Almost 52 years ago, members of the queer community protested in New York, standing up for LGBTQIA+ rights, in what became known as the Stonewall Riots. It’s in honor of these historic protests that we celebrate Pride Month each year. Though Stonewall took place in 1969, it wasn’t until 10 years later that the original Rainbow Pride Flag was introduced as an international symbol of pride and support for LGBTQIA+.

But while the Rainbow Pride Flag is generally considered the most recognizable symbol of Pride, it certainly isn’t the only one. In fact, there are more than 20 LGBTQ+ Pride Flags that represent different identities within the broader queer community. Each flag has its own history.

How many different LGBTQ+ flags are there?

There are at least 21 official LGBTQ+ flags that represent varying identities within the queer community. Throughout the years, some flags have also undergone different variations as well.

“When I describe the diverse Pride flags, I like to explain that if you were to consider the rainbow as the ‘United States of Pride Flag,’ then just as each state in our union has a flag, so does each state of being,” explains Hannah Simpson, a transgender activist who runs the LGBTQIA+ enamel pin Etsy shop, Changed Me.

Simpson also co-authored the proposition to get Unicode to include the transgender flag in the recent emoji update.

“Each city within each state likely has a flag too, or perhaps more than one that has been proposed, reflecting the diversity of our community. But obviously, the more specific you get, the less known and less agreed-upon the flags become,” Simpson adds. “Like the state flags, many of these flags were designed by their various creators with certain intentionalities and symbolisms in mind, though the general framework of three to nine evenly distributed stripes has become a framework many follow. Some don’t. Just like states like Maryland and Arizona or Chicago have iconic flags that you see almost everywhere, some of the flag designs are more attractive and engaging than others.”

There are also other iterations of Pride Flags that vary from country to country, too.

“There are many pride flags that get overlayed with national and religious flags, it is common to see Mexican flags, Canadian flags, Rainbow crescents, and rainbow Stars of David (I even sell these in my shop), and these are always beautiful,” Simpson says.

Parade