Flagging up the meaning of Pride
In the second of our LGBT History Month articles, Oban Pride chairman Phill Dexter explains the meanings behind the colours on the Iconic Rainbow Flag.
During our inaugural Pride in 2019, we were delighted with how a lot of businesses within Oban rallied behind us and showed their support in different ways.
One way they showed their support was by decorating their windows and venues with Pride flags, Pride merchandise and displaying the rainbow colours in their window in many creative ways. It meant so much to us to see this.
The Rainbow Pride flag means so much to many LGBTQ+ people, but there are many other Pride flags representing different areas of the LGBTQ+ community.
The Rainbow flag was designed by Gilbert Baker and first used in 1978. The original design of the flag had eight stripes, but two of the stripes were removed due to availability of fabrics and colours at the time, resulting in the six stripe flag we recognise today.
Each of the colour strips has a different meaning. Looking at the eight stripe flag we had hot pink=sex, red=life, orange=healing, yellow=sunlight, green=nature, turquoise=magic/art, indigo=serenity, violet=spirit.
The hot pink and turquoise were removed due to the availability of the colours.
Among the many businesses that decorated for Oban Pride in 2019 was the Lorne Bar which had previously hosted our Pride Launch Party.
Speaking to Debbie at the Lorne about what supporting Oban Pride meant to her, she said: ‘It was a great honour to host the launch of Oban Pride. Oban is such a friendly town and the night was an amazing success. We can’t wait until we can have another.’