Nonbinary flag
Four stripes, yellow, white, purple and black, designed by Kye Rowan in 2014.
The nonbinary flag has four horizontal stripes: yellow, white, purple and black, in that order from the top. It was designed by Kye Rowan, who posted it on Tumblr in February 2014. The non-binary flag page shows it with its colour codes.
Each stripe carries a meaning, in the designer's own words. Yellow is for being outside the binary, a colour often used to mark something as its own. White, the presence of all colours, is for people with many or all genders. Purple is for fluid and multiple genders, and for genders between or including female and male. Black, the absence of colour, is for people with no gender.
It was made to sit alongside the genderqueer flag rather than replace it: Rowan designed it after nonbinary people said the genderqueer flag, which is lavender, white and green, did not feel like it represented them specifically. Both are still in use and neither cancelled the other.
It is distinct from the transgender flag, five stripes in light blue, pink and white, designed by Monica Helms in 1999. Many nonbinary people fly both, and many fly only one.
Rowan released the flag under a Creative Commons licence: anyone may use it, as long as they do not claim to have designed it.
The nonbinary flag is not the transgender flag
They are regularly swapped, including in news coverage. The transgender flag is light blue, pink and white in five stripes and dates from 1999. The nonbinary flag is yellow, white, purple and black in four, and dates from 2014.
They also do different jobs. The trans flag covers everyone under the trans umbrella, nonbinary people included. The nonbinary flag names one part of it specifically, which is why so many people use both.
Saying it well
Say this
- The nonbinary flag: yellow, white, purple, black.
- Designed by Kye Rowan in 2014.
- She flies the nonbinary flag and the trans flag.
- The yellow stripe is for genders outside the binary.
Not this
- The nonbinary flag replaced the genderqueer flag
- Nobody knows who made it
- It is the same as the trans flag
- You need permission to use it
Questions people actually ask
What are the colours of the nonbinary flag?
Yellow, white, purple and black, in four horizontal stripes from top to bottom.
Who designed the nonbinary flag?
Kye Rowan, who posted it in February 2014.
What do the stripes mean?
Yellow for being outside the binary, white for having many or all genders, purple for fluid genders and genders between or including female and male, black for having no gender.
Is the nonbinary flag the same as the genderqueer flag?
No. The genderqueer flag is lavender, white and green and came first; the nonbinary flag was designed to sit alongside it, not replace it.
Can anyone use the nonbinary flag?
Yes. Its designer released it under a Creative Commons licence, which only asks that nobody claim to have designed it.