Can We Stop Using the Term Ally?

[anythingbutgrey]

We really need to stop using the term ally. This applies to all of us in anti-oppression work, whether in the work in question we are part of the oppressed or oppressor class*. This is not about people who self-identify as allies and don't work on their privilege and refuse to listen to members of the oppressed group, but to all people who might

Comments

[itrytobeamused]

Just say you're working in solidarity with members of the oppressed class.

See, I can see there being an issue with this, as well; if I hear a man say, for example, that he's a feminist ally, to me that implies that he knows he is separate from the issue and not being directly affected by sexism, whereas if he says he's "working in solidarity" with women/feminists, that to me would imply he sees himself as being equally affected

[livinghope]

yeah, that's how it sounds to me too. :/

[nothingbutgold]

yeah good point -- i see the former as more centering on the interests of the oppressed than the latter, when you put it that way

[meganphntmgrl]

That's sort of how it looks to me too.

[bunnymcfoo]

I agree with a lot of this, but I do find that saying that I'm working in solidarity with members of the oppressed class to be a bit...ungainly and don't know that it would translate well when speaking with people who aren't academically inclined.

I find that this is an issue with a lot of work dealing with isms, in that a great deal of the activists that I've encountered are highly educated. I'm not. My family isn't. When I try to explain what I do to them, they're extremely resistant to language that they perceive as being patronizing or overly academic.

As much as I totally agree that the title of ally should be earned and not self-awarded, I do think that we need some kind of shorthand for describing what essentially boils down to being a person with privilege who is working to educate themselves about said privilege and dismantle the oppressive systems that we all currently interact with.

[rurouniidoru]

Yeah, this.

I understand emphasizing the "working on it" thing, and that we can't just assume we're Awesome Allies Hooray, but maybe for shorthand purposes we could denote that we're TRYING to be allies, rather than just assuming that we already are.

[saramiskismet]

The GLBT Resource Center at my uni uses the acronym "GLBTQQIPAA" -- the last three not in the tag here are pansexual, asexual, and allies. Which... hmm. I don't know how I feel about including Allies in the acronym because Allies are by definition not a member of the oppressed group they associate with... whereas all the other parts of the acronym are.
I feel like 'ally' does a good job of separating in people's minds that they are not a inside member of the group, but that they recognize and work with that group positively, or try to... there should be a better word, of course, and the distancing is a big problem but at the same time a more inclusive word may diminish the weight of the privilege. Tricky. Words are hard.

[saramiskismet]

Often instead of asexuals

wat

& IDK, our school has an Allies seminar program where you attend for the whole afternoon and learn about heterosexism and trans/homophobia and privilege and talk to GLBT students, and I think maybe the Center is trying to get more of these Allies involved in activities or something, but if it's common to include that A but not Asexual then /headdesk

[sunshinedan]

UAHuntsville Gay-Straight Alliance

I have been suggesting we take out Straight and Alliance. So far no luck, maybe this article will help.

(Also I deleted that last comment because of bad html)

[fruhlings]

I've never really thought about this issue before, and this article makes good points.