What is "LGBTQIA"?
LGBTQ+ or LGBTQIA is the commonly used acronym to describe the Queer* or Rainbow Community. It stands for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer/Questioning, Intersex, Asexual. The LGBTQIA community includes anyone under the Queer Umbrella.
Who is under the "queer umbrella"?
"Queer Umbrella" The Safe Zone Project-
https://thesafezoneproject.com/resources/handouts-edugraphics/queer-umbrella-handout-1400/
Why so many Flags?!
A Guide to Pride Flags
Each letter in LGBTQIA has their own flag. Flags are a way for communities to represent themselves as a united front. Each flag is unique and serves an important purpose for the people who fly them.
'New' Lesbian Pride Flag
Emma Gwen- 2018
Based off the controversial "lipstick lesbian" flag, the New Lesbian Flag has become the "official' Lesbian Flag by the greater queer community. "The stripes, from top to bottom, represent 'gender non-conformity' (dark orange), 'independence' (orange), 'community' (light orange), 'unique relationships to womanhood' (white) , 'serenity and peace' (pink), 'love and sex' (dusty pink), and 'femininity' (dark rose)"
Lesbian
Transgender Flag
Monica Helms- 1999
Designed by transgender woman Monica Helm in 1999 and first shown in 2000. From the artist: "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 white stripe is for people that are nonbinary, feel that they don't have a gender." The pattern is such that no matter which way you fly it, it is always correct, signifying us finding correctness in our lives.
Trans*
Gay Pride Flag
Gilbert Baker- 1979
The first gay flag was designed by San Francisco artist Gilbert Baker in 1978. The original flag had 8 stripes: Hot pink (Sex), Red (Life), Orange (Healing), Yellow (Sunlight), Green (Nature), Turquoise (Magic/Art), Indigo (Serenity), Violet (Spirit). After the assassination of Harvey Milk (first openly gay politician/advocate), the hot pink stripe was dropped for greater accessibility.
The flag was again amended in 1979, dropping the turquoise stripe and creating the modern Gay Pride Flag.
Gay
Genderqueer Pride Flag
Unknown- 2011
The gender queer flag was designed with three colors; lavender for a combination of masculinity and femininity, white for a questioning of gender or a neutral gender, green for genders which are defined outside of masculinity or femininity
Genderqueer
Bisexual Pride Flag
Michael Page- 1998
The bisexual flag was designed by Michael Page, in his words: "The pink color represents sexual attraction to the same sex only (gay and lesbian). The blue represents sexual attraction to the opposite sex only (straight) and the resultant overlap color purple represents sexual attraction to both sexes (bi)."
Bi
Intersex Pride Flag
Morgan Carpenter- 2013
The intersex pride flag was designed in 2013 by Morgan Carpenter from Intersex Human Rights Australia. The flag is described as "unbroken and unornamented, symbolising wholeness and completeness, and our potentialities. We are still fighting for bodily autonomy and genital integrity, and this symbolises the right to be who and how we want to be"
Intersex
Asexual Pride Flag
AVEN- 2010
Voted upon by the Asexual community and designed by Asexual Visibility and Education Network (AVEN). "The black stripe represents asexuality, the grey stripe representing the grey-area between sexual and asexual, the white stripe sexuality, and the purple stripe community."
Asexual/Ace
Pansexual Pride Flag
Jasper V- 2010
The Pansexual flag was created to differentiate 'Pansexual' from 'Bisexual'; The pink band symbolizes women; the blue, men; and the yellow, those of a non-binary gender, such as agender, bigender or genderfluid.
Pan
Nonbinary Pride Flag
Kye Rowan- 2014
Nonbinary activist Kye Rowan designed the Nonbinary Flag in 2014; Each stripe color represents different types of non-binary identities: Yellow for people who identify outside of the gender binary, white for nonbinary people with multiple genders, purple for those with a mixture of both male and female genders, and black for agender individuals.
Non-Binary
Genderfluid Pride Flag
JJ Poole- 2013
The genderfluid flag was created by JJ Poole to represent those whose gender is fluid. Each stripe color represents different types of non-binary identities: Yellow for people who identify outside of the gender binary, white for nonbinary people with multiple genders, purple for those with a mixture of both male and female genders, and black for agender individuals.
Genderfluid
Agender Pride Flag
Salem- 2014
Created by Salem in 2014 to represent people who identify as not having a gender. The stripes are: black to represent a complete absence of gender, white to also represent this absence, grey to include people who have a partial absence of gender, and green as the inverse of purple. There are two variatiosn of this flag; demigirl and demiboy. The demigirl flag has a light pink stripe rather than green and the demiboy flag has a light blue stripe
Agender
LGBTQ+ Ally Pride Flag
Unknown
Created sometime in the late 200s, though the artist is currently unknown. This flag was created for cisgender heterosexual people who support equal civil rights, gender equality, LGBTQA+ social movements, and challenges any discrimination against the LGBTQA+ community. The black and white bars represent heterosexual/cisgender, the A stands for 'Ally', and the rainbow represents the greater queer community
Ally
Check out these websites for more information on Pride flags!
Where can LGBTQ People worship in Stephenville?
