Ally to Accomplice

The term allyship is something that many of us are familiar with, it is working to support and stand alongside various marginalized groups. So, I consider myself an ally of LGBTQIA+ people in general and transgender and non-binary folx people in particular. 

This means I am letting those people know that I see them and will support them. But there has been some movement away from this term ally because of a passivity that many members of these marginalized groups see among allies. 

For social justice to really move forward, we need those with privilege (such as myself) to do more than say, “I’m with you” or stick an ally icon in our profile. That is why accomplice is a word that is starting to be used more in some social justice arenas. It implies a more active role, that we accomplices are actively doing the work

There has been a lot of critique of ‘performative allyship’ which we see more of on social media where it is easy to claim support of various causes and communities, but does not require much in the way of effort and often does not translate to real world actions to support those communities. 

I encourage you to think on this distinction. Do you use the term ally? And do your actions back up your words? Are there areas that you could be more active in your support? 

This pride month I am calling on my fellow accomplices to stand up and take an active role to protect LGBTQIA+ people because they are being targeted for erasure and harm by this current administration. That is why we cannot be passive and that is why I cannot be silent politically as a therapist. Because my silence is not harmless.