Self-identification - this is what at one time singled out a person from the animal world, made him special and put him at the head of modern reality. The definition of oneself as a person or person, belonging to a certain class, or, for example, adhering to certain beliefs, has led to the realization of the need to express one's “specialty”, which has found a variety of incarnations around the world.
Types of self-determination
The tendency to distinguish oneself from the crowd, in fact, began almost in the Stone Age - with the emergence of the need to distinguish between territory, production, or members of various communities. Different color schemes used when applying a special pattern to the body spoke of belonging to one or another tribal organization. Over time, other phenomena began to play a similar role: specific weaving of hair, special charms, unique clothes, tattoos, rings on the neck or, for example, earlobes stretched in a special way. Some African tribes, living away from civilization, still have preserved traditions, the beginning of which was laid in time immemorial.
Flags are currently the more common identification method. Each country, county or region has its own heraldry, and any football fan can identify their favorite team by its flag.
The meaning of the flags
Colored pieces of the canvas, used since ancient times as original markers, are not only a way to indicate involvement in a particular race, country, team or social movement. This is the easiest way to transmit information invented by mankind.
On the flag of each noble family, certain symbols, paintings, with the help of which even the most illiterate person could find out basic information about the family, previously flaunted. The rudiments of this phenomenon are preserved in the flags of countries. The blue-yellow flag of Ukraine, for example, conveys information about the numerous fields of the country, located mainly in the steppe zone. Fifty stars on the American flag transmit information on the number of states, and thirteen horizontal stripes on the British colonies, which subsequently formed the United States.
Any drawings, symbols and color schemes are in such cases extremely important. The rainbow flag, famous today, is no exception.
Modern interpretation
It is peculiar to our world to rewind something to match the events taking place. This fate and the rainbow flag did not pass. If you conduct a global social survey to determine the meaning of this symbol, the vast majority will indicate a connection with sexual minorities.
Today, the rainbow flag has really become a way of identifying people who have resorted to gender reassignment surgery and those who are gay. Often it can be found in the corresponding parades or as an accessory that emphasizes the peculiarity of the owner.
Thus, today the rainbow flag is clearly associated among people with the LGBT community, and in most of the world this does not cause either bewilderment or discontent.
Roots in antiquity
It is quite obvious that the coloring of this symbol was borrowed from the surrounding nature, namely from such a phenomenon as a rainbow, familiar to mankind since time immemorial and described not only in the Bible, but also in all kinds of preserved pagan treatises.
For many nations, the rainbow today remains a symbol of transformation, rebirth and proximity to the divine principle. For the Bundshu of the Peasant War, the rainbow flag meant hope, change, and a brighter future. And the famous German reformer Thomas Münzer identified the seven-color emblem with the symbol of the Eternal Divine Union.
The rainbow flag, the meaning of which was constantly changing, obeying the spirit of the times, went through many transformations and transformations.
The world is the world
The meaning of this symbol, more familiar to modern mankind, was determined in the early sixties of the twentieth century. If you ask any representative of that era about what the rainbow flag means, he will answer that this is a sign of the desire for peace and tranquility. In its current form, this banner was created by the famous Italian pacifist Aldo Capitini.
The value established then remains to this day, confirmation of which took place in 2003, during the war in Iraq. At that time, every Italian could tell with confidence what the rainbow flag means: seven-color emblems were then hung on almost every balcony as a call for an immediate cessation of hostilities.
The feature of the "world flag"
It is noteworthy that during this period the colors on the canvas were arranged in the opposite order - from purple to red, and the emblems themselves were decorated with the corresponding inscriptions: Pace, Peace, Paix or Shalom, which literally translated as "World".
Hippie legacy
Representatives of this subculture, although using a rainbow flag, the peace movement did not consider it the only destination. It is no secret that the hippies were absolute pacifists, but in their view the seven-color emblem symbolized, rather, friendliness, love and tolerance.
By and large, the current sexual minorities borrowed precisely this interpretation, making the rainbow flag their emblem. Nevertheless, seven-color banners underwent a certain transformation: first, the eighth, pink, was added to the usual colors, and then the number of shades was reduced to six (blue and previously added pink disappeared from the spectrum).