Mike: "I checked my university email account today and found ninety-three unread letters with the bulk of them coming from the LGBT Society regarding the conference I spoke at last term (a joint LGBT & Amnesty International Society event.) Most were positive but some were negative and the negativity was focused on why a straight guy was talking about gay issues when he should be out there doing (you know) straight things. I had a follow up MSN chat with the secretary of the LGBT Society (a new and now good friend of mine) and he basically let me know in no uncertain terms that there are gay people out there who despise heterosexuals. So it's quite disconcerting, though not to the extent that I considered my whole Saturday afternoon ruined. Knowing this, I'll probably refrain from giving out-right support in future and just stick to the sidelines. The question on my mind is "Why?" but I don't suppose I'll be getting an answer any time soon.

Oh well."

My feedback:

It's quite a shame...because their distress should be re-examined about the idea of representation. Frequent criticism about straight allies is that they are usually privileged suburban white people with a sunny disposition. These individuals perhaps have less of an understanding of life in general, not to mention the challenges and obstacles faced by GLBTQ folks. In our own community, the presence of straight allies who are Asian and male, is something still sought as their support is not as visible as their WASP-y counterparts. I can only assume that these folks from the LGBT Society are white(washed) pundits who significantly lack a multicultural perspective and can't see that straight allies vary across communities.