Why do rainbow colors symbolize homosexuality?

I'm bi but I do kind of understand where Ralphie May is coming from, even if it is a little...Well just let me explain. Ralphie May had a joke about the rainbow representing gays and he said, "You guys allready had pink, now you need the whole spectrum!? Now when a kid draws a rainbow in a painting, over their house, people are going to look at it and go, GAY!"

According to link each color is supposed to represent "a different aspect of gay and lesbian life: sexuality, life, healing, sun, nature, art, harmony, and spirit."

i hav no idea and i think its kinda wrong

i believe its something to do with the belief in not conforming to peoples stereotypical views of love or something

*this is copied from somewhere else*


The Rainbow flag or Pride flag of the LGBT community is a symbol of LGBT pride and LGBT social movements in use since the 1970s. The colors reflect the diversity of the LGBT community, and the flag is often used as a symbol of gay pride in LGBT rights marches. It originated in the United States, but is now used worldwide. Designed by San Francisco artist Gilbert Baker in 1978, the design has undergone several revisions.

Sewn by thirty volunteers, the original gay-pride flag flew in the San Francisco Gay Freedom Day Parade on June 25, 1978. It has been suggested that Baker was inspired by Judy Garland’s singing “Over The Rainbow.” The flag consisted of eight stripes; Baker assigned specific meaning to each of the colors as follows:

hot pink: sexuality
red: life
orange: healing
yellow: sunlight
green: nature
turquoise: magic/art
indigo: serenity/harmony
violet: spirit

After the assassination of openly gay San Francisco City Supervisor Harvey Milk, demand for the rainbow flag greatly increased. To meet demand, the Paramount Flag Company began selling a version of the flag using stock rainbow fabric consisting of seven stripes of red, orange, yellow, green, turquoise, blue, and violet. As Baker ramped up production of his version of the flag, he too dropped the hot pink stripe because of the unavailability of hot-pink fabric. Also, San Francisco-based Paramount Flag Co. began selling a surplus stock of Rainbow Girls flags from its Polk Street retail store.

As of 2008, the most common variant consists of six stripes, with the colors red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and violet. The flag is commonly flown horizontally, with the red stripe on top, as the colors would appear in a natural rainbow.