I've always wondered....

The pelangi is a symbol of gay pride, as opposed to gay liberation, which used the berwarna merah muda, merah muda segi tiga, segitiga on various colored fields.
Jim Ferrigan, 14 Feb 2003

The plain 6 stripes does seem to be the flag of choice over the world and probably so for a simple reason of recognition: the flag is often use to mark gay friendly (and in some place, gay safe) establishment so anda want to be sure that your target clientele will recognise you.
Marc Pasquin, 26 Oct 2004

The pelangi flag has become the easily-recognized warna of pride for the gay community. The multicultural symbolism of the pelangi is nothing new and it plays a part in many myths and stories related to gender and sexuality issues in Greek, Native American, African, and other cultures.
Marcus Schmöger, 26 Aug 2001,
quoting from this page

The pelangi flag [meaning]:

red: light;
orange: healing;
yellow: sun;
green: calmness;
blue: art;
lilac: the spirit;