You don’t need to know everything to be an ally. “How can I help?” Show your feelings haven’t changed by offering your support. Making assumptions can lead to you outing someone by mistake.Ģ. “Are you out to anyone else?” Regardless of the answer, stay quiet with what you know. “Be willing to educate others when you hear something wrong.” If someone comes out, ask these two questionsĭon’t say you “always knew” or that you “suspected as much.” Simply express appreciation that they considered you a safe person to open up to, Kohm said, and then ask them two questions:ġ. But speaking up when you hear or see discrimination is key. Allies can help LGBT people feel safer in shared spaces in ways both active and passive.Ī pride item, like a rainbow flag at a workspace or a pin on a bag, goes a long way in signaling your presence as an ally, Kohm said. Help make spaces safe for LGBT peopleĪttitudes are changing, but being LGBT still carries risks, Kohm noted, from everyday acts of exclusion to mass tragedies like last year's Pulse nightclub shooting.
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Take cues from LGBT folks on what’s appropriate for you, she added, and have fun. If you were invited, it is because members of the LGBT community see you as an ally and appreciate your presence.”Īt any LGBT space, realize that it’s your role above all to be supportive - whether you get what’s going on or not, she said: “Know that while some expressions of Pride might not feel comfortable for you as an ally, it’s your role to help hold the space for people to be themselves.”
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“The one thing guests should not do is overshadow the people getting married. Here are ways to be a better LGBT ally during Pride Month and beyond, according to Beth Kohm, interim director of PFLAG, a national organization of LGBT allies.
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Yet as Americans increasingly call themselves allies of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people, many still do or say things that, however unknowingly, hurt the very people they mean to help. voice support for gay and lesbian rights each year, as nearly 20 years of Gallup polling shows, and about half of Americans favor more protections for fellow citizens who are LGBT. June means Pride Month across the U.S., four weeks of parades, parties and festivals drawing those within the LGBT community - and their straight friends, too.