I recently wrote a blog post entitled Year of the Straight Ally. I made a huge oversight when writing this post, which was that I didn’t take into consideration that not everyone knows what it means when I say “active and involved straight ally”. Because this is an important topic, I wanted to expand further on it.
Instead of boring you right away with my definition, I decided to reach out to some of my fellow straight allies and asked them to share what it means for them to be a straight ally.
Below are their responses:
Caley Vickerman: My heart and soul (at least a big chunk of both) belong to City at Peace, an organization that empowers teenagers to create safe, healthy and peaceful lives and communities. Many of my youth are exploring their identity and come out in their time in our program. I am a straight ally because I care about these youth, because they need support, because it is important to have someone to go to who actively and openly listens. Because it is only through enlisting people on both sides of the power line that change can happen. And change must happen.
Loretta: Call me a straight ally or call me someone who believes in fairness and human dignity for all. Call it whatever you want, but I choose to stand up for equality at every juncture.
Ann Baldinucci: I am a straight ally because the idea of full equality is so obvious and right that I think we have an obligation to do what we can to make it happen. I also think this change is completely inevitable.
Kelly Andresen: I am a straight ally because I truly believe in equal rights for all. To help spread awareness of GLBT issues and to encourage dialogue, I worked to increase funding by selling sponsorships around The Agenda – a program hosted by the Human Rights Campaign on SIRIUS XM Radio. The show is no longer on air – so show your support by visiting this site to get it back on air!
Meagan McNabola: I think Bob Marley said it best: my choice is what I chose to do, and if it’s causing no harm, it shouldn’t bother you. And your choice is who you choose to be, so if you’re causing no harm… you’re alright with me.
I grew up in San Francisco and have the good fortune to have many happy and healthy friends (and family). Their orientation does not affect my love for them. Never have, never will.
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Defining What It Means to Be an Active and Involved Straight Ally
For some people, being a straight ally means having your heart in the right place and treating people equally, setting a positive example through action in every-day life. For others, it’s taking an active role by participating in lobbying, phone-banking, and advocating to further pro-LGBT government legislation.
Each person quoted above felt this topic to be important enough to respond to my entreaty. In doing so, they show an element of activism. It might not take much more to convince them to participate in a march, a phone-banking session, or a mailing; putting their feelings into actions. In fact, a few have already done it and will continue to actively participate until the LGBT community obtains equal rights.
I think it’s important to understand that in order to fully move the needle on LGBT equality, there needs to be active involvement not only from the LGBT community but from our straight ally peers who support our need for equal rights.
So, what does it mean to you to be an active and involved straight ally?
I encourage you to check out my Call to Action post on the Swish site, a gay-straight alliance that seeks to mobilize the straight ally community to action.
If you’re a straight ally and want to get involved further, check out these great sites. In future posts, I’ll break down their social media strategies and discuss what makes them so successful.
Empire State Pride Agenda (NY State based)
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