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It has almost become eye rolling when people say they want to be an ally. Not because allying yourself is bad, on the contrary; calling yourself an ally has become an eye-rolling moment because people want the title without the work. No one can self identify as an ally and just have it be so, being an ally is an action verb! But, how do your take your allyship off paper and into action? We live in a world where we all hold multiple identities and levels of power in the spaces we travel throughout our lives. Many people refuse to recognize the power that they have and therefore do not use it to effect positive change. Unrecognized, unclaimed power can be dangerous because if you aren’t using your power for positive change, you are probably using your power to push forward the status quo. Fear not! I am going to show you not only how to figure out where you have power. I am also going to give you some ideas for changes you can help make toward LGBTQ+ equality. LGBTQ advocacy for beginners is a great place to start on your learning journey!
LGBTQ Advocacy for Beginners Tip: Identify Your Spheres of Influence
The idea of spheres of influence comes from a pretty garbage place, colonialism. A sphere of influence is “a claim by a state to exclusive or predominant control over a foreign territory or region” (Deudney, Daniel H.. “Sphere of influence”. Encyclopedia Britannica, 25 Oct. 2019, https://www.britannica.com/topic/sphere-of-influence. Accessed 18 September 2021.)
Right? Trash. But, as we speak a living, evolving language the term has been brought to a personal (less trash) level. In the context we will be using here a “sphere of influence” is any place in which you have social, monetary, political, or privilege power. To put it differently, anywhere you have some power to affect change. Your spheres of influence might look something like this:
LGBTQ Advocacy for Beginners Tip: Finding Your Spheres
Now that we know what spheres of influence are, let’s talk about how to find yours. Here is a simple activity that can help. Set a timer for ten minutes and write down as many things you can think of that fit into following categories:
- places you go frequently
- anywhere you pay a membership fee
- where your kids spend time
- where you participate in religious activities (if you do)
- places you are a client
- places you are an employee
- anywhere you volunteer
- places where you are a customer
Did you do it? If so, you have a pretty long list of places where you probably have some influence. Now go back and pick the 3 places were you think have the most power and 3 places you think need the most changes for LGBTQ+ equality. They can be the same places.
Now that you have a list of 3 places where you have the most power and 3 places that you think need the most change, let’s figure out what changes need to happen.
How Do You Figure Out What Changes to Ask For?
Here is where Google can be your best friend. Google to see what changes LGBTQ+ folks are asking for in your areas of influence. That might look like: “How to advocate for LGBT and LGBTQ+ people at school” or “How to make gyms more LGBT and LGBTQ+ friendly” if you need help making a plan please contact me and we can schedule a Pick My Brain Session, and we can figure it out together.
Here are some examples of issues LGBT and LGBTQ+ activist have been working on:
- Bathroom access for transgender and gender nonconforming people- where is it safe in your spheres of influence for transgender and gender nonconforming people to go to the bathroom? Are there all gender bathrooms? Is there a policy about bathroom use?
- Sports participation for transgender and in specific tranfeminine athletes- Does your school district or state have rules around transgender athletes participating in sports with cisgender athletes of the same gender?
- Passing the Equality Act- Did you know that there are no federal laws preventing discrimination of LGBTQ+ folks in the US? This is needed so that LGBTQ+ rights are not up for interpretation with each changing federal administration. Does your sphere of influence include any level of government or a politician? If so, this might be a great issue for you.
LGBTQ Advocacy for Beginners Tip: Do Your Research
No, I don’t mean in the internet troll sort of way. I mean really dig in and find out as much as you can about the issue/s you want to advocate for. First and foremost, find out what LGBTQ+ folks are saying about the issue you want to help with. Always when you are allying yourself with a community you want to amplify that community’s voices. If there is a person in the LGBTQ+ community already working on an issue that is in your sphere of influence, ask them how you can help. Speak up on behalf of people, but do not speak over them. And for heavens sakes, if a LGBTQ+ person gives you a piece of feedback do not argue with them! Listen, try to understand, and learn. It can help to have the latest scientific and sociological research and to do opposition research to find out what the folks on the other side of the issue are saying. It might be helpful to create a research folder on your desktop or a bookmark folder in your phone, and I cannot stress this enough, science and data collection is often done from a very cisgender and heteronormative outlook. Defer to what an LGBTQ+ person is telling you. If you need help with this please reach out to me.
Figure Out Who Has the Power to Change the Thing That Needs Changing
You can win over all the folks in the room, but if the person who can actually change the policy isn’t in the room, you still have work to do. For that reason, it is imperative to find out what steps are needed to make that change you are looking for actually happen. Figure it out. Right it down with all your other research and make a plan. Creating the change might be as easy as scheduling a meeting with the right person or it could take significantly more work. Do not talk yourself out of the power that you identified in the earlier exercises! You have the power to help affect change. Please use it! I will be here cheering you on.
Love this blog post? Are you going to use these steps to effect change in your community? Let me know by contacting me.