Bisexuality is a sexual orientation that means having sexual attraction to two or more genders. In this article, we will tell you a brief history of the bisexual flag and the meaning of its colors.
► Despite the widespread myth, it is not necessary for a bisexual person to be equally attracted to two or more genders.
Michael Page
The bisexual flag was created in 1998 by a bisexual activist Michael Page. The flag consists of three horizontal stripes, out of which the upper and lower stripes are relatively large, and the middle one is narrow. The top bar is bluish pink, expressing the same-gender attraction, the bottom bar is blue for opposite-gender attraction, and in the middle is the intersection of these two colors — purple, for attraction to all genders, including non-binary people and other gender identities.
Besides trying to unify the bisexual community, this flag was created in response to the negative prejudice, marginalization, and attempts to “eliminate” bisexual people in both the heterosexual and LGBTQ+ communities.
► A 2021 US survey found that more than a half of LGBTQ+ people identify as bisexual.
According to Page, he took the colors and their intersection from “triangles of bisexuality.” “Triangles of Bisexuality” was created by the artist Liz Nania in 1987, when a contingent of bisexuals joined the Second National March for Gay and Lesbian Rights, which she co-organized in Washington. The design of the triangles began with the pink triangle, the emblem of the Nazi concentration camp, which later, in the 1970s, became a popular symbol of the queer liberation movement and the fight against homophobia, expressing homosexuality. The addition of the
blue triangle contrasted with the pink and represented heterosexuality. The intersection of the two triangles created the color lavender, which represented the “queerness of bisexuality” and was indirectly associated with the Lavender Menace (a group of lesbian radical feminists) and other similar organizations associated with this color.
- Also read our article: Questioning Your Sexuality — What Should We Know and How Should We Act?
Page himself described the meanings of pink, purple, and blue like this:
“Pink represents sexual attraction only to the same sex (gay and lesbian). Blue represents sexual attraction only to the opposite sex (heterosexual), while their derivative, purple represents sexual attraction to both sexes (bi). Key to understanding the symbolism of the Bisexual Dignity Flag is knowing that the purple pixels seamlessly blend in with both pink and blue — just like in the “real world”, where bisexual people seamlessly blend into the gay/lesbian and straight communities.”
Since its initial design, the violet intersection has taken on a new interpretation, and today it is viewed as an expression of attraction regardless of sex or gender.
Sources: BiFlag.com, University of Colorado, Time