Beyond the rainbow: how to be an ally
Each June, we celebrate Pride Month to memorialize and pay tribute to those involved in the Stonewall Riots in 1969. What started as ‘the Gay Revolution’ in New York is now an annual worldwide event for all of the LGBTQIA+ community.
Wondering how you can use your social channels and show your support as well? These tips will help you become a great ally, even beyond the rainbow-colored month of June.
As a creator with a big platform, you reach a lot of people. You can influence thousands of minds daily, so choosing to use your power to do good is a first step in the right direction!
Educate yourself
Making an effort to continue learning and expanding your mind is always one of the best things you can do in life. Informing yourself about LGBTQIA+ history and culture is the first step to help you become a better ally.
Plus, these days, it’s easier than ever to educate yourself. There are many excellent and even fun resources out there: you can read books, watch Netflix documentaries, listen to podcasts, etc.
Look inwards
Next, take your (updated) knowledge and look inwards. We all grew up in the same society with the same harmful stereotypes, but now is the time to stop enabling them.
Stop making jokes where gay people are the punchline. Stop using ‘gay’ as a negative word or in an offensive way. Do as much as you can to ensure LGBTQIA+ people are not excluded in any way.
Even if you feel like you don’t participate in harmful behavior, part of being an ally is also calling out unacceptable behavior.
For example: if you hear a homophobic joke or spot some rude comments under your latest post, it is your job as an ally to intervene. And yes, it matters, even in the slightest way. We can only evoke change by starting on a micro-level.
Diversify your feed
It’s common to look for and follow similar people to you online. So the next time you scroll through your socials, take note of how many people you follow that have an identity different from your own and spend some time improving the diversity of your feed.
Social media is a great way to surround yourself with LGBTQIA+ people who can help you understand their experiences better.
Allow visibility
Unfortunately, we live in a world where it’s still not safe to assume that everyone around us is an ally. So being an ally can only be done by being visible. That way, you reassure the LGBTQIA+ people around you that they are in a safe space to be themselves.
One simple way to do this is to mention your pronouns on Instagram. It’s a simple thing you can do to support the community. If everyone would standardly share their pronouns, it would be easier and more comfortable for trans/non-binary people to do so.
Use your platform as often as possible to share posts about the LGBTQIA+ community, movies, and documentaries, or use Instagram stickers (Pool or Question sticker) to amplify the voices of LGBTQIA+ creators or just your followers that belong to the community.
Give your platform up
Giving up your literal platform is a great way to show your support as well. Literally, by doing a collab or organizing an Instagram takeover, but mostly figuratively: in general, you should always actively look at where you can push and include more diversity. You have a powerful platform, use it to amplify LGBTQIA+ voices.
Did you notice that a brand only works with cisgender, heterosexual people? Or that another influencer uses very heteronormative language? Let them know.
Any creation process should involve a broad and representative range of experiences and opinions, so use your power and your voice to ensure this inclusion. Always.