Who? Why? How?
Now that we have some context, let’s review 3 relevant questions that will lead us to answer our initial question: “are you an ally person for the LGBTQ+ collective?”
Who?
An LGBTQ+ ally is someone from outside the LGBTQ+ community who understands the inequalities of opportunity they face and who works to correct those inequalities.
Why?
There are many reasons why a person is an ally of the LGBTQ+ community:
For career success: Data shows that diverse and inclusive teams are more productive, innovative, and therefore more profitable. One of the reasons is that by being more diverse, more points of view are incorporated and, therefore, biases in design and decision-making are reduced.
For equity and social justice: we come from a long history of oppression and inequality and we need to work together to reverse it. This would include what we usually call solidarity.
For childhood: you can feel the impulse to become an ally for the LGBTQ+ community for your sons, daughters, nieces, nephews, granddaughters or grandsons, so that they grow up with equal opportunities and then generate equal opportunities for others.
How do we apply it to our everyday realities?
Here is a list of ideas to implement and thus become an ally person:
– Don’t interrupt: People from underrepresented groups are more likely to be interrupted, so pause and listen. Constantly being interrupted and underrepresented in the mainstream culture, these groups get the message that what they have to say is not important or interesting, and they begin to take up less and less space. By letting them speak freely and encouraging them to express themselves, we reinforce the idea that what they say is important and interesting and we help them regain their space in society.
– Keep an open mind: listen, learn, unlearn, make mistakes and learn again. Let us be open to different ways of being and understanding the world in which we live. Let us remember that it is not necessary for us to understand something (an idea, a concept, a feeling, an identity, etc.) to respect someone.
– Detect and destroy microaggressions: Microaggressions are intentional or unintentional comments or insults that send hostile, derogatory and negative messages to a marginalized group. For the LGBTQ+ community, some examples of microaggressions include:
* Talk about LGBTQ+ identity as if it were a decision or a lifestyle.
* Strengthen stereotypes of the LGBTQ+ community.
* Deny the existence of bisexuality.
* Exclude an LGBTQ+ family member or partner from family life.
– Pay attention to language: language is a powerful tool to understand ourselves and connect with our environment. Pay attention and learn the words a person uses to describe their identity, their pronouns, or the words they use to describe their disability, religion, etc. If you have doubts about how to refer someone, the best thing you can do is ask. If you’re wrong, that’s fine; you can apologize and correct yourself. Having and showing an open attitude to learning is the most valuable thing. It is always better to ask than to assume.
LGBTQ+ Ambassador at intive
Source: Ambito
