The lesbian pride flag is an orange to pink striped flag designed by Emily Gwen in 2018. Its seven stripes stand for gender non conformity, independence, community, unique relationships to womanhood, serenity and peace, love and sex, and femininity. A five stripe version, made by removing two stripes, is the one most people fly today.
| Designer | Emily Gwen (they/them) |
| Year | 2018 |
| Stripes | 7 in the original, 5 in the common version |
| Colors | Dark orange through white to dark rose |
| Replaced | The 2010 lipstick lesbian flag |
Who designed the lesbian pride flag?
Emily Gwen, a non binary lesbian artist, designed the orange to pink flag in 2018 and posted it to Tumblr. It spread without any official endorsement, which is the usual way a Pride flag actually gets adopted. Nobody voted. People simply started flying it.
Gwen has never profited from a design now printed on merchandise worldwide. In October 2023, PinkNews reported that Gwen was crowdfunding for somewhere to live.
I've been sleeping on a mattress on my friend's floor this week. He's been helping me with rental applications and driving me to inspections and to meet with people in share houses.
That is worth knowing before you fly it. The full story of Gwen's situation is a reminder that the people who make our symbols are rarely the people who get paid for them.
What do the colors of the lesbian pride flag mean?
Each of the 7 original stripes does separate work, running top to bottom:
- Dark orange is gender non conformity
- Orange is independence
- Light orange is community
- White is unique relationships to womanhood
- Pink is serenity and peace
- Dusty pink is love and sex
- Dark rose is femininity
Read together they describe a community that is not one kind of woman. Two of the seven stripes are explicitly about gender non conformity and about varied relationships to womanhood, which is the whole argument the flag was making.
What is the difference between the five stripe and seven stripe versions?
The five stripe flag is not a redesign by Gwen. According to the documented history of lesbian flags, a Tumblr user made it by removing the second and sixth stripes from the original, and that shortened version is now the most commonly used lesbian flag.
So both are correct. If you want the designer's full statement, fly the seven stripe version. If you want the one people will recognize instantly, fly the five. The 3x5 foot lesbian pride flag we carry is the five stripe version, because that is what almost everyone asks for.
Why did the lesbian community move away from the lipstick flag?
This is the question behind most searches, and the answer is specific rather than vague. The lipstick flag was created in 2010 by Natalie McCray and showed a red kiss mark on a pink gradient. It lost the community for 2 separate reasons.
The first was representation. The flag centered a femme presentation, and butch and gender non conforming lesbians did not see themselves in it. The second was its designer: McCray was accused of writing biphobic, racist and transphobic comments on a blog that no longer exists.
That second reason is why the lipstick flag did not simply get updated. A flag carries whoever made it. It is the same reason the community rallied so quickly behind an alternative in 2018.
How many people does this flag represent?
More than most people assume. Gallup's 2025 survey of over 13,000 US adults, published in February 2026, found that 9% of US adults identify as LGBTQ+, more than double the share a decade earlier. Within that group, 16% identify as lesbian, which works out to 1.4% of all US adults.
Our own numbers point the same direction. Over the trailing 12 months the lesbian pride flag was the third best selling identity flag we carry at 720 units, behind the transgender pride flag at 1,676 and the bisexual pride flag at 995. That is demand for a specific flag, not general rainbow demand, and it has held steady outside June.
How do people actually fly it?
Mostly at home. It goes on a bedroom wall, in a window, or on a bracket by the front door, and a 3x5 foot flag fits all three.
Not everyone can fly one where they live, and that is worth saying plainly rather than skipping. A pin, a ring or a small desk flag does the same work more quietly, and none of it is a lesser version of being out. Whatever you choose, all sales benefit LGBTQ+ charities.
If you are still working out which flag is yours, we keep a guide to every Pride flag and its meaning, or you can browse every Pride flag we carry.
Frequently asked questions
Who designed the lesbian pride flag?
Emily Gwen, a non binary lesbian artist, designed the orange to pink lesbian flag in 2018 and shared it on Tumblr. Gwen uses they/them pronouns.
What do the colors of the lesbian pride flag mean?
Dark orange is gender non conformity, orange is independence, light orange is community, white is unique relationships to womanhood, pink is serenity and peace, dusty pink is love and sex, and dark rose is femininity.
Why are there five stripe and seven stripe lesbian flags?
Gwen's original design had seven stripes. A Tumblr user later removed the second and sixth stripes to make a five stripe version, which is now the one most commonly flown.
What happened to the pink lipstick lesbian flag?
The 2010 lipstick flag fell out of use for two reasons. It was criticized for representing only femme lesbians, and its designer was accused of posting biphobic, racist and transphobic comments.
Is the labrys flag still used?
Rarely. The 1999 labrys design predates both the lipstick and orange to pink flags and is now mostly seen in historical contexts rather than at current Pride events.
What size lesbian pride flag should I buy?
A 3x5 foot flag is the standard size for flying outdoors or hanging on a wall indoors. Smaller hand flags suit parades and events.
How do I show lesbian pride if flying a flag is not safe where I live?
A pin, a ring or a small desk flag carries the same meaning more quietly. Visibility is not all or nothing, and a smaller signal still counts.
Last updated: July 31, 2026
