Performative allyship lgbtq
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When was it that the newest woke thing to do was to demand for pronouns? In the queer communities in which I have been a member, it has been fairly common parlance to do so — but in regular life, I can’t place when it happened.
It was sometime in my residency, between my first and second years, when, suddenly, everyone knew that it was vital to ask for them. Cisgender, heterosexual people learned that they could reinforce their denial of their own transphobia by signing their names with their pronouns listed. When almost all our meetings went online, people took to writing their pronouns next to their names on Zoom. There was a push for pronoun pins, and some medical students at my university even organized a campaign. Who knows what their funding source was, but hundreds were made and distributed at the university and at the hospital where I worked. My wife got one. I got one. I saw people pick theirs up. I was pleasantly surprised. Wow, I thought — is this really happening?
She/hers, my pin read, with (interestingly) pride flag colors running down the center. I put the glaring omission of trans flag colors to the back of my mind. Otherwise, the p
Justbecausepeople call themselves LGBTQ “allies” doesn’t mean they automatically stop feeling some weird, deep-seated resentment against us. And, although I understand the term “performative allyship” has been used and overused, that doesn’t signify it’s not real and still actively working against us.
In a Northwestern University study published online last month, a gag-worthy 8.5% of “allies” expressing support for sexual minorities still didn’t want to live next to a gay person. The investigation, which utilized decades of data from dozens of countries and regions, included 545,531 respondents who rated their sexual prejudice on a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being “fully accepting” of gay people. Among those giving themselves a 10 — who I believe are the type of “allies” to memorize the lyrics of a “Dangerous Woman” era Ariana Grande song just so they can sing it with their gay besties — 4,714 said they wouldn’t want a homosexual neighbor. The study referred to these respondents as “superficial allies,” but honestly, I’d just call them snakes.
The research didn’t get to the bottom of why, exactly, these people wouldn’t want gay neighbors. Is it because they recognize we’ll blast “Renaissance”
From Performative Allyship to Actionable Allyship
We’ve all heard the stories.
- The brand that posts rainbow flags all through Celebration month only for it’s LGBTQ employees to feel love they can’t openly be themselves in the workplace
- The workplace that says ‘black lives matter’ while having an all-white team and no D&I goals in place
- The organisation that goes big on International Women’s Date while underpaying their female employees
This is performative allyship: when organisations offer surface-level support for the sake of their brand image, without taking any steps to affect true change. Performative allyship doesn’t go unmissed by employees. A survey by Catalyst found that only 1 in 4 employees viewed their organisation’s racial equity policies as real. However when the efforts were viewed as genuine, employees had a far better work life, especially those who come from ethnic minority backgrounds. In the age of the Great Resignation, making strategic steps to improve diversity and foster inclusive workplaces is necessary for retaining today’s workforce.
Organisations can change position past performative allyship by taking meaningful steps that entertainment that
Performative Allyship: What It Is and Why It Hurts
Stop Being Reactive; Get More Creative & Strategic About Diversity Work (Part I)
By IDC Staff•February 14, 2025
Kendrick Lamar's SuperBowl performance was ingenious. From culturally relevant music to subtle and not-so-subtle messages, he made an impact on the world's biggest stage. Until people began talking about it, I was unconcerned to the indirect messages. For example, I did not remember Serena Williams doing the Crip saunter at Wimbleton in 2012, and all of the backlash she received. I totally missed the cue that Samuel L. Jackson was "Uncle Sam," similar to his Django Unchained character. Uncle Sam, as a older Black bloke asked, "Don't you grasp how to play the game?" as if to make sure that Kendrick Lamar, a younger Jet man, knew how to play the game of making Whites feel content by code switching, compromising, and disassociating from Dark culture. I also did not understand the imagery behind the dancers forming a divided American flag with a Black dude, Kendrick Lamar, in the center of the division. Beyond a few songs, Kendrick Lamar orchestrated a loaded but brilliant recital. As
Embracing True LGBTQ Allyship: A Win-Win for Businesses and Communities
In today’s evolving social landscape, the importance of being an ally to the LGBTQ community has never been clearer. For local businesses, embracing LGBTQ allyship is not only the right thing to do—it’s also good for business. This blog display will explore what it means to be a correct ally, draw a distinction between authentic allyship and performative allyship, and illustrate how supporting the LGBTQ community can enhance your business.
What is LGBTQ Allyship?
Being an LGBTQ ally involves actively supporting and advocating for the rights and well-being of LGBTQ individuals. It means standing against discrimination and fostering an inclusive environment where everyone, regardless of their sexual orientation or gender persona, feels safe and valued. True allyship is about more than just acceptance; it is about actively promoting equality and understanding within your business and the wider community.
True Allyship vs. Performative Allyship
While many businesses strive to exhibit support for the LGBTQ community, it’s essential to differentiate between true allyship and performative allyship.
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