Beal explains that the 1976 bicentennial’s use of the American Flag was an important inspiration. He came upon the idea of a flag,” said Charley Beal, a longtime friend of Baker who currently oversees his estate. “ Artie Bresson, the filmmaker who created GAY USA, pushed Gilbert to come up with a symbol. The existing emblem, the pink triangle emblazoned on prison uniforms in Nazi Germany, was seen as too dark. Spurred on by his community, Baker began to search for a symbol that could be used in the gay rights movement. During this period, he created banners for gay-rights and anti-war protests, becoming a close friend of San Francisco supervisor Harvey Milk.
Here, he quickly threw himself into local culture and activist causes, working on the first-ever marijuana legalization initiative, California Proposition 19, and turning to sewing and graphics as a unique way to resist and protest. Army to escape the stifling limitations of his small, conservative town, and was sent, serendipitously, to San Francisco just at the height of the gay rights movement.
Born in Chanute, Kansas in 1951, he joined the U.S. But who was the man behind the flag?īaker was drawn to art and fashion from an early age. Today, the Museum of Modern Art considers his creation to be as recognizable and culturally significant as the ubiquitous recycling symbol. Baker, a thriving artist and activist until his death last year from cardiovascular disease, is credited with helping to “define the modern LGBT movement” by former California state senator Scott Weiner. Less than a half-a-century old, it was created with love and purpose by one man, Gilbert Baker, who through art and design helped to spearhead a movement of enduring pride and acceptance. We’ll add to it over time as we obtain new information or collect flags.From Provincetown to San Francisco, and throughout much of the world, the rainbow flag has come to symbolize the power and inclusiveness of queer culture.
This, then, is our attempt to collect what we do know about the flags that have made the biggest impacts in the community. Who had made these flags? How old were they? What community did they incubate in? Why were they made and what did they mean to their creator? Was the current community meaning now different (see the bi flag)? In our keenness to disseminate them, we were losing important parts of our history. As of June 2019, the Sadlesbeandisaster flag appears to have won out as the next main lesbian flag.Īs we collected Pride flags from various sources for our patches, we became keenly aware of all the context missing from the reposts. This unleashed a campaign for a new lesbian flag and a trend of new designs. In June of 2018, Lydia wrote a Medium article documenting the racism, biphobia, and general meanness on the Lipstick flag creator, along with a proposal for a new flag. Many butch lesbians felt excluded by the femininity of the Lipstick flag, leading to the creation of two butch flags in 20. The Lipstick flag is from 2010, but it didn't gain traction until 2015 when it was reposted to Tumblr with the lips removed. The Genderfluid primary source was removed two days after we secured an interview with the creator.Īlthough it's one of the oldest flags, the Labrys flag never really caught on. I worry very dearly for our future, and for the flags we might not be able to save from these fires of censorship. The chilling effect these laws are having on queer discourse has already begun. I am writing this after Tumblr announcement about curtailing “adult content.” Born out of a combination of not believing they can sell ads next to “porn,” a desperate attempt to not be sued under SESTA/FOSTA in the US, and prepare for Article 13 in the EU. Tumblr has played an incredibly important role in an ever more vibrant, connected, and proud queer community. Countless more lesser known flags have been posted there. Of the 26 flags in the current collection, 13 were posted to Tumblr. In 2010, Jasper, justjasper, posts the pan flag to Tumblr. Amid it’s tumult and broken code, a queer community begins to form there. As different online communities flourish, as new ways of thinking about identity form, flags pop up like mushrooms in the fertile soil. Some, like the Asexual flag, are collaborative community efforts that may not have been possible without the Internet. With the exception of the Philadelphia City Hall flag, every flag since has been unveiled online. In 2009, Natalie Phox’s Intersex flag is posted to Wikimedia commons. The next three weren’t until the bi flag (1998), lesbian Labrys (1999), and trans flag (1999). It started a tradition of striped queer Pride flags. Problems sourcing materials eventually condensed it back down to the classic 6-stripe rainbow in 1979. Baker made an 8-color variation on the rainbow flag, a prominent symbol of peace. In 1977, Harvey Milk challenged Gilbert Baker, an openly gay activist, to create a symbol for the gay community.