Dear Educators,
My name is Nicole Weatherly - I am Myles Ahead's Director of Transformation, and I'm also the one who writes the weekly emails that include recommended resources for educators. I'm writing you an extra email this week to address last Friday's email that I sent, which was entitled "A" is for Ally. It was brought to my attention that the title of "A" is for Ally could be misinterpreted as referring to the "A" in 2SLGBTQIA+.
To clarify, the "A" in 2SLGBTQIA+ stands for Asexual and does not stand for Ally. In addition, it's now my understanding that this reference is frequently a microaggression that asexual people often experience, as their identity is often excluded and erased when 2SLGBTQIA+ identities are discussed.
I chose the title of "A" is for Ally as a Sesame Street reference to connect the importance of allyship for Indigenous Peoples and people within the 2SLGBTQIA+ community. Unfortunately, I didn't consider that this title might be misinterpreted that I was referring to the "A" within 2SLGBTQIA+. While I know the "A" in this initialism stands for Asexual, I now realize how important it was (and is) to spell out the initialism to avoid confusion and harm; and, better yet, I would not have used the title.
As a member of the 2SLGBTQIA+ community, I understand there are varying stigmas, marginalizations, and perspectives within and outside the community, and I certainly don't want to perpetuate microaggressions and misunderstandings. I apologize for causing confusion and harm with my choice of title. To help further understanding, below is a video which explains what each of the letters within 2SLGBTQIA+ represent.
