On June 28, World LGBT Day is celebrated (lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgenders).
The movement has three main premises: that people should be proud of their sexual orientation and/or gender identity, that sexual diversity is a gift, and that sexual orientation and gender identity are innate and cannot be changed.
The LGBT flag or rainbow flag is a distinctive symbol of community pride and has been in use since the 1970s. The colors reflect the diversity within the LGBT community and the flag is often used as a symbol in LGBT marches, parades as well as LGBT rights protests. It originated in the US, but today it is used internationally. It was painted by the artist Gilbert Baker in 1978. The design undergoes several revisions due to the availability of fabrics for the color fragments. As of 2008, the most common variant has six bands, usually horizontal, with red at the top and the colors arranged to resemble a natural rainbow.
Symbols of the LGBT community include the rainbow flag, the Greek letter lambda and the pink triangle, which takes on a new, reinterpreted meaning. The original meanings of the individual colors, according to creator Baker, are: pink – sexuality, red – life, orange – health, yellow – light, green – nature, turquoise – magic/art, indigo – serenity/harmony, violet – spirit.
An immediate catalyst for this movement was the Stonewall Inn riot of June 28, 1969 in New York City. The term “gay-pride“ was introduced by Lee Craig Schoonmaker in connection with coverage of the Stonewall Inn riots. In the early morning of June 28, 1969, the so-called riot took place in New York, the reason for which were the continuous attacks and chases by law enforcement agencies against bars and establishments frequented mainly by homosexual customers.
Consequences of this riot are several days of street clashes between homosexuals and the police. Thus, on the occasion of the first year of the rebellion, a civil organization was founded in New York under the name “Christopher Street Liberation Day“ (from the English Liberation Day Christopher Street).