The Trans Flag: More Than Just a Banner
🏳️⚧️ 19 August is Trans Flag Day
Today we celebrate more than a symbol: we celebrate a whole history of struggle and visibility.
The trans flag has become one of the world’s most recognisable flags after the rainbow flag. But… did you know it could have looked completely different? 👀
Read on to find out more!
Contents
Monica Helms’s flag
The most widely used version of the trans flag, now familiar throughout the community, was created by Monica Helms.
She designed it in 1999. It was first used at Pride in Phoenix, Arizona.
Since then, activists around the world have gradually adopted Monica’s design as a symbol that brings the trans community together.
Other community flags
The community went on to create other flags based on the trans flag. The most widely used include the transmasculine and transfeminine flags, though the scope for creativity is certainly not limited to these.
Were there alternatives?
There were alternatives to the flag we now know so well, but they did not become as popular or widespread:
- A flag designed by Jonathan Andrew in 1999, alongside the five-stripe design.
- Jennifer Pellinen’s version of the trans flag, created in 2002.
- A design by Michelle Lindsay, first used in 2010.
What it means
The trans flag was one of the first LGBTIQ community symbols to fight for its place alongside the familiar rainbow flag.
Today, the trans flag itself is a target for the radical right, religious extremists, so-called TERFs and other transphobes.
That is why the presence of trans symbols, particularly the trans flag, in venues, at Pride, at public events and in other spaces is such an important sign of being welcoming to trans people. It is proof that we will not be erased.