“Ally” Versus “Member”

Amy Andre, co-author of Bisexual Health published by the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, has written an interesting post at The Bilerico Project as a guest blogger.

“Lady Gaga Is Not an Ally to Our Community” is the title of her post. I was expecting an argument against the LGBT advocacy of the pop star, but instead found a bisexual bone to pick.

Here’s an excerpt:

Lady Gaga is not an ally to the LGBT community. She is an out bisexual, and therefore is a member of the community. And yet, time and time again, I see her described in the (LGBT) press as an “ally” or “friend” whenever she does her activist thing … This “ally” versus “member” way of describing bisexual people is an example of biphobia in our community …

The parentheses around “LGBT” in the excerpt are hers, not mine. Is the LGBT media guilty of describing bisexuals as allies more so than the mainstream media? I don’t know, but it does strike me as a legitimate complaint regardless.

There’s no arguing that bisexuals are part of the LGBT acronym, but it is arguable just how much the LG embraces the B (let alone the T). If there were more bisexuals (and transgenders) in the LGBT media, would such faux pas be less common?