ID: Drawing of a duck billed platypus underwater, they’re wearing a rainbow coloured t shirt and a pink bum-bag, and saying: “Ally is not something you can self-identify as, it’s a title that you earn. Let your actions speak for themselves!”
Credit: Sophie Labelle
Literally what are you even talking about
/u/Nexy is confused about the difference between a political view and an identity.
They are correct that there isn’t really a difference between being an ally of a political movement like Feminism and being a member of that movement (although I think that movements/organizations with different priorities can be allies with a movement like Feminism, e.g.) a person is either a Feminist or not a Feminist there’s nobody that’s an ally of Feminism.
But there is a difference between advocating for rights for people with minority Sexual Orientation and Gender Identities (SOGIs), and being a person that is 2SLGBTQI. If we had a word that encapsulated the movement like Feminism does then we wouldn’t need to tack on “ally”. SOGI-ism? Good luck.
I too am very confused and would like to know
I think they interpret “ally” to mean “male feminist”
yeah, that.
Judging by the rainbow shirt and where it’s been posted to (and the discussion on it), this isn’t about allie of women but allies LGBT.
Yeah, I figure it out pretty late. In my contry, ally its only used in femimist terms and not lgtbq+ ones, so I wasn’t aware.
Depending on who you ask, feminism includes the entire LGBTQIA+ spectrum.
For example, Hélène Cixous points out that there are ways of thinking that are rigid, hierarchical, limiting, and usually patriarchal. This way of thinking creates all sorts of barriers. “Men have to be like this.” “Women have to do this and be that.” “Transexuals? They have to not be like that.”
To break free from rigid and limiting thinking, Cixous proposes to “write from the body”. When you pay attention to your own experience, without rigid categories, you can be free. You can define your body in any way. You can act in any way. You can interpret the world in any way.
This, in Cixous’ view, is feminism. Feminism is about breaking down barriers and empowering people to be free. A woman can choose to work and buy property without being rejected. A man can choose to be vulnerable with his male friends without being rejected. A woman can choose to accept a woman as a partner and not be rejected. A transexual can choose to transition and not be rejected. A man can choose to not have sex and not be rejected. It is all valid. And it is all feminism. In this view, feminist terms and LGBTQIA+ terms serve exactly the same function: they all help break barriers and empower people to choose the lives that they want to choose.