Intersex flag

Intersex flag

Use	Symbol of the intersex community
Proportion	2:3
Adopted	2013
Design	Open purple circle lying on a yellow field
Designed by	Morgan Carpenter

Intersex topics
Human rights and legal issues Compulsory sterilization Discrimination Human rights reports Legal recognition Malta declaration Medical interventions Sex assignment Sex characteristics (legal term) Yogyakarta Principles
Healthcare and biology Disorders of sex development Genetic diagnosis Definitions Healthcare Medical interventions history Orchidometer Phall-O-Meter Prader scale Quigley scale Sexual differentiation more...
Society and culture Endosex (antonym) Civil society organizations Fictional characters‎ Films Flag Intersex and LGBT Literature People Religion Military US Researchers Sex verification in sports at the Olympic Games Television
History and events History of surgery timeline Intersex Awareness Day Intersex Day of Remembrance International Intersex Forum
Rights by country Argentina Australia Canada Chile China Colombia France Germany Kenya Malta Mexico Nepal New Zealand South Africa Spain Switzerland Taiwan Uganda United Kingdom United States
See also Hermaphrodite Children's rights Genital modification and mutilation Disability rights Gender LGBT Androgyny Anti-gender movement Non-binary Non-binary recognition Queer theory Third gender Transgender Medical ethics Rights Sex Sex differences
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The intersex flag is a flag representing intersex individuals and the intersex community. It was created by Morgan Carpenter of Intersex Human Rights Australia in 2013.^[1]

The flag was created in July 2013 by Morgan Carpenter of Intersex Human Rights Australia (then known as Organisation Intersex International Australia) to create a flag "that is not derivative, but is yet firmly grounded in meaning". Yellow and purple were chosen as colours as they were viewed as free from gender associations and were historically used to represent intersex people. The circle is described as "unbroken and unornamented, symbolizing wholeness and completeness, and our potentialities."^[1]

The organization describes it as freely available "for use by any intersex person or organization who wishes to use it, in a human rights affirming community context".^[1]

The intersex flag has been utilised by a range of media and human rights organisations.^[2][3][4][5] In June 2018, intersex activists took part in Utrecht Canal Pride, waving the flag.

In May 2018, New Zealand became the first country where the intersex flag was raised outside the national parliament.^[6][7][8]

• 
  Intersex activists on a boat at Utrecht Canal Pride in the Netherlands, on June 16, 2018
• 
  ILGA-Europe conference 2018 participants on Intersex Awareness Day, 2018
• 
  Rotterdam Pride, Netherlands, 2018
• 
  Outside the New Zealand Parliament Buildings, 18 March 2019, flown at half-staff in memory of those killed in the Christchurch mosque shootings on 15 March 2019.

The intersex flag has been remixed and adapted in numerous ways. For example, in 2021, the intersex flag was incorporated into the Progress Pride Flag version of the rainbow pride flag by Valentino Vecchietti of Intersex Equality Rights UK.^[9]

• 
  The Progress Pride flag with the intersex flag (2021)

Because the word "orchid" comes from the Greek word for testicle, and the orchiectomy is a common surgery performed on intersex infants –especially those with androgen insensitivity syndrome– the orchid flower is symbolic of intersexuality and of opposition to non-consensual genital surgery.^[10][11]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Intersex flags.

• Intersex
• Intersex human rights