The Progress Pride Flag was supposed to be the most inclusive pride flag ever made. Then in 2021, a writer in London looked at it and noticed something was still missing. Her name is Valentino Vecchietti, and the flag she designed is now flying outside city halls, stadiums, and countless front porches. Here is what the Intersex-Inclusive Progress Pride Flag actually stands for, where it came from, and why adding one more circle changed the whole conversation.
Quick Facts About the Flag
★ The Basics
| Designer | Valentino Vecchietti |
| Year released | 2021 |
| Built on | Progress Pride Flag (Daniel Quasar, 2018) |
| New elements | Yellow triangle, purple open circle |
| Represents | Intersex people added to the full LGBTQ+ rainbow |
| Copyright | Free for community use |
What the Flag Looks Like
Start with the Progress Pride Flag, the one with the white, pink, light blue, brown, and black chevron pointing right into Gilbert Baker's six color rainbow. Now tuck a yellow triangle inside that chevron. Inside the yellow triangle, add a purple open circle. That is the Intersex-Inclusive Progress Pride Flag. The rainbow stays. The chevron stays. The triangle is what is new, and the circle inside it is the whole reason the update exists.
Held up next to the 2018 Progress Pride Flag, the difference is small and deliberate. Vecchietti did not redesign the flag. She added to it, which is exactly the point.
What Every Element Means
Five layers of meaning stacked onto one piece of cloth.
| 1 | The rainbow stripes. Gilbert Baker's original six colors from 1978, now the universal base of pride: red for life, orange for healing, yellow for sunlight, green for nature, blue for harmony, and violet for spirit. |
| 2 | White, pink, and light blue stripes. Pulled from the 1999 Transgender Pride Flag by Monica Helms. Light blue for boys, pink for girls, white for people who are transitioning, nonbinary, or outside the binary entirely. |
| 3 | Brown and black stripes. Honor Black and brown LGBTQ+ people whose contributions built the modern pride movement. The black stripe also carries the memory of those lost to HIV and AIDS, and the stigma that followed. |
| 4 | The yellow triangle. Taken directly from the 2013 intersex pride flag by Morgan Carpenter. Yellow and purple were chosen on purpose because neither color carries traditional gender associations. No pink. No blue. No binary. |
| 5 | The purple open circle. Unbroken and whole. The circle stands for completeness and bodily autonomy. It is a visual reminder that intersex people are born whole as they are, and that their bodies do not need to be corrected. |
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Who Designed It and Why
Valentino Vecchietti is a writer and activist based in London. She works with Intersex Equality Rights UK, an organization that campaigns for the rights of intersex people in Britain and globally. In early 2021 she released the Intersex-Inclusive Progress Pride Flag as a volunteer project. She took Daniel Quasar's 2018 Progress Pride Flag, which had already added the five-color chevron for trans people and LGBTQ+ people of color, and she stitched in the circle and triangle from Morgan Carpenter's 2013 intersex flag.
Her reason was simple. The Progress Pride Flag was a huge leap forward, but intersex people were still invisible on it. The letter I in LGBTQIA+ was present in the acronym, but not in any of the colors or shapes. Vecchietti wanted that to change. She shared the design online and told people to use it freely.
The response was fast. By the summer of 2021, the flag was showing up at London Pride. By 2022, it was flying at city halls, corporate HQs, and on the South Lawn of the White House during the signing of the Respect for Marriage Act. In a few short years, it quietly became the default pride flag of the 2020s for organizations that want to signal they mean all of it.
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1.7% Share of people born with intersex traits. About the same as the share of people born with red hair. Source: UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. |
How It Differs From the 2018 Progress Pride Flag
Small change, big meaning.
The change is small on purpose. Vecchietti did not try to reinvent the flag. She added what was missing. That is also why both flags are still in use. Some groups fly the 2018 version, some fly the 2021 version, and plenty of people fly both. Neither one is wrong.
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Featured Product Progress Pride Flag The 2018 Daniel Quasar original on a 3x5 ft outdoor polyester banner. The chevron that started the modern update era of pride flags. Shop the Progress Flag → |
Why Intersex Visibility on the Flag Matters
Intersex people have always been part of the LGBTQ+ community. They have not always been visible on its flags. For decades, intersex folks were represented mostly through the letter I in the ever-growing acronym, and not through any of the colors or shapes people actually see from across the street.
Visibility is not a small thing. Around 1 to 2 percent of people are born with intersex traits, which is roughly the same share of the population as people with red hair. A lot of them grow up without ever hearing the word used for their own body. A flag that names them, on the same cloth as the rest of the community, starts to undo that silence. It also keeps pressure on the ongoing fight to end nonconsensual surgeries on intersex infants, which is the issue Morgan Carpenter was protesting when he made the original intersex flag in the first place.
When you fly this flag, you are saying the I in LGBTQIA+ is not a letter of etiquette. Every single letter is a person, and every single person is on the flag.
Five Common Mistakes People Make
MISTAKE 01
Calling it "the intersex flag"
The intersex flag is Morgan Carpenter's 2013 design, a plain yellow rectangle with a purple open circle. This one is the Intersex-Inclusive Progress Pride Flag. It includes intersex people rather than standing in for the intersex flag alone.
MISTAKE 02
Confusing it with the Philadelphia flag
The 2017 Philadelphia Pride Flag added a black and a brown stripe to the rainbow to honor LGBTQ+ people of color. No chevron, no triangle. Different flag, different year, different story.
MISTAKE 03
Thinking it replaced the Progress Pride Flag
Vecchietti designed it as an update, not a replacement. Both flags are still flown widely. You do not have to pick a side. Plenty of organizations rotate between the two depending on the year and the context.
MISTAKE 04
Hanging it the wrong way
The red stripe is always at the top of the rainbow. The chevron always points to the right toward the rainbow stripes. The triangle always points right with the open circle centered inside. If any of that looks off, flip the flag.
MISTAKE 05
Assuming you need permission to fly it
You do not. Vecchietti released the design for free community use and it is not copyrighted. Use it on flags, stickers, shirts, posters, anything. A credit to her name when you can is a nice touch, not a requirement.
If you have not met an intersex person yet, statistically you probably have and just did not know. That is the whole reason a flag like this matters. Representation is how strangers recognize each other across a room.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who designed the Intersex-Inclusive Progress Pride Flag?
Valentino Vecchietti of Intersex Equality Rights UK created it in 2021 as a volunteer project. She combined Daniel Quasar's 2018 Progress Pride Flag with elements from Morgan Carpenter's 2013 intersex pride flag.
What does the purple circle mean?
The unbroken purple circle stands for wholeness and the right to bodily autonomy. It is a visual reminder that intersex people are complete as they are born, and that nonconsensual medical interventions on intersex bodies violate that wholeness.
Why yellow and purple instead of pink or blue?
Morgan Carpenter chose yellow and purple in 2013 because neither color carries traditional gender associations. The intersex flag is specifically designed to avoid the pink-and-blue binary that so often harms intersex infants from the moment they are born.
Is this flag replacing the regular Progress Pride Flag?
No. Both flags are still in active use. The Intersex-Inclusive version is considered an update, and most official sources now list it as the most inclusive mainstream pride flag. Many people and organizations fly both.
Can anyone use the Intersex-Inclusive Progress Pride Flag?
Yes. Vecchietti released it for free community use. It is not copyrighted. You do not need permission to print it, fly it, or put it on a tote. Crediting her when possible is a kind gesture, not a legal requirement.
When is the best time to fly the Intersex-Inclusive Progress Pride Flag?
Any time. Pride Month in June is the obvious answer, but Intersex Awareness Day on October 26 and Trans Day of Visibility on March 31 are also great moments to raise it. Plenty of allies fly it year round.
Want to keep learning? Start with our pillar guide on every pride flag and what it means. Then read how the Progress Pride Flag compares to the classic rainbow, how the Philadelphia flag added its black and brown stripes, and how to display a pride flag at home indoors or out.
For a plain identity explainer, read Intersex Meaning: A Plain Guide. It pairs well with flag history, LGBTQIA+ language, and practical privacy habits.
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Make Your Support Visible Every flag flown is a signal to someone who needed to see it. Grab the Inclusive Progress Pride Flag or browse the full collection. |
