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You are here: Home / LGBTQ+ / The Intersex Flag: Its Colors, Meaning and the Community Itself
The Intersex Flag: Its Colors, Meaning and the Community Itself

The Intersex Flag: Its Colors, Meaning and the Community Itself

January 20, 2023 By Cade Hildreth Leave a Comment

A 2017 poll revealed that about 4.5% of Americans openly identified with the LGBTQ+ community. Truthfully, the numbers are probably far higher, given the number of people who aren’t in a safe environment to come out. Plus, there are entire identities that are often overlooked in these kinds of polls.

The intersex community is one of these often-overlooked communities. You may have noticed the “I” in “LGBTQIA+” or seen the intersex flag once or twice without knowing what it represented.

The more we know about the LGBTQ+ community, the faster we can create a more inclusive world. Read on to learn about the intersex flag, its history, and the community itself.

What Does the Intersex Flag Mean?

The most commonly used intersex flag has a yellow backdrop and a perfect purple circle in the center. It is used to represent the intersex community, meaning the people who compose it.

It is not meant to represent the diverse range of gender and sexualities identities experienced by the members of the community; there are other pride flags for that.

Importantly, this flag has not been embraced by all intersex people, some of whom don’t identify with what it represents. In fact, the intersex flag has undergone many changes over the years.

Let’s take a look at the history behind the flag.

Intersex Flag History

As we’ve discussed before, the history behind LGBTQ+ symbols is just as important as the symbols, themselves. Previous attempts to establish an intersex flag were often considered derivative or inaccurate.

For example, some versions of the flag embraced the rainbow that is often associated with queer pride, while others used colors like blue and pink, which are found on the transgender flag.

The problem with these variations was that many intersex people didn’t identify with these colors. The rainbow flag has historically been used to represent sexuality, while the colors blue and pink felt closely aligned with gender identity.

That’s why in 2013 Morgan Carpenter chose the colors yellow and purple for the intersex flag, because neither color is associated with the social constructs of the gender binary (male/female).

The circle, perfect and unbroken, represents the wholeness of intersex people. It is a reminder that regardless of social norms or pseudoscientific claims, intersex people are perfect the way they are or choose to be.

Why Is the Intersex Flag Important?

Intersex people often go through an experience that is unique to them. From a young age, many are stripped of bodily autonomy and privacy. Decisions are made for them as infants or young children that should have been their choices to make when they reached an adequate age.

Having a flag to represent intersex people both raises awareness and creates community. It also validates the lived experiences of the members of this group.

The intersex flag is both a way to support the intersex community and take a stand against discrimination and unethical medical practices.

What Is the Definition of Intersex?

It’s important to remember that when we’re discussing the LGBTQ+ community, we’re not only talking about sexual preferences. In some cases, we’re also exploring gender identity or sexual identity, which are different from one another and from sexuality.

The definition of intersex can mean a variety of things, but often aligns with sexual identity or anatomical features.

At a basic level, the word intersex is most often used to describe someone who is born with variations in sex characteristics – such as chromosomes, genitals, gonads, or sex hormones. Thus, an intersex person may be born with or develop the anatomical features we associate with both (or neither) male and female anatomy.

Importantly, being intersex doesn’t translate to one specific “look” or outcome. Because it is an identity, it is critical to ask each person you meet with this identity what it means to them. 

Also, remember that anatomical differences do not inherently align with gender or sexual identity.

An intersex person can be a woman, a man, a nonbinary person, a transgender person or any other gender identity. Likewise, intersex people can also identify as straight, gay, queer, asexual—whatever matches their feelings of sexual and romantic attraction.

How Many People Are Intersex?

It is difficult to give an exact number when estimating the percentage of our population that is intersex. As of right now, it is estimated that 1 in 100 people are born with variations that could be categorized as intersex.

Why isn’t this number considered accurate?

Some intersex variations are very subtle and are overlooked at birth. Some intersex variations don’t become evident until later in life, sometimes around puberty or well into adulthood. Other variations present as subtle variations throughout one’s lifespan.

Perhaps most importantly, most intersex people prefer to be keep their medical records private, which limits large-scale documentation.

Because there is no single defining feature of intersex individuals, it’s not possible to get an exact percentage. Thus, the are odds are that the intersex community has been vastly under reported.

the intersex flag

Biological Sex Diversity

Some people mistakenly believe that being intersex falls under the supposedly medical umbrella of “disorders of sex development.” It’s important to remember that there is a negative connotation that comes with the word “disorder” and that this word has been used to harm members of the LGBTQIA+ community for decades.

Using the word “disorder” to describe an intersex person’s anatomical or hormonal development implies that there is something “wrong” during development.

Today, the phrase “differences of sexual development” is used to acknowledge the existence of a beautiful range of biological sex diversity. Across all time and history, biological diversity has been a critical component of our species’ survival.

I wrote about the fascinating range of biological sex diversity present in humans in this article where I discuss why neither gender or biological sex are binary.

Similarly, the journal Scientific America published a widely circulated article called “Visualizing Sex as a Spectrum” that also changed the public’s understanding of biological sex forever. That article has been viewed tens of millions of times, according to Google. It’s also been shared over 8,200 times on Facebook.

Intersex bodies are as natural as any other body. After all, genetic diversity has been a mainstay across all of human evolution and development.

Today, biologists understand sex to be created by a constellation of traits, none of which are binary.

The Power of the Intersex Flag

The more we know about the world and the diverse communities that exist within it, the better equipped we are to build a more inclusive future. Now that you know more about the origins and meaning of the intersex flag, I hope you fly it proudly.

Ready to stay in the loop? Join nearly two million other readers who are learning from Cade.
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“As an LGBTQ+ entrepreneur, real estate investor, former USA Rugby Player, and fitness fanatic, I’ll teach you what your parents and teachers should’ve taught you, but didn’t know themselves.” -Cade Hildreth

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My parents were asking me about the #Biohacking Co My parents were asking me about the #Biohacking Conference I attended in Florida this summer and I realized I hadn’t shared much about my experience with them…or with you. 

I attended it with one of my very best and longest friends, Jeremiah, and we had an absolute BLAST. 

Whether you are in the #lgbtqia community or not, I believe it’s incredibly important to be empowered around your own health. 

From ice baths to cryotherapy chambers, vibrational bikes, PEMF machines, hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT), and beyond, the event was an incredible time. 

This is the first set of pics and I’ll share the rest tomorrow. (1️⃣ of 2️⃣)

When it comes to training and/or health, how empowered do you feel on a scale of 1-10? 

Let me know and I’ll try to share the main health lessons I’ve learned from this event (and life). 🏳️‍⚧️🏳️‍🌈

#lgbtqpride #lgbtqiaplus #queer #nonbinary #trans
Well, that’s satisfying… 🏳️‍🌈🏳️ Well, that’s satisfying… 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️➡️ 

“The Lawmaker Who Wrote Florida's ‘Don't Say Gay’ Law Is Going to Prison for Fraud”

Source and Images: https://www.politico.com/news/2023/10/19/ex-florida-gop-lawmaker-who-sponsored-so-called-dont-say-gay-bill-sentenced-to-prison-00122618

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Did some odds and ends at the beach house that we Did some odds and ends at the beach house that we AirBnB this week and it was unseasonably warm (about 72 degrees) so I finished up with beach time and and a walk along the sand… 🌊🏖

The beach was practically private…

Guess it pays to be from a cold climate (Minnesota) where you think low seventies is perfectly delightful. LOL. 

Where did you grow up and do you still live there? 🗺📍

#lgbtqia #lgbtqpride #lgbtqiaplus #nonbinary #trans #genderfluid
Heading to the hotel hot tub = gender joy. Leave Heading to the hotel hot tub = gender joy. 

Leave a 💛 in comments if you know this feeling … or, more importantly, support those who do!

#genderfluid #genderqueer #trans #nonbinary #lgbtqiaplus
There are real consequences to oppression. It affe There are real consequences to oppression. It affects ALL of us, not only those in the community being oppressed. 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️

Please leave a “💯” in comments if you agree and share this with those who don’t understand why anti-LGBTQIA+ and anti-trans laws have far reaching effects. 🙏

—

Source: CNN, https://www.cnn.com/2023/09/01/us/jake-kleinmahon-doctor-leaves-louisiana-reaj/index.html
I used to believe, I can’t be myself because it I used to believe, I can’t be myself because it will hurt people. 

Now I know the truth, which is, I can’t not be myself because it will hurt people. 

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