A Bookish Guide to Pride Flags
The rainbow Pride flag is a pretty recognizeable symbol, but did you know that there are many other flags to represent subcommunities that fall under the larger LGBTQ+ umbrella? Here are a few that may not be as familiar, along with books featuring characters and stories from the community each flag represents!
Bisexual Pride Flag
To help increase the visibility of people who identify as bisexual, Michael Page created this flag in 1998.
Asexual and Aromantic Pride Flags
Asexuality and aromanticism each represent a spectrum that may or may not overlap. People who are asexual may also be aromantic, or identify as homo-, hetero-, bi- or demi-romantic, or something else entirely!
Nonbinary Pride Flag
Gender is much more complex than just male or female. Some people fall somewhere in between, some people are both, and some people identify as nonbinary: neither male nor female.
Transgender Pride Flag
This flag celebrates the transgender community. It was designed by Monica Helms, a trans woman, in 1999.
Lesbian Pride Flag
As with many pride flags, there are several variations of the lesbian pride flag, but the version most commonly flown today includes seven stripes in shades of orange and pink/purple with a white stripe at the center.
Progress Pride Flag
This flag, designed in 2018 by Daniel Quasar, incorporates both the commonly used six stripe rainbow as well as a chevron of additional stripes on the left hand side of the flag. The stripes of the chevron represent LGBTQ+ communities of color, as well as transgender pink/white/blue stripes to better acknowledge these marginalized groups. The chevron forms an arrow indicating forward progress, but because it's at the left side of the flag, it also indicates that there's more progress yet to be made, especially in areas of intersectionality.