Trigender Pride Flag

Overview

To represent trigender identity with a dedicated flag at a time when the broader multigender community (including bigender and pangender identities) was producing its own flag designs on Tumblr and DeviantArt. ^[1][2]

The exact origin of the trigender flag is uncertain, and its original designer has not been identified. ^[1][2] The earliest documented version appears in an October 11, 2014 post by Tumblr user pride-flags-for-us, which described it as a softer-colored revision of an earlier trigender flag, implying that a prior version existed but is no longer archived. ^[2] A subsequent upload by DeviantArt user Pride-Flags on July 4, 2015 further circulated the design. ^[2] The term 'trigender' itself predates the flag substantially: it was in use by at least 1998–1999, initially in reference to Two-Spirit, the traditional third-gender concept in some Native American cultures, before taking on its current meaning of a person who experiences three distinct gender identities. ^[3] The term received academic recognition in the 2013 text Sexuality and Gender for Mental Health Professionals: A Practical Guide. ^[3]

Identity & Context

Represented Identity

trigender

Subcommunity

multigender umbrella

Creators

The Creator

Attribution notes

The original designer is unknown. The earliest documented appearance is a July 4, 2015 post by the Pride-Flags DeviantArt account, which functions as a repository for community-submitted designs rather than as an original creator. The flag may predate this documentation. ^[1][2]

Origin

Digital Origin

Tumblr (pride-flags-for-us, earliest documented posting)

Digital origin; no verified physical location.

The earliest documented appearance is an October 11, 2014 Tumblr post by pride-flags-for-us, described as a softer-colored version of a prior trigender flag. ^[2] The original design and designer predate this documentation.

Dates & Chronology

First public use

October 2014

Period in Use

2014–present

The flag circulated through Tumblr, DeviantArt, and eventually pride-flag reference sites and community wikis. ^[1][2] It remains the most commonly referenced trigender flag design, though its institutional adoption has been limited compared to more widely recognized identity flags. Several alternative trigender flag designs have been proposed: Tumblr user aroaesflags posted an alternate on May 26, 2020 based on a submission from a user who found the standard flag unsatisfying; Trigenderiscool created a version on March 19, 2021; and Tumblr user pride-color-schemes proposed a redesign using pink, blue, and purple stripes specifically because the existing flag's color scheme was seen as reducing trigender identity to a simple 'male + female + other' triad. ^[2][3]

Major revisions

The flag follows the same five-stripe mirrored structure (A-B-C-B-A) as the transgender pride flag designed by Monica Helms in 1999: both are palindromic designs that read the same regardless of orientation. ^[1][2] Whether this structural similarity reflects conscious borrowing or convergent design convention is not documented. The trigender flag sits within a cluster of multigender flags that emerged on Tumblr between 2014 and 2015, including the bigender flag (2014) and the pangender flag (January 2015). These flags share a common context of online community self-representation but have separate designers and independent design histories. Trigender falls under the multigender umbrella, which includes bigender (two genders), trigender (three), quadgender (four), polygender (many but not all), and pangender (all genders). In the 2015 U.S. Transgender Survey, approximately 4% of non-cisgender respondents identified as multigender. ^[3]

Lineage

Indirect influences

Rainbow Pride Flag, Transgender Pride Flag

Related flags

Bigender Pride Flag, Demifluid Pride Flag, Genderfluid Pride Flag, Genderflux Pride Flag, Multigender Pride Flag, Nonbinary Pride Flag, Pangender Pride Flag, Polygender Pride Flag

Part of the broader multigender cluster alongside bigender and pangender flags. The five-stripe mirrored structure echoes the transgender pride flag, though no direct authorship or derivation relationship has been documented. ^{[1] [2]} The shared palindromic layout may reflect a common design convention rather than direct influence.

Colors & Symbolism

The flag uses three colors in a vertically mirrored five-stripe arrangement to represent three gender categories. ^[1][2] The mirrored structure means the flag reads the same from either direction, a property it shares with the transgender pride flag. The use of green for the third category, rather than the more conventional white or yellow seen in other nonbinary-inclusive flags, gives the trigender flag a distinctive visual identity within the multigender cluster. ^[1]

Circulating community values from reference sites

This flag has no official digital palette. Color values shown are approximate.

The green center stripe is described in various sources as representing androgyny, nonbinary identity, or a third gender category, and the ambiguity reflects the diversity of trigender experience rather than a settled consensus. ^{[1] [2]}

No official creator-published hex specification. The original designer is unknown. The values given are drawn from widely circulating community reference sites. ^[1]

Design

Aspect Ratio

3:5 · standard

Orientation

horizontal

Stripe Count

5

Layout

horizontal_stripes

Stripes (Top → Bottom)

Pink, Blue-Violet, Green, Blue-Violet, Pink

Five equal horizontal stripes in a mirrored pattern: pink, blue-violet, green, blue-violet, pink, from top to bottom. No emblem or additional symbols. ^[1] The flag reads the same regardless of orientation. The circulating version is described as a softer-colored revision of an earlier trigender flag. ^[2] The earlier version has not been found in available sources.

Usage & Adoption

First Users

Online multigender and gender-diverse communities

Geographic Usage

Internet circulation

Online Usage

Circulated through Tumblr, DeviantArt, and pride-flag reference guides, Pride flag reference databases, LGBTQIA+ identity wikis

Current Status

active

The most commonly referenced trigender flag design. ^{[1] [2]}

Discourse & Debates

• Several alternate trigender flag designs have been proposed, including versions by Tumblr users aroaesflags and Trigenderiscool, among others. The absence of a known original creator contributes to the proliferation of alternatives.

Criticisms

• The flag has been criticized for implying a narrow interpretation of trigender identity as simply 'boy, girl, and other,' with the color symbolism seen as reductive.

Trigender is distinct from bigender (two genders) and pangender (all genders). The three genders experienced by trigender people are not necessarily male, female, and a third; they may include any combination of gender identities. The flag's pink-violet-green color scheme implies a male-female-other triad, which some community members have noted may not reflect all trigender experiences. ^[2]

Footnotes & Citations

Image Sources

Rendering

standard softer-colored version

• The trigender pride flag, a five-stripe mirrored design of unknown origin, with the earliest documented appearance dating to October 2014. Pink represents femininity and female genders, blue-violet represents masculinity and male genders, and green represents androgyny, nonbinary identities, or third genders. The mirrored structure reads the same regardless of orientation. · Community reference