25 LGBTQ+ Pride Flags and Their Meanings

Over the last 40-plus years, the rainbow pride flag has become a symbol synonymous with the LGBTQ+ community and its fight for equal rights and acceptance across the globe. It's also a celebration of the beauty and diversity of the experience, flown at pride events all throughout the month of June.

Since Gilbert Baker first created the original rainbow pride flag back in 1978, designers and activists of all genders, identities, and sexual orientations have made different iterations to reflect unique communities. Some, like the two-spirit pride flag and the updated pride flag, incorporate Baker's original design while adding more colors and elements to acknowledge both Native Americans and the broader POC community, respectively.

There has been a meaningful uptick in new pride flags since 2010, with variants for intersex, non-binary, and agender people produced. Marilyn Roxie, the designer of the genderqueer pride flag, told Majestic Mess that the rise in social media platforms and other internet hubs for queer people has been hugely important in leading to the creation of new flags.

"Online communities have been tremendously influential, giving people a virtual space to do research on possibilities and especially to find others who feel similarly," they said. "Though I started reading about gender and sexuality right away in my college library the first semester I started there, the online component allowed me to browse through forums and articles and to chat with people who seemed to identify like I did when I was in the process of figuring it all out."

Obviously, this list is not exhaustive, and there are regularly more pride flags being created to reflect different groups, but hopefully this information can prove useful as you learn about and champion the LGBTQ+ people in your life.