Sunset Lesbian Flag
Identity Pride Flag ·
The seven-band orange-to-pink lesbian flag, proposed by Emily Gwen on Tumblr on 3 June 2018 and given its settled meanings three days later. [1][2] Gwen's idea was to run the pink and the orange lesbian flags into each other, with the oranges on top "just to shake things up and to subvert the idea that femininity should come first". [1] It is the widely adopted parent of the five-band version now in commonest use, and Gwen has since placed it free of permission with the lesbian community. [3]
Key facts
- Designer
- Emily Gwen (sadlesbeandisaster)
- Created
- Earliest located publication
- In use
- 2018–present
- Aspect Ratio
- 3:5 · standard
- Ratio Notes
- An editorial standardised production ratio. No proportion has been published by the designer, and the surviving artwork does not settle one: the image in the 3 June post is 494 by 296 pixels (247:148, a width to height of 1.669), the 2019 Commons PNG is 400 by 242 (200:121, 1.653), and the 2020 Commons vector is 1,302 by 868 (3:2). [1][4][5]
- Stripes
- 7
- Origin
- Australia
- Represented Identity
- lesbian
Also known as
- Emily Gwen Lesbian Flag
- Orange-Pink Lesbian Flag
- 7-Stripe Sunset Lesbian Flag
- Community Lesbian Flag
Archive categories Lesbian Pride Flags
Overview
To make a more inclusive lesbian community flag than the pink and lipstick family alone, one design holding the butch, femme, and trans and nonbinary readings together. [1][2]
On 3 June 2018 Gwen posted the proposal: "Honestly my ideal lesbian pride flag would be the pink one and the orange one flowing into each other. Like the top half of the pink one and the bottom half of the orange half. Or the orange on top, just to shake things up and to subvert the idea that femininity should come first." [1] An image of the flag follows in the same post, and after it a first list of seven meanings "(in no particular order, idk)": butch lesbians, femme lesbians, trans/nb lesbians, love, community, independence, serenity. [1]
Three days later Gwen replaced that list, opening "can people please acknowledge THIS version of the meanings and not the other one because I keep getting messages about the other one..." and adding "a bit more detail, even though THESE ARE JUST IDEAS AND NOT SET IN STONE". [2] That post leads with two images, the flag with a meaning printed across each band and the plain flag, and it is the second list that has circulated since. [2]
The context was the late-2010s Tumblr lesbian flag redesign culture and dissatisfaction with the lipstick and pink flag family on two grounds: its creator Natalie McCray's documented transphobia, biphobia, ableism and racism, and the sense that an all-pink palette excluded butch and gender-nonconforming lesbians. [6]
Identity & Context
- Represented Identity
- lesbian
Creators
The Creator
Emily Gwen
Concept, band order and stated meanings
Emily Gwen is an Australian lesbian artist who proposed the seven-band orange-to-pink lesbian flag on Tumblr on 3 June 2018 and published its settled meanings on 6 June, both under the tag "emily speaks". [1][2][7] The first post sets out the design she wanted, carries an image of it, and lists seven meanings "(in no particular order, idk)"; the second replaces that list, adds a gloss to each meaning, and asks readers to use it instead. [1][2] Gwen offered the meanings as drafts rather than a specification: "THESE ARE JUST IDEAS AND NOT SET IN STONE... this is gonna be my last draft though because I'm buckling under the pressure." [2]
On a page of her own Gwen has since set the terms of the flag's use: "The lesbian flag I, Emily Gwen, designed (pictured above) is FREE for both personal and commercial use... It belongs, first and foremost, to the lesbian community. I will never require payment or permission for anybody to use it." [3]
The 6 June post ended with an appeal: "PS if you like my flag consider donating to my paypal bc I was kicked out of home for being gay and have shitloads of medications to pay for". [2] In October 2023 Gwen was reported to be homeless and crowdfunding for accommodation, writing that "I've been sleeping on a mattress on my friend's floor this week. He's been helping me with rental applications and driving me to inspections and to meet with people in share houses." PinkNews and the Star Observer both reported on the distance between the flag's commercial ubiquity and its designer's circumstances. [7][8]
Honestly my ideal lesbian pride flag would be the pink one and the orange one flowing into each other. Like the top half of the pink one and the bottom half of the orange half. Or the orange on top, just to shake things up and to subvert the idea that femininity should come first.
can people please acknowledge THIS version of the meanings and not the other one because I keep getting messages about the other one...
a bit more detail, even though THESE ARE JUST IDEAS AND NOT SET IN STONE... this is gonna be my last draft though because I'm buckling under the pressure
how we are connected to womanhood in our own unique ways... emcompasses trans/nb lesbian experiences, butch/femme experiences with womanhood, is slightly different from gnc because it's about how we DO relate to womanhood rather than how we do NOT
PS if you like my flag consider donating to my paypal bc I was kicked out of home for being gay and have shitloads of medications to pay for
The lesbian flag I, Emily Gwen, designed (pictured above) is FREE for both personal and commercial use. You do not need to seek permission for any use of the flag. It belongs, first and foremost, to the lesbian community. I will never require payment or permission for anybody to use it.
Motivations
- To combine the pink and orange lesbian flags so that butch, femme and trans or nonbinary lesbians were all represented in one design. [1]
- To place the oranges above the pinks "just to shake things up and to subvert the idea that femininity should come first". [1]
Stated inspirations
- The pink lesbian flag, named by Gwen as "the pink one"[1]
- The orange butch lesbian flag published on the Tumblr blog butchspace in 2017, named by Gwen as "the orange one"[1][9]
Unidentified first-image renderer
Drew the image published with the 3 June 2018 proposal; identity not documented
The 3 June 2018 post carries an image of the flag between the concept text and the first list of meanings, a 494 by 296 pixel PNG hosted on Tumblr. [1] No source names who drew it, and Gwen's own posts do not address it. The role is recorded separately from the design itself because the two are separate acts and only one of them is attributed.
L ke
Artist of the 2020 vector redraw held on Wikimedia Commons
L ke is credited on Wikimedia Commons as the author of the scalable vector version of this flag, given there as made in Inkscape and dated 4 June 2020. [5] The file is 1,302 by 868 pixels nominal and draws #d52d00, #ef7627, #ff9a56, #ffffff, #d162a4, #b55690 and #a30262. It is a later redraw rather than creator-era artwork, and its values differ from those of the image in Gwen's own post.
Attribution notes
Emily Gwen originated the concept, chose the band order and wrote the meanings. [1][2] Who drew the 494 by 296 pixel image that appears in the 3 June post is not documented, and Gwen's posts do not say. The 2020 vector held on Wikimedia Commons is a later redraw by the Commons contributor L ke and is not creator-era artwork. [5]
Origin
- Country
- Australia
- Place Type
- online
- Digital Origin
- Tumblr (sadlesbeandisaster)
Digital origin; no verified physical location.
Digital origin. Both posts were made on Gwen's Tumblr blog sadlesbeandisaster. [1][2] Gwen is Australian, and the charities listed on her own page about the flag's use are Australian, but no place of design has been documented and none is claimed here. [3][7]
Human Interest
The designer's circumstances and the flag's commercial use
Gwen's 6 June 2018 post closed with a request for donations, and the design carried an explicit waiver of commercial rights from the start. [2][3] From 2023 Gwen posted that she was facing housing insecurity while Target, Disney and other companies sold merchandise using the design, writing in October 2023: 'You know lesbian flag merch you can get from Target or Disney? I designed that flag! While I'm happy to have created it, I am poor and facing homelessness while corporations profit.' PinkNews and the Star Observer reported the story, and Gwen has stated she has not been compensated by those companies. [7][8][10][11]
Dates & Chronology
- Year Created
- Exact date
- Earliest located publication
- Period in Use
- 2018–present
The design spread quickly on Tumblr through a community search for a replacement for the pink and lipstick flag. Within seven weeks the Tumblr user taqwomen posted a five-band simplification, omitting the second and sixth bands, and that version became the more commonly reproduced form. [9] No body declared either version official. The Human Rights Campaign lists the design in its pride flag guide and Outright International in its flags resource; the Horniman Museum in London made a version from its collections for an LGBTQ+ pride series, noting that "Gwen's flag seems to be gaining some consensus"; PFLAG San Francisco and the UBC Equity and Inclusion Office reference it in institutional pride flag resources. [12][13][14]
Major revisions
Gwen posts the proposal with an image of the flag and a first, unordered list of seven meanings.
Gwen posts two images and a revised, ordered set of seven meanings with a gloss on each, asking that this list be used in place of the first.
The Tumblr user taqwomen posts a five-band simplification omitting the second and sixth bands. It becomes the more commonly reproduced form and has its own entry.
The lesbian-flag line this design belongs to runs as follows. Natalie McCray's 2010 Lipstick Lesbian Flag established the pink palette and added a kiss-mark emblem; McCray's later-documented record of racism, transphobia, biphobia and ableism pushed community use away from it. A near-anonymous Pink Lesbian Flag of about the same date kept the palette without the kiss mark and stayed in circulation longer for that reason. By the mid-2010s the pink-only family was read as femme-coded, and butch and gender-nonconforming lesbians often said it did not represent them. Two butch flags answered that: dorian--rutherford's 2016 design in cool blues and purples, and the 2017 flag published on the Tumblr blog butchspace in warm reds, oranges, browns and yellows. It is the butchspace oranges that carry into this design. [9][6]
The seven-band version remains the creator-attributed original, though the five-band simplification is what most people now meet. [9]
Lineage
- Direct predecessors
- Butch Lesbian Flag (Butchspace, 2017), Pink Lesbian Flag
- Indirect influences
- Orange-Pink Lesbian Precursor (2017)
- Direct children
- Lesbian Lesboy Ally Flag, Lesbian Mspec Lesbian Ally Flag, Five-Stripe Sunset Lesbian Flag
- Related flags
- Butch Lesbian Pride Flag (2016, dorian--rutherford), Labrys Lesbian Flag, Lipstick Lesbian Flag, Non-Girl Lesbian Flag, Sapphic Flag
- Sibling flags
- Orange-Pink Lesbian Precursor (2017)
Gwen named the two sources herself, as "the pink one and the orange one": the pink lesbian flag and the orange butch flag published on the Tumblr blog butchspace in 2017. [1][9] Wikipedia describes the result as combining "the three magenta-pink stripes from the top of the pink flag, with the three red-orange stripes from the lesbian butch flag". [9]
The relationship to the 2017 flag by shapeshifter-of-constellation is unresolved. Wikipedia calls it "an otherwise identical, inverted flag" and attributes the 2018 design to Gwen without settling the question. [9] Gwen's posts name no earlier flag, and her stated reason for putting orange on top is a deliberate inversion of the femininity-first order, where the 2017 design runs pink on top. [1] Measured, the seven values in the image Gwen posted on 3 June 2018 are the seven recorded for the 2017 design, in reverse order: #D62C00, #F07528, #FF9B57, #EDEDEB, #D162A6, #B75592 and #A50162. [1] Three of them are the butchspace oranges, which both designs take from the same place. How the posted file was made is not documented.
dorian--rutherford's 2016 butch flag and the labrys flag are earlier lesbian designs with no documented design relationship to this one, and are recorded as related rather than as ancestors.
Lineage tree
Every record reachable from this one through documented parent and child relationships: 7 records across 4 generations.
- Ancestors -2
- Lipstick Lesbian Flag
- This record
- Sunset Lesbian Flag
Colors & Symbolism
Seven meanings, set out by Gwen on 6 June 2018 with a gloss on each and offered as a draft rather than a specification: "THESE ARE JUST IDEAS AND NOT SET IN STONE." [2] The oranges sit above the pinks, which Gwen explained as subverting "the idea that femininity should come first". [1]
| Colour | Hex | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Dark Orange | #D62C00 | Gender non conformity. "how we don't conform to traditional gender standards obv". [2] |
| Orange | #F07528 | Independence. "our independence individually and from men (our ability to look after ourselves and each other)". [2] |
| Light Orange | #FF9B57 | Community. Gwen's gloss: "speaks for itself". [2] |
| White | — | Unique relationships to womanhood. "how we are connected to womanhood in our own unique ways… emcompasses trans/nb lesbian experiences, butch/femme experiences with womanhood, is slightly different from gnc because it's about how we DO relate to womanhood rather than how we do NOT". [2] |
| Pink | #D162A6 | Serenity and peace. "what every lesbian deserves, and personally how I feel when I'm with a woman". [2] |
| Dusty Pink | #B75592 | Love and sex. Gwen's gloss: "speaks for itself". [2] |
| Dark Rose | #A50162 | Femininity. Gwen's gloss: "speaks for itself". [2] |
| Off-White | #EDEDEB | — |
Measured from the image published in the designer's post of 3 June 2018. [1]
This flag has no official digital palette. Color values shown are approximate.
There are two lists three days apart, and Gwen superseded the first herself. The 3 June proposal gave butch lesbians, femme lesbians, trans/nb lesbians, love, community, independence and serenity, "in no particular order, idk". [1] The 6 June post asked that people "acknowledge THIS version of the meanings and not the other one" and replaced three of them with abstractions: butch lesbians became gender non conformity, femme lesbians became femininity, and trans/nb lesbians became unique relationships to womanhood. [1][2]
Gwen drew the line between two of her own bands explicitly. Unique relationships to womanhood "is slightly different from gnc because it's about how we DO relate to womanhood rather than how we do NOT", and it "emcompasses trans/nb lesbian experiences, butch/femme experiences with womanhood". [2]
The designer published no hex values in words. The seven above are measured from the image in her own 3 June 2018 post, which is the earliest artwork for the design. [1] Its centre band is an off-white rather than pure white.
Two later renderings differ, and the differences are small but real. The 400 by 242 PNG uploaded to Wikimedia Commons in November 2019, whose uploader credits the 3 June post as its source, measures #D52C00, #EF7627, #FF9A56, #FEFEFF, #D162A4, #B55690 and #A20262; it is not the file the post embeds, and differs from it in dimensions, in file size and throughout the palette. [4] The 2020 vector by L ke draws #d52d00, #ef7627, #ff9a56, #ffffff, #d162a4, #b55690 and #a30262, and it is that family of values, with a pure white centre, that circulates most widely today. [5] None of the three sets is the designer's specification, because there is none.
Design
- Aspect Ratio
- 3:5 · standard
- Ratio Notes
- An editorial standardised production ratio. No proportion has been published by the designer, and the surviving artwork does not settle one: the image in the 3 June post is 494 by 296 pixels (247:148, a width to height of 1.669), the 2019 Commons PNG is 400 by 242 (200:121, 1.653), and the 2020 Commons vector is 1,302 by 868 (3:2). [1][4][5]
- Orientation
- horizontal
- Stripe Count
- 7
- Layout
- horizontal_stripes
- Stripes (Top → Bottom)
- Dark Orange, Orange, Light Orange, White, Pink, Dusty Pink, Dark Rose
Seven horizontal bands of equal depth. In the image published with the 3 June proposal the bands run about 42 rows each across a 494 by 296 field. [1] The 2020 Commons vector divides a 1,302 by 868 field into seven bands of 32.8 units. [5]
Seven horizontal stripes in an orange-to-pink gradient with a central white stripe. Orange tones on top, pink tones on bottom.
Seven horizontal bands of equal depth running from a deep red-orange at the top, through two lighter oranges and a near-white centre, to three pinks deepening to a dark rose at the foot. [1] The order is the creator's stated choice rather than an accident of drafting: Gwen considered pink on top, then wrote "Or the orange on top, just to shake things up and to subvert the idea that femininity should come first." [1]
Usage & Adoption
- Geographic Usage
- International circulation
- Online Usage
- Widely reproduced online and in institutional pride flag guides
- Current Status
- widely used
Widely adopted. It is the creator-attributed original of the orange-pink lesbian family, and the five-band simplification derived from it seven weeks later is the form most people now meet. [9] HRC, Outright International, the Horniman Museum, PFLAG San Francisco and the UBC Equity and Inclusion Office all reference the design. [12][13][14]
Image Archive
Creator-era artwork (2018)
Later renderings
Discourse & Debates
- The relationship between the 2018 design and a 2017 flag by shapeshifter-of-constellation is unresolved. Wikipedia calls the earlier design "an otherwise identical, inverted flag" and still attributes this one to Gwen. [9]
- Some community members read the 2018 flag as an adaptation of that earlier design; Gwen has maintained independent authorship. [9]
- Archives handle the question differently. Some use "attributed to" as a deliberate hedge, some credit a community consultation process instead of a person, and some treat plagiarism as a live accusation.
Common misidentifications
- 'Sunset Lesbian Flag' refers to either this seven-band design or the five-band derivative by taqwomen.
- The vector on Wikimedia Commons is a 2020 redraw by the Commons contributor L ke, not artwork by the designer. [5]
Footnotes & Citations
Sources and footnotes 15 sources
- 1. Social media Emily Gwen initial concept post. Emily Gwen (sadlesbeandisaster). Tumblr (2018-06-03). Accessed 2026-08-16
The proposal. Concept text, an image of the flag, and a first list of seven meanings the creator later superseded.
- 2. Social media Emily Gwen meaning clarification post. Emily Gwen (sadlesbeandisaster). Tumblr (2018-06-06). Accessed 2026-08-16
Two images and the settled meanings, with the creator's gloss on each, offered as a draft and asking that this list be used in place of the first.
- 3. Primary statement Use of Lesbian Flag. Emily Gwen. Carrd. Accessed 2026-08-16
The designer's own page setting the terms of the flag's use. It pictures the seven-band design.
- 4. Image file page File:Lesbian-Sadlesbeandisaster-2018.png. Wikimedia Commons (2019-11-24). Accessed 2026-08-16
A 400 by 242 PNG uploaded in November 2019, credited on Commons to the 3 June post. It is a different file from the one that post embeds, and its palette differs.
- 5. Image file page File:Lesbian pride flag 2018.svg. Wikimedia Commons. Accessed 2026-08-16
The 2020 vector redraw by the Commons contributor L ke: 1,302 by 868 nominal, seven equal bands, #d52d00, #ef7627, #ff9a56, #ffffff, #d162a4, #b55690, #a30262.
- 6. Articles & Reports Evolution of Lesbian Pride Flags: From the Labrys to the Sunset. Rainbow Republic. Accessed 2026-03-18
- 7. Articles & Reports Lesbian flag creator homeless and crowdfunding for new housing. PinkNews (2023-10-25). Accessed 2026-03-16
- 8. Articles & Reports Australian Artist Who Created Lesbian Flag Facing Homelessness. Star Observer (2023-10). Accessed 2026-03-16
- 9. Encyclopedias & Reference Lesbian flags. Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia (2026-06-27). Accessed 2026-07-24
- 10. Emily Gwen (@theemilygwen) on X. Emily Gwen. X (formerly Twitter). Accessed 2026-03-16
- 11. Articles & Reports Disney Pride Lesbian Flag Creator Backlash. Inside the Magic (2023-08). Accessed 2026-03-18
- 12. Encyclopedias & Reference Lesbian pride flag. Wikipedia. Accessed 2026-03-09
- 13. Articles & Reports Discover the untold history of the Lesbian Pride flag. Ariel Messman-Rucker. The Advocate. Accessed 2026-03-11
- 14. Organizations Flags of the LGBTIQ Community. Outright International. Accessed 2026-03-11
- Community The Different Lesbian Flags and Their Histories. Moon_5ugar. Reddit r/lgbt (2026-02). Accessed 2026-03-11
Image Sources
- Rendering
- Seven-band design as published by Emily Gwen, 3 June 2018
- Credit: Emily Gwen (sadlesbeandisaster), 3 June 2018Rights The design is free of permission by the designer's own statement; no separate licence covers this file. [3]
- Credit: Emily Gwen (sadlesbeandisaster), 6 June 2018Rights As above. [3]
- Credit: Emily Gwen (sadlesbeandisaster), 6 June 2018Rights As above. [3]
- Credit: Uploaded to Wikimedia Commons by Versias, November 2019Rights Tagged CC0 on Commons by the uploader; that tag is the uploader's statement about that file. [4]
- Credit: Encycloflaggia, drawn from the creator-era fileRights Reconstruction by this archive; the design is free of permission by the designer's statement. [1][3]
- The flag as it appears in Emily Gwen's proposal of 3 June 2018, between the concept text and her first list of meanings. 494 by 296 pixels; the colour values in this entry are measured from it. [1] · Credit: Published by Emily Gwen (sadlesbeandisaster); the hand that drew the file is not documented · Emily Gwen on Tumblr, 3 June 2018
- The plain flag as posted with the revised meanings on 6 June 2018, 685 by 414 pixels. [2] · Credit: Emily Gwen (sadlesbeandisaster) · Emily Gwen on Tumblr, 6 June 2018
- The 400 by 242 PNG uploaded to Wikimedia Commons in November 2019 and credited there to the 3 June post. It is a separate file from the one the post embeds, and its palette differs. [4] · Credit: Uploaded to Wikimedia Commons by Versias; tagged CC0 by the uploader · Wikimedia Commons