This LVW, we’ve partnered with ILGA World to find out more about rainbow families around the globe
Happy Lesbian Visibility Week 2025. This year our theme is all about family. We’ve partnered up with ILGA World, a worldwide federation of more than 1,900 organisations from over 160 countries and territories campaigning for lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and intersex human rights to find out what family means to activists all around the world.
This is what family looks like to Rachael, a board member of ILGA Europe and ILGA World and co-founder of Rainbow Nation Brussels.
What does family mean to you?
For me, family is about chosen love – it’s the people who hold you down, lift you up, challenge you, correct you and see you fully. It’s also about doing the same for those people. As a queer person, we’ve built a version of family that is rooted in intention, respect, laughter, and softness.
It’s not necessarily about blood – it’s about connection, safety, and a shared journey. Family is the space where we feel most ourselves, where we can exhale and just be.
But family is also about looking inward at what type of family member you are. Admitting that you’re not being as good as a family member as you’d like to be is part of becoming better. In addition to that, it’s ok to look at other families and to feel envious, jealous or to feel like you’re lacking/missing something. Just remember you’re not seeing their full experiences either. There’s A LOT happening behind closed doors. Just keep that in mind.
Tell us about a typical day in your family life.
There is no such thing as a typical day in my family life *extra large grin*! Our days are a mix of cosy chaos and intentional calm – we start most mornings with cuddles and porridge before heading out to our day jobs. After work, we end up catching up on messages from friends and family all around the globe. My partner Bo might be doing something creative like preparing her next deejay sets (shameless plug follow @meng.the.bo on IG), and I’m usually reading sci-fi/fantasy books and/or editing videos for our YouTube channel. Evenings are for walks, playlists, and wine or tea, depending on the mood. We check in with each other a lot – whether it’s goofy dancing in the living room or just pausing to say “I love you.” We’ve built rituals that ground us, so when life gets hectic we can find each other.
How have things changed for LGBTQIA+ families over your lifetime?
Whew, so much has changed – and I’m grateful for it. Growing up, there weren’t many visible queer families, especially not Black queer women and femme/masc presenting people loving out loud. Now, I’m seeing more representation, more legal recognition, and a partially growing awareness of intersectionality. That visibility matters. It’s not perfect – not by a long shot – but it’s powerful to know that who we are and how we love is increasingly being seen and celebrated.
On the other hand, whilst significant progress has been made, in the last years, we have seen how fragile progress is. In France, Italy, and other European countries, we have seen the weaponization of women’s rights affect LGBTQIA+ families. We’ve seen anti-LGBTQIA+ rhetoric being embraced by mainstream politics, often wrapped in language that claims to protect “traditional values” or “the family.” It’s a reminder that progress is not linear – and that rights gained can still be rolled back. In some places, laws around adoption, parental recognition, or access to fertility treatments for queer families are being challenged or restricted.
This is especially true for families like ours – where being queer is one layer, and being Black adds another. We exist at an intersection that is still too often overlooked in broader conversations about equality. The truth is: we’re still fighting to be seen as whole, legitimate, and deserving of the same rights and protections as everyone else.
But that won’t stop us from loving boldly and building community. Visibility is a form of resistance. Joy is, too. And every time we share our story, hold hands in public, or simply live out loud, we are creating space for others to do the same – and pushing back against a world that sometimes wants to make us smaller.
Our love is not just valid – it’s necessary. And we’re not going anywhere.
What are your hopes for the future of LGBTQIA+ families?
I hope that LGBTQIA+ families will be seen, recognized and appreciated as what they are: families. Within my lifetime, I want people to understand that LGBTQIA+ families are not a threat nor are they unnatural, confused, or “less than.” They are not an agenda. They are not a phase. They are not the exception to the rule – we are the rule, because love, care, and commitment don’t belong to just one kind of family structure.
I want a future where our families are honoured in classrooms, protected by policy, and celebrated in the media — not just tolerated. I want our children to grow up seeing families like theirs reflected back at them with pride. I want queer parents to access the same resources, support systems, and rights as anyone else, without having to fight twice as hard or explain themselves at every turn.
I want the future to be even more expansive in how it defines family – to centre care, not conformity. And we hope that our love can be one small example that helps normalize and uplift the beauty of queer family life.
And I want all of us – especially those at the intersections of queerness, Blackness, transness, and migration – to be able to live, love, and thrive in safety. To build homes filled with joy, softness, community and freedom. Because in the end, that’s all any family wants.
And we deserve no less.
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