LGBTQ+ people have faced threats to their safety in everyday situations for many years. Sadly, it still happens often, as more than one in five hate crimes in the U.S. are motivated by anti-LGBTQ+ bias. Interestingly, in some rare cases, the perpetrators may only think they’re assaulting an LGBTQ+ person.

In the story that one man recently shared, a group of friends pretended to be gay after hearing some guys throwing around insulting homophobic slurs. The situation quickly got heated and the men started throwing hands, with even the bartender getting involved. The guys demonstrated the true spirit of allyship, as one commenter praised: “This is the kind of gaybaiting I can get behind.”

Two guys messed around and found out that you don’t just go around using homophobic slurs in a bar

Image credits: bilahata / Freepik (not the actual photo)

They got schooled by a group of friends who pretended to be gay and got them arrested for a hate crime

Image credits: reewungjunerr / Freepik (not the actual photo)

Image credits: Arbrevoiture

To be considered a true ally, a person needs to accept the LGBTQ+ individual and take action

Image credits: frimufilms / Freepik (not the actual photo)

The men in this story found a way to be allies to the LGBTQ+ community that suited them at the moment. And while it was dangerous, their act was pretty heroic. However, there are other ways to be an ally to the LGBTQ+ community without risking your health and well-being.

Supporting LGBTQ+ people now might be more important than ever. In 2023, social scientists set out to find out what the LGBTQ+ community thinks the qualities of a true ally are. While many cisgender heterosexual people might think that a “Coexist” bumper sticker might be enough, the respondents of the study shed some light on how people can be better allies to the LGBTQ+ community.

The researchers found that there are three main components to being a true ally: being accepting, taking action, and having humility. They gave the participants a theoretical scenario about same-sex couples being able to adopt.

The highest-rated individuals turned out to be those who were not only silent allies but took some action and backed up their words with actions. And vice versa: if the hypothetical individual took action while still being biased against LGBTQ+ people, they rated them lower.

The last component of allyship was humility. LGBTQ+ participants thought that those who listen more than they speak in discussions about LGBTQ+ issues were better allies. Humility was, however, “the cherry on top”: participants mentioned it from 5 to 10% less frequently than the other two components.

Maybe the protagonists of this story can be considered the truest of allies. They took perhaps the biggest action of all: risked their physical safety in order to defend the integrity of LGBTQ+ people.

LGBTQ+ people are facing more and more threats of violence as well as restrictions on their rights

Image credits: disobeyart / Freepik (not the actual photo)

Just as society was starting to make strides in securing equal rights for LGBTQ+ people, it seems that we have been going backward in the 2020s. In the U.S. alone, crimes based on gender have risen 32.9% in 2022, a five-year high. Hate crimes based on sexual orientation increased 13.8%.

ACLED (Armed Conflict Locations and Event Data) also reported that anti-LGBTQ+ mobilization has reached its highest point since 2020. That includes anti-LGBTQ+ demonstrations, political violence, and offline propaganda.

State laws have also restricted the rights of LGBTQ+ people considerably. Missouri, for example, banned transition-related care for transgender minors. All in all, in 2023, 23 states passed 75 bills that included restrictions on gender-affirming care, school sports, school instructions, drag, and more.

The situation in the UK is not that much better. In the last five years, hate crimes on the basis of sexual orientation have increased by 112%. These types of hate crimes, coupled with those based on transgender identity, most often involve either violence or a threat of violence.

The UNHCR reports that a whopping 67 countries still have national laws where same-sex relationships are seen as a crime. What’s worse, at least nine countries criminalize certain forms of gender expression.

Europe’s largest LGBTQ+ charity, Stonewall, claims that the government needs a clear plan on how to tackle hate crimes. They call for proper training and resources for the police and courts and urge them to work hand in hand with communities in providing support for victims.

“We definitely need more allies like you,” people in the comments cheered

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