Allyship

Being Straight But Queer

Authors

  • Charlotte Barker

Keywords:

queer, allyship, belonging, positionality, unlearning

Abstract

She/Her/Hers

I wrote this piece because I was observing in my Gender, Women and Sexuality Studies courses that people who share the same positionality as me are nervous to speak aloud out of fear of saying the wrong thing or taking space away from others. In this piece, I discuss the concept of queer as not just being an identity but also a way of thinking. It is important for white, heterosexual, cisgender people, like me, to be self-aware in queer spaces. I navigate these feelings through the question of “do I belong in queer spaces?” To conclude, I call upon others to embark on the lifelong journey of being an authentic ally. This manifesto is a call to action and self-reflexivity.

Author Biography

Charlotte Barker

Charlotte (she/her) is a fourth year Gender, Women and Sexuality Studies major here at UBCO. She was born, raised and currently resides within unceded Syilx territory, colonially known as Vernon. She is passionate about enacting allyship in her studies and day-to-day life. In her free time, Charlotte enjoys cooking and hanging out with family/friends. She is looking forward to continuing her studies as a Master’s student in the Interdisciplinary Graduate Studies - Power, Conflict and Ideas program here at UBCO. Her tentative area of research is looking to undertake a genealogy of allyship in a feminist intersectional framework

A selfie of the author, Charlotte Barker, smiling at the camera.

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Published

2023-03-31

Issue

Section

Articles