If you do social justice work, you’ve undoubtedly suffered your fair share of abuse. And if you’ve been vocal about it, people have likely told you that “you must be doing something right” if people are angry. And I get their point. But sometimes, it doesn’t feel comforting. Here are some reasons why you might want to drop “you must be doing something right!”

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Feminine-presenting person explaining something to someone masculine-presenting

It’s not that the misguided ally is a bad person. We know they don’t want to hurt us. But they do. And until misguided allies learn the error in their ways, the true work of activism and allyship cannot be done. Fortunately, there are a few activist communication hacks for dealing with the misguided allies we’ll all inevitably encounter. Read on for five.

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There are lots of ways to be a great “ally” – and innumerable ways to be a terrible one. But it’s not rocket science. There are simple things you can keep in mind and do in order to be a better person “currently operating in solidarity with” the marginalized or oppressed. And while this list is not comprehensive, it’s definitely somewhere to start. So “allies,” let’s talk.

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Going to the gynecologist, as a trans man in a transphobic world, can be an incredibly uncomfortable and verbally violent experience. Consequently, many men avoid getting necessary medical services like pap smears—which could lead to a completely different discomfort. Here’s some advice on how to safely negotiate your pap test as a trans man.

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If the ultimate goal is to get someone to change their problematic behavior, then we need to be intentional and strategic about how we encourage people to do that, especially other activists. How do we, as people with shared goals for social justice, hold each other accountable? In addition to calling people out, we can also call each other in when we mess up.

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