Robert Hampton

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2nd August 2012

Countdown to Pride: Raising the Flag
Posted by at 11.16pm | Gay | No responses

One of the best sights this coming Saturday will be the waving of the rainbow flag everywhere. Since its original creation in (where else?) San Francisco in the 1970s, the six coloured stripes of the LGBT have become a universal symbol for the gay rights movement.

Wherever you go in the world, displaying the rainbow flag or similar symbol is a handy shortcut for shops and other businesses to say to passing trade: “don’t worry, you don’t have to pretend the man you’re with is your ‘friend'”.

While it has been somewhat co-opted by big business and politicians looking to score brownie points, it still remains a potent symbol of diversity and political activism. Wave the colours with pride. 🙂

An American news site has a lovely interview with Gilbert Baker, the original designer of the flag.

Rainbow flag fluttering in sunlight

(flag image from Wikimedia Commons, by Ludovic Bertron, New York City, USA – Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license)