Gilbert Baker · 19788 stripes · No symbol

Original 8-Stripe Pride Flag

Gilbert Baker's original 1978 pride flag, an eight-stripe rainbow created as a symbol for LGBTQ+ people—those of diverse sexual orientations and gender identities.

general-pridehistoricalhot pinkredorangeyellowgreenturquoisebluevioletUnited States1970s

Designer

Gilbert Baker

Year Created

1978

First Flown

1978

Stripe Count

8 stripes

Colors & Meanings

hot pinkredorange

These colors represent important ideas connected to this flag and community.

History

LGBTQ+ people—those whose sexual orientations or gender identities fall outside straight and cisgender norms—gained their first widely recognized symbol when Gilbert Baker designed this flag. Baker, a gay artist and activist, hand-dyed the original in 1978 and first flew it at the San Francisco Gay Freedom Day Parade on June 25 that year. Its eight stripes stand for hot pink (sexuality), red (life), orange (healing), yellow (sunlight), green (nature), turquoise (art), blue (harmony), and violet (spirit).