Why the A doesn’t stand for Ally
by Emil Tinkler
In recent years, the LGBT acronym has grown just as our community has. It started obviously as LGBT before becoming LGBTQ and then LGBTQIA+, and depending on who you ask — the latter letters of the acronym are a little bit different. But no matter who you ask those letters all represent or are supposed to represent the identities and terms used by our community. But the letter A has some controversy surrounding it. Some say it only stands for ally while others say that it stands for Asexual and Ally. Depending on where you look, some say that the A was added for allies and that it predates asexuality. But considering that the asexual manifesto was written back in 1972 — around the time asexuality started being used as a term — I have a hard time believing this. The A in LGBTQIA standing for Asexual and other A identities such as Aromantic and Agender but it does not and should not stand for ally.
I have nothing against our allies. In fact, allies to the LGBT community have always been important and vital to helping us in our fight for equality. However, that does not mean that they deserve a spot in the acronym. While the experience of being an ally in the past could have been harrowing depending on how outspoken you were, it does not compare to the experience of being a member of the LGBT community. Allies are not being fired for being allies. Allies are not refused service at restaurants and stores for being allies and allies were not refused the right to marry for being allies. I will not downplay the struggles some allies have been through especially in the beginning of the LGBT movement, but those struggles are not the same as ours.
The acronym is also meant to represent our community. While allies are close to our community and friends to our community, they are still separate from us. Allies are not queer and thus do not have claim to the A in our acronym especially when Asexual/Aromantic community is already attacked and shamed by many within our community. The struggle for legitimacy for these identities is hard enough without allies laying claim to the letter in our acronym meant to represent them. You are not partially queer for being and ally and while allies are welcome in our spaces they should not be represented in our acronym.
I am very grateful for the allies that have helped our community. While our community is strong there is much that we could not have accomplished without their help. Allies have helped protect us, fight for us, give us medical treatment when others would not and so much more. Allies are very important and will never cease to be but that still does not give them claim to the letter A. Allies deserve to be recognized and celebrated for the work that they do for us but not through our acronym and the letter A.
About the Author:
Emil Tinkler is a 21 year old college student living in Central Florida. They are a gay agender person. Emil is a psychology major and a humanities minor. They want to be a therapist one day and help trans kids access medical care, and they love Harry Potter, Bad Suns, and LGBTQ activism. Emil was Vice President of the LGBTQ group on their campus for a year, and will continue to keep activism close to their heart in everything they do.
