A compulsory alliance

Abstract

This dissertation reflects a 14 month research project utilizing ethnographic field methods, including participant observations and one-on-one interviews with youths at a large urban high school west of the Mississippi River (Park High School). In this project, I explored the experiences of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, and Questioning (LGBTQQ) youths and their straight identifying allies to uncover the meanings they assign to being a straight ally in a Gay-Straight Alliance (GSA), a queer friendly space. I discovered three key themes: First, the straight ally is constructed within a context of power and privilege, or what I conceptualize as the compulsory alliance. Both LGBTQQ youths and their straight allies view allies as necessary for the power of the overall club. In terms of the compulsory alliance, like compulsory heterosexuality (Rich 1980), heterosexual allies are rendered largely invisible in the GSA. They are allowed unconditional access to all GSA activities, without understanding the significance of their participation. The second theme I uncovered is a discourse of ally criticism, whereby largely lesbian and queer identifying girls criticized straight ally participation. Some ally critics may value the role of the straight ally as a supporter who brings legitimacy to the group, while others reject the GSA because straight ally participation taints the space as "unsafe." Finally, I uncovered highly gendered relationships within the GSA. Specifically, straight boys rarely attended meetings, while straight girls and gay boys were vocal participants in the meetings. I argue that the ways in which straight ally girls participated in the GSA contributed to a marginalization of queer-identified girls. My overall findings challenge current practices of GSAs that unconditionally invite straight allies, who embody straight privilege into queer-friendly spaces. Thus, I argue that we need to rethink the ways in which we construct the straight ally, and consider a post-ally discourse where students are allowed and encouraged to create queer-only clubs within schools.