Planned Parenthood Torontos LGBTQ Youth Initiative is helping the citys straight and cisgender youth be better allies via a multimedia campaign that launched September 26.
Send the Right Message offers practical tools for supporting LGBTQ+ identities while speaking directly to young people.
The public campaign, which includes TTC advertisements, an online resource and a video on pronoun use entitled They Go By Them, focuses on how commonplace it is for homophobic, biphobic and transphobic comments to slip into our text exchanges.
However, texting can also be a space to express more empathetic allyship.
Sure she came out as bi but we both know shes a lesbian, reads one exchange, which prompts the response: I love you but I think that she knows her identity better than you do.
The campaign, which launched with a party at Buddies in Bad Times Theatre, opens up a larger discussion on how straight and cisgender youth can challenge everyday instances of homophobia, biphobia and transphobia whether online, over text or in the real world.
Im proud to have helped create a campaign like this, says LGBTQ Youth Initiative member Sylvan Tang. After I started medically transitioning, some of my close friends assumed that I would be straight. They didnt understand the fluidity of sexuality and gender identity. Hopefully a resource like this can help them.
Inspired by the campaign, weve compiled five ways you can start being a better LGBTQ ally.
Being an ally doesnt mean youre instantly above making offensive comments, even if they are unintentional. Self-reflection is required. Uncover your own internalized homophobia, biphobia and transphobia. It may be a painful process, but it can make you a more empathetic ally.
This is the part where you actively listen and not try to straightsplain away your LGBTQ+ friends’ experiences of discrimination. Endeavour to see things from their perspective: hang out in LGBTQ+ positive spaces together or look for gender-neutral bathrooms if youre out with a trans or non-binary person.
Sometimes silence isnt golden. Dont let discriminatory jokes slide by copping out to the harmless fun everyone is having. Your LGBTQ+ friend isnt having fun when the jokes are at their expense. Challenge LGBTQ+ invisibility by being vocal.
Sometimes you might be the person making the joke or misusing a pronoun for the umpteenth time. You dont have to beat yourself up with guilt, but it is wise to own up to it. Learn from your mistakes. Rather than get defensive, accept feedback.
Dont just talk about it, be about it. Challenge policies that separate genders in your workplace or campus. Advocate for the right of trans women to access women-only spaces. Share resources on social media. The fight needs allies. Get in the game.
christiner@nowtoronto.com | @missrattan
