Post-Gay, Political, and Pieced Together: Queer Expectations of Straight Allies

• In Event: 1466 - Section on the Sociology of Sexualities Roundtables (1 hour)
  In Refereed Roundtable 60min: 6. Queer Perspectives on Sexualities

Abstract

Past research has examined straight allyship to the queer community from allies’ perspectives, but little is known about how queer people evaluate straight allies. The present study focuses on queer people’s expectations for allies and demonstrates the variation of expectations within the queer community. Drawing on in-depth interviews with 18 LGBTQ+ students from a large, public university in the southeastern U.S., we show that respondents formulate their expectations by leaning on their understanding of their own queerness in relation to other privileged and marginalized identities they possess. We find two opposing camps of thought: one that allies should be attuned to the individual needs of queer people in their personal lives, and the other that they should be actively dedicated to the needs of the broader queer community. These two camps are staunchly divided along dimensions race and (trans)gender identity; in the sample, white cisgender gay men expect apolitical allies while trans and gender nonconforming people of color expect allies to be extremely political involved. Some respondents expressed sentiments of both camps, showcasing how expectations range with diverse identity constellations. We conclude with a discussion of the implications of these results for queer rights movements.

Authors

• TehQuin Forbes, Florida State University

• Koji Ueno, Florida State University