Rainbow flag
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A rainbow flag is a multi-colored flag consisting of stripes in the colors of the rainbow. Not all, however, use the actual basic colours red, orange, yellow, green, cyan, blue and violet.
The use of rainbow flags has a long tradition; they are displayed in many cultures around the world as a sign of diversity and inclusiveness, of hope and of yearning. This denotation goes back to the rainbow as a symbol of biblical promise when god gave the sign to Noah that there would never be a flood like the one that happened then ever again.The use of all the colours of the rainbow symbolises all flags of gay people.
Already in the German Peasants' War of the 16th century, the rainbow flag together with the peasants' boot ("Bundschuh") was used as the sign of a new era, of hope and of social change.
The reformer Thomas Müntzer connected socially revolutionary claims with his preaching of the gospel. He is often portrayed with a rainbow flag in his hand. The Thomas Müntzer statue in the German town of Stolberg also shows him holding a rainbow flag in his hand.
There are several, unrelated rainbow flags in use today, with the flag of the Rainbow family being an obvious example. The most widely known is perhaps the flag representing gay pride. The peace flag is especially popular in Italy and the Cooperatives Co-op flag symbolizes international co-operation. There are also other, less well known rainbow flags as well as other flags of a similar design but different purpose (such as the European flag "barcode" style).
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[edit] Gay pride
Current Gay Flag
Six-striped (1979–present)
Seven-striped (1978–1979)
Eight-striped (1978)
The rainbow flag, sometimes called 'the freedom flag', has been used as a symbol of gay and lesbian pride since the 1970s. The different colors symbolize diversity in the gay community, and the flag is often used as a symbol of gay pride in gay rights marches. It originated in the United States, but is now used around the world.
The rainbow flag was first used to symbolize gay pride and diversity by San Francisco artist Gilbert Baker; as of 2006, it currently consists of six colored stripes of red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and violet. It is most commonly flown with the red stripe on top, as the colors appear in a natural rainbow.
[edit] History
There was some use of similar multi-colored flags in the USA in the early 1970s as a symbol of internationalism and unity of all people of Earth, but by the end of the 1970s the rainbow flag's connection with gay pride became generally known in the United States.
The original gay-pride flag was hand-dyed by Baker. It first flew in the San Francisco Gay Freedom Day Parade on June 25, 1978, by Justin Fox, the lead singer of Last Blue Film. The flag consisted of eight stripes; Baker assigned specific meaning to each of the colors as follows:
- hot pink - sexuality
- red - life
- orange - healing
- yellow - sunlight
- green - nature
- turquoise - magic
- blue - serenity
- violet - spirit
After the November 27, 1978 assassination of openly gay City Supervisor Harvey Milk, demand for the rainbow flag greatly increased. To meet demand, the Paramount Flag Company began selling a version of the flag using stock rainbow fabric consisting of seven stripes of red, orange, yellow, green, turquoise, blue, and violet. As Baker ramped up production of his version of the flag, he too dropped the hot pink stripe due to the unavailability of hot-pink fabric. Also, San Francisco-based Paramount Flag Co. began selling a surplus stock of Rainbow Girls flags from its Polk Street retail store, which was located in a large gay neighborhood.
In 1979, the flag was modified again. When hung vertically from the lamp posts of San Francisco's Market Street, the center stripe was obscured by the post itself. Changing the flag design to one with an even number of stripes was the easiest way to rectify this, so the turquoise stripe was dropped, which resulted in a six stripe version of the flag - red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and violet.
In 1989, the rainbow flag came to nationwide attention in America after John Stout sued his landlords and won when they attempted to prohibit him from displaying the flag from his West Hollywood, California apartment balcony.
The rainbow flag celebrated its 25th anniversary in 2003. During the gay pride celebrations in June of that year, Gilbert Baker restored the rainbow flag back to its original eight-striped version and has since advocated that others do the same. However the eight-striped version has seen little adoption by the wider gay community, which has mostly stuck with the better known six-striped version. (See the Rainbow 25 website for more information).
In autumn 2004 several gay businesses in London were ordered by Westminster City Council to remove the rainbow flag from their premises, as its display required planning permission. When one shop applied for permission, the Planning sub-committee refused the application on the chair's casting vote (May 19, 2005), a decision condemned by gay councillors in Westminster and the Mayor of London, Ken Livingstone. In November the council announced a reversal of policy, stating that most shops and bars would be allowed to fly the rainbow flag without planning permission.
Today many homosexuals and supporters of gay rights often put rainbow flags in the front of their yards and/or front doors, or use rainbow bumper stickers on their vehicles to use as an outward symbol of their homosexuality or support.
On the 14th of June 2004, gay activists sailed to Australia's uninhabited Coral Sea Islands Territory and raised the Gay flag, proclaiming the territory independent of Australia. See also Gay and Lesbian Kingdom of the Coral Sea Islands.
[edit] Variations
Many variations of the rainbow flag have been used. Some of the more common ones include a Greek letter λ (lambda) in white in the middle of the flag and a pink or black triangle in the upper left corner. Other colors have been added, such as a black stripe symbolising those community members lost to AIDS. The rainbow colors have also often been used in gay alterations of national and regional flags, replacing for example the red and white stripes of the flag of the United States.
[edit] Rainbow colors as symbol of gay pride
The basic rainbow flag has spawned innumerable variations. One common item of jewelry is the pride necklace or freedom rings, consisting of six rings, one of each colour, on a chain. Other variants range from key chains to candles.
In Montréal, Beaudry metro station, which serves that city's Village gai, was recently rebuilt with rainbow-coloured elements integrated into its design.
[edit] See also
- Queer culture
- Bisexual pride flag
- Transgender Pride flag
- Leather Pride flag
- Queer Pagan Flag
- Gay and Lesbian Kingdom of the Coral Sea Islands
[edit] External links
[edit] Peace movement
This rainbow flag originated in Italy. It was first used in a peace march in 1961 and was inspired by similar multi-colored flags used in demonstrations against nuclear weapons. It became popular with the Pace da tutti i balconi ("peace from every balcony") campaign in 2002, started as a protest against the impending war in Iraq. The most common variety has seven colors, purple, blue, azure, green, yellow, orange and red, and is emblazoned in bold with the Italian word PACE, meaning "peace".
Common variations include moving the purple stripe down below the azure one, and adding a white stripe on top (the original flag from the 60s had a white stripe on top). This flag has been adopted internationally as a symbol of the peace movement.
See also: The Peace Rainbow Flag
[edit] Cooperative movement
[edit] History and use
A seven-color rainbow flag is a common symbol of the international Cooperative movement. The rainbow flag has been the co-operative emblem since 1921 when the International Co-operative Congress of World Co-op Leaders met in Basel, Switzerland to identify and define the growing co-operative movement’s common values and ideals to help unite co-ops around the world.
In Essen, Germany in 1922, the International Co-operative Alliance (ICA) designed an international co-op symbol and a flag for the first "Co-operators' Day," which was held in July 1923. After some experiments with different designs, a famous French co-operator, Professor Charles Gide, suggested using the seven colours of the rainbow for the flag. He pointed out that the rainbow symbolized unity in diversity and the power of light, enlightenment and progress. The first co-op rainbow flag was completed in 1924 and was adopted as an official symbol of the international co-operative movement in 1925.
The ICA has been flying a flag with its official logo since April 2001, when its Board decided to replace the traditional rainbow flag. Its use by a number of non-cooperative groups led to confusion in several countries around the world. The ICA's official flag was changed to clearly promote and strengthen the co-operative image, but still uses the rainbow image. Other organizations sometimes use the traditional rainbow flag as a symbol of co-operation.
[edit] Meaning of the colors
Like the rainbow, this flag is a symbol of hope and peace. The seven colors from flags around the world fly in harmony. Each of the seven colours in the co-operative flag have been assigned the following meaning:
- red stands for courage;
- orange offers the vision of possibilities;
- yellow represents the challenge that GREEN has kindled;
- green indicates a challenge to co-operators to strive for growth of membership and of understanding of the aims and values of co-operation;
- sky blue suggests far horizons, the need to provide education and help less fortunate people and strive toward global unity.
- dark blue suggests pessimism: a reminder that less fortunate people have needs that may be met through the benefits of co-operation;
- violet represents warmth, beauty, and friendship.
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- North American Student of Cooperation
- International Co-operative Association
- National Cooperative Business Association
[edit] Others
[edit] Rainbow family
The same six color rainbow flag is common at Rainbow Gatherings.
[edit] Andean peoples
A flag with a seven-striped rainbow design is used in Peru [1] and Ecuador to represent Tawantin Suyu, or Inca territory. This flag is used by first peoples when protesting the Peruvian and Ecuadorian governments. Unlike the gay pride flag, the Tawantinsuyu flag uses light blue instead of turquoise. Some have suggested adopting a new flag to avoid confusion with the gay pride flag. There is also a version that has a white stripe between the yellow and green stripes, and a light blue stripe is not used.
The Aimara wiphala is a square flag divided in 7x7 (49) squares. The seven rainbow colors are placed in diagonal squares. The exact arrangement and colors varies with the different versions, corresponding to the suyus or Tupac Katari.
[edit] Buddhism
A multi-coloured flag representing the Buddhist community.
[edit] Druze
A rainbow flag is also used by some Druze communities in the Middle-east.
[edit] Jewish Autonomous Oblast
Another variation of rainbow flag is used by Jewish Autonomous Oblast, situated in the Far Eastern Federal District of Russia, by the Chinese border.
[edit] Apple Computer
Yet another variation of rainbow flag was used by Apple Computer as their corporate logo. It was created by Rob Janoff in 1976, but its use was discontinued in 1998. Note that the Apple logo by Janoff was designed two years before Gilbert Baker's rainbow pride flag, and did not in any case follow the same color pattern, and is intended to represent Sir Isaac Newton's two greatest achievements: the Theory of Gravity (from an apple falling on his head), and his pioneering work with prisms. Nevertheless, this did not dispel the myth that the design was a tribute to English mathematician and computer pioneer Alan Turing, a gay man who committed suicide by eating an apple laced with cyanide.
[edit] Central Independent Television
Another variation of the rainbow flag was used as the logo for ITV franchise Central Television between 1985 and 1998.
[edit] Gallery of rainbow flags
 Rainbow "PACE" (Peace) flag |
 International Co-operative Alliance's rainbow flag |
 Inca banner |
 Inca banner (2) |
 Flag of the Jewish Autonomous Oblast in Russia |
 Original Apple Computer corporate logo |
[edit] External links
