Flagging Safety Beyond the Flag

How design and content can signal safety and more, with examples from some truly kickass inclusive health and wellness websites

Author

BJ Ferguson
July 11, 2025

Hey friends,

This week I wanted to share something that's been on my mind: the difference between looking inclusive and being inclusive.

We've all seen websites with rainbow flags that belong to providers who've never spoken a neopronoun, or clinics with "LGBTQ+ friendly" bios whose intake forms only have M/F options. But I’ve also noticed some genuinely affirming care providers whose every design choice shows they truly understand our communities.

Today I’m sharing just a handful of websites that get it right—the ones that make you think "finally, someone who knows what they're talking about." Here are five that demonstrate what digital "flagging" looks like when it's done right.

In queer clubs and social scenes, “flagging” refers to what is also known as “the hanky code”—aesthetic social cues which queer people use to signal belonging or desire to each other in specific and subtle ways.

It’s not uncommon to see rainbow flags or other signifiers of LGBTQ+ inclusion on healthcare facility or wellness practice websites, though even those small signs are being removed as practitioners face threats and protests for offering affirming inclusive care. This leaves queer trans people in the lurch, never knowing if we will be safe at the hospitals, clinics, or practices we visit, if we will be paying for competent healthcare or for verbal abuse and medical neglect.

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More stories you can expect in the coming months:

  • • Dysphoria, Dysmorphia, and Disordered Eating (oh my)
  • • The Best Provider Websites (and How to Improve Your Own)
  • • Nonbinary in a Binary Healthcare Data System
  • • Virtual Health and Trans Care Bans: what you need to know
  • • 3 Questions to Stop Asking Trans Patients, and What to Ask Instead
  • • Beyond WPATH: developing client-centered care protocols

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