Allies

An Ally or Straight Ally is a cisgender, heterosexual/romantic, allosexual/romantic (cishet) individual who is not part of the LGBTA+ community but supports the community. An ally acknowledges that LGBT people face discrimination and thus are socially disadvantaged, supports LGBT+ rights, and challenges homophobia, transphobia, etc. Not everyone who meets this definition identifies specifically as an "ally". Not all cishet people are allies.

The A in LGBTA+ does not stand for ally. Rather it stands for asexual, aromantic, and agender.

History
It is unknown when the term 'ally' was first used, however it has been around seemingly since the post events of The Stonewall Riots.

Flags
The Straight Ally flag was created sometime in the late 2000’s, but the specific origin is unknown. The cisgender ally flag was coined by by Twitter user @vaultausir at an unknown time.

The Polyamorous Ally flag (for cishets) was coined by a user going by William, as she noticed the lack of polyamorous support amongst many. It was coined on January 21st, 2021.

The QPoC/TPoC Ally flag was also coined by William, in order for white cishets to show support to not only transgender and queer people, but support to POC and the struggles they go through. It was coined on January 22nd, 2021.

Resources
https://www.unco.edu/gender-sexuality-resource-center/resources/pride-flags.aspx#:~:text=History%3A%20o%20The%20Non%2DBinary,Non%2DBinary%20peoples'%20experience.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Straight_ally#Historical_background