Pride Flag Gets Redesign to Include Intersex Folks

The original rainbow flag, created in 1978, was a symbol of hope and inclusion for queer people, but Gilbert Baker, a driving force behind the flag, also advocated for its evolution over the years as the LGBTQ+ community grew and identities emerged. A few years ago, Philadelphia introduced a Pride flag under the direction of Amber Hikes that included a black and a brown stripe added to it to be sure that Black and brown folks knew they were included in the flag's message. The following year, the stripes of the transgender flag were incorporated into the modern Pride flag by designer Daniel Quasar. Now designer Valentino Vecchietti has reimagined the flag to specifically include and acknowledge intersex folks.

Working with Intersex Equality Rights UK, Vecchietti developed the Pride Progress flag design to incorporate the intersex flag that was introduced in 2013 by Morgan Carpenter of Intersex Human Rights Australia. The intersex flag is yellow with a purple circle in the center.

The group shared images of the flag on its social media platforms along with a brief history of the Pride flag's evolution from Baker's flag to the present:

"Since we posted this flag on our Instagram page intersex.equality.rights.uk and on Twitter WeAreIERUK - intersex people and allies from all over the globe have said it is bringing them joy to see intersex inclusion in the Pride Progress flag.

We are sharing the graphic freely with everyone. Please message us on instagram to request a jgep or a high resolution image file which you can get made into a flag.

"Please know that our intention for this flag is create intersex inclusion because we need to see it. Whilst we have done our best to gather Information about other iterations of the rainbow flag, so that we can credit people with their work. We understand that we may have made unintentional omissions simply because we don't know. We ask for your patience, and please know that we are always grateful if someone wishes to share their knowledge to fill in any gaps. Thank you for your understanding."

The first rainbow flags by Baker debuted at the San Francisco Gay Freedom Day Parade in 1978, where San Francisco City Supervisor and LGBTQ+ rights activist Harvey Milk passed under them as they flew high above the parade route.