Flags Importer Queer Pride Flag 3×5 ft Polyester

Queer is a word plenty of people have reclaimed as a broad, flexible label, and it has a flag of its own. The Flags Importer Queer Pride Flag is a 3 × 5 ft polyester version of the nine-stripe queer flag, with black bands top and bottom framing shades of blue, green, white, orange and pink. It suits anyone who prefers queer over a more specific label, as well as groups that want one flag to cover a wide range of identities.

The nine stripes, explained

An artist using the name pastelmemer posted the design online in the mid-2010s. Reading from the top, it runs black, very light blue, light blue, light green, white, orange, deep pink, light pink and black again. The meanings are grouped in pairs rather than stripe by stripe. The neighbouring pinks and blues stand for same-gender attraction. Orange and green stand for non-binary and gender non-conforming people. Black and white represent asexual, aromantic and agender people. The result is a flag that deliberately reaches beyond any single orientation.

Queer flag or genderqueer flag?

They're different designs for different things, and people mix them up often. The genderqueer flag has three stripes, lavender, white and dark green, and is about gender identity. This one has nine stripes and covers both orientation and gender. If you're shopping for a friend, check which word they use; we also stock the genderqueer flag in the same size.

A note on the word itself

Queer was used as a slur for a long time, and some older people in the community still don't like it. Many younger people, academics and activists use it proudly. Flying this flag is a clear statement that you're using the word in its reclaimed sense. If you're hanging one at a workplace or community space, a short sign explaining the flag goes a long way toward avoiding misunderstandings.

Hanging nine stripes neatly

Narrow stripes show any sag or twist more than a three-band flag does, so take a moment to hang it straight. Use the two metal grommets in the header tape as fixed points and let the fabric drop, then smooth it from the hoist toward the fly end. On a wall, a third pin at the bottom fly corner keeps the stripes parallel. Outdoors, its doubled edge seams and the four-row stitching along the fly help it cope with wind, but bring it inside before storms; a soaked flag snapping in a gale is how hems give way.

The design is dye-sublimated on one face and soaks through to the reverse, so both sides show the stripes, with the back a touch softer. Since there's no text or emblem, nothing appears reversed, which makes this a practical choice for a shop window or a balcony that people see from both sides.

Specifications

• Brand: Flags Importer
• Design: nine horizontal stripes: black, very light blue, light blue, light green, white, orange, deep pink, light pink, black
• Size: 3 × 5 ft (about 91 × 152 cm)
• Material: polyester
• Print: dye-sublimated on one side; the colour shows through to the back
• Hanging: header tape with two metal grommets
• Edges: double-stitched, with four rows of stitching on the fly end

Browse more flags and pride gear in our LGBTQ+ Pride collection, or pair it with the classic rainbow flag.