Transgender flag

Last updated

Transgender flag
Transgender Pride flag.svg
Use Symbol of the transgender community
Proportion3:5
Adopted1999
DesignFive horizontal stripes equally sized colored with two light blue, two pink, and a white stripe in the center
Designed by Monica Helms

The transgender flag, also called the transgender pride flag, is used by people, organizations and communities to represent pride, diversity, rights and/or remembrance within the transgender community. Its usage is similar to the original rainbow flag but specific to the transgender community.

Contents

It was designed in 1999 by Monica Helms and has since been adopted by the transgender community around the world. [1] [2]

The design features five horizontal stripes of three colors in the order light blue, light pink, white, light pink, and light blue. There are related flags as well, including ones which combine the "progress" version of the rainbow flag with the transgender and intersex flags, [3] as well as various flags for niches within the transgender and non-binary communities. [4]

Beyond the common Transgender flag design, some artists have created alternative designs used by their local communities. [5]

History and design

The flag was created [5] by American trans woman Monica Helms in 1999, [6] [7] and was first shown at a pride parade in Phoenix, Arizona, in 2000. [8] Helms got the idea after talking with a friend, Michael Page, who designed the bisexual flag the year prior. [9]

Helms describes the meaning of the transgender pride flag as follows:

The stripes at the top and bottom are light blue, the traditional color for baby boys. The stripes next to them are pink, the traditional color for baby girls. The stripe in the middle is white, for those who are intersex, transitioning or consider themselves having a neutral or undefined gender. [10] [11] [12] [13]

On 19 August 2014, Monica Helms donated the original transgender pride flag to the Smithsonian National Museum of American History. [14]

In 2019, 20 years after the creation of the flag, Helms published a memoir, More than Just a Flag, in which she noted how surprised she was at the adoption of her flag:

The speed with which the flag’s usage spread never fails to surprise me, and every time I see it, or a photo of it, flying above a historic town hall or building I am filled with pride. [15]

Notable appearances featuring the Transgender flag

In 2010 the Brighton and Hove, UK, council flew this flag on the Transgender Day of Remembrance. [16] Transport for London also flew the flag from London Underground's 55 Broadway Headquarters for the 2016 Transgender Awareness Week.[ citation needed ]

The flag was flown in San Francisco's Castro District (where a rainbow flag usually flies) on 19 and 20 November 2012 in commemoration of the Transgender Day of Remembrance. [8] [17] [18] The flag-raising ceremony was presided over by local drag queen La Monistat. [18] [19]

Philadelphia became the first county government in the US to officially raise the transgender pride flag in 2015. It was raised at City Hall in honor of Philadelphia's 14th Annual Trans Health Conference, and remained next to the US and City of Philadelphia flags for the entirety of the conference. Then-Mayor Michael Nutter gave a speech in honor of the trans community's acceptance in Philadelphia. [20]

Transgender flag hanging out front of Congressmember Ruben Gallego's office at the United States Capitol in 2019 Transgender Flag at Ruben Gallego's office 2019.jpg
Transgender flag hanging out front of Congressmember Ruben Gallego's office at the United States Capitol in 2019

In January 2019, Virginia Representative Jennifer Wexton hung the transgender pride flag outside her office in Washington, D.C., in a move to show support for the transgender community. [21] [22] In March 2019, dozens of Democratic and independent members of Congress flew the flag outside their offices for Trans Visibility Week leading up to the International Transgender Day of Visibility. [23] [24] [25]

The flag flew above US state capitol buildings for the first time on Transgender Day of Remembrance 2019. The Iowa State Capitol [26] and California State Capitol [27] displayed the flag.

In 2023, the Progress Pride flag, which incorporates the colors of the Transgender flag was flown at the White House. [28]

In the 2024 Eurovision Song Contest, non-binary Irish musician Bambie Thug wore an outfit featuring the colors of the Transgender flag for their semi-final performance to raise awareness and representation for the non-binary and transgender community. [29]

Emoji

Helms's design was adopted as an emoji of the flag, which was added to the standard Emoji listing in 2020. [30] [31] [32] The transgender flag emoji (🏳️‍⚧️) consists of a sequence of five Unicode code points: U+1F3F3🏳WAVING WHITE FLAG, U+FE0F️ VARIATION SELECTOR-16 , U+200D ZERO WIDTH JOINER , U+26A7⚧ MALE WITH STROKE AND MALE AND FEMALE SIGN , U+FE0F️VARIATION SELECTOR-16. [33]

Variations

2018 Progress Pride Flag by Daniel Quasar LGBTQ+ rainbow flag Quasar "Progress" variant.svg
2018 Progress Pride Flag by Daniel Quasar

In addition to Helms's original transgender pride flag design, a number of communities have created their variation on the flag, adding symbols or elements to reflect aspects of transgender identity, such as the overlaying of other symbols such as the Transgender symbol (⚧) designed by Holly Boswell, Wendy Parker, and Nancy R. Nangeroni. [5] [34]

Transgender symbol ([?]) overlaid on the Transgender flag 2016.06.17 Baltimore Pride, Baltimore, MD USA 6698 (34573762763).jpg
Transgender symbol (⚧) overlaid on the Transgender flag

A notable variation is the Progress Pride Flag, designed in 2018 by Daniel Quasar, which incorporates the three colors of the Transgender flag designed by Helms, alongside two black and brown stripes to represent marginalized people of color and those living with AIDS into the Rainbow flag. [35]

Alternative designs

Besides the now most commonly used Helms design, which has become commonly known as the Transgender Flag, over the years some alternative transgender flags have been designed by artists. [5] [9] [36]

Andrew design

The Transgender Pride Flag designed in 1999 by Johnathan Andrew TransPrideFlagSF.png
The Transgender Pride Flag designed in 1999 by Johnathan Andrew

In 1999, San Francisco trans man Johnathan Andrew, under the moniker of "Captain John" on his female-to-male trans website "Adventures in Boyland", designed and published a flag for those within the transgender community. This trans pride flag consists of seven stripes alternating in light pink and light blue separated by thin white stripes and featuring, in the upper left hoist, a twinned Venus and Mars symbol in lavender. The repeated explanation of the color symbolism for Monica Helms's more well-known flag design is almost identical to that of the description of Andrew's design on other pages. [37] [ citation needed ]

Pellinen design

Jennifer Pellinen's Transgender Pride design Jennifer Pellinen Transgender Flag.svg
Jennifer Pellinen's Transgender Pride design

Jennifer Pellinen designed this flag in 2002. [38] [39]

Israeli transgender flag

Israeli transgender and genderqueer flag Israeli Transgender Flag.svg
Israeli transgender and genderqueer flag

A unique design is used in Israel by the transgender and genderqueer community. [40] This flag has a neon green background (to stand out in public places) and a centered Venus, Mars, and Mars with stroke symbol in black to represent transgender people.

Lindsay design

Michelle Lindsay's "Trans Flag" design Trans Flag Lindsay Design.png
Michelle Lindsay's "Trans Flag" design

In Ontario, a flag known as the "Trans Flag", created by Ottawa graphic designer Michelle Lindsay, is used. It consists of two stripes, the top in Sunset Magenta representing female, and the bottom in Ocean Blue representing male, with a tripled Venus, Mars, and Mars with stroke symbol representing transgender people, overlaying them.

This Trans Flag was first used by the Ottawa-area trans community for Ottawa's 2010 edition of the Trans Day of Remembrance. This event included a ceremony in which the Ottawa Police unveiled and raised this flag. [41] The ceremony was repeated during the 2011 Ottawa and Gatineau editions of the Trans Day of Remembrance, this time joined by the Ottawa Paramedics, Ottawa City Hall and Gatineau City Hall also raising the Trans Flag during their own ceremonies. The list of groups doing official unfurling/raising of the Trans Flag in the Ottawa-Gatineau area as part of their Trans Day of Remembrance has grown each year. [42] The Trans Flag has also been used as part of the Peterborough Pride Parade. [43]

Kaleidoscope

In 2014, a new transgender flag known as the "Trans Kaleidoscope" was created by members of the Toronto Trans Alliance (TTA). It was raised at the first Transgender Day of Remembrance ceremony at Toronto City Hall on 20 November 2014. Controversially, TTA members voted for this flag rather than the Helms and Lindsay flags, which some felt did not represent them. [44] The flag has not received significant usage since the event. The Trans Kaleidoscope is described on the TTA web site as representing "the range of gender identities across the spectrum", with the individual colours representing:

"The new white symbol with a black border is an extension of the Trans symbol with the male and female symbols, a combined symbol representing those with a gender identity combining male and female and a plain pole (with neither arrow nor bar) representing those with a gender identity that is neither male nor female, embodying awareness and inclusion of all." [45]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rainbow flag</span> Flag with the colors of the rainbow

A rainbow flag is a multicolored flag consisting of the colors of the rainbow. The designs differ, but many of the colors are based on the seven spectral colors of the visible light spectrum.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pink triangle</span> Nazi concentration camp badge, later international symbol of gay pride and the gay rights movements

A pink triangle has been a symbol for the LGBT community, initially intended as a badge of shame, but later reappropriated as a positive symbol of self-identity. In Nazi Germany in the 1930s and 1940s, it began as one of the Nazi concentration camp badges, distinguishing those imprisoned because they had been identified by authorities as gay men or trans women. In the 1970s, it was revived as a symbol of protest against homophobia, and has since been adopted by the larger LGBT community as a popular symbol of LGBT pride and the LGBT movements and queer liberation movements.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">LGBTQ community</span> Community and culture of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people

The LGBTQ community is a loosely defined grouping of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer or questioning individuals united by a common culture and social movements. These communities generally celebrate pride, diversity, individuality, and sexuality. LGBTQ activists and sociologists see LGBTQ community-building as a counterweight to heterosexism, homophobia, biphobia, transphobia, sexualism, and conformist pressures that exist in the larger society. The term pride or sometimes gay pride expresses the LGBTQ community's identity and collective strength; pride parades provide both a prime example of the use and a demonstration of the general meaning of the term. The LGBTQ community is diverse in political affiliation. Not all people who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender consider themselves part of the LGBTQ community.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Non-binary gender</span> Gender identities that are neither exclusively male nor female

Non-binary and genderqueer are umbrella terms for gender identities that are outside the male/female gender binary. Non-binary identities often fall under the transgender umbrella since non-binary people typically identify with a gender that is different from the sex assigned to them at birth, although some non-binary people do not consider themselves transgender.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bisexual flag</span> Pride flag

The bisexual flag, also called the bisexual pride flag, is a pride flag representing bisexuality, bisexual individuals and the bisexual community. According to Michael Page, the designer of the flag, the pink stripe represents attraction to the same sex, while the blue stripe represents attraction to the opposite sex. The purple stripe, the resulting "overlap" of the blue and pink stripes, represents attraction to both sexes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Leather pride flag</span> Symbol used by leather and fetish subcultures

The leather pride flag is a symbol of leather subculture as well as kink and fetish subcultures more broadly, including BDSM. The flag was designed by Tony DeBlase in 1989.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">LGBTQ culture</span> Common culture shared by lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer people

LGBTQ culture is a culture shared by lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer individuals. It is sometimes referred to as queer culture, LGBT culture, and LGBTQIA culture, while the term gay culture may be used to mean either "LGBT culture" or homosexual culture specifically.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pride flag</span> Symbol for part or all of the LGBTQ community

A pride flag is any flag that represents a segment or part of the LGBTQ community. Pride in this case refers to the notion of LGBTQ pride. The terms LGBTQ flag and queer flag are often used interchangeably.

Over the course of its history, the LGBTQ community has adopted certain symbols for self-identification to demonstrate unity, pride, shared values, and allegiance to one another. These symbols communicate ideas, concepts, and identity both within their communities and to mainstream culture. The two symbols most recognized internationally are the pink triangle and the rainbow flag.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rainbow flag (LGBTQ)</span> Common symbol of the LGBTQ community

The rainbow flag or pride flag is a symbol of LGBTQ pride and LGBTQ social movements. The colors reflect the diversity of the LGBTQ community and the spectrum of human sexuality and gender. Using a rainbow flag as a symbol of LGBTQ pride began in San Francisco, California, but eventually became common at LGBTQ rights events worldwide.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gilbert Baker (artist)</span> American artist and LGBT activist (1951–2017)

Gilbert Baker was an American artist, designer, activist, and vexillographer, best known as the creator of the rainbow flag.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Equality House</span> Rainbow-colored house supporting LGBTQ rights

The Equality House is a rainbow-colored house in Topeka, Kansas that is situated on the corner of 12th and Orleans Street, across from Westboro Baptist Church, an anti-LGBT hate group. The property was purchased by Aaron Jackson, the founder of the nonprofit organization Planting Peace, after he saw a "for sale" sign on a nearby house when looking at the community on Google Earth. He had the house painted in the colors of the rainbow flag to show support for LGBT rights.

Various lesbian flags have been used to symbolise the lesbian community. Since 1999, many designs have been proposed and used. Although personal preferences exist, as well as various controversies, no design has been widely accepted by the community as the lesbian flag.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gendered associations of pink and blue</span> Cultural attribution of colors to genders

The colors pink and blue are associated with girls and boys respectively in large parts of the Western world.

<i>Everyone Is Awesome</i> Lego set

Everyone is Awesome is a Lego set released in 2021. The Lego product is the first designed to represent the LGBTQIA+ community. It was designed by Matthew Ashton and is themed to represent a pride flag and transgender pride flag, and black and brown colors to represent LGBT people of color.

A straight flag or heterosexual flag is a pride flag intended to represent heterosexuality. Some straight flags represent straight pride, a conservative countermovement to gay pride. There is also the straight ally flag, which is intended to represent allyship by straight people with the LGBTQ community. Although there are many proposed straight flags, none of them has broad consensus for usage today.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gaysper</span> LGBT symbol

Gaysper is an LGBT symbol based on the ghost emoji of Android 5.0. It is a modification of the original icon that uses a background with the colors of the rainbow flag. It became popular in Spain from April 2019 following a tweet posted on the official account of the populist far-right party Vox, after which a multitude of users belonging to the LGBT movement began to use it as a symbol. The icon has established itself as an example of the phenomenon of reappropriation of elements of the anti-LGBT discourse in contemporary society through social networks.

Various pride flags have been used to symbolize gay men. Rainbow flags have been used since 1978 to represent both gay men and, subsequently, the LGBT community as a whole. Since the 2010s, various designs have been proposed to specifically represent the gay male community.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Non-binary flag</span> Pride flag used by the non-binary community

The non-binary flag is a pride flag that represents the non-binary community. It was designed by Kye Rowan in 2014.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Asexual flag</span> Pride flag

The asexual flag is a pride flag representing the asexual community created in 2010 by a member of the Asexual Visibility and Education Network (AVEN). The flag features four horizontal stripes of equal size. From top to bottom, the stripes are black, gray, white, and purple. The black stripe represents asexuality, the gray stripe represents gray-asexuality and demisexuality, the white stripe represents allosexuality, and the purple stripe represents the community as a whole. The flag is often flown at pride events and is used to represent the asexual community.

References

  1. ↑ "What is the Meaning of the Transgender Flag?". NIH . 1 June 2023. Archived from the original on 14 May 2024. Retrieved 13 May 2024.
  2. ↑ "Here's the Meaning Behind the Colors of the Transgender Pride Flag". Seventeen . 30 May 2023. Archived from the original on 14 May 2024. Retrieved 13 May 2024.
  3. ↑ "Intersex-Inclusive Progress Pride Flag at the Smithsonian | Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum". www.cooperhewitt.org. 20 June 2023. Archived from the original on 22 February 2024. Retrieved 22 February 2024.
  4. ↑ "Pride Flags". The Gender and Sexuality Resource Center. Archived from the original on 28 May 2018. Retrieved 22 February 2024.
  5. 1 2 3 4 "The History of the Transgender Flag". 23 April 2015. Archived from the original on 3 April 2024. Retrieved 5 May 2024.
  6. ↑ Brian van de Mark (10 May 2007). "Gay and Lesbian Times". Archived from the original on 6 September 2012. Retrieved 3 November 2016.
  7. ↑ Fairyington, Stephanie (12 November 2014). "The Smithsonian's Queer Collection". The Advocate . Archived from the original on 23 April 2021. Retrieved 5 June 2015.
  8. 1 2 Sankin, Aaron (20 November 2012). "Transgender Flag Flies In San Francisco's Castro District After Outrage From Activists". Huffpost. Archived from the original on 23 October 2022. Retrieved 1 May 2021.
  9. 1 2 "The Truth About The Trans Flag". 9 March 2023. Archived from the original on 30 April 2024. Retrieved 13 May 2024.
  10. ↑ "These Colors Don't Run". 28 January 2008. Archived from the original on 1 March 2012. Retrieved 22 May 2024.
  11. ↑ "What is gender affirmation?". 27 October 2023. Archived from the original on 9 February 2024. Retrieved 22 May 2024.
  12. ↑ "Transgender Flag Flies In San Francisco's Castro District After Outrage From Activists". Huffington Post. 20 November 2012. Archived from the original on 12 May 2024. Retrieved 22 May 2024.
  13. ↑ "Blue, pink and white: Here's what the colors of the Transgender Pride Flag mean". USA Today. 2 June 2023. Archived from the original on 16 May 2024. Retrieved 22 May 2024.
  14. ↑ Kutner, Max. "A Proud Day at American History Museum as LGBT Artifacts Enter the Collections". Smithsonian Institution. Archived from the original on 28 August 2014. Retrieved 28 August 2014.
  15. ↑ "The History Of The Transgender Pride Flag". 27 September 2023. Retrieved 3 June 2024.
  16. ↑ Copping, Jasper (10 October 2010). "Council flagpoles now celebrate diversity and druids". Telegraph. Archived from the original on 5 April 2018. Retrieved 1 May 2021.
  17. ↑ Wilkey, Robin (23 October 2012). "Controversy Erupts Over San Francisco's Famous Rainbow Flag". Huffington Post. Archived from the original on 27 October 2012. Retrieved 23 December 2012.
  18. 1 2 "USA – Transgender Pride flag raised for the first time in the Castro". Archived from the original on 3 November 2013. Retrieved 23 December 2012.
  19. ↑ Felion, Marc (26 May 2009). "FOF #991 – La Monistat Keeps it Fresh!". Feast of Fun. Archived from the original on 3 November 2013. Retrieved 1 May 2021.
  20. ↑ Kellaway, Mitch (17 November 2015). "Philadelphia Raises the Transgender Pride Flag for the First Time". Advocate. Archived from the original on 20 February 2019. Retrieved 1 May 2021.
  21. ↑ Martinez, Gina (5 January 2019). "Rep. Jennifer Wexton Hangs Transgender Pride Flag Outside Her Capitol Hill Office". Time. Archived from the original on 7 January 2019. Retrieved 7 January 2019.
  22. ↑ "Transgender pride flag hung in Congress by Rep. Jennifer Wexton". NBC News. 4 January 2019. Archived from the original on 7 January 2019. Retrieved 7 January 2019.
  23. ↑ Tim Fitzsimons, Sanders, Pelosi, Ocasio-Cortez hang transgender pride flags in Congress Archived 30 March 2019 at the Wayback Machine , 26 March 2019, NBCNews
  24. ↑ Tracy Gilchrist, Pelosi, Ocasio-Cortez, Sanders, & Dozens Hang Trans Flags for Support Archived 30 March 2019 at the Wayback Machine , 27 March 2019, The Advocate
  25. ↑ Lizzie Helmer, Dozens of Dem Reps Are Displaying Transgender Pride Flags Outside Their Offices This Week Archived 30 March 2019 at the Wayback Machine 28 March 2019, IJR
  26. ↑ Hytrek, Nikoel (20 November 2019). "Iowa First State To Fly Trans Flag Over Capitol For Transgender Day Of Rememberance [sic]". Iowa Starting Line. Archived from the original on 9 December 2019. Retrieved 9 December 2019.
  27. ↑ "Gov. Gavin Newsom Orders Transgender Pride Flag To Fly Over State Capitol For Day Of Remembrance". CBS Sacramento. 20 November 2019. Archived from the original on 9 December 2019. Retrieved 9 December 2019.
  28. ↑ "Biden hosts Pride Month celebration at White House, voices LGBTQ+ support". PBS . 11 June 2023. Archived from the original on 14 May 2024. Retrieved 13 May 2024.
  29. ↑ "Nonbinary pop star rocks an amazing trans flag outfit in semi-finals of Eurovision". LGBTQ Nation . 8 May 2024. Archived from the original on 14 May 2024. Retrieved 14 May 2024.
  30. ↑ "Emoji Version 13.0 List". Emojipedia . 29 January 2020. Archived from the original on 17 March 2020. Retrieved 15 March 2020.
  31. ↑ Rude, Mey (6 November 2020). "Apple finally has Trans flag". Out. Archived from the original on 11 May 2021. Retrieved 21 June 2021.
  32. ↑ Baume, Matt (6 November 2020). "The Trans Pride Flag Emoji is Finally Here". Them. Archived from the original on 24 June 2021. Retrieved 21 June 2021.
  33. ↑ "Full Emoji List, v14.0". Unicode Consortium. 2021. Archived from the original on 20 October 2021. Retrieved 20 October 2021.
  34. ↑ "Trans+ History Week 2024: This is the fascinating origin story of the famous transgender symbol". pinknews . 10 May 2024. Archived from the original on 17 May 2024. Retrieved 26 May 2024.
  35. ↑ "This graphic designer has revamped the Pride flag to make it more inclusive". PinkNews. Archived from the original on 11 November 2018. Retrieved 11 November 2018.
  36. ↑ "The Designer Of The Transgender Flag Is A Navy Veteran". FastCompany . 27 July 2017. Archived from the original on 11 November 2022. Retrieved 13 May 2024.
  37. ↑ "Wayback Machine: Adventures in Boyland". Archived from the original on 6 March 2001. Retrieved 19 June 2017.
  38. ↑ "Transgender Flag - Pellinen Design". Archived from the original on 30 October 2023. Retrieved 20 October 2023.
  39. ↑ "Supporting Bisexual Employees in the Workplace" (PDF). 2019. p. 9. Archived (PDF) from the original on 22 February 2024. Retrieved 22 February 2024.
  40. ↑ Osmanski, Stephanie (1 June 2021). "Get to Know the History Behind 21 LGBTQIA+ Pride Flags and What They Each Represent". Parade: Entertainment, Recipes, Health, Life, Holidays. Archived from the original on 24 June 2021. Retrieved 21 June 2021.
  41. ↑ "Ottawa Police observe the Transgender Day of Remembrance". Orleans Star. 21 November 2010. Archived from the original on 3 November 2013. Retrieved 3 September 2013.
  42. ↑ "Ottawa marks 20th Transgender Day of Remembrance". The Fulcrum. 21 November 2019. Archived from the original on 6 January 2024. Retrieved 6 January 2024.
  43. ↑ "Trans Flag web site". Archived from the original on 21 July 2013. Retrieved 3 September 2013.
  44. ↑ "Trans activists clash over flag raising at Toronto City Hall" by HG Watson". Xtra Magazine. 20 November 2014. Archived from the original on 23 March 2023. Retrieved 25 September 2016.
  45. ↑ "Which Flag Should be Raised at TDOR?". torontotransalliance.com. Archived from the original on 24 May 2019. Retrieved 25 September 2016.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.