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Are you straight? Do you have straight friends and family? Send ‘em to me, the straight girl blogging on a gay man’s website. I want to have a little chat with straight people. I’m here to recruit you. I’m here to turn you blue.

Over Independence Day, jaysays had a poll. What could help move gay rights forward? Was it scientific? No. Did we get thousands of responses? No. Still, one of the top thoughts was enlisting more straight allies. What could we do? We came up with blue.

I believe there are a lot of straight people out there who support rights for gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgendered people. But you, the straight folks, aren’t sure what to do. Maybe you think you are not welcome in this movement.  When a referendum comes around, you vote. You may have other causes that you are dedicated to. Or – it never occurred to you that your voice could help.

My straight friends. Your voices can help. There’s no place like the Internet to show your true colors. To stand up for your beliefs. Doing the right thing has never been easier.

We noticed the amazing response on Twitter when folks turned their images green to support Iran. The idea spread like wildfire. I was reminded of when the Nazi’s went into Denmark. They demanded that the Jews wear an armband with a Star of David. The good people of Denmark protested by wearing the same armbands. Now everyone is Jewish. Brilliant idea. The Nazi’s? Eventually, they gave up. People on Twitter identified themselves as being from Iran. Amazing how human compassion works, isn’t it?

Hmm.  Can I, one person, get straight people to show their support for LGBT rights? I needed a simple idea. I contacted Blue4Equality and they responded with an enthusiastic yes. Their idea is a simple one. Put a blue light in your window to show your support for gay rights. Well, on the Internet, our images, our icons, our avatar’s are our own personal window. I liked it. We all know that a rainbow is the symbol for LGBT rights and pride. Why not use blue as an metaphor of straight supporters? After all, together, we can reach the sky. And it just happens to be blue.

Make a simple statement about your values. Go blue. Shade your image blue, take a photo of yourself against a beautiful blue sky,  put on a blue bow, a blue ribbon, a blue shirt, a blue hat, color your hair blue. Use your imagination. Write a limerick or a poem. Tell us, here at jaysays, why you support gay rights. You don’t need to donate money, go to a march or even reveal your real name. Stand up straight for what you believe in. Support equal rights for all people.

Editor’s Note: As a young gay man, I often felt very isolated and alone.  After coming out of the closet, I quickly learned who were my “true friends” and who were convenient friends.  Many of my straight friends abandoned ship.  In fact, one of them told me, “Gays are like cockroaches, you don’t know why, but you just want to step on them.”  Obvioiusly, it was a crushing moment for me, and I began believing that there were no straight people that could be trusted – all of them would prefer to step on me.  I’m happy to say that, after many many years, I’ve learned that there are numerous straight allies; however, many of them don’t know how to show their support of the LGBT community.

Jude, a straight ally, started bouncing ideas around via emails and, with the help of another vocal and steadfast straight ally, Jane Wishon, blue was born.  Jane also sells straight ally merchandise on her cafe press site to help bring awareness about the inequalities faced by LGBT people. She has also graciously offered to help people go blue – the color of the sky that holds the rainbow.  She can be reached via twitter.

If you prefer not to go blue, but still want to show your support for human rights, you can download one from here. Simply right click the icon of your choice and save it to your computer.  You can then upload the icon to any website where you wish to show your support:

Gays aren’t the only people that come out – and the more straight allies that come forward, the more visibility, support and safety we will find.  Together, we can build a better future for all people.

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