queer vexillology

cultivated by the iupui lgbtq+ center

Lesbian flag

The lesbian flag has a long history. Currently, the orange and pink lesbian flag is most commonly used to represent the community, though not exclusively. The orange and pink flag was designed in 2018 after years of trying to create a flag that everyone could agree on.

Dark Orange: transgressive womanhood
Light Orange: community
White: gender nonconformity
Light Pink: love
Dark Pink: freedom

The 2018 flag was designed to replace this flag, known as the lipstick lesbian pride flag. It was created in 2010 and is often seen without the lipstick mark. The flag had little symbolism besides the colors being "shades of lipstick" and the creator allegedly made biphobic, racist, and anti-butch remarks, prompting a movement to redesign it. The flag as inherently excludes butch and gender non-conforming lesbians, creating a divide in the community.

Rainbow/lgbtq Community Flag

Perhaps the most recognizable symbol for the LGBTQ community, the rainbow flag was created in 1978 by Gilbert Baker. Initially it had a total of 8 colors on it, as shown below. After the assassination of influential gay leader Harvey Milk, the demand for the rainbow flag increased. The hot pink stripe was dropped at this point because of a shortage of pink fabric. In 1979, the turquoise stripe was also dropped for there to be an even number of stripes, leaving us with the 6 stripe version we use today.

The meanings of the original 8 colors are:
Hot pink: Sex
Red: Life
Orange: Healing
Yellow: Sunlight
Green: Nature
Turquoise: Magic and art
Indigo: Serenity
Violet: Spirit

bisexual flag

Bisexuality is the attraction to two (or more) genders, and is actually an umbrella term for a few other identities. They all share the characteristic of being attracted to multiple genders. The bisexual flag was created in 1998 by Michael Page to give the bi community their own symbol beyond the rainbow flag.

Pink: attraction to your own gender
Purple: the overlap of attraction; attraction to more than one gender
Blue: attraction to a gender that’s not your own

However, Page has also stated the flag has a deeper meaning: "The key to understanding the symbolism of the Bisexual pride flag is to know that the purple pixels of color blend unnoticeably into both the pink and blue, just as in the 'real world,' where bi people blend unnoticeably into both the gay/lesbian and straight communities."

Pansexual Flag

Pansexuality is a sexuality under the bisexual umbrella, and means sexual attraction to all genders, regardless of gender. Pansexuals are often referred to as being "gender blind" because they have the potential to being attracted to anyone regardless their gender identity, a do not see it as a factor when finding a partner. Of course, a bisexual person could also have this mindset, but pansexuals make this very explicit and often feel like the label of bisexual does not fit them.
While the creator of the flag is unknown, the pansexual flag has been around on the internet since mid 2010.

Pink: attraction to women
Yellow: attraction to nonbinary people
Blue: attraction to men

Polysexual flag

Polysexual is a sexuality under the bisexual umbrella, and is defined by having attraction to multiple but not all genders. While bisexual individuals are also not limited to two genders, polysexual folks often feel like bisexual doesn't fit them, though they could identify as both if it suits them. Polysexuality is not the same as polyamory The polysexual flag was created in 2012 by Tumblr user Samlin.

Pink: attraction to women
Green: attraction to those that are not male or female
Blue: attraction to men

Omnisexual FLAG

Omnisexual is a sexuality under the bisexual umbrella. Omnisexual people are attracted to all genders, but unlike pansexuality (which is attraction to anyone regardless of gender), omnisexual individuals find that gender is a factor in attraction. While pansexual people could be attracted to anyone, omnisexual people could have some attraction to women, lots of attraction to genderfluid folks, a little bit of attraction to men, and so on.
While not much is known on the history of the flag, there is a general consensus on the meanings of the colors:

Pink: attraction to women and variations of femininity
Black: attraction to other genders
Blue: attraction to men and variations of masculinity

Asexual flag

Asexuality is the lack of sexual attraction to others. Asexuality is a spectrum of identities; some may feel no sexual attraction at all, others may have very little, and others only with specific people. The flag was created in 2010 in a flag designing competition run by the Asexual Visibility and Education Network and is used to represent the range asexual of identities.

Black: asexuality
Grey: grey-asexuality or demisexuality
White: non-asexual partners and allies of asexual people
Purple: community

Demisexual flag

Demisexuality is a sexuality on the asexual spectrum. Demisexual people only feel sexual attraction to people after an emotional bond is formed with a person. While little is known about the creation of the demisexual flag, it is based off of the asexual flag and has similar color meanings.

White: sexuality
Black: lack of sexual attraction/asexuality
Purple: community
Grey: grey-asexuality/demisexuality

Greysexual flag

Greysexual, or grey-asexuality, is a term to describe individuals who lie somewhere between having asexual attraction and not having any sexual attraction. While it may seem like a vague term, it is like this deliberately to represent the spectrum of asexuality and the varying states a person can feel. The flag was based off of the asexual flag, and has similar symbolism.

Purple: community
Grey: grey-sexuality
White: non-asexual partners and allies

Aromantic flag

Aromantic individuals do not feel romantic attraction, or do not feel romantic attraction in a way typically experienced or expressed. It is part of the asexual spectrum.
The flag has had 3 iterations, the first of which having green, yellow, orange, and black stripe. It is unknown when and by whom the flag was designed.
The next flag was created by a tumblr user named Cameron in February of 2014, featuring dark green, light green, yellow, grey and black stripes.

The final and current flag design (above) was also by Cameron, who updated it themself in November of 2014. The only change was the yellow stripe becoming white. While you can find any of these flags online, this most recent design is generally considered the "official" flag by the community.

Dark Green: aromanticism
Light Green: the aromantic spectrum
White: platonic and aesthetic attraction, as well as queer/quasi platonic relationships
Grey: grey-aromantics and demiromantics
Black: the sexuality spectrum

Transgender Flag

Transgender is an umbrella term for individuals whose gender identity does not match the one they were assigned at birth. The flag was designed in 1999 by trans woman Monica Helms, and was first used in Phoenix, Arizona’s pride festival in 2000. It is one of the most widely recognizable LGBTQ+ flags, besides the rainbow flag.

Blue: the traditional color for baby boys; signifies masculinity
Pink: the traditional color for baby girls; signifies femininity
White: represents intersex individuals, those that are transitioning, and nonbinary identities

Transmasculine and Transfeminine flags

Some other flags associated with the transgender flag are the transmasculine (left) and transfeminine (right) flags. Transmasculine refers to any person who is assigned female at birth but has a gender identity more associated with masculinity, including (but not limited to) trans men. Vice versa for transfeminine. On each flag, the pink represents femininity and the blue represents masculinity, the darkening of the shades representing an increasing intensity.

Nonbinary flag

Nonbinary is an umbrella term for any gender identity that is not exclusively male or female. It is sometimes used interchangeably with the term genderqueer, and while the definitions overlap, that are not the same thing. The flag was created in 2014 by Kyle Rowan.

Yellow: genders outside of the gender binary
White: many or all genders
Purple: pink and blue combined; a combination of male and female
Black: a lack of gender

Genderqueer flag

Genderqueer is a term referring to a gender identity that is outside of the gender binary. It is similar to nonbinary, but they are not the same; genderqueer is also used to describe any person transgressing the societal norms of gender, and may not necessarily identify as being nonbinary. They could be nonconforming in their expression of their gender and social expectations/roles of their gender. Some nonbinary individuals may also identify as genderqueer, and some genderqueer individuals may also identify as nonbinary, but not necessarily.
The flag was created in 2011 by Marilyn Roxie.

Lavender: the combination of masculinity and femininity
White: neutral genders
Green: genders defined outside of masculinity and femininity

Genderfluid flag

Genderfluid is a gender identity where one's gender varies in a fluid way between two or more genders. It falls under the nonbinary and transgender umbrellas. The flag was designed in 2012 by an artist named JJ Poole.

Pink: femininity
White: the infinite ways that genders can be combined
Purple: the combination of masculinity and femininity
Black: a lack of gender
Blue: masculinity

Agender flag

Agender is a gender identity associated with being "without gender". Agender people may feel genderless, have a neutral gender, having an undefinable gender, along with other interpretations. Agender falls under the nonbinary and transgender umbrellas. The agender flag was designed in 2014 by an artist who goes by Salem.

Black: absence of gender
Grey: those who have a partial lack of gender
White: also the absence of gender
Green: the inverse of purple, which is often used to represent a combination of male/masculinity and female/femininity

Bigender flag

Bigender is a gender identity in which a person has two genders that they either switch between or experience simultaneously. The two genders are not exclusive to male and female, though they are very common. Bigender falls under the nonbinary and transgender umbrellas. It is unknown when or by whom the bigender flag was created.

The flag is based on the transgender flag in both meaning and structure.
Dark and light pink: femininity
Purple: androgyny
White: agender, or a lack of gender
Dark and light blue: masculinity

Demigender flags

Demigender is a gender identity as well as an umbrella term for identities that have a partial connection to gender. Common variations on this are demigirl and demiboy. Demigender falls under the nonbinary and transgender umbrellas. It is unknown when or by whom the demigender flag was created.

Dark and light grey: partial-ness
Yellow: gender as a concept, or a nonbinary gender
White: agender/lack of gender

Demigirl and Demiboy

Demigirl (left) and demiboy (right) are the most widely used demigender identities. A demigirl is someone who is partially (but not fully) female, regardless of gender assigned at birth. A demiboy is someone who is partially (but not fully) male, regardless of gender assigned at birth. The grey and white stripes have the same meaning as on the demigender flag, and the pink represents female (for demigirl) and the blue represents male (for demiboy).

Genderflux flag

Genderflux is a gender identity in which the intensity of a gender fluctuates over time. It is distinctly different from genderfluid; genderfluid individuals experience a change between genders over time, but with genderflux, a person fluctuates from a state of feeling no gender (agender) to fulling fully gendered. For instance, a genderflux person could sometimes feel agender, sometimes fully like a man, and sometimes somewhere in between (demiboy). Genderflux is under the nonbinary and transgender umbrellas. It is unknown when or by whom the genderflux flag was created.

Dark pink: female
Light pink: demigirl
Grey: agender
Light blue: demiboy
Dark blue: male
Yellow: nonbinary

Pangender flag

Pangender is a gender identity in which a person experiences all genders, including those that are not named. Pangender is under the nonbinary and transgender umbrellas. The pangender flag was created in 2015 by the tumblr blog pangdenering. They were based on the agender pride flag, and the colors designed to be bright to represent the multiplicity of genders.

Yellow: genders not related to male or female
Light red: transition to genders related to male and female
Light violet-pink: the combination of male and female
White: all the genders combined together

Neutrois flag

Neutrois is a gender identity in which a person has a neutral or "null" gender. It is very similar to agender, and the terms overlap to some degree. Neutrois individuals often try to reduce their sex characteristics to look completely neutral. Neutrois is under the nonbinary and transgender umbrellas. It is unknown when or by whom the genderflux flag was created.

White: neutral or undefined gender
Green: the opposite of lavender, which often symbolises the combination of male and female, to denote a state of being neither
Black: an absence of gender

Trigender flag

Trigender is a gender identity in which a person experiences exactly three genders. Common genders include male, female, and nonbinary, but that is not always true. They may experience them all at once or move between the three. Trigender is under the nonbinary and transgender umbrellas. While the term "trigender" has been in use since at least 1999, the history of the flag is unknown.

Pink: feminine genders
Blue: masculine genders
Green: the range of nonbinary genders

intersex flag

Intersex individuals are people born with variation of sex characteristics (chromosomes, gonads, hormones, genitalia, etc) that do not fit in to the typical definitions of male or female bodies. They are often assigned a sex of female or male at birth, even if they fall somewhere in the middle. The intersex flag was designed in 2013 by Morgan Carpenter for Organization Intersex International Australia.

Yellow and purple are both gender neutral colors, and the circle represents "unbroken and unornamented, symbolising wholeness and completeness, and our potentialities."

polyamory flag

Polyamory is the practice of being in a relationship with more than one partner, with the informed consent of every person involved. It is not the same as polygamy or polysexuality.
While polyamory is not inherently queer, the flag is often seen in conjunction with other LGBTQ+ symbols, or at pride events. Many polyamorous relationships include queer individuals. The polyamorous pride flag was created by Jim Evans in 1995.

Blue: openness and honesty of all partners in relationships
Red: passion
Black: solidarity with those that are forced to hide their polyamorous relationships with the outside world
Pi (π) symbol: the first letter of polyamory, the gold color represents "value that we place on the emotional attachment to others, be the relationship friendly or romantic in nature, as opposed to merely primarily physical relationships"

Twink flag

Twink is a gay slang term that has been around since the 1970s. It describes a young queer male, usually in his early 20s, that is slim and without body or facial hair. It is one of the biggest gay subcultures, but not much is known about the flag's origin. There is not a definitive meaning behind the stripes, though the bright colors may relate to their bright, boyish vibe. The interlocking mars symbols are a common symbol to represent gay men.

bear flag

Bears, or the International Bear Brotherhood, is a subculture of queer men that are typically heavier set, hairy, and project an aura of rugged masculinity. Bear culture had been around since the 1980s, but the flag wasn't designed until 1995, when Craig Byrnes (a bear himself) created it as part of earning his undergraduate degree in psychology.

The flag represents bears of all backgrounds and races, but not through the colors being skin tones; rather, the stripes are fur colors from bears all over the world. The bear paw print in the corner is also a common symbol to represent bear culture.

leather flag

The leather subculture denotes to those who wear leather garments in a sexual setting. Though seeming like just a fetish, gay leather culture has been a huge part of LGBTQ+ history - the first gay leather bar in America opened in 1958. You'll often see people are pride events dressed in leather outfits, probably accompanied by this flag. Tony DeBlase designed it in 1989, and stated that the meanings of the colors and design are up to interpretation.

straight ally flag

The Straight Ally Flag is used to represent straight and cisgender individuals that are allies to the LGBTQ+ community. While the black and white stripes in the background are often used to represent hetrosexuality in a way that mocks and harms the LGBTQ+ community, in this flag they are used to show support. The rainbow is in an "A" shape to represent both "allies" and "activists." The origins of the flag are uncertain but the flag has been circulated since the 2000's.