A Celebration of Color and Diversity

Yesterday was grey, dreary, foggy, rainy, and generally bleh! I can't tolerate another day like that, so I'm looking for color today. But first, I want to share a video with all of you. This is a simple film that lasts less than seven minutes but expresses so beautifully why I am so adamant about LGBT rights. Although I'm embedding the video below, in case you can't get that to come through on your computer, I'm also including the link here so that you can see it one way or another. Keep your tissues handy, this one had me in tears.





The group, "Freedom to Marry", approached Richard Blanco, the poet who spoke at President Obama's inauguration, and requested him to create an original poem celebrating love the the freedom to marry. His poem is spoken in this short film and addressed, so beautifully, why I am so passionate about this issue. I urge each of you to click on the link and watch it. It will enrich your day.

Now back to color...

I hate dreary days, and since I started by talking about LGBT rights, I'm going to home in on the colors of Pride. The original Pride flag was designed in 1978 by Gilbert Baker for the San Francisco Gay Freedom Celebration.

The original flag featured eight stripes. The pink
was dropped, the blue was changed, and only a
single purple was used in the version we now see. 

Each stripe of the flag had meaning within the scope of humanity and equality. The stripes were Pink/Sexuality, Red/Life, Orange/Healing, Yellow/Sun, Green/Nature, Blue/Art, Purple/Harmony and Violet/Soul.

The current flag features six stripes.

Shortly after this premiere the pink stripe was dropped because of insufficient fabric availability and then, within a year, the flag was changed to six colors and the blue was darkened to royal blue. This is the flag we are used to seeing today.

There are other flags for PRIDE - ones that you may not see as often.

The bisexual flag celebrates the intersection of the sexes
with the smaller lavender stripe. 

This is the Bisexual Pride flag, designed in 1998 by Michael Page. It features three stripes, The magenta stripe at the top represents same sex attraction, the blue stripe at the bottom represents opposite sex attraction and the narrower lavender stripe in the center designates attraction to both genders.

The traditional baby colors of blue and pink frame the white of change
in the Genderqueer and Transgender flag. 

In 2000, Monica Helms designed the Genderqueer and Transgender flag. It features the traditional baby colors for genders - blue for males and pink for females, with a white stripe in the center designating those who are transitioning, unisex, gender neutral, or who have no gender. She designed it to be hung in any aspect.

Although this flag is less common, it acknowledges a segment
of humanity that are often ignored. 

This three-stripe flag is sometimes used for Genderqueer. Designed by Marilyn Roxie, it represents those who are genderqueer, Two Spirited, gender fluid, or androgynous. The lavender stripe is the mix of pink and blue representing androgyny. The white stripe stands for gender neutrality and the green stripe stands for those who do not identify with the traditional gender spectrum.

So celebrate color today, watch the short movie, and continue to be aware that people are complex creatures who don't fit into boxes, but instead they burst out from their societal prisons to express their own unique individuality. Celebrate diversity. Celebrate Love. Happy Friday to everyone!