There are many variations on the gay pride flag, specific to each country. It is even recognized by the International Congress of Flag Makers. The six colour version of the mass-produced flag from 1979 spread from San Francisco to other cities, and soon became the widely known symbol of LBGT pride and diversity. In 1979, when the flags were planned for mass-production, the hot pink and turquoise were removed from the design, since they were not commercially available. The pink strip represents sex, red for life, orange for healing, yellow for sun, green for nature, turquoise for art, indigo for harmony and violet for spirit. The original gay pride flag was designed by Gilbert Baker, and debuted in 1978 at the San Francisco Gay and Lesbian Freedom Day.
