2006-07-07 13:31:34 · 11 answers · asked by jayjay 2 in Society & Culture ➔ Cultures & Groups ➔ Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender
It symbolizes the beauty of diversity!
2006-07-07 13:40:28 · answer #1 · answered by Helzabet 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
History
Use of the rainbow flag by the gay community began in 1978 when it first appeared in the San Francisco Gay and Lesbian Freedom Day Parade. Borrowing symbolism from the hippie movement and black civil rights groups, San Francisco artist Gilbert Baker designed the rainbow flag in response to a need for a symbol that could be used year after year. Baker and thirty volunteers hand-stitched and hand-dyed two huge prototype flags for the parade.
The flags had eight stripes, each color representing a component of the community:
1. Hot Pink for Sex 2. Red for Life 3. Orange for Healing 4. Yellow for Sun
5. Green for Nature 6. Turquoise for Art 7. Indigo for Harmony 8. Violet for Spirit.
The next year Baker approached San Francisco Paramount Flag Company to mass-produce rainbow flags for the 1979 parade. Due to production constraints the hot pink and turquoise were removed and blue replaced the indigo.
This six-color version spread from San Francisco to other cities, and soon became the widely-known symbol of gay pride and diversity it is today
The rainbow flag has inspired a wide variety of related symbols such as the freedom rings, the RainbowCoin, Rainbow Triangles and Color Bars.
The Victory Over AIDS Flag modifies the rainbow flag by adding a black stripe at the bottom. Suggested by a San Francisco group, the black stripe commemorates those we have lost to AIDS. Sergeant Leonard Matlovich, a much-decorated Vietnam Veteran dying of AIDS, proposed that when a cure was eventually found the black stripes should be removed from all the flags and ceremoniously burned in Washington, D.C.
The multicultural symbolism of the rainbow is nothing new -- Jesse Jackson's Rainbow Coalition also embraces the rainbow as a symbol of that political movement. The rainbow also plays a part in many myths and stories related to gender and sexuality issues in Greek, Native American, African, and other cultures.
2006-07-07 21:38:59 · answer #2 · answered by Agent Double EL 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Gilbert Baker designed and created the first rainbow flag in 1978 as his response to a call for a rallying, community symbol, ergo the adoption of the rainbow as our awareness and unity symbol. Also...just as we are, the rainbow is bee-u-tee-ful!
Baker was a San Francisco artist who designed the ORIGINAL flag with eight stripes: pink, red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet.
Baker stated those colors represented:
1) sexuality,
2) life,
3) healing,
4) sun,
5) nature,
6) art,
7) harmony and,
8) spirit
respectively.
If you look at the flags in use today, the colors differ somewhat. Additionally, today's flag has only six colors or stripes.
2006-07-07 20:40:36 · answer #3 · answered by Specious λ Neurotica 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Could it maybe be the "rainbow revolution" ? That the world is made up of many different people and that together we must come to live in peace and harmony....not clashing with one another but being the image of beauty...
2006-07-07 20:54:04 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
I think the rainbow stands for hope, therefore it stands for hope and pride in who you truly are in the BLGTQ community as well.
2006-07-07 20:42:41 · answer #5 · answered by MindStorm 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Because ...somewhere over the rainbow, dreams come true.
2006-07-14 16:30:34 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
why iz pink a girl color.. whay iz black a punk color?....how many licks does it take 2 get to the center of a tootsie roll pop?....the world may never know
2006-07-07 21:11:30 · answer #7 · answered by EvilBoItHaTbItEz 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
maybe cuz all the colors look fruty. the real question is who made that the symbol?
2006-07-07 20:36:04 · answer #8 · answered by mizawsomeness 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
because it gives the feeling of being happy(gay)?!?!
2006-07-07 20:48:10 · answer #9 · answered by scorpion prince89 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
freedom and acceptance of who we are.
2006-07-08 00:30:08 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋