Transgender flag
Light blue, pink and white, in a pattern that reads the same whichever way up you fly it.
What the colours mean
- Light blue The colour traditionally associated with baby boys.
- Pink The colour traditionally associated with baby girls.
- White People who are intersex, transitioning, or who consider themselves to have a neutral or undefined gender.
Where it comes from
The transgender pride flag was designed in 1999 by Monica Helms, an American trans woman and US Navy veteran. It was first flown at a Pride parade in Phoenix, Arizona, in 2000. In 2014 Helms donated the original flag to the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History.
Why the stripes are symmetrical
Helms has explained that the pattern is deliberately the same from top to bottom, so that however it is flown it is always the right way up. The point is often read as a statement about trans lives: there is no wrong way to be.
How it is used
The flag appears at Pride marches, at protests and vigils, including the Transgender Day of Remembrance, in profile names and bios, and on the doors of places that want trans people to know they are welcome. Its colours are also part of the Progress Pride flag.
Other trans flags exist, designed by different people over the years, but this is the one most widely recognised.
A note from us
The T4TSpace palette is derived from this flag. The flag itself belongs to nobody: not to us, and not to anyone who might try to license it.
Questions people ask
What are the colours of the trans flag?
Light blue, pink and white, arranged in five stripes: light blue, pink, white, pink, light blue.
Who created the trans flag?
Monica Helms, an American trans woman and US Navy veteran, in 1999.
What does the white stripe on the trans flag mean?
Helms described it as representing people who are intersex, transitioning, or who see themselves as having a neutral or undefined gender.
Is there a right way up for the trans flag?
No. It is symmetrical on purpose, so it is correct whichever way it is flown.