Every June, Rare & Radiant celebrates the brilliance, resilience, and advocacy of LGBTQIA+ individuals within the rare disease community.
This campaign uplifts the stories that too often go unseen. It is where queer identity meets rare strength, and where visibility becomes action.
Through art, storytelling, and movement-building, Stripes of Solidarity invites all patients, caregivers, allies, and advocates to join us in honoring the courage and creativity that light the path toward more inclusive care.
Pioneers of Pride honors the LGBTQIA+ trailblazers whose courage, creativity, and advocacy shaped the world we live in today.
Intersectional Advocacy Tools
What is Intersectional Advocacy?
Intersectional advocacy means recognizing that people affected by rare diseases do not live single-issue lives. Our identities including race, gender, sexuality, socioeconomic status, and disability, intersect and shape the way we experience health care, access resources, and navigate systems.
For LGBTQIA+ individuals in the rare disease space, those intersections often bring:
- Delayed diagnoses due to stigma or provider bias
- Underrepresentation in clinical trials and research
- Lack of culturally competent care
- Barriers to fertility preservation, gender-affirming care, or insurance coverage
- Isolation within mainstream patient communities that don’t reflect their lived experiences
Intersectional advocacy fights for systems that are inclusive of all identities, not just in theory, but in practice.
Briefings, Webinars, & Reports
Catch up on community-driven conversations that spotlight LGBTQIA+ issues in rare. From policy briefings to personal storytelling panels, these sessions offer essential context, lived experience, and actionable insights.
Build Your Platform
Learn how to use your story to drive change by launching an advocacy page or starting a support group or campaign.
Get Involved
You do not need to identify as LGBTQIA+ to access or uplift this content. Allyship is welcome and necessary. These tools are for everyone who believes rare advocacy should reflect the true diversity of our community and that no one should be left out of the conversation.