By Stephanie Allen

From the extremely violent laws being passed in Uganda and Florida, to the rise in anti-2SLGBTQ+ violence in Canada, 2SLGBTQ+ people’s lives are under increasing threat. According to a 2021 Statistics Canada report, hate crimes against 2SLGBTQ+ people have risen by 64 per cent in just one year. Gains made decades ago are being eroded; we’re seeing a dramatic turn away from acceptance and love towards hatred, fear, and outright lies.

As we continue to hear about these escalating incidents of discrimination and hate on social media and in public, it’s time for us to take greater personal and community responsibility to protect our 2SLGBTQ+ neighbours. Cisgender heterosexual people (“cishet” for short) who call themselves allies have to get out of our comfort zones and live up to our declared allyship with 2SLGBTQ+ people here and around the world.

One the parts I love about living in Vancouver is that it’s a place where the 2SLGBTQ+ community celebrate themselves in every age, shape, and hue. Though lesser known, the history of queer and trans liberation in Vancouver mirrors the important work done in places like San Francisco and New York. Living in a community with unapologetic 2SLGBTQ+ advocates provides access to a wide range of learning opportunities. We must use these important resources to strengthen our daily acts of solidarity and to take action for greater inclusion of 2SLGBTQ+ people wherever we have influence. If you don’t think you have a role to play, allow me to suggest that you think again.

We are already seeing some outstanding solidarity happening here in BC, such as the group of parents in Kelowna who stepped forward to protect a young athlete from an older man who was aggressively challenging her gender at an elementary school track and field event. Or the supporters who came out to protect attendees at Drag Queen Story Hour in Coquitlam from angry people making false accusations against the performers. These are important examples of speaking up and using our cishet privilege to push back against discrimination.

How you can take action:

1. Consider your life circumstances and where you have power or influence. Are you a parent, manager, educator, landlord, community leader, professional, public servant, or voter? Be sure to consider your intersecting identities to fully assess where you are safe to challenge discrimination. Please note: discomfort doesn’t qualify as a lack of safety.

2. Take opportunities whenever you can to use your power or influence to protect and support 2SLGBTQ+ people. One of the most fundamental ways to do this is to use your voice to keep 2SLGBTQ+ people safe. When people express bigotry, discrimination, or hate, we can respectfully but firmly challenge them—even on a “joke”—with responses like, “I disagree with what you just said,” or, “That sounds discriminatory and hurtful, I can’t support that,” or, “Do you believe that’s a valid thing to say about anyone?” Let them know that you believe in the inherent dignity of all people and that they are not free to discriminate around you. 

If it happens in a school or workplace, report it formally to the most senior levels you can. Make sure it’s documented and followed up on by leadership. Despite the increase in 2SLGBTQ+ inclusion by school administrators and employers, interpersonal and systemic discrimination stubbornly persists in many organizations. Remember to follow the lead of community experts and consult existing sources before embarking on anything beyond your own expertise.

Another way to protect and support 2SLGBTQ+ people is to show up and hold space; a recent example of this was the Carousel Theatre’s call for allies at their summer theatre camp. And if you haven’t attended Vancouver Pride, this is a good year to make your solidarity visible. For the rest of the year, if you can offer financial support or no-cost space to queer and trans people to gather safely, do so; AfroQueerYVR is an example of an outstanding group that would benefit from such support.

3. Put in the effort needed to be consistently courageous. The most consistently effective antidote we humans have ever found for defeating fear and violence is building connected communities built on shared well-being. This Pride is a critical moment to deepen our love and solidarity with the trans and queer community—a love embodied in the work of Marsha P. Johnson. Johnson was a Black homeless trans woman who survived as a sex worker. Her defiance against discriminatory laws sparked the Stonewall riots in New York’s Greenwich Village in 1969, eventually leading to Pride celebrations across North America.

As a Black cishet woman, I draw a lot of courage from Johnson’s unflinching dedication to caring for her community. While anti-Black racism, homophobia, and transphobia manifest as distinct forms of oppression and violence, their roots come from the same source: unfounded yet deeply embodied fear that drives people to exert violent subjugation over people regarded as less human, often for personal gain. 

Courage isn’t the absence of fear—it’s being willing and able to understand where fear comes from and to choose a more powerful motivation: love.

Now, if you’ve read this far out of rage and can feel your blood pressure accelerating, take a beat and ask yourself where that sensation is coming from. Just get curious for a few minutes. What if you’ve been lied to about queer and trans people by someone or something that benefits from intensifying division and conflicts? Ask yourself: “Is another way possible? And if so, might I have less rage as a result?” The truth of the matter is that rage and hate are destructive, eventually destroying the bearer.

For the rest of us, we have to understand that allyship isn’t a label we affix on ourselves—it’s the courage to show up on the battlefield and fight together for a shared cause. We don’t give up when it gets uncomfortable; rather, we stay and fight for the long haul because we have decided that none of us are free to be our whole selves until we all are.