The transgender flag: meaning and colors

The transgender flag has five horizontal stripes: light blue, pink, white, pink, and light blue. Light blue represents boys, pink represents girls, and white represents people who are intersex, are transitioning, or do not identify as either. American Monica Helms designed the flag in 1999.

What does the trans flag look like?

The trans flag consists of five equally wide horizontal stripes. The top and bottom stripes are light blue. Two pink stripes lie next to them. A white stripe runs through the middle. This makes the flag symmetrical: it looks the same when hung upside down. In English, it is called the trans flag or transgender flag; in Dutch, it is called the transgendervlag or trans vlag. The flag is the best-known symbol of people who identify as transgender. A short explanation of the flag in simple language can be found on gender123.nl.

Meaning of the colors of the transgender flag

The designer herself explained the meaning of the colors. Light blue is the traditional color for boys. Pink is the traditional color for girls. The white stripe in the middle is intended for people who are intersex, people who are transitioning, and people who feel that they have a neutral or undefined gender.

The colors blue and pink therefore refer to the familiar expectations surrounding boys and girls. You can read more about such expectations on the page about gender norms.

Who designed the transgender flag?

The transgender flag was designed by Monica Helms, an American trans woman. She created the design in 1999. The flag was first displayed in 2000, during a pride parade in Phoenix, in the US state of Arizona. In the years that followed, it was also used outside the United States. Other transgender flag designs exist, but Helms’s design is by far the best known.

Where is the original transgender flag?

The first flag is in a museum. On August 19, 2014, Monica Helms donated the original to the Smithsonian National Museum of American History in Washington. The flag is part of the museum’s collection.

Since when has the trans flag been an emoji?

The transgender flag has been an emoji since 2020. The Unicode Consortium, the organization that determines which characters phones and computers can display, included the flag in Emoji 13.0. That version was released on January 29, 2020. The emoji uses Helms’s design.

When is the transgender flag flown?

The flag is mainly flown on two days. March 31 is Transgender Day of Visibility, the international day for the visibility of transgender people. November 20 is Transgender Day of Remembrance, the day on which transgender people who died as a result of violence are commemorated. The flag is also seen at pride events.

In the Netherlands, The Hague was the first municipality to fly the flag. This happened on March 31, 2021, according to NOS, at the Hofvijver, the city hall, and a district office. It happened earlier in other countries. The British city of Brighton and Hove flew the flag in 2010 on Transgender Day of Remembrance. Philadelphia City Hall followed in 2015.

Related flags

After the transgender flag, more flags were designed for groups that are often mentioned together.

• The non-binary flag. Designed by Kye Rowan in 2014. The flag has four stripes: yellow, white, purple, and black. See the page about non-binary people.
• The intersex flag. Designed by Morgan Carpenter of the organization Intersex Human Rights Australia in July 2013. The flag is yellow with a purple circle. See the page about intersex people.
• The Progress flag. Designed by Daniel Quasar in 2018. Among other things, this flag adds the colors of the transgender flag to the rainbow flag. In 2021, Valentino Vecchietti created a version that also incorporates the intersex flag.

The debate over the flag at government buildings and schools

There is debate about governments and schools flying the flag. Supporters see it as a sign that transgender people belong. When the flag was raised in The Hague, Mayor Jan van Zanen said: "You matter, you belong, and you are allowed to be here." Opponents believe that a government or school should remain neutral and should not display a movement’s flag.

This difference of opinion is reflected in official decisions. In the municipality of Land van Cuijk, the political party FVD submitted a motion on July 6, 2023, proposing that only the Dutch, Brabant, and municipal flags should be flown. According to the motion, residents should be able to expect neutrality from the municipality. The council rejected the motion by 36 votes to 1.

The decision was different in the US state of Utah. Since May 7, 2025, a law there has prohibited pride flags at schools and government buildings. The legislature cites political neutrality as the reason. In the same state, the Davis school district had already announced in 2021 that pride flags could not be displayed in classrooms at its schools. You can read more about these debates on the pages about gender and politics and gender in schools.

A critical note

The flag is a symbol, not a neutral description. Two points stand out. First, the white stripe groups intersex people together with people who have a transgender identity. Intersex, however, is a rare physical variation and not a gender identity. This distinction is explained on the page Intersex: the third sex?.

Second, the flag uses blue for boys and pink for girls. These are precisely the traditional expectations that the gender movement opposes at other times. Those who see the flag flying therefore primarily see a position: that gender identity carries more weight than sex. People have different views on this position. You can read how many terms are used alongside transgender on the page How many genders are there?.