The original gay-pride flag was hand-dyed by San Francisco artist Gilbert Baker. It first flew in the San Francisco Gay Freedom Day Parade on June 25, 1978. The flag consisted of eight stripes with the following meaning:

hot pink - sexuality red - life orange - healing yellow - sunlight green - nature turquoise - magic blue - serenity violet - spirit

Eight-Striped Flag (1978)

The hot pink stripe was soon removed due to the unavailability of hot-pink fabric and the use of stock rainbow fabric.

In 1979, the flag was modified again. When hung vertically from the lamp posts of San Francisco's Market Street, the center stripe was obscured by the post itself. Changing the flag design to one with an even number of stripes was the easiest way to rectify this, so the turquoise stripe was dropped, which resulted in a six stripe version of the flag that is used most frequently today - red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and violet.

Many variations of the rainbow flag have been used. Some of the more common ones include a Greek letter λ (lambda) in white in the middle of the flag and a pink or black triangle in the upper left corner. Other colors have been added, such as a black stripe symbolising those community members lost to AIDS. The rainbow colors have also often been used in gay alterations of national and regional flags, like this one:

A pink stripe representing homosexual orientation is at the top of the flag, and a blue stripe representing heterosexual orientation is at the bottom of the flag. The stripes overlap in the central one-fifth of the flag to form a purple stripe representing the combination of both orientations.

The transgender pride flag consists of five horizontal stripes, two light blue, two pink, with a white stripe in the center. The light blue is the traditional color for baby boys, pink is for girls, and the white in the middle is for those who are transitioning, those who feel they have a neutral gender or no gender, and those who are intersexed.

Other transgender symbols include the butterfly (symbolizing transformation or metamorphosis), and a pink/light blue yin and yang symbol is also used.

This flag symbolizes those who enjoy a sadomasochistic, bondage-and-discipline lifestyle in which uniforms, leather, western clothing, and other fetishes play a central part. The use of the Leather Pride flag is not exclusive to homosexuals.