The lambda became associated with Gay Liberation, and in December 1974, it was officially declared the international symbol for gay and lesbian rights by the International Gay Rights Congress in Edinburgh, Scotland. The alliance's literature states that Doerr chose the symbol specifically for its denotative meaning in the context of chemistry and physics: "a complete exchange of energy–that moment or span of time witness to absolute activity".
![blue gay flag color blue gay flag color](https://i5.walmartimages.com/asr/75e646a3-e49b-47cd-b0ff-a0ef2fb57736.88636f767576f89b5acfc40b7d0227b4.jpeg)
In 1970, graphic designer Tom Doerr selected the lower-case Greek letter lambda (λ) to be the symbol of the New York chapter of the Gay Activists Alliance. The combined male-female symbol (⚦) is used to represent androgyne or transgender people and when additionally combined with the female (♀) and male (♂) symbols (⚧) it indicates gender inclusivity, though it is also used as a transgender symbol. These symbols first appeared in the 1970s. Two interlocking female symbols (⚢) represent a lesbian or the lesbian community, and two interlocking male symbols (⚣) a gay male or the gay male community. In modern science, the singular symbol for Venus is used to represent the female sex, and singular symbol for Mars is used to represent the male sex. The female and male gender symbols are derived from the astronomical symbols for the planets Venus and Mars respectively. Of course, this list isn’t exhaustive because flags are always being devised to reflect different sub-cultures, but hopefully this will useful for the next time you see one of these gorgeous symbols being flown at the next Pride event.Lesbian and gay interlocked gender sex symbols We’ve collected a list of the Pride flags that have become synonymous with various identities in our vibrant community. The existence of this flag doesn’t take away from anybody else’s identity. “That is literally the purpose of any flag we have – to stand as a symbol for an identity, whether it’s a country, a municipality, a company, it stands as a symbol to recognise and highlight the experiences of this entity. Instead it is a way to symbolise, to highlight, and to stand in solidarity with these other identities,” she told GAY TIMES. “This eight-stripe flag is not a replacement, in the same way that that those other flags didn’t replace the original. When we spoke to Amber Hikes, developer of the eight-stripe More Colour More Pride flag, she explained the importance of individual symbols for LGBTQ+ sub-cultures – and she did it beautifully. NEWSFLASH PEOPLE: one flag would be a snooze-fest!
![blue gay flag color blue gay flag color](https://cadehildreth.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Pride-Flags-Guide.jpg)
There has been pushback, however, from members of the community who argue that the original Pride flag encompasses and celebrates all identities. Since artist and gay rights activist Gilbert Baker created the original flag in 1978, various designers and advocates have made different (or updated) variations of the flag to better represent individual communities. Each year, the rainbow flag is flown at Pride events all around a world to reflect the beauty and diversity of the LGBTQ+ community.