Rainbow flag

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Image:RainbowFlagCastroSF2005.jpg A rainbow flag is a multi-colored flag consisting of stripes in the colors of the rainbow.

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, and the use of all the colours of the rainbow symbolises all flags in one.

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. The most widely known is perhaps the flag representing gay pride. The peace flag is especially popular in Italy. 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).

1 Gay pride
2 Peace movement
3 Others
4 External links

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Gay pride

Image:Gay flag.svg
Current Rainbow Flag
Six-striped (1979–present)

Image:Gay flag 7.svg
Seven-striped (1978–1979)

Image:Gay flag 8.svg
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 2003, 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.

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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. 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. Image:DavieVillage-1.png 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 often put rainbow flags in the front of their yards or use rainbow bumper stickers on their vehicles to use as an outward symbol of their homosexuality.

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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.

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Rainbow colors as symbol of gay pride

Image:Villagegai.jpgThe 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.

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External links

Pride - The Real Rainbow

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Peace movement

Image:PACE-flag.png Image:LordMayorOxford20040228CopyrightKaihsuTai.png 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. Image:Bandiere della pace a Milano 2003.jpg

Also See:The Peace Rainbow Flag

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Others

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Rainbow family

The same six color rainbow flag is common at Rainbow Gatherings.

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Cooperative movement

Image:Ica2.gif A six-color rainbow flag is also a common symbol of the Cooperative movement.

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Andean peoples

Image:Tawantin Suyu Wiphala.svg Image:Tawantin Suyu Wiphala (2).svg 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.

Image:Qullasuyu wiphala.svg 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.

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