Ally Training Case Study

Eye opening! These are the two words that I would use to describe the Ally Training. It was really nothing like what I expected. I have only a few friends that identify as gay and outside of them I do not know much about the LGBT community nor do I know many people involved in this community. I never realized the importance of having these types of trainings on campus and creating a safe space for members of the LGBT community. These safe spaces are important because it allows for students and faculty who are a part to this community to be themselves and express themselves freely. I went into this training thinking that it was going to be a boring PowerPoint presentation with different speakers talking about the LGBT community. I can honestly …show more content…
One of the members in my group really had me thinking about this with her response. She identified as lesbian and she stated that if someone were to do defend her she wants to make sure that the fully understand the risks that they are taking by doing so. I never realized that by being an Ally or simply defending someone in the LGBT community I could put myself at risk. I shared with my group, that personally with a child on the way and with a family to support I do not know if I would be 100% willing to risk my job or even my life for someone who was not related to me. In a way it sounds harsh, but surprisingly this individual completely agreed with me. She told me that she would personally not want someone in my situation to put themselves in a predicament that they are not ready to be …show more content…
There were many facts that I did not know about before this training. Although we have gone a long way with same-sex marriage being legalized, there is still a long way for 100% equal rights. Personally, I do not believe that equal rights will occur anytime soon, because if you look at the rights of women and men. Yes, women have gone a long way but there is still inequality. I am very shocked that employers could do such things, and then when Jerry the guest speaker said that transgender people could also be fired made me feel uneasy. I don’t think it is very fair that this can happen to members of the LGBT community.
I must say that this course has really made me go out of my comfort zone and experience things that otherwise I would not even think about doing. I contemplated whether or not I really wanted to participate in this activity, but I am very glad that I did. As I stated before, it was a very eye opening experience. I strongly believe that if I had the opportunity to go again I would defiantly jump on the opportunity. I believe that it would be a wonderful thing to have more people participate in trainings like the one I attended to challenge their mindsets and to help them understand the importance of being an