The Savvy Ally

 Teenagers are in a constant state of a search for identity. They are trying to figure out how they are unique, what are their interests, who do they want to be. As someone who works with teenagers, I see this struggle regularly play out. Jeannie Gainsburg's The Savvy Ally: A Guide for Becoming a Skilled LGBTQ+ Advocate is a text that explores how we can support people struggling to find their place in the world. 

Admittedly, I am only beginning to learn about the vocabulary around the LGBTQ+ community. It has exploded since my childhood and I felt I needed to know what the kids are talking about. Also, I feel it is incumbent upon me to be a safe place for students to come and I need to better understand the culture of different communities so that I can provide that. Jeannie threw out a statistic which surprised me: 1 in 20 people fall in the spectrum of LGBTQ+. That is at least one student in every classroom. About 50% of these people are not out. They are searching for how to find acceptance for who they are as people- a quest every teenager is on, but for these young people, the quest is especially difficult because of the lack of acceptance they may receive from their family and community. Our language and behavior creates a space that is either more or less likely to help each child find peace with who they are are.

I encountered the term ally first with people who were BIPOC (black, indigenous and people of color). Allies are people who are not a member of a marginalized group but stand up and advocate for the people in that group. I would like to think that although I am just beginning to explore how to best be an ally, I am making progress toward being one. While I had not originally conceived of allies with the LGBTQ+ community, they too play an important role. Further, the intersectionality between these two groups is critical to consider as well. People who are of color and LGBTQ+ often find a more challenging path than those in one or the other categories. Adding up your memberships in marginalized communities just showcases the challenges you get to encounter along the way. It is necessary for nonmarginalized people to recognize the challenges faced by others and work to eliminate or ameliorate them. This is hard, but as the author says, "I challenge us all to not shy away from conversations about race and intersectionality, but to bravely embrace them and create spaces for honest discussions without judgements and with the assumption of good intent" (p. 73).

This book is crazy informative and a good starting place for learning about the LGBTQ+ community without burdening the community with being your primary teacher. It is an easy read and well laid out for understanding the elements of being an ally.