Recently on Sheri’s Dream Catcher’s Instagram Sip N Think Live Chat held on November 20th, 2020, our topic of discussion was Young, Gay and Disabled. For this online live chat we invited our personal friend and Special Guest Timmy Tatro-Bonin who is living a young, gay and disabled life. When following the Rainbow Flag, we understand that everyone has a different point of view and experiences things differently, however, as our guest we wanted to get his perspective of his own personal experiences.
WE TYPICALLY SIP & THINK WITH OUR SIP & THINK MUG FOR OUR LIVE DISCUSSIONS
Envision Dream Sip & Think Red Rainbow Cup: Since red is the color of blood, it has historically been associated with sacrifice, danger, and courage. It is most commonly associated with heat, activity, passion, sexuality, anger, love, and joy.
A Rainbow Symbolizes What?
A rainbow is sometimes associated as a symbol of faith and hope. In addition, it is also a symbol for an ongoing desire for peace. The rainbow is also sometimes used to symbolize moments and movements of social change. For example, the Rainbow Flag designed for the Gay Community in 1978 by the American Artist Gilbert Baker.
Learning something I never knew, I never knew
For each of our Live Chats, I like to learn something I never knew before. For instance, we learned a little bit about the Stonewall Riots of 1969. Also known as the Stonewall uprising. This rebellion took place on June 28, 1969 at the Stonewall Inn in the Greenwich Village in Manhattan, NY. As a result of these riots, a movement for social change started with the LGBTQ community. Since the Stonewall riots happened, the month of June has been recognized as Pride Month.
How did the Rainbow Flag Come into Existence?
We learned that an openly gay man and drag queen by the name of Gilbert Baker designed the first Rainbow Flag in 1978. Since Baker was an American Artist, he was urged by one of the first openly gay elected officials in the U.S. Harvey Milk to create a symbol of pride for the gay community. Baker chose the flag as a symbol because he saw them as the most powerful symbol of pride at that time. Baker looked at the rainbow as a natural flag gifted from the sky. He knew deep down that he could not use dark and painful experiences as an option for his creation. So he chose to use the rainbow for his inspiration.
Colors of the Rainbow Flag
Since the LGBTQ community is made up of people who come in all races, ages and genders, Baker felt the rainbow’s natural and beautiful nature would fit the community perfectly. Ultimately the different colors within the Rainbow Flag are meant to represent togetherness. Baker first adopted eight colors for the stripes in his Rainbow Flag design with each color having its own meaning.
- Hot Pink for Sex
- Red for Life
- Orange for Healing
- Yellow for Sunlight
- Green for Nature
- Turquoise for Art
- Indigo for Harmony
- Violet for Spirit
A Few Adjustments were made along the way
Baker’s first creation of the Rainbow Flag was flown for the first time on June 25th, 1978 for the San Francisco Gay Freedom Parade. As the number for rainbow flags increased, production became an issue. As a result of productions, the colors pink and turquoise were removed from the flag. They also had to replace the color indigo with blue. Because of these changes, the eight stripe Rainbow Flag turned into a six stripe Rainbow Flag. The Rainbow Flag we see today with six stripes is to reflect both immense diversity and unity, especially among the LGBTQ community. Interesting enough the Rainbow Flag was not truly established as a symbol for the LGBTQ community until 1994.
- 1969 The Stonewall Riots
- 1978 The First Rainbow Flag was Flown
- 1994 The Rainbow Flag became an established symbol for the LGBTQ community
Example of See Your Vision: Be Your Vision
Baker said in an interview later on, “our job as gay people was to come out, to be visible, to live in truth, as I say, to get out of the lie.” To Baker, a flag really fit that mission, because that’s a way of proclaiming your visibility or saying “This is who I am”
WATCH OUR FULL SIP N THINK CHAT DISCUSSION BELOW ON FOLLOWING THE RAINBOW
Thank you Timmy for being such a great sport and sharing with us your own personal experiences. Hope everyone who joined us enjoyed themselves. It’s always nice to learn something you never knew you never knew!!
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