Every human deserves to live their own truth.
While our society has made leaps and bounds in the right direction towards equality for all, there is still a lot of work to be done. Not only should society strive for equality for all under law, but society should strive for freedom of expression and truth without fear.
The LGBTQIA+ society is taking the world by storm. While these conversations become more commonplace, accepted more widely, and flow more freely, there are still people, places, and situations where equality for all is not the case.
We understand it is not always the easiest conversation. Most of the time, conversations and situations feel awkward based on lack of knowledge and lack of resources. Today, we want to share with you our resources for LGBTQIA+ so we can all work towards a better world.
Being able to support begins with being able to understand. One way to increase your knowledge of LGBTQIA+ terms is to familiarize yourself. One term that is commonplace in LGBTQIA+ society is “ally”. But what exactly is an ally and how can you become one?
An ally is simply a person or individual who has concern and care for LGBTQIA+ people, a person who advocates and fights on LGBTQIA+ people’s behalfs, or a person who realizes the issues in LGBTQIA+ society and challenges these issues head on.
How To Become An Ally
Becoming an ally can be simple. In some instances it can look like being a friend and sticking up for human rights. In other instances, it can require involvement and a fight for justice. Here are our tips on how to be an ally.
Stay Informed: in order to be able to speak to, work with, or challenge issues in the LBGTQIA+ community, you must first be aware of these issues. Stay up to date and informed about news and current issues, learn the terms related to the LBGTQIA+ society, and ask questions.
Take A Stand: Take a stand for someone that can’t take a stand for themselves. When you are an ally to the LBGTQIA+ community that means you stand up for the injustices, the prejudices, and work with the community to spark change.
Support: Supporting the LBGTQIA+ community cannot be a silent effort. In order to help those in need you need to step out and show your support.
Graphic/Photo Credit: @mattxiv and shared via @chnge on Instagram
The LBGTQIA+ community is one in need. From the school system to the workplace there are still people in our society that are facing prejudices and fighting for the freedom to simply be their true selves.
Here are even more resources on how to support the community, stay up to date on progress, and how to identify as an ally:
https://www.thetrevorproject.org/
https://lgbtqcolorado.org/about/
https://queerasterisk.com/about-us/#counselor
https://www.transgendercenteroftherockies.org/services-tcr
https://www.childrenscolorado.org/doctors-and-departments/departments/gender-diversity-center/