Being a GLBT Ally
As a person who doesn’t identify as gay but is definitely interested in both becoming aware of an active in GLBT issues, one of the most profound questions I have to continually ask myself is how best to be an ally. In a thread designed to discuss the connections between different groups of feminists, Theriomorph writes,
People with privilege need to take responsibility for engaging other people with privilege in antiracist education and awareness. As I said elsewhere, it is not the responsibility of women of color to fix my broken white feminism.
So this is an open invitation to anyone who has been struggling with how to talk about this stuff, or who has suggestions for how to talk about this stuff, or who has ideas about concrete anti-racist behaviors, or anything else relating to the practice of antiracist feminism(s), to do so here.
So my question is, do you think this is a necessary process for allies with the GLBT movement? What questions should be being asked?
I think one potential avenue is discussed by Mombian in her article about family friendly policies. If non-GLBT people need to examine their “heterosexual privilege,” maybe one place to start is by widening the definition of what constitutes a legitimate family. As she points out, pushing for family friendly policies needs to be a place for making everyone’s family count, not just some:
I’ve written before about how the family-rights movement and the LGBT movement need to work together. It’s great that organizations like Moms Rising are pushing for more family-friendly policies. I searched in vain on their Web site to find any statement of support for the rights of LGBT workers and their families. Unless family-rights groups also work to ensure that all families—mine included—are recognized as such, they’ll still be leaving some of us out in the cold.
What other issues do you think are critical ones for allies to start from when examining heterosexual privilege?
Link to Creek Running North via Faux Real Tho.
GLBT, GLBT Rights, GLBT Families, GLBT Allies
GLBT, GLBT Rights, GLBT Families, GLBT Allies
January 25th, 2008 at 7:04 am
[...] comments. * Stalking Sunlight: “The Benefit of the Doubt,” - Following up from my post yesterday about being a good ally, this post is a great one on the ways that trying to be an ally, or a [...]
January 28th, 2008 at 4:37 am
A complete lack of assumptions is also necessary. I’ve seen a lot of people who call themselves allies who think that, because a person is gay, they behave in a specific “gay” way, or that there is a “bisexual personality.”
January 30th, 2008 at 10:52 am
I think that’s definitely a good call. The idea that there are certain ways to “be gay” makes it really hard for those who don’t meet the stereotype.