How This Straight, Cisgender Man Deals With Aggression Against His LGBT Advocacy

How This Straight, Cisgender Man Deals With Aggression Against His LGBT Advocacy

Just because you don't self-identity as lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender does not mean your advocacy isn't welcome. However, that isn't exactly the message this author received.

Sam Killermann, who identifies as a white, straight, cisgender male, explained to HuffPost Live's Alyona Minkovski on Tuesday that as an advocate for the social justice and equity of all genders, identities and sexualities, he's received significant "aggression" and even "hate" from the radical left as well as the radical right.

From the conservative right, he's received comments like, "'You're a man, you shouldn't care about gender. You're straight, you shouldn't care about sexuality. You're cisgender, you shouldn't care about gender in the non-binary or queer sense,'" Killermann said. "And it's odd because a lot of the backlash I get from the left, or from the more progressive groups, is the same."

Killermann said when he's discouraged from advocating for marginalized identities he doesn't identity with, he's put in a position where he's "not sure where to go next."

While the backlash has never caused him to change his mind on advocating, it's "definitely challenged my commitment to what I would describe as a lifelong goal or lifelong commitment that is advocacy or ally-ship."

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