Queer allyship in TESOL: We need to ACTS now!

Abstract

AbstractBuilding queer allyship is an in‐the‐making, incomplete, and situated process in and beyond TESOL. In this article, I propose that the concept of queer allyship is not a conceptual but practical and calling‐for‐action approach on an everyday life basis. Queer allyship describes allies who work together to challenge common heteronormative and cisgender assumptions of oneself to think queer and provoke actions in relational systems of support (ACTS). In this article, I invite the readers to think queer with me about the missing aspect of queer allyship in TESOL, address the importance of doing this work, and offer some queer considerations for teachers and administrators to try in their own spaces. I conclude the article by acknowledging two things. One, everyone can queer their own thinking and actions; therefore, everyone can be queers themselves. Two, doing queer allyship work should not be the sole responsibility of anyone—it is ecological work, which demands collective and communal care for and with all students and teachers.