The gay man flag or man love man flag is a pride flag that has undergone revisions over time, much like other pride flags do. For instance, the original had a white stripe in the middle and horizontal stripes in various colours of blue.
Table of Contents
Origins of Gay Man Flag
People believed that the initial version of the flag depicted a gender binary rather than a gender spectrum, which made it contentious.
The new design, which was made in 2019 by a Tumblr user, has blue and bright green stripes on opposite halves, divided by a white stripe in the centre.
Meanings and Symbolism
Baker’s rainbow flag design served as the model for the gay male flag or man love man flag and the majority of pride flags. Similar to Baker’s design, the gay man flag is heavily symbolic, with each hue of blue and green standing for a distinct idea.
The top green stripe represents community. The LGBTQ+ movement is based on community, and having spaces to embrace and engage with that community is what gave rise to the movement in the first place.
The orange stripe on the rainbow flag stands in for healing, which is also symbolised by the colour teal.
That lower bright green stripe signifies happiness.
The white stripe stands for individuals who weren’t represented by the earlier, more binary flag, such as trans guys, nonbinary males, and nonconforming men.
Light blue represents love, purple represents bravery, while indigo or dark purple represents diversity.
The rainbow pride flag has six stripes, but the gay pride flag has seven. The pride flag originally had eight stripes, but two of them were subsequently eliminated or joined with another stripe due to a lack of resources.
MLM Flag (Man Love Man Flag)
Despite being one of the less well-known flags in the LGBTQ+ flag set, the gay man flag is acknowledged as a symbol of homosexual men.
This flag is occasionally referred to as the MLM flag. The abbreviation MLM means men love men or man love man flag.
Since gender is a spectrum, it makes sense that the MLM community is diverse.
In addition to homosexual cis men, this community also includes gay trans men, bisexual men, and other men, boys, and male-aligned persons who are drawn to these groups.
The Stonewall Riots in 1969 marked the start of the contemporary LGBTQ+ movement. Gilbert Baker, a gay activist, artist, and Vietnam veteran, did not design the first gay pride flag until nine years later. The gay man flag or man love man flag is among the more modern pride flags, as are the majority of the others.
Since then, there have been several changes made to the original flag, which now frequently has six rainbow stripes instead of the original eight. The most significant achievement for the community as a whole was the nationwide legalization of same-sex marriage in 2015.
The movement has expanded to include individuals who are intersex, asexual, questioning, and other groups who were previously underrepresented. This and other factors have led to the emergence of numerous more LGBTQ+ flags.
The homosexual man flag, also known as the man love man flag, is one of these unique flags, which we explored in greater detail in this post.
Here are some more articles around the topic:
- Neptunic Flag
- Bear Pride: What Does it Mean & Its Flag
- Homiesexual: What does it mean?
- All Pride Flags
Learn more about the human mind, discover yourself and remain motivated with Evolve! If you liked our article, try the Evolve App to help you move on and focus on your growth. Evolve has a range of guided audios that help you proactively manage stress, reduce anxiety and make mindfulness light and joyful, so you can be balanced at any time! The Evolve app is now live globally on Android and Apple. Click here to try it for free!
