True Allyship: A Toolkit for Allies of the LGBTQIA+ Community

by DA Global | Oct 3, 2019 | Articles

Posted: Thursday, October 3, 2019
By: Kyle Keith – North Carolina State University
Kory Saunders – North Carolina State University
Christina Thompson – Barcelona SAE

A snapshot of contemporary LGBTQIA+ issues in the United States portrays a contradictory and ever-changing cultural landscape. LGBTQIA+ themed programming is in many subscribers’ “most recently watched” queue. Queer Eye’s Jonathan Van Ness fabulously proclaims the transformative effects of self-care and acceptance to Netflix’s ballooning audience of an estimated 139 million paid subscribers(1). In June, Pride Month celebrations briefly wash neighborhoods and towns with rainbow flags and storefront displays for inaugural Pride potlucks in rural North Carolina(2) to the Stonewall 50 commemorations and parades in the country’s urban centers.

At the same time, according to recently released survey results from GLAAD and The Harris Poll(3), the number of self-identified allies of the LGBTQIA+ community declined in 2018 to just 45% of surveyed 18-34-year-olds. In addition, a growing number reported feeling “uncomfortable” having LGBTQIA+ -identified family members, physicians, and having LGBTQIA+ history included in their child’s school’s curriculum. Recent headlines and tweets show a radical change in policy ranging from barring transgender service members(4) in the military to pending Supreme Court rulings on LGBTQIA+ workplace discrimination depict a fragile state of progress for LGBTQIA+ Americans.

Given the conflicting state of affairs described above, self-identified allies of the LGBTQIA+ community — who, as defined by the Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network (GLSEN)(5), is “any person who supports and stands up for the rights of LGBT people” — may ask themselves: What more can I be doing to demonstrate my support for my LGBTQIA+ friends, colleagues, and family members?

Social justice bloggers and activists offer one critical suggestion for allies: transform your allyship from “performative allyship” — or passive displays of support focused on one’s self rather than the community in question — to demonstrations of solidarity with marginalized populations. As described by columnist Eric Peterson in a 2017 Medium.com(6) piece: “One of the important jobs an ally can take on is to amplify the voices of the unheard…The performatively woke person takes up a lot of space. The ally makes space. It’s a crucial difference.”

This definition of performative allyship is further expanded in the blog of author and activist Mia Mckenzie(7), in which she employs the term “ally theater” to describe the seemingly superficial, but perhaps well-intended ways in which some allies perform allyship publicly for an audience, rather than centering the needs and concerns of the community in question. According to McKenzie: “Fighting oppression, for these folks, isn’t worth it unless everybody can see them doing it…Real solidarity doesn’t require an audience or a pat on the back.”

Avoiding the pitfalls of performative allyship or ally theater can be challenging. For allies of the LGBTQIA+ community — particularly those working in higher education settings — we have curated a toolkit designed to serve as a catalyst for shifting the ally narrative in offices and on campuses to a more action-oriented positionality. The toolkit includes 3 key elements: Brave Zone Action, Diversity Action Planning and Self Assessment, and Building Effective Trust.

Daring to be brave: Transforming the traditional “Safe Zones” training narratives

Safe Zone training is intended to give participants the resources to learn to become allies for those in the LGBTQIA+ community. Many universities and corporations have safe zone training that many who work there attend. At times, attending these introductory trainings for allies can be treated as just another checkbox for new employee onboarding or required diversity education programming.

When we think of “Safe Zones” who is it really safe for? In moving from safe zones, which implies an unrealistic feeling of safety usually felt by those with dominant identities. These trainings may leave those with marginalized identities with feelings of discomfort, which they experience regularly. It should not be the responsibility of the marginalized community to make the dominant communities feel safe. According to Arao and Clemens(8), hearing and respecting contrasting views does not mean that one has to agree with them. This provides context to understanding a person or a community’s narrative and gives an opportunity for growth of perspectives. This is necessary for true allyship versus performative allyship. Arao and Clemens propose the concept of “challenge by choice” to allow individuals to decide to what extent they want to take action. In true allyship, rather than performative allyship, Allies must always choose to challenge their thoughts, preconceived notions and that which they have been taught. When allies choose to be brave and take action rather than remaining complacent and safe, we move closer to authentic community with our LGBTQIA+ friends, colleagues, and family .

Specificity and accountability: LGBTQIA+ Diversity Action Plan and self-assessment

Another strategy for true allyship, is reviewing current strategic diversity planning within offices or on campuses, which are often broad and non-specific (e.g. better support of trans-identified students on campus). To start, assess the current climate or policies of your work environment by using a tool like the Organizational Self Assessment(9) by The Coalition Ending Gender-Based Violence. Creating an LGBTQIA+ specific diversity action plan and using it as a measure for self-assessment is useful in helping to move staff beyond performative actions and their own discomfort. Diversity action planning helps to push task forces and working groups beyond talk into attainable action and critical reflection. An effective diversity action plan includes a clear mission, S.M.A.R.T goals, and accountable leadership.

Diversity action plans can be used for institutional and/or individual staff goals. It is important that everyone engages in the creation of a goal that relates to their professional responsibilities. Consider creating a personal link for staff learning something new and the community to which they hope to support. For example, if a staff member is an avid reader but is unfamiliar with the LGBTQIA+ community, they might start off by completing a recommended reading and report what they learned. Even with the best intentions, diversity action plans can be created and then gather dust, without some assessment of progress. Using self-assessment, will allow allies to identify points of growth in their ongoing work towards true allyship.

Cultivating trust: True allyship as a verb, not a noun

When moving away from performative allyship, allies should understand that effective trust-building with members of the LGBTQIA+ community should take time. Many allies have good intentions but often perplexed when rejected by the very community they are trying to support.

Understanding the complex history between the LGBTQIA+ community and the culturally dominant narrative is essential. Allies should consider participating in guided discussions, including joining an LGBTQIA+ book club, which will allow allies to learn about the community from the community. Allies must be aware of their own positionality and how it affects the community they intend to support. Many allies must first understand the levels of privilege that are afforded to them based on their identity. In true allyship, having an understanding of one’s positionality and the history of the LGBTQIA+ community can be used to guide the ally of when to use their privilege on the front lines of issues and causes, as well as behind the scenes. Another way to establish trust is to garner referrals from the LGBTQIA+ community. Referrals can be helpful when trying to establish trust on a personal level.

Through these suggested guidelines, allies to the community can move from a static, perhaps performative space, to true allyship, which is more inclusive, affirming, and action-oriented As an ally, how do you plan to incorporate these steps to move towards true allyship?

1 https://www.cnn.com/2019/01/17/media/netflix-earnings-q4/index.html
2 https://www.npr.org/2019/06/19/733955591/small-town-pride-as-picnic
3 https://www.glaad.org/sites/default/files/Accelerating%20Acceptance%202019.pdf
4 https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/dominicholden/trump-trans-military-ban-takes-effect
5 https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/dominicholden/trump-trans-military-ban-takes-effect
6 https://medium.com/@Tawdry_Hepburn/on-allyship-and-performative-wokeness-30581808bf8b
7 http://www.blackgirldangerous.com/2015/11/ally-theater/
8 https://sites.lsa.umich.edu/inclusive-teaching/wp-content/uploads/sites/355/2016/06/From-Safe-Spaces-to -Brave-Spaces.pdf
9 https://endgv.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Organizational-Self-Assessment.pdf

Asian American Students In Study Abroad

by DA Global | Jul 5, 2019 | Articles

Posted: Friday, July 5, 2019

Contributed by 2018-2019 Race and Ethnicity Task Force members:
Charles Lu – University of California San Diego
Greg Rafal – University of Maryland
Kandice Rose – IES Abroad

Introduction

Diversity Abroad recently published a literature review about Asian American students in global education.  The review highlighted a dearth of scholarship and work focused on this topic.  As such, this blog post sought to start the conversation regarding Asian American students and study abroad.  We interviewed eight different students of Asian heritage who recently returned from their overseas experiences (seven  Americans and one non-U.S.-born student, though a few students have lived outside of the United States for extended periods of time).  Specifically, we wanted to better understand the resources they used to study abroad, their racialized experiences while abroad, and their perceptions of how study abroad impacted them.

 

Resources

Two major themes emerged when we spoke to students about the resources they were searching for.  Students utilized internet resources and in-person resources, with in-person resources being defined in three separate categories: study abroad advisor, friends, and recent alumni.  When asked about which internet resources they leveraged, the vast majority of students stated that they did not seek out information based on their race or ethnicity before studying abroad.  Instead, their primary concerns were to seek out both general and racially-based financial aid resources.  A couple of students also searched for religious information, and one student searched for information regarding what life would be like as an international student but did not necessarily do so in regards to her race.  One student did research racial/ethnicity-based information and was able to find that information available in Cantonese because she was going to Hong Kong. 

80% of the students interviewed utilized in-person resources at some point, as they prepared to study abroad.  Only about half of the students asked their advisors for resources.  The students who did utilize their study abroad office did not approach their advisors with racially/ethnically-based questions because they figured that advisors would not be able to offer them any information that wasn’t already on the website or presented in other resources.  Instead, they approached their advisors with questions about financial aid.  50% of the students also spoke with friends about what their experiences may be like.  Though sometimes friends were not the same ethnicity or nationality, all of them identified a similar race.  Utilizing friendships provided the most positive response from the students interviewed.  “It definitely made me more comfortable with the whole experience,” stated Aleena Khan (IES Abroad Paris BIA).  Only about 20% of students spoke to recent alumni of their chosen programs.  Of the students who did utilize an on-campus ambassador, none of them were able to connect with someone who identified as the same race, instead, they connected with recent alumni on the basis of major and host country. 

 

Representation

One prevalent theme from the student interviews was the lack of Asian representation in study abroad, U.S. higher education, and general U.S. culture.  One student mentioned, “it’s easy to overlook an entire group of people when nothing is mentioned about them,” referring to the lack of representation at their institution (Savannah Kan, University of Oregon).  Many students feel Asian culture is recognized by their peers and by their institutions but only at surface level.  For example, when students refer to anyone or anything as “Asian” they do not acknowledge the distinct cultures within the Asian community.  In this way, students from Asian backgrounds are put in a broad box leading to profiling and stereotypes.  Non-Asian students are not seeing the appropriate level of Asian American representation at their institutions and part of that is attributed to a lack of representation in U.S. culture and community leadership.  One student referenced the lack of Asian Americans in the faculty or senior leadership while others touched on the lack of Asian American politicians, actors, and pop stars.
 
There is no changing cultural representation overnight but there are ways to move the needle on this necessary social change.  One student cited heritage celebration weeks at their institution; a South Asian heritage week as well as an East Asian/Pacific Islander heritage week recognizes multiple facets of Asian culture and is a way to educate the community.  Students are not always aware of cultural diversity and need the opportunity and space for this type of cultural training. Another student mentioned the need for self-advocacy from the Asian community— more Asian and Asian American students speaking out and voicing their concerns.

Awareness

When asked about how self-aware they were of their racial/ethnic identities abroad, two distinct themes emerged: classroom/cohort dynamics and the local population.  Students spoke of how other students were not as culturally sensitive as they would have expected, or about how they were expected to know what was going on in Asian countries just because they identified as Asian-American.  This did not only happen in class but also when encountering the local population.  However, not all experiences had students feeling as if they did not fit because they racially stood out, sometimes it was celebrated. “A lot of people would talk about Bollywood, which is not a topic that I bring up often or think there’s an interest in, so I was surprised when a lot of Chileans were aware of Indian culture and would talk about how very vibrant and colorful India is” (Jaagrit).  Heritage students, like Sean Tang (IES Abroad Shanghai), were able to identify as either “international” or “Chinese” based on with whom he was interacting.  Sean was born in China and grew up there before moving to the U.S.  “If I was walking with my American friends, I identified as an international person.  But, if I was by myself I identified as Chinese and was fine.  I switched fairly often based off of what situation and where I was and who I was with.  I was really comfortable with that.”

Takeaways

The interviews provide some anecdotal evidence that resources, representation, and awareness are three overarching themes worth addressing when it comes to supporting Asian American students in study abroad.  In regards to resources, students might be more likely to seek out information on finances and general cultural differences rather than resources related to their racial identity.  Perhaps students do not think these types of resources are available, or maybe these are not challenges students are anticipating.  Whatever the reason, practitioners and advisors can incorporate more reflection around racial and ethnic identity into advising.  

One possible solution is for practitioners and advisors to cultivate recent alumni of Asian descent to serve as ambassadors or study abroad peers to help prospective students.  In addition, these interviews supported the need for more representation for Asian American communities in higher education as well as increased awareness around who is Asian American and what that really means.  This means an acknowledgment of the diversity within the Asian community and surface level understandings of Asian identity.  A task easier said than done.