Helms designed the flag after a dinner with Michael Page (bisexual flag designer) who encouraged her: "The trans community could use a flag too."
Colour codes: Transgender flag
Stripe
HEX
RGB
CMYK
Pantone
Meaning
Light blue (top)
#5BCEFA
91,206,250
C:64 M:18 Y:0 K:2
PMS 2985 C
Traditional color for baby boys
Pink (upper)
#F5A9B8
245,169,184
C:0 M:31 Y:25 K:4
PMS 700 C
Traditional color for baby girls
White (centre)
#FFFFFF
255,255,255
C:0 M:0 Y:0 K:0
n/a
Those transitioning, intersex, or with undefined gender
Pink (lower)
#F5A9B8
245,169,184
C:0 M:31 Y:25 K:4
PMS 700 C
Traditional color for baby girls
Light blue (bottom)
#5BCEFA
91,206,250
C:64 M:18 Y:0 K:2
PMS 2985 C
Traditional color for baby boys
History
The flag's symmetry is intentional: "No matter which way you fly it, it is always correct, signifying us finding correctness in our lives." The original prototype is held at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History.
Other transgender flags
Helms' flag has never been retired or replaced, but it was never the only one either. Dawn Holland made a flag for Queer Nation's transgender focus group around 1991, a pink triangle on white with interlocked gender symbols. In the same year as Helms, a San Francisco trans man known as Captain John made a seven-stripe pink and light blue design. Jennifer Pellinen published a gradient version in 2002, and a blogger called Sevan published a darker palette in 2012 out of dissatisfaction with Helms' colours. Some local communities still fly these. None of them displaced the 1999 flag, which is why that is the one shown here.
