Lesbian flag

Oranges, white and pinks: the lesbian flag most people fly today, designed in 2018 to include every lesbian.

What the colours mean

Dark orange Gender non-conformity.
Orange Community.
White Each lesbian's own relationship to womanhood.
Pink Serenity and peace.
Dark rose Femininity.

Where it comes from

This lesbian flag was designed by Emily Gwen, who posted it on Tumblr in 2018. Her first version had seven stripes. A five-stripe version followed shortly after, and it is the one most often seen today.

The original seven-stripe version, 2018.

What the stripes mean

Gwen gave each of the seven stripes a meaning: gender non-conformity, independence, community, unique relationships to womanhood, serenity and peace, love and sex, and femininity. The five-stripe version drops the second and sixth stripes and keeps the rest.

She also wrote that these meanings were ideas, not rules. Some guides describe the colours differently, for example as the different kinds of femininity in the lesbian community.

A flag that includes trans and non-binary lesbians

Gwen described the white stripe as the many ways lesbians relate to womanhood, and named trans and non-binary lesbians, and butch and femme experiences, among them. Trans lesbians are part of what this flag was made for, not an afterthought.

The flags that came before

Earlier lesbian flags include the labrys flag, designed by Sean Campbell in 1999, and the lipstick lesbian flag, posted by Natalie McCray in 2010. The labrys flag is rarely flown now, partly because gender-critical groups have taken it up. The lipstick flag was criticised for leaving out butch lesbians, and its creator for biphobic, racist and transphobic comments.

Our article Why are there so many lesbian flags? tells that history in full.

Questions people ask

What are the colours of the lesbian flag?

In its five-stripe form: dark orange, orange, white, pink and dark rose.

Who designed the lesbian flag?

The orange and pink lesbian flag was designed by Emily Gwen and posted on Tumblr in 2018.

Is the lesbian flag trans-inclusive?

Yes. Its designer described the white stripe as including trans and non-binary lesbians and their relationships to womanhood.

What happened to the pink lesbian flag?

The pink lipstick flag, with or without its kiss mark, fell out of use after it was criticised for excluding butch lesbians and its creator was criticised for biphobic, racist and transphobic comments.

In the glossary

Sapphic Transbian Butch Femme

Other pride flags

Bisexual flagPink, purple and blue, with the purple where the other two overlap.Pansexual flagPink, yellow and blue: attraction regardless of gender, with a stripe for people outside the binary.Asexual flagBlack, grey, white and purple, chosen by the asexual community itself in 2010.Demisexual flagThe asexual flag's colours, rearranged around a black chevron.Aromantic flagFive stripes from green to black, with green chosen as the opposite of romance's reds and pinks.Gay men's flag (MLM flag)Greens, white, blues and purple: a flag for gay men, trans and non-binary men included by design.Aroace flagOrange, yellow, white and two blues, for people who are both aromantic and asexual.Sapphic flagPink and white with a violet in the centre, for women and non-binary people attracted to women.Omnisexual flagPinks, a deep purple and blues: attraction to all genders, with gender still part of the picture.Demiromantic flagThe demisexual flag's shape, with the aromantic flag's green.Abrosexual flagA fade from green through white to pink, for an orientation that changes over time.Achillean flagLight blue and off-white with a green carnation, for men and non-binary people attracted to men.