{"id":86,"date":"2025-01-06T16:25:21","date_gmt":"2025-01-06T16:25:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hypelabs.dev\/nych\/cms\/?post_type=news&p=86"},"modified":"2025-03-24T20:35:58","modified_gmt":"2025-03-24T20:35:58","slug":"how-to-be-an-ally","status":"publish","type":"news","link":"https:\/\/nych.ca\/cms\/news\/how-to-be-an-ally\/","title":{"rendered":"How to be an Ally"},"content":{"rendered":"\r\n
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Being an ally for the LGBTQ+ community is simple. In a world where many people aren\u2019t accepting or willing to learn about identities other than heterosexual and cisgender, allies are incredibly refreshing to come across. For many people in the queer community, coming out to anyone can be intimidating, whether it be friends or family. However, there are many ways to make yourself more supportive and understanding towards individual differences, especially when it comes to the LGBTQ+ community. Fourth-year University of Ottawa student Elisa Popova discusses ways in which she feels an individual can be a positive ally. Elisa identifies as an asexual lesbian.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n

She explains that when she came out as a lesbian people were quite surprised. Regarding her asexuality, she has only come out as asexual to her partner, who was curious about what the term meant. Some of the questions she received from her partner included, \u2018Do you find people attractive? How do crushes work for you?\u201d Elisa explains, \u201cThey\u2019re valid [questions].\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\r\n

Elisa wishes more people would acknowledge asexuality, explaining, \u201cInstead of assuming everyone is super into sex, be understanding that some people aren\u2019t. Don\u2019t assume for everyone.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\r\n

For many people, asexuality isn\u2019t a term they are familiar with. This is the case for many names in the LGBTQ+ acronym, especially for the older generation who might not know anyone personally who identifies as queer. However, it is important to be aware that queer people do exist, whether it be asexuals, bisexuals, or a label in-between. Don\u2019t assume anyone\u2019s sexuality, and be sure to speak up if you hear homophobic jokes or comments being tossed around.<\/p>\r\n

Elisa explains the concept of a \u201cfalse ally\u201d, explaining that someone who is not truly an ally would disregard your views and not care about what you are saying, since they would be thinking more about themselves. She explains that a \u201creal ally\u201d would ask you questions to make you more comfortable, and be willing to accommodate for differences.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n

As for the point of having allies in the LGBTQ+ community, Elisa explains:<\/p>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n

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\u201cYou would have more of a support network behind you, [and] you wouldn\u2019t just be alone \u2026 swimming in the middle of the water. You would have people who you could talk to, who would be understanding.\u201d \u2014 Elisa<\/blockquote>\r\n<\/figure>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n
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When Elisa was in her first year of university, she decided to take it on herself to form her own LGBTQ+ support network in the form of an Instagram groupchat. \u201cIn first year, I made a groupchat for [LGBTQ+] people. It was basically a big support network. Everyone was very accepting, [and] it wasn\u2019t just gay people, it was like different sexualities under the umbrella.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\r\n

She continues, \u201cYou got to know people who were like you, [who were] like minded. And then also I met my girlfriend, and actually I think a lot of other people met their own partners there.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\r\n

Elisa explains that she is very thankful to know other queer people, indicating that she isn\u2019t sure how things would be if she only had straight friends. She explains that she worries her straight friends would be uncomfortable with her discussing female crushes, and wouldn\u2019t want to continue the conversation since they wouldn\u2019t find it relatable. Elisa explains, \u201cIt\u2019d be weird if they were like, what, I just want to talk about boys.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\r\n

Elisa\u2019s advice to straight people with queer friends is as follows:<\/p>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n

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\u201cBe open minded, normalize everything, [and] don\u2019t expect everyone to live in a straight bubble.\u201d \u2014 Elisa<\/blockquote>\r\n<\/figure>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Keira Mahoney
\nPlacement Student, North York Community House<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":396,"parent":0,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false},"categories":[73,21,24],"class_list":["post-86","news","type-news","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-2slgbtqai","category-news","category-resources"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nych.ca\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/86","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nych.ca\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nych.ca\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/news"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nych.ca\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/396"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nych.ca\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=86"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nych.ca\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=86"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}