Genesis 9: 12-15 - "This is the sign of the covenant that I make between me, you and every living creature that is with you, for all future generations. I have set my bow in the clouds, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth. When I bring clouds over the earth and the bow is seen in the clouds, I will remember my covenant that is between me , you and every living creature of all flesh, and the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all flesh."
For generations we have seen the rainbow as a symbol of Gods covenanted relationship with his creation. It is a sign of mercy, faithfulness and hope. Throughout history different groups have set this image of the rainbow in different contexts. Symbols often acquire new meanings over time without completely replacing older ones.
In Norse mythology the Rainbow was called Bifrost and was seen as a bridge which connected earth to the realm of the ancient gods. In Greek mythology the rainbow was associated with Iris the divine messenger of the gods. Many cultures have looked for a rainbow as a sign of hope, or new beginnings, or peace after conflict. In Italy the PACE flag became prominent during anti-war demonstrations in the early 2000s. symbolizing unity and cooperation between different peoples. A person seeing a rainbow may think first of God’s promises, another may see it as hope after a storm, another of Pride and another of peace activism.
The rainbow flag was created in 1978 by Gilbert Baker, an artist and activist in San Francisco. Baker was encouraged by Harvey Milk, one of the first openly gay elected officials in the United States, to create a symbol that represented the gay community in a positive and unifying way. The rainbow became a symbol of the LGBTQ+ community primarily because it was deliberately designed to represent diversity, hope, and pride at a time when the community wanted a positive symbol of its own.
Prior to that gay rights activists often used the pink triangle, a symbol that had originally been used by the Nazis to identify and persecute gay men during World War II. While many activists reclaimed the pink triangle as a symbol of resistance, Baker wanted something with entirely positive associations. But why choose a rainbow? Baker wanted something that naturally symbolizes:
- Diversity and the many kinds of people within the LGBTQ+ community.
- Unity despite differences.
- Hope and optimism.
- Visibility—the bright colours make the flag instantly recognizable.
He once described an actual rainbow as "a natural flag from the sky." In his own design the first flag had eight stripes, each with its own meaning:
- Hot pink – sexuality
- Red – life
- Orange – healing
- Yellow – sunlight
- Green – nature
- Turquoise art
- Indigo – serenity
- Violet – spirit
Soon after the design was made public, he discovered that it needed some basic changes, as flag manufacturers told him that they couldn't reliably obtain “hot pink” fabric. So, in order that mass production was easier hot pink was removed, and then turquoise was dropped and indigo became royal blue so that a flag could be evenly split when hung along parade routes. The result was the now familiar six-colour rainbow flag.
Following the assassination of Harvey Milk that same year, the rainbow flag quickly became a powerful symbol during marches, protests, and Pride celebrations. Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, as LGBTQ+ rights movements expanded internationally, the flag spread around the world and became the most widely recognized symbol of LGBTQ+ pride.
Today, there are several versions of the Pride flag. For example, the Progress Pride Flag adds chevrons with black, brown, light blue, pink, and white stripes to highlight LGBTQ+ people of colour, transgender people, and those affected by HIV/AIDS. These newer designs are intended to emphasize inclusion while the classic six-colour rainbow remains a widely used symbol.
So it was that the rainbow was adopted not because it had an older historical connection to homosexuality, but because it was intentionally created in 1978 as a hopeful, inclusive emblem that celebrated the diversity of the LGBTQ+ community rather than its persecution; an inclusion that has gone on to mean everybody.