Why the commercial gay culture is using the rainbow symbol, an universal symbol, and why six colors? (generaly and in traditions, rainbows are 4 or 7 colors) Somebody knows? tank you people! Om, peace, love, and beauty
Wait, what's a traditional seven color? With cobalt, or whatever it's called? red orange yellow green blue purple I dunno, I wonder where it originated, anyway. I like it.
Red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet... Remember Beakman's World, when he did the Roy G. Biv character?? He was cool. And Bill Nye the Science Guy... those were the days...
Such a good question. I had to look it up. From http://flagspot.net/flags/sex-rb_h.html History of the Gay Pride / Rainbow Flag Eight striped version by António Martins, 20 Apr 1999 The first Rainbow Flag was designed in 1978 by Gilbert Baker, a San Francisco artist, who created the flag in response to a local activist’s call for the need of a community symbol. (This was before the pink triangle was popularly used as a symbol of pride.) Using the five-striped “Flag of the Race” as his inspiration, Baker designed a flag with eight stripes. Baker dyed and sewed the material for the first flag himself — in the true spirit of Betsy Ross. Christopher Pinette, 12 Jun 1996 The design may have been influenced by flags with multicolored stripes used by various left-wing causes and organizations in the San Francisco area in the 1960s. The Rainbow Flag originally had eight stripes (from top to bottom: hot pink for sex, red for life, orange for healing, yellow for sun, green for serenity with nature, turquoise for art, indigo for harmony, and violet for spirit). Handmade versions of this flag were flown in the 1978 Gay Freedom Day Parade. Steve Kramer, 24 April 1998 Seven striped version by António Martins, 20 Apr 1999 After the November 1978 assassination of San Francisco Mayor George Moscone and openly gay Supervisor Harvey Milk and the subsequent lenient sentence given to their killer, former Supervisor Dan White, the Rainbow Flag began to be used in San Francisco as a general symbol of the gay community. San Francisco-based Paramount Flag Co. began selling seven-striped (top to bottom: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet) flags from its Polk Street retail store, which was located in a large gay neighborhood. These flags were surplus stock which had originally been made for the the International Order of Rainbow for Girls, a Masonic organization for young women. When Baker approached Paramount to make flags for the 1979 Gay Freedom Day Parade, Paramount informed Baker that fabric for hot pink was not available for mass production, and Baker dropped the hot pink stripe. Steve Kramer, 24 April 1998 Current version by António Martins, 20 Apr 1999 Baker also asked Paramount to make vertical banners that would be split and displayed from the angular double bars of the old-style lamp posts on Market Street. Baker and Paramount’s vice president Ken Hughes agreed to drop the hot pink and turquoise stripes and replace the indigo stripe with royal blue — resulting in three stripes on one side of the lamp post and three on the other. Steve Kramer, 24 April 1998 Soon the six colors were incorporated into a six-striped version that became popularized and that, today, is recognized by the International Congress of Flag Makers. Christopher Pinette, 12 Jun 1996
well i always thought the GLBTQ flag was all colours of the rainbow coz we accept all people and we come together as one happy family
Glad to hear that people are still interested. I'm not much for gay culture - don't need it to be gay, after all - but I'm always happy to know a bit more about what drives it.
also interesting to note... in the 16-1700s when Isaac Newton discovered that white light was actually a mixture of the 6 colours of the rainbow (red, orange, yellow, green, blue and purple). during this time the number 6 was an evil number in the christian faith (hence 666 being evil). so he created a 7th number so that people wouldnt go crazy at the news and kill the poor bastard. seeing as the rainbow is actually a continuum of colours and not 6 seperate colours, people couldnt actually refute him. so whether you include indigo and violet or you just say purple, either way you're correct. i know, doesnt have anything to do with the gay flag but hey i thought it was interesting.
this is a very interesting subject, the above links no longer work, so I am posting this one for people to read http://www.hipforums.com/modules.php?name=Links&file=viewlinkinfo&lid=31&gid=21
