We should foster a space of allyship in debate. The affirmative is uniquely to start the process of reorienting previous biases and introducing new perspectives of queer knowledge. A willingness to engage with the aff is good.
Forbes, T. D., & Ueno, K. (2020), Forbes holds a PhD in Sociology from Florida State University. My research agenda is active, and my areas of interest are social stratification, allies and allyship (with a focus on the areas of race and sexualities), and higher education. Ueno is Professor of Sociology at Florida State University. He holds a doctoral degree from Vanderbilt University. He conducts sexuality research. Post-gay, Political, and Pieced Together: Queer Expectations of Straight Allies. Sociological Perspectives, 63(1), 159–176. https://doi.org/10.1177/0731121419885353, Acc 7/22/23 [tvisha]
People with pieced together expectations also had nuanced outlooks regarding straight allies’ knowledge of the queer community and its issues. For instance, respondents with political expectations required that allies stay abreast of knowledge pertaining to definitions of sexual identities and terms like deadnaming or misgendering. By contrast, respondents with post-gay expectations had no such requirements. Participants who pieced together their expectations for allies expressed that they could not place too much expectation in allies being aware of queer issues without being educated by a queer person first. This is probably because these participants did not minimize their queerness like the exclusively white and male group respondents with postgay expectations, but they also did not emphasize the political aspects of queer identity like the majority black and trans respondents with political expectations. Sadie’s statement was typical of those with pieced together expectations: If someone says they’re an ally and they’re generally there, I assume that they’re someone who would learn more if it was told to them . . . Maybe they just don’t know the appropriate responses. But in general, I assume that they care about my wellbeing. Forbes and Ueno 171 Because these respondents expected allies to acknowledge and support queerness but simultaneously did not hold them accountable for learning such material on their own, they highlighted an importance of straight people’s willingness and intention, and not necessarily their specific actions. These respondents expected action from allies but did not expect such action to be political in nature. As Austin put it, I think that the difference between being a good ally and a bad ally is that good allies stand up for anyone anytime they see harassment, anytime they see someone who may feel uncomfortable. I think it’s their job to use their privilege to stand up for queer people who may be struggling. Similar to those with political expectations, Austin expressed that allies should give attention to queer-specific issues and use their straight privileges to help queer people. At the same time, she resembled those with post-gay allyship expectations by calling for allies to be supportive at the interactional level, stepping in only when “they see harassment” or “see someone who may feel uncomfortable.”