Tumblr has played an incredibly important role in an ever more vibrant, connected, and proud queer community. Countless more lesser known flags have been posted there. Of the 26 flags in the current collection, 13 were posted to Tumblr. In 2010, Jasper, justjasper, posts the pan flag to Tumblr. Amid it’s tumult and broken code, a queer community begins to form there. As different online communities flourish, as new ways of thinking about identity form, flags pop up like mushrooms in the fertile soil.
Some, like the Asexual flag, are collaborative community efforts that may not have been possible without the Internet. With the exception of the Philadelphia City Hall flag, every flag since has been unveiled online. In 2009, Natalie Phox’s Intersex flag is posted to Wikimedia commons. The next three weren’t until the bi flag (1998), lesbian Labrys (1999), and trans flag (1999). It started a tradition of striped queer Pride flags. Problems sourcing materials eventually condensed it back down to the classic 6-stripe rainbow in 1979. Baker made an 8-color variation on the rainbow flag, a prominent symbol of peace. In 1977, Harvey Milk challenged Gilbert Baker, an openly gay activist, to create a symbol for the gay community.
