Ally as an Emerging Critical Orientation: Performing Praxis-Oriented Ally Subjectivity

This essay begins with the assumption that “allies” can be and do more than that which is normatively pre-determined by institutionalized definitions of “allies.” As a result, this essay implicates ally subjectivity in relational terms. Specifically, we turn to developments in queer relationality to reconceptualize of “ally” beyond the narrow confines binaristic mimesis demands. We argue normative framings of “ally” as an exclusively cisheterosexual identity modifier effectively dismiss the ways intersecting oppressions function. In turn, we articulate “ally” as a praxis-oriented posture that desires critical cultural communicative means of belonging across intersections of difference. The result is a heuristic framework used to focus relational forces animating “allies” for their potential in enacting queer worlds in and through what we term “praxis-oriented ally subjectivity.”.