Often in the gay community it seems we take for granted all the people around us who support us, who have no other interest in the cause than the love of their friend, family member, or peer. Straight Allies in the community are often taken for granted. In the hopes of creating well deserved recognition for their effort, both GLASS (Gay and Lesbian Association of Students and Staff) and The Miscellaneous Youth Network have set out on endeavors to show their appreciation of those who support queer causes and members of the community in everyday life.
GLASS’s Ally Program is run by the enthusiastic Courtney, who is a dedicated volunteer that helps make the program a success. "The ALLIES are a GLASS Project run through the ALLY Subcommittee, and work in close partnership with the Positive Space Campaign and the Sexual Harassment Office," read the pamphlets and posters promoting the Ally Program. They cover topics such as goals of the program, what can be accomplished by allies, and answers to frequently asked questions. The ally program, which is working beside the peer support program, serves to expand the ideals of working with a greater campus community to create equality, awareness and safe places for queerly identified students and those who support them.
The Miscellaneous Youth Network has been embarking on a lengthy project to create a recognizable symbol for straight allies in order to better represent them within the community. A calling for submissions has brought hails of artwork from all over Canada. The judging has not yet taken place, but the winner will be announced this year at Pride with the hopes of the final design being pinned on the Calgary police chief during the festivities.
The original concept for the contest was the brain child of Laura Jillain and Niqolai Griffin. They have been thrilled with the submissions over the past few months.
Laura is straight herself, and an active member of the community through her work as secretary for Miscellaneous Youth and as a regular performer at Fake Mustache. She has been performing drag since a fateful call for performers at the now passed on Detours nightclub. She found herself donning a mustache for the love of performing, found Fake Mustache a year of two later, and has continued to be active within the community since.
Her performances have carried into her family life, as she performed "Young at Heart" for her grandmother’s 90th birthday, bringing her to tears. Her family has always reacted positively and supported her endeavors - even her boyfriend frequents shows and supports her by being a steady camera man.
Moving to include straight allies in the sphere of queer can only be beneficial, and takes nothing more than education. Gay Straight Alliance Clubs have been trying to promote this all over the United States, and the idea has been spreading up into Canada. Gay-Straight Alliance clubs in Manitoba, Ontario, and Nova Scotia have set up websites and fought to get more gay books in libraries. The success of a GSA club at a BC school drew headlines after a student committed suicide over homophobic bullying, proving the necessity for such a club to exist.
Due to the separate school system still present in the provinces of Newfoundland and Alberta, the creation of such clubs would be legally banned in over half of the schools in those proviences. However, the potential still exists elsewhere. The ideas of tolereance, and peer support can serve to successfully educate the general public that may only know about the gay community what they have seen in mainstream news.
This method of education is extremely important to help recognize and acknowledge the efforts of other minorities that are often grouped together under the queer umbrella; such as trans-folk, intersexed individuals, two-spirited, and asexual communities who rarely get the spotlight in the greater queer struggle.
Our strength is in our struggle to create true equality amongst all of us in this world. By using the resources and support at hand within the straight-but-not-narrow community, we are bound to reach that goal.