ‘their’ and ‘them’ is the most common.

Intersex Flag | Volvo Group

Intersex Flag

This flag went through a variety of iterations before the current Intersex Flag emerged. Previous versions embraced the rainbow that is often associated with queer pride, while others used colors like blue and pink, which are found on the transgender flag.
In 2013, Morgan Carpenter chose the colors yellow and purple for the intersex flag. Morgan moved away from the rainbow symbolism and selected these colors because neither is associated with the social constructs of the gender binary.
The circle, perfect and unbroken, represents the wholeness of intersex people. It is a reminder that intersex people are perfect the way they are or choose to be.

Flag for the Asexual | Volvo Group

Asexual Flag

The Flag for the Asexual Community was created in 2010 by the Asexual Visibility and Education Network. Asexual is the lack of sexual attraction to others, or a low interest in sexual activity, but asexuality can mean different things to different people, it is best to ask each individual what it means to them. For some people, it may mean that they rely on other types of attraction instead of or in place of sexual attraction.
Asexual can be an umbrella term and each color in this flag also represents something unique. Black stands for asexuality. Gray represents demisexuality, for those who develop sexual attraction to someone only after forming a deep emotional bond with them. White stands for the allies of the community. Purple represents the entire community of asexual folks

Bisexual Pride Flag | Volvo Group

Bisexual Flag

The Bisexual Pride Flag was created in 1998 by Michael Page. His idea for the flag represents pink and blue blending to make purple. The way that bisexual people can blend into the straight community and the gay community.
The colors of the flag also represent attraction to different genders. The pink symbolizes attraction to the same gender, while the blue represents attraction to a different gender. The purple represents attraction to two or more genders, the definition of bisexuality.

Pansexual Flag | Volvo Group

Pansexual Flag

The Pansexual Flag was created in 2010. Pansexuality represents those people who feel attracted to a person without thinking about gender. Pansexual people may refer to themselves as gender-blind, asserting that gender and sex are not determining factors in their romantic or sexual attraction to others. This means that they can feel attraction to those who identify as women, men, both or neither.
The pink on the flag represents attraction to women, blue represents attraction to men, and yellow stands for attraction to those who don’t identify with either gender.
Pansexuality may be considered a sexual orientation or a branch of bisexuality, to indicate an alternative sexual identity. Because pansexual people are open to relationships with people who do not identify as strictly men or women, and pansexuality therefore rejects the gender binary, it is often considered a more inclusive term than bisexual.

Lesbian Pride Flag | Volvo Group

Lesbian Flag

The Lesbian Flag is one of the flags fewer people know about. This flag features different shades of pink and sometimes comes with a red kiss on it to represent lipstick lesbians.

This flag was created by Natalie McCray in 2010. Some lesbians oppose this flag because of its exclusion of butch lesbians but no other flag has as much popularity as this one.

In the new flag, the colors represent the following:

Darkest Orange: Gender nonconformity
Middle Orange: Independence
Lightest Orange: Community
White: Unique relationships to womanhood
Lightest Pink: Serenity and peace
Middle Pink: Love and sex
Darkest Pink: Femininity

Abrosexual Pride Flag | Volvo Group

Abrosexual Flag

The Abrosexual Pride Flag has existed since 2015. The flag was created by Mod Chad of pride-flags-for-us after another anonymous person requested it. It is unknown why this person chose these colors specifically.
Abrosexual refers to an individual whose sexuality is changing or fluid. For example, someone could be gay one day, then be asexual the next, then polysexual the next. While it is possible – and even common – for a person’s sexual identity to shift or change in some way throughout their life, an abrosexual person’s sexuality may change more frequently, over the course of hours, days, months, or years. Because of their inconsistent attraction, some abrosexual people may not feel compelled to seek out a relationship or may prefer a wavership.
The timing of the fluctuations is different for every person; for some the fluctuations may be erratic and for others they may be regular. The sexualities that a person fluctuates between also varies. Some abrosexual people may be fluid between all sexualities, while others may only be fluid between a few.

Gay Men’s Pride Flag | Volvo Group

Gay Men’s Pride Flag

The Gay Men’s Pride Flag is another lesser known pride flag. It features different shades of green, blue, and purple.
This modern gay men’s pride flag is a revamp of an earlier gay men’s pride flag that featured a range of blue tones. That version of the flag evolved as it used colors that were perceived stereotypical of the gender binary. The updated flag is meant to be inclusive of a much wide range of gay men, including but not limited to transgender, intersex, and gender nonconforming men.

Heterosexual Pride Flag | Volvo GroupHeterosexual Pride Flag

The Heterosexual Pride Flag. Straight is most viewed as men attracted to women and women attracted to men. The term “straight” is used to describe for both straight men and straight women. While straight is often used to describe non-LGBT people it is possible for straight people to be part of the LGBT community. For example, they might be transgender. They also might be, asexual heteroromantic, or aromantic heterosexual, which also makes them LGBT.

However, some believe “straight pride” events are simply the latest manifestation of anti-LGBTQ bigotry. Heterosexual pride parades exist as a response to societal acceptance of LGBTQ visibility and originated in campuses in the 1990s as a backlash tactic. Straight pride is a slogan that arose in the late 1980s and early 1990s that has primarily been used by social conservatives as a political stance and strategy. The term is described as a response to gay pride adopted by various groups (later united under the moniker LGBT) in the early 1970s, or to the accommodations provided to gay pride initiatives.

Feather pride flag

Drag Feather Pride Flag

The Drag Feather pride flag is an earlier, somewhat obscure version of the Drag pride flag. It was created in 1999 by Sean Campbell and was then called the Feather pride flag. It has a phoenix in its center, which symbolizes the drag community’s rebirth and the fire of passion they use to raise awareness and funds for different causes.

The phrase “to drag” refers to a performance of masculinity, femininity, or other forms of gender expression – it is to dress up or exhibit yourself in a way that differs from your everyday expressions. For example, a drag queen is someone (usually male) who performs femininity, while a drag king is someone (usually female) who performs masculinity.

Maverique flag

Maverique Pride Flag

The Maverique pride flag was first created on Tumblr by Vesper H. (queerascat) in 2014, who coined the term “Maverique” to describe their gender. The term combines the English words “maverick” and the French suffix “ique.” Maverique is a non-binary or abinary gender with significant gendered experiences but is neither male nor female. However, it is not a lack of gender; it is defined by autonomy and inner conviction about a gender that is unusual and exists outside the standard conceptions of gender. Maverique individuals are free to use whatever pronouns they prefer and present themselves however they want.

The colors of the Maverique pride flag are yellow, white, and orange. The yellow represents non-binary gender – as yellow is a primary color (meaning it isn’t obtainable from combining any other colors and is entirely independent of other primary colors, cyan (blue) and magenta (pink), Vesper H believed it was the perfect analogy for maverique’s relationship with masculinity and femininity. Non-binary genders are also frequently related to the color yellow. White represents autonomy or independence from the gender binary and the spectrum of genders created by the combinations of cyan/blue (masculinity) and magenta/pink (femininity). White is a blank slate upon which maverique is based. Orange represents the inner conviction of what a maverique feels regarding their gender. It also describes the unorthodox and individualistic nature of mavericks.

Bigender Pride Flag

Bigender Pride Flag

The Tumblr user no-bucks-for-this-does created the original version of the Bigender pride flag; the creation date of the flag is unknown but is assumed to have existed before July 30th, 2014. It features different shades of pink, blue, and purple. The meaning of the colors is unknown, but it is often speculated that blue represents masculinity, pink represents femininity, and purple represents a mix of genders or androgyny. The white at its center symbolizes the nonbinary nature of bi-gender.

There is, however, another commonly used variation of the Bigender pride flag, which features four horizontal lines in four different colors – pink, yellow, white, purple, and blue. The creator is unknown, and so is the colors’ meaning – but it is assumed that the colors have the same meaning as the original flag and that yellow is added to represent non-binary. It was created either before or on August 23rd, 2015.

A bigender individual is a person having or experiencing two different genders of any combination. For example, a bigender person could be both a woman and a man, or be agender and a woman simultaneously. The genders may be binary or non-binary, can be experienced simultaneously or alternately, and may not be experienced equally or in the same way.

Grey Asexuality Flag

Graysexual Pride Flag

Milith Rusignuolo created the first version of the Graysexual pride flag in 2013. It features two lines of purple on the top and bottom of the flag, two grey lines further in, with a white center line. The colors are supposed to represent someone starting with no sexual attraction (purple – asexuality), then going through an episode of attraction (grey to white), with white indicating allosexuality from the asexual flag, and then returning to asexuality once again.

Graysexual is used to describe a person who identifies themselves asexual but does not fall into one of the primary kinds of asexuality.

Genderflux Pride Flag

Genderflux Pride Flag

There are multiple variations of the Genderflux pride flag; however, the original version is most commonly used – it is unknown who created it, and it is speculated to have been created sometime between 2014 and 2015. It has six horizontal strips and six colors where dark pink represents women, light pink represents demi girls, grey represents agender, light blue represents demi boy, dark blue represents men, and yellow represents non-binary genders.

Genderflux is a catch-all phrase for gender identities where an individual’s gender or sense of the intensity of their gender changes over time.

Genderqueer Pride Flag

Gender Queer Pride Flag

The Gender Queer pride flag was created by the advocate and genderqueer writer Marilyn Roxie in 2011. The flag has three horizontal stripes: lavender, white, and dark chartreuse green. The lavender, a mix of pink and blue which traditionally represents women and men, expresses queer identities and androgyny. White represents gender-neutral and agender identities. Chartreuse represents identities that aren’t in the gender binary and the third gender.

A genderqueer does not subscribe to conventional gender distinctions but identifies with neither, both, or a combination of male and female. Gender queer is similar to non-binary but has a slightly different meaning. It is sometimes used as an umbrella term to cover any identity that isn’t cisgender.

Demiboy Flag

Demiboy Pride Flag

The Demiboy pride flag was created in 2015 by the Tumblr user Transrants. While Transrants did not explicitly explain the colors, the demiboy community who identify with the flag have assigned meaning to them. The flag features four colors, blue represents manhood/masculinity, white represents non-binary or agender, and the shades of grey represents the grey areas and partial connections to other genders than the binary concepts of gender (male or female).

A demiboy, also referred to as demiguy, demiman, demimale, or demidude, is a person who identifies with the concept of masculinity.

Thank you for caring enough to read until now! Grounded Kids Yoga appreciates you in all of your authentic glory! Fly your flag with PRIDE!

Not sure where to start?

Flag descriptions and images: LGBTQ+ Pride Flags and What They Stand For, Volvo Group, June 2021.

More to Explore

  • You Get What You Need…

    This is the time of applied, intuitive consciousness. This is the time we let our hearts open up. This is the time we need our children to experience reality through the compassion of the heart. This is the time I asked our Fernbank Yoga Club Students~ What do you need to feel more present? This…

  • Yoga & Mindfulness is good for kids? Prove it!

    For the research lovers and naysayers, the believers needing back up, parents wanting proof and the educators pursuing funding, this is for you…  IAYSM Research Bibliography A comprehensive listing of research articles and papers compiled by Adenia Linker IASYM Bibliography final Qualitative Evaluation of a High School Yoga Program: Feasibility and Perceived Benefits-Conboy et al…

  • The Light Within – Yoga & Art Activity

    This activity came out of a need to define shinning inner light. The
    concept seems vague to some kids so I wanted to find a way to connect
    emotions with yoga movements in a concrete way. Doing this activity is a
    way for kids to verbalize their good qualities. Some kids are very familiar
    with their dark sides, and they only hear adults point out what they do
    wrong. They have to be able to identify their light sides and what they do
    right before they can shine their inner lights. Once they have a few
    concrete images to focus on, I think they can shine these attributes as they
    do the yoga poses.

  • Harry Potter Magic Yoga Sequence

    Feeling like a troubled, tuckered out muggle? Want to enter the wizard- like state of clarity, and focus? Choose to ground your outer body to create the conditions for a vast inner freedom. You need space inside for the magic to do its work. Albus Dumbledore teaches us… “It is our choices Harry, that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities.”
    Each pose has a corresponding spell for you to breathe into your structure. The more you breathe with awareness, the more potent the spell becomes. With each inhale; drop the spell into the space between your eyebrows. With each exhale; drop the meaning of the spell into the same space above your nose. Say the word to yourself as you drop it into the window to your heart.
    The charm Duro is used to keep objects still. Seen in Deathly Hallows, cast by Hermione while escaping from Death Eaters in Hogwarts.
    Stay balanced in each pose by softly gazing at an immobile object. Inhale DURO, EXHALE FREEZE to keep the object still.
    “Words are, in my not so humble opinion, our most inexhaustible source of magic, capable of both inflicting injury and remedying it.” — Albus Dumbledore.
    Spell: Rennervate Pose: Wake Up Mountain
    Rennervate is a charm that awakens and energizes whomever the caster’s wand is pointed at. It is accompanied by a flash of brilliantly colored red light. Harry uses it to attempt to revive Professor Dumbledore after Dumbledore has succumbed to the potion guarding the locket in the lake.
    Stand with your feet parallel and evenly rooted to prepare for WAKE UP MOUNTAIN. Exhale as you reach up high with outstretched hands and take hold of the universal energy. Inhale and pull the power into your core. Each time you exhale stretch out higher. Each time you inhale, bend your elbows and pull in deeper. Visualize the movement of energy around and inside your body. Accelerate your breath to accelerate your movement.. Then decelerate your breath to slow your movement. When your movement follows your breath, you feel more alive. Inhale RENNERVATE, Exhale WAKE UP!
    Root Tree Rise
    Mobiliarbus lifts a tree a few inches off the ground and levitates it to where the caster points his or her wand. In Prisoner of Azkaban, Hermione uses the spell to move a Christmas tree beside her table to hide Harry.
    Ground your left foot to prepare for ROOT TREE RISE. Place the sole of your right foot inside of your left thigh or shin. Reach your right hand behind your waist between your shoulder blades. Lift your left arm overhead, lowering your hand to interlock with your right hand. Rise up inside with each breath as you open your shoulders and stretch your branches. Exhale, expand and explore. Root into the earth and into your own center. Experiment with gazing both outward as a tree rising up toward the sky and inward as the same tree roots down into the earth. Inhale MOBILIARBUS. Exhale RISE. Ground your right foot and repeat on the other side.
    “It matters not what someone is born, but what they grow to be.”~ Albus Dumbledore
    Flap Eagle Fly
    Avis. This charm creates a flock of birds from the caster’s wand and is shown in Goblet of Fire, cast by Mr. Ollivander to test Viktor Krum’s wand.
    Ground your feet to prepare for FLAP EAGE FLY. Inhale; lift your arms. Exhale your right elbow under your left one-twisting to bring your palms together. Steady your breath for balance. Lift the right leg up, over and around your left leg. Center your wrists, elbows, knees and ankles in one line. Slowly untangle your right leg and extend it behind as you hinge forward. Stretch your crown, fingers and elbows forward. Inhale AVIS. Exhale FLY. Flap for stability and fly with freedom. Ground your feet and repeat on the other side. Let your brilliance soar.
    Playing With Fire
    Incendio produces fire. It is first seen in Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone when Hagrid (nonverbally) produces fire out of his umbrella in the little house the Dursleys took refuge in (from the Hogwarts letters). In Half-Blood Prince, this spell is used several times in battle, for instance when Hagrid’s hut is set ablaze.
    Ground your sitting bones to prepare for PLAYING WITH FIRE. Lift your legs and rub the soles of your feet together. Balance and rub your palms together. Create friction. Generate heat by scooping your tailbone until your lower belly fires up. Draw into you internal fire to provide energy and fuel your focus. Inhale INCENDIO. Exhale FIRE.
    I Am What I Am
    Revelio will reveal to the caster whether any other (presumably living) humans are within its area of influence.
    In Deathly Hallows, when they first arrive at Number 12, Grimmauld Place after leaving Bill and Fleur’s wedding, Harry, Ron, and Hermione are concerned that there may be Death Eaters lurking. Hermione casts Homenum Revelio to determine that the house is, in fact, empty.
    Sit in Easy Pose. To prepare for I AM WHAT I AM. Press thumbs into each of your fingers in the following order. Say “FOCUS” and press thumb and first second together. Say “CLEAR” and press your thumb and third finger. Say “CERTAIN” and press your thumb and ring finger. Say “BRIGHT” and press your thumb and little finger together. Repeat out loud for a minute. Whisper for a minute. Hear it inside while you silently keep moving your fingers for one minute. Do another minute of silence, then one minute of whispering, then one minute of saying it out loud. Close your eyes. Inhale REVELIO. Exhale REVEAL.
    Lighten Up
    Lumos creates a beam of light. First seen in Chamber of Secrets and then constantly throughout the series.
    Lie on your back and press the back of your head into the ground to prepare for LIGHTEN UP, keeping your chin level. Exhale as you lift your legs to a 90-degree angle, making an L shape with your body. Inhale; root your upper arm bones down and back by your sides. Exhale, spread your toes and extend your flame. Soften your back body into the earth. Inhale LUMOS. Exhale LIGHT.
    “Happiness can be found, even in the darkest of times, if one only remembers to turn on the light. ” – Albus Dumbledore
    Just Breathe
    Quietus makes a magically magnified voice return to normal.
    Sonorus magnifies the spell caster’s voice, functioning as a magical megaphone.
    These charms counter each other and were used by Ludo Bagman and Cornelius Fudge in Goblet of Fire to commentate at the Quidditch World Cup and during the Triwizard Tournament. Also used by Dumbledore to silence everyone in the Great Hall in Goblet of Fire. Used by Voldemort several times during the Battle of Hogwarts in Deathly Hallows.
    Roll up into Easy Pose to JUST BREATHE. Close your eyes and tune in to your own internal magic elevator. Visualize a silvery white light beginning at the base of your spine and flowing upwards, reaching your head and spilling out from the top of your head like sparkling stars soaring upwards into the universe. Through your nose inhale a spacious breath into your basement, up into your atrium and toward the roof of your mouth. Exhale the breath from your roof all the way down into your basement. Establish a steady rhythm of your breath. Inhale QUIETUS. Exhale Quiet.
    The quieter you become, the more you can hear the quiet whisper of your heart. Listen. Magnify your heart’s voice so it functions as a magical megaphone. Inhale SONORUS into your heart. Exhale Magnify. Listen. That’s the magic.
    “Of course it is happening inside your head, Harry, but why on earth should that mean that it is not real?” – Albus Dumbledore