A Rainbow of Flowers

A flower blooms for its own joy. And just like flowers, we have to grow into who we are meant to be for ourselves and nobody else.

The Transgender Flag is an embodiment of this growth, as its colors are representative of those who are masculine, feminine, and transitioning.

This growth can be uncomfortable and painful, but all flowers have dirt on their roots.

The symbolic meanings of different flowers can be used to understand the representative meanings of the colored stripes in the trans flag.

Forget-me-nots

The light blue stripes in the trans flag represent the masculine portion of the gender binary. Forget-me-nots are a light blue flower that symbolizes faithfulness and respect. This delicate flower can be used as a symbol of self respect and faithfulness to one’s self.

Throughout their transition, they have had to lose some important people but it was essential for their growth and self expression, Emrys Murphy said.

“While I lost some people, I found a lot of people who are better at respecting me for who I was,” Murphy said. “That’s one of the things you have to learn, especially as a trans queer person. Even if you lose people, there are always other people around you and that's the kind of respect you should demand.”

To Steven Raya, self respect is a virtue that he has had to learn throughout his transition. Forgiveness and time are key aspects in learning to respect yourself, Raya said.

“In the entire journey, I feel as though it is important to remain truthful to every changing part of yourself,” Raya said.

Similarly to Raya, Austin Heintzelmen learned about self respect by establishing boundaries that allowed him to remain faithful to himself and his personal needs.

“If they don’t respect you, then they don’t deserve you,” Murphy said. Carnations

The pink stripes in the trans flag represent the feminine side of the gender binary. The feminine stripes of the trans flag can be compared to the beautiful petals of carnations. Carnations symbolize healing, strength, and love.

“As a trans white person, I don’t have the same strength as others who are in more intersections than me, but I can say that it takes a lot of strength to be yourself and openly be who you are without hiding it,” Murphy said.

For a lot of transgender kids, the dirt that lays on their roots comes from the opinions of society. Murphy said that they spent a lot of their childhood defined by what others wanted them to be, creating a sense of denial of the gender binary because it was easier to fit “societal norms” that they were expected to.

Finding their greatest strength comes with being a role model for others, Murphy said. They said that being a role model is showing young, queer trans kids that they can be themselves.

To help heal his inner child and give himself new strengths, Heintzelmen said that giving back to the community has been the best thing to do for himself because he loves helping people grow.

“Giving people guidance and being affirming and creating safe places for people helps me have the love and respect for myself,” Heintzelmen said.

For Rayas, carnations and the pink stripes in the trans flag resonate with healing both his inner child and adult self.

“I feel like I am healing a part of myself that is both younger and less experienced than what I am today. I didn’t have the same resources or the same support system,” Rayas said. “Me in the past had a lot of growing to do so the pink part of the flag definitely resonates as the need to heal.”

Baby’s Breaths

While the pink and blue colors in the trans flag give representation to those who identify with masculine or feminine identities, the white stripe in the flag is for those who do not fit into a “male” or “female” box. The white represents those who are in the transitioning process, but also those who are intersex, gender-neutral, or undefined. Baby’s Breaths are a graceful white flower that symbolizes everlasting love and peace and can be used to exemplify the white stripe in the trans flag.

Self love is all about doing things that makes themself happy, Murphy said. Whether that be cutting their hair or changing their makeup look, being their true self makes them the most happy.

“Trans joy is such a wonderful thing to experience and see,” Murphy said. “ It’s something that really defines my transness, being able to be comfortable enough that it brings me pure joy.”

Rayas said that he has a soft spot for the white stripe in the flag because it reminds him of the beginning of his identity exploration.

“Finding that inner peace of never really wanting to fall into one side or the other of the spectrum is something that still sticks with me,” Rayas said.

Every part of the flag is fundamentally finding inner peace and coexistence, Rayas said.

Without the dirt that comes with growing into who we are meant to be, we cannot bloom into the best version of ourselves.

Strike Out,

Writer: Grayson Keglovic

EIC: @hanna.chute

Set design: @isamariajones @donobutler

Styling: @kycarn @rosecoloredkristen

Makeup: @allysully @katherinepolgar

Photography: @_jaxphoto @kayden_vitale @isamariajones @_rileyk

Photo Edits: @isamariajones

Assistant: @madigoran @myaasalazarr

Video: @ariela.ortiz

Creative Direction: @discount.saintmari

In collaboration with @MSC_UCF

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