Happy June, everyone! June is (at least here in the U.S.) LGBT Pride Month, and as a result, I’ve noticed the image at the beginning of this post resurfacing a lot on various social media websites. As in previous years when it’s come to my attention, while I love the fact that there are so many allies out there who are being boldly vocal and posting this image as a reflection of themselves on the internet, there is something about the wording of the image that has always bothered me. Even before I fully self-identified as asexual, I always wanted to post this image in support of my LGBT friends, but felt that I couldn’t, because it would be a lie to claim that “I am not gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, pansexual, intersex, or asexual.” I want to be an ally to my friends and family, but I don’t want to misrepresent my own identity in doing so. This begs the question, which has been on my mind a lot lately: Do you have to be straight to be an ally? And if so, why? Why should the fact that I am asexual mean that I can’t be an ally to the gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, etc. communities, and vice versa?
