During Ally Week many focus on allies that are heterosexual and cisgender, but I believe it’s very important to talk about allies inside the LGBTQ community as well.

Take me, for example: As a pansexual person, I am a part of the LGBTQ community. However, I am only part of a small section of the community. I am not bisexual, I am not a lesbian and I am not transgender. Therefore, I consider myself an ally to people in the community who are bisexual, lesbian and transgender.

As members of such a huge and diverse community, we should stick up for one another; the support that we proudly show for different parts of the LGBTQ community during Pride Month should be an everyday thing. We have experiences that, for the most part, can be very similar. Many of us choose to come out at one point or another, and that is an experience we share, one we can support each other in.

We can also support one another by helping fight for the rights of everyone in the community. While it is great that same-sex marriage has been legalized in the U.S., all of us can also help end bisexual erasure and stand up for transgender rights.

So, yes, many people view and celebrate Ally Week as if it is for all of the heterosexual, cisgender kids, but I think it is always important to remember that it’s also for the cisgender bisexual kids who are allies to the people in the transgender community or gender queer pansexual kids who are allies to the people in the bisexual community. It’s not just celebrating the fact that we’re allies either, it is figuring out how to be better allies and better parts of a community that has helped so many people.

So, my assignment for anyone who is a part of the LGBTQ community is simple: this year, take part in something to help another member in the community even if they don’t share your sexual orientation or gender identity.