Ally

An ally is someone who is not LGBTQ+ themselves but actively supports the community’s equality and safety. The common Chinese rendering is zhitongmeng (直同盟) — literally “straight-tongzhi alliance,” a compact word that bakes the partnership right into the name.

Allyship is usually less heroic and more everyday than people imagine: not laughing along at a homophobic joke and offering a mild “that’s not actually gross”; responding to a friend’s coming out with “thank you for trusting me” before anything else; using whatever room you command — a classroom, a family group chat, a meeting — to say a fair word for people who aren’t there to say it themselves. For someone under pressure, especially a teenager, having even one person who has clearly signaled support can change how survivable a hard year feels.

The allies’ guide covers this systematically, and the ally quiz is a decent blind-spot check.

Register note: neutral; common in community and advocacy contexts. Zhitongmeng is the more colloquial, affectionate variant.

Common misuse: wearing “ally” as a badge rather than practicing it as ongoing behavior; speaking over the community instead of amplifying it; and supporting only when it is safe and fashionable. Good allies ask “what do you need from me?” rather than deciding what is good for others.