November Blog Post

            The sentence from the readings during the month of November that caught my attention was from the article, “Call Yourself an LGBT Ally? Here’s How to Actually Be One” by Carlos Maza. The article stated, “it is your job to listen to the LGBT people in your life, to ask them how they’re doing, to be aware that they may have gone through (and still might be going through) some things you don’t understand, and offer support when you can”. Reading this article was an incredibly eye opening experience because I never thought about what being an ally meant from the LGBT side. Many people say they’re allies but they either don’t know how to be one, they view ally as a status, or they make it about themselves instead of about LGBT members.

When we discussed this article in our LA groups we were asked to write down three things that were important for being a good ally. I wrote down that it’s crucial to listen, to actively participate when appropriate, and to remember it’s not about you. I feel like this list goes really well with the sentence that stood out to be the most this month. I think people sometimes get caught up in the idea of being an ally and letting people know they’re an ally that they actually forget to perform the actions necessary to be an ally. You don’t get to pick and choose what you want to engage in when it comes to being an ally and I feel like that happens a lot. It’s something you are continuously actively engaging in, not something you do when it’s convenient. In order to be a supportive ally you need to listen and let the individuals you’re being an ally for tell you what they need from you and what the best way for you to help is.

This sentence from the article really stood out to me because my best friend is gay and after reading this article I realized that I could be a better ally to him. I’ve always had his back, especially in high school when people would say horrible things about LGBT individuals, but now I’ve been asking him what’s the best way for me to be an ally to him instead of assuming that what I’m doing is helpful.