Recently a few flags were raised at The Center – no, not red flags. Bisexual and transgender flags were raised to go alongside The Center’s rainbow and American flags that have been there for some time. Additionally, the bisexual and transgender flags had a presence at Pride last weekend, alongside the rainbow and American flags that have traditionally stood at the Spirit of Stonewall Rally, and in tandem with the rainbow flag at the Pride parade, which followed the American flag and all 30 years worth of Pride banners at the parade’s kickoff.

These flag-inclusion gestures stand as symbols of the welcoming of bisexuals and transgenders into the larger community of gays and lesbians. In this way, the flag symbols are similar to our now-common use of the term GLBT for gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgenders.

But we found that the raising of these flags also raises a question: Does the use of an increasing number of flags diminish the impact of our fabulous rainbow flag? Our rainbow flag is, after all, multicolored, not dual-toned – inclusion is the very essence of the symbol.

Designed by our community’s Gilbert Baker, a San Francisco artist and our community’s true Betsy Ross, the rainbow flag features eight stripes: pink, red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet. Baker, who is reportedly still in San Francisco making rainbow flags, has said that the colors stand for sexuality, life, healing, sun, nature, art, harmony and spirit.

The flag was created in 1978, and in 1979 San Francisco’s GLBT community was devastated by the assassination of Harvey Milk, the city’s beloved first openly gay supervisor. In need of a unifying symbol, the San Francisco community reportedly adopted the rainbow flag as a symbol of sorrow, strength and unity for the city’s 1979 Pride parade. Not surprisingly, the flag’s use has since spread and it’s become internationally recognizable.

Aren’t the shared values of sexuality, life, healing, sun, nature, art, harmony and spirit appropriate for all of us – gay men, lesbians, bisexuals and transgender folks? And isn’t this history one we all find meaning in and identify with?

The transgender flag and the bisexual flags each have their own creators and their own history as well. The transgender flag is apparently designed to represent the fluidity of gender and sexuality, with an equally fluid design on the flag that hangs correctly no matter what the angle. Created by Michael Page in 1998, the bisexual flag features pink, lavender and royal blue colors that come from mixing the primary colors of red, which symbolizes heterosexuality, and blue, symbolizing homosexuality.

These are lovely symbols of these communities – but our concern is that we get carried away with so many symbols that we unnecessarily dilute the power of the symbol that already stands so eloquently for our GLBT community and for each of its smaller parts, right down to each and every individual.

So, speaking of individuals, let’s hear from you. What do you think about our community’s various flags? Do you feel it’s meaningful to raise bisexual and transgender community flags alongside our rainbow flag? Is it OK for our community to resemble the United Nations and honor our separateness while at the same time standing unified? Or, do you feel an increasing number of individual community flags will simply confuse the symbols, detracting from our original rainbow flag? And while we’re on the subject of language and symbols, what about the use of the term GLBT? Do you prefer these acronyms or would you rather just be called “gay” as an all-inclusive word to include gay men, lesbians, bisexuals and transgenders?

Let us know by writing to editor@uptownpub.com.

Flags and names may seem like little things – but as members of the bisexual and transgender community have shown, little things can have huge meanings. So when it comes to agreeing on our community’s collective symbols, let’s make sure we get it right.