LBGT what does the gay pride rainbow flag really stand for?

Ok, according to Wikipedia, and several other sources that I don't quite remember off the top of my head, the gay flag was inspired by a "flag of races" with stripes symbolizing the diversity of the human race, and/or "Over the Rainbow." (I'm tempted to believe they both influenced the flag somewhat, but I could be wrong). Either way, each stripe is supposed to symbolize something different (hot pink: sexuality, red: life, orange: healing, yellow: sunlight, green: nature, turquoise: magic/art, indigo/blue: serenity/harmony, violet: spirit). Notice that the flag originally had 8 stripes... hot pink was eliminated when demand for the flag grew and hot pink fabric wasn't available, and later on, the flag was reduced to 6 stripes to there wouldn't be a "middle" stripe that a flag pole could obscure. That leaves us with the 6 stripe flag we have today. Hopefully, giving you the history of the flag helps somewhat in answering your question.

It's basically human variability and self-expression. Little children draw rainbows all the time as symbols of hope and a way to really let out who they are inside, as unique and creative individuals. Also, people come in all sorts of different ways---be that by race, ethnicity, preferences, intelligences, etc. That's a lot like the colors of the rainbow, because if you look at a real rainbow, it isn't just 6 stripes of colors, it's an entire gradient. Furthermore, you could say it represents beauty, because there's a tendency to view things that are in color as being more beautiful and alive than those that are in grayscale. Then again, you could say it's addressing how things aren't all black and white. There are colors in life that make things more unique and interesting. It's not just "You're a man, so you like women," it's "You're a man, so maybe you like women, but maybe you like men, but maybe you're okay with both, or maybe you're not really into either." Nothing in life is truly black and white---it's colored and shaded like a rainbow. Obviously, there are a lot of ways you could take the flag, and any of them would probably be okay to most people. I can't tell you why it was originally chosen, but it is what it is now.

it really stands for refracted light