Previously, you may have noticed that the LGBTQIA+ pride flag displayed every June for Pride month was a simple red-to-violet rainbow, but a new and slightly different flag has been flying in its place in the last couple of years. This new flag is called the Intersex-Inclusive Progress Pride Flag, created by Valentino Vecchietti of Intersex Equality Rights UK in 2021. It is an update to the previous Progress Pride Flag created in 2018 by Daniel Quasar.

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By Ariane Resnick, CNC Ariane Resnick, CNC is a mental health writer, certified nutritionist, and wellness author who advocates for accessibility and inclusivity.

The widespread use of the pride flag allows LGBTQIA+ individuals to connect with each other and feel included regardless of their location. No matter where you are or how you identify, the rainbow colors are meant to signify that you are included, welcome, and safe as part of the LGBTQIA+ community.

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With the rise of the Black Lives Matter movement, culture at large began to shift in a much-needed way towards acknowledging the vital roles that people of color have had in our society. The pride movement background is one of many areas where POC, particularly Black people, did not receive the recognition they deserved historically. Adding colors to represent them on the flag is one way to change that.

The official currency of Armenia is the “Armenian dram”. The term "dram," when translated into English, means "money.” It stands cognate with dirham in Arabic as well as drachma in Greek, and one dram is made up of has 100 luma. The Armenian dram is denoted as AMD in the international format.

When the Progress Pride Flag was released, it immediately went viral. People hailed it both for being inclusive and for clearly showing that we have made progress and that we have more strides to make.

Traditionally, the colors pink and baby blue have been used to represent whether a baby is a boy or a girl. Here, the colors denote those genders. The color white represents people who are transitioning, intersex, or identify outside of the gender binary.

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The Philadelphia Pride Flag was designed by the Philadelphia Office of LGBT Affairs and was done in partnership with advertising agency Tierney. It was introduced at a City Hall ceremony in June of 2017. The flag showed the traditional six rainbow colors in horizontal stripes, with a black and a brown stripe atop them.

The pride flag serves as a symbol of the LGBTQIA+ community. It is a visual reminder of the struggles and oppression that people in the community have faced and continue to face, but, it's also a sign of hope.

Armenia adopted its national coat of arms on April 19, 1992. It consists of an eagle and a lion holding onto a shield, with the shield itself being divided into five sections. The center section depicts Noah's Ark sitting on top of Mount Ararat, and within the surrounding sections are symbols of old Armenian dynasties (Bargratunides, Arshakounides, Artashesides, and Rubenides). Below the shield rest five elements: a sword (for power and strength), a broken chain (for independence), wheat (for their hard-working nature), a feather (for intellectual and cultural heritage), and a ribbon (for the flag). The Eagle and the lion are ancient Armenian symbols. Golden is the main color of the Armenian Coat of Arms and the foregoing colors emblematize the colors of the national flag.

The pre-history of a dram currency dates back to 1199 to 1375, a period during which silver coins referred to as dram circulated. After Armenia became a republic in September 1991, the newly created Central Bank of Armenia was granted the crucial mandate on March 27, 1993, to issue the national currency. Several states cooperated to found a confederation dubbed the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) after the fall of the Soviet Union. CIS countries supported the introduction and circulation of the Russian ruble as a unified currency. Armenia joined the confederation, but the uncertain economic and political situation made it problematic to sustain a common currency. The 1993 Russian monetary reform triggered the collapse of the ruble zone. The rest of the CIS states had no other choice but to introduce individual currencies. On November 22, 1993, Armenia made monetary strides by issuing the dram.

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The word "progress" in the new flag isn't only about adding the new colors to it. It's also because of the shape, which differs from the original design of horizontal stripes only. The Progress Pride Flag shows the white, pink, baby blue, black, and brown stripes in a triangle shape, with the old six-color rainbow stacked next to them.

The new Progress Pride Flag includes new colors and a new design that are meant to represent people of color, as well as people who are transgender, intersex, or non-binary.

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Dunivin ZO, Yan HY, Ince J, Rojas F. Black Lives Matter protests shift public discourse. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2022;119(10):e2117320119. doi:10.1073/pnas.2117320119

Though the Progress Pride Flag has not completely replaced the old six-color rainbow flag, it has taken over in many spaces. Where the rainbow flag gives a message of supporting LGBTQIA+ people, the Progress Pride Flag offers the message of supporting all of them.

Another, simplified version of the flag with just six colors was developed later on. It kept the original rainbow colors: red, orange, yellow, green, indigo, and violet. This flag was a mainstay for several decades before the redesign.

Orange represents healing. As a color, orange is believed to be a fun and celebratory color. Fun and celebration are both healing activities.

The pride flag colors each hold a different meaning, and each color represents an important value of the LGBTQIA+ community. Let's take a look at what each of the rainbow colors represents.

However, different variations were created throughout that time. For example, specific pride flags such as the transgender, bisexual, and pansexual pride flags were also created.

The pride flag has undergone several redesigns over the past few decades. The original pride flag designed in the 1970s included eight colors and was later simplified to six. The latest version of the pride flag includes the original six colors representing different values that are important to the LGBTQIA+ community, as well as new colors in a triangle shape on the left to convey the importance of issues affecting BIPOC, trans people, and those who identify outside of the gender binary. The flag continues to stand as a visual reminder of the challenges people have overcome and hope for the future.

Ariane Resnick, CNC is a mental health writer, certified nutritionist, and wellness author who advocates for accessibility and inclusivity.

Bitterman A. The rainbow connection: A time-series study of rainbow flag display across nine Toronto neighborhoods. The life and afterlife of gay neighborhoods. The Life and Afterlife of Gay Neighborhoods. The Urban Book Series. 2021:117-137. doi:10.1007/978-3-030-66073-4_5

Additionally, the black and brown stripes are meant to represent people living with HIV/AIDS, those who have died from it, and the stigma around the virus that is still present in our society now.

The Flag is rectangular in shape and features three equal horizontal bands of equal thickness. The top stripe is red, the middle is blue, and the bottom is orange. The colors of the flag have various interpretations. As per the Constitution of Armenia, red signifies the highlands of Armenia and the people’s struggle to survive and maintain the Christian faith, as well as the country’s freedom and independence. Blue represents the will of Armenians to live under peaceful skies, while orange denotes the hardworking nature and creative talent of Armenian citizens. The flag has a height to length proportion ratio of 1:2.

If you guessed that yellow represented sunlight, you would be correct. The color yellow functions as the flag's radiant and bright center. The color yellow is said to stimulate new ideas and thoughts.

The new flag pays homage to the people who founded the movement while simultaneously drawing attention to how POC and trans people remain underserved and discriminated against compared to White, cis queer people.

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The placement of the new colors in an arrow shape is meant to convey the progress still needed. Quasar spoke publicly about how work is still needed in terms of BIPOC and trans rights. This arrow design is meant to highlight that.

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The Philadelphia Pride Flag had black and brown vertical stripes added. The trans flag, created in 1999, is pink, baby blue, and white. Both of these flags inspired the design of the new pride flag.

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The indigo or blue in the original pride flag was for serenity. Little is more important than the ability to feel calm and serene. Blue is known as a relaxing color that soothes the soul. The color blue is often used for nighttime consumer products to represent bedtime and calmness.

The nation's noted artists and scientists and historical and cultural monuments, as well as the beautiful fragments of paintings by the great Armenian painter – Martiros Sarian, have been drawn on the Armenian banknotes.

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The National Flag of Armenia (The Armenian Tricolour) was officially adopted by the Supreme Soviet of the Republic of Armenia on August 24, 1990. The current flag was designed by Stepan Malkhasyants, an Armenian lexicographer, linguist, academician, and philologist.

Transwoman Monica Helms created the trans pride flag, which first flew in a pride parade in Phoenix, Arizona back in 2000. Monica Helms is a transgender activist, author, and U.S. Navy veteran.

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What do the colors of the new pride flag mean? Why does the new design have some of the colors placed in a different shape rather than in a line like before? How are people responding to this new design?

People have displayed the flag outside of their homes or business to signal to others in the community that they have a safe space to enter.

The last color, violet (or purple) represents spirit. Purple is often thought of as a regal, royal color that, on its own, denotes pride. Like blue, purple is considered a calming color, but rather than being associated only with calm, the color purple connects us to the spiritual realm.

The introductory series of the dram's banknotes were rolled out in November 1993. The notes consisted of the denominations 10, 25, 50, 100, 200, as well as 500 dram. Banknotes for 1000 and 5000 dram were subsequently released. The series was withdrawn by 2006. Notes of 50, 100, and 500 drams are barely used and are thus scarcely in circulation. In the notes’ place, 50, 100, and 500-dram coins are preferred. On June 4, 2001, a 50,000-dram note was dispensed to commemorate the 1700th anniversary of the acceptance of Christianity in the nation. The new banknotes boast a higher protection level than that of the earlier notes. The current banknotes of the dram are designed by experts drawn from England and Germany.

The original pride flag was created in the 1970s by gay activist Gilbert Baker, friend of Harvey Milk, the first openly gay man to be elected to public office in California. Baker used eight colors and corresponding meanings: hot pink for sexuality, red for life, orange for healing, yellow for the sun, green for nature, turquoise for art, indigo for harmony, and violet for spirit.

This article will answer these questions to help you understand what the new flag currently looks like and where this design is headed.

The Progress Pride Flag was created with the inspiration of other pride flags—specifically, the Philadelphia Pride Flag from 2017 and the trans flag.

There's a lot of green in nature, which is what this color on the original pride flag is meant to convey. Nature is a healing place, and the color green is associated with prosperity and growth.

The national anthem of Armenia is “Mer Hayrenik”/ “Our Fatherland”. Mikayel Nalbandian – an Armenian writer had penned the lyrics, with a Lebanese-Armenian composer, Barsegh Kanachyan composing the music. The national anthem was first adopted in 1918 and then modified and re-adopted on July 1, 1991, by the Supreme Soviet of the constituent Republic. Being intrinsic to civic education, the anthem prominently features in the classrooms of the schools in the country and this dignification of the national anthem encourages the students to sing it every day. The national anthem of Armenia also mentions the flag in the second and third stanzas, citing its creation.

The red in the flag represents life. This makes sense if you think about how blood is red and how often blood is thought of as a vital life force of the body. Red also represents passion among many cultures. And, passion is ideally where life originates from.

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Although the Pride flag continues to evolve, the most recent update includes a yellow triangle with a purple circle inside it to represent the intersex community. It now serves as the most up-to-date LGBTQIA+ flag.

The inaugural series of the currency coins circulated from 1994 to 2002. The aluminum coins featured denominations of 1, 3, 5, and 10 drams in addition to 10, 20, and 50 luma. The 10-dram coin is the only one currently in use. Although the other denominations circulate officially, they are hardly used due to their low nominal value. New denominations were released in 2003 and 2004 made up of 10, 20, 50, 100, 200 as well as 500-dram coins. Printed on the coins is the particular year they were first initially rolled out.

The colors black and brown were added to the Progress Pride Flag to represent people of color (POC). This was an important addition because people of color have often been left out of the queer narrative despite being the driving force behind the movement.

It wasn't until recent years that our society acknowledged that the pride movement originated thanks to Black trans activists such as Marsha P. Johnson, who notoriously fought back against police at the Stonewall Inn in June of 1969. The Stonewall riot members were mostly people of color, and many were trans.

This was done intentionally to convey the separation in meaning and shift focus to how important the issues represented on the left are.

There have been several flags throughout Armenia’s history. In the past, various dynasties have adopted different flags in the Armenian empire. The Artaxiad Dynasty used the first flag between 189 BC and 1AD, comprising of three charges, and two eagles separated by a flower on a red cloth. Other dynasties that had flags in the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia include Rubenid Dynasty (1198-1219), the Hethumid Dynasty (1226-1341), and the Lusignan Dynasty (1341-1375). The first modern flag was adopted in 1885 after the split of Armenia between the Ottoman and Persian Empires. In 1936, the Armenian SSR adopted its first flag, which resembled the Soviet Union’s flag. In 1952, a new flag was introduced, which added a blue fess to the preceding flag's design. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, Armenia gained its independence and the First Republic of Armenia adopted the current national flag; which was based on the colors used during the Lusignan period.  The Armenian National Assembly passed a law governing the use of the flag on June 15, 2006.