Speak For Yourself
The dangers of over-generalization and the illusion of perfect allyship in an intersectional reality
This image hangs as a poster above a chair in the LGBT Resource Center at my University, and yet, the amount of racism, transphobia, classism, ableism, and misogyny in the conversations held there is still alarming. From the use of the R-slur to racist jokes and comments to even queer-shaming fellow members of the LGBTQIA+ Community, prejudice of all kinds remains alive and well among oppressed communities. I serve as a Community OUTReach Educator for this Center and one of the introductory concepts that is said before each panel is that the group of 4 or 5 students that we have on the panel cannot possibly represent the entire community. Part of the training for the panelist position is teaching yourself to speak only for yourself and from personal experience, not trying to speak for the entire community or even your entire identity group. Yet it still happens that individuals, either by their own accord or due to outsider’s essentialism, end up being a symbol for the entire LGBTQIA+ community.
This creates a huge problem because it erases the intersectionality of the experiences of each individual member of the community and having one person, especially a person with many privileges, attempt to answer a question on behalf of the entire community, only creates another space in which other forms of oppression can be perpetuated. It is important to keep in mind that individuals are incapable of acting as a voice for an entire intersectional community because the experiences of each person within the community vary widely. Non-mono-sexual people, for instance, may experience a “straight-passing” privilege when with a hetero-normal partner, but they also experience discrimination within the community, often being considered too heterosexual or too queer for the opposite space. This may be an experience that a gay cis-man or lesbian cis-woman would not consider when answering questions or representing the community. When questions about the relationship between queerness and other identities come up, the necessity to address intersectionality begins to become more visible. For instance, when asking about coping mechanisms for religious persons as they came to terms with their queerness, the answers will vary widely among those from various religions and even those without religion, and no one person could reasonably attempt to speak for all of them. These are just a few of many examples that show the importance of avoiding over-generalizations. It is important to keep in mind the idea of intersectionality, or acknowledging variation WITHIN groups, not just BETWEEN groups (Kimberlé Crenshaw). Intersectional approaches help to honor this diversity and “subvert race/gender binaries,” as well as acknowledge the “legacy of exclusions of multiply marginalized subjects” and combat the “essentialism and exclusion that has plagued both feminist and anti-racist scholarship” (Jennifer C. Nash).
It is particularly important that we keep this idea of intersectionality in mind when we attempt to become allies to marginalized groups. Often, privileged persons develop a habit of believing that they have achieved an “ally status” and can now speak for or over those they are attempting to help. They think that at a certain point they have learned all they can and then become experts on that subject. In reality, this is just another form of essentialism perpetrated against these marginalized communities. Allyship should not be seen as a status one can achieve but rather an action one must continually perform. It is about raising awareness and visibility, which require listening directly to members of these marginalized groups. The role of the ally is to amplify the voices within the community that they are trying to assist, not speak over them with an over-simplified version of a reality they can not understand. When one performs their role as an ally incorrectly, they can often cause even more damage and perpetuate false narratives. From understanding our privileges in relation to our fellow people to finding a better way to uplift their voices and stories, it is important that we never stop learning and analyzing the layered systems of oppression and recognizing difference among our own communities.
