repeat after me:
allies are not oppressed
being an ally is not a sexual orientation or gender identity
the A in LGBTQA stands for asexualthen what letter is for ally
THERE IS NO LETTER FOR ALLY
Here’s your daily reminder that ally is a term used by closeted LGBTQIA people who are unable to come out
So why I can understand why you’d make a post like this, please understand WHY people might want an A for ally, FOR SAFETY REASONS. This too, is important.
“but if everyone knows allies are closeted queers, then it doesn’t work to shield them. So says me! So I get to exclude them again, BAHAHAHAHAHAH.”
Yes, I’ve seen people say that. No, I have no idea why people are so damn mean.
It’s really astounding that the argument for keeping “ally” part of the acronym never even occurred to me until I heard someone else say it, when I called myself an “ally” for years in middle school as an excuse for why I cared so much about gay rights. “I’m not gay, I just have some really close friends who are and I care about them!”
Yeah. Sure you do, 12-year-old self.
And I knew I was bi, but I was terrified that real lesbians would reject me as someone who was “just experimenting” so I was all “mumblemumble straight I guess” and called myself an ally because it was easier than promising I knew what I’d be like when I actually dated people.
“Mumblemumble straight I guess” sucks, because it means whenever some aspect of queer culture resonates with you and you try to say so, it’s “cultural appropriation.”
I believe that you can be welcomed into the community without being given a letter in the acronym, though.
Like, POC doesn’t include white allies, but anti-racism communities still can. So why would straight allies need a letter in the LGBTQ+ acronym to be involved in the LGBTQ+ community?
And interrogating why people are in the community is pretty shitty and intrusive in general, especially for people who are uncertain or have complicated feelings about it.
