What Is Performative Activism? - PureWow

Performative activism (also known as performative wokeness or allyship) is supporting a cause or issue to garner attention, support or ... Lifestyle/Categories Fashion Stories Beauty Family Food Recipes Home Weddings News Travel Books Tech Money Wellness Fitness Pets Trending/TopStories 2022InteriorDesignTrends 5HaircutTrendsThatAreShapin... DoesHandSanitizerWork?WeAsk... HowtoMakeYourHomeFeelMore... HowtoGetRidofDarkSpotsOnc... Videos/Watch How-to's BlinkBeautyTutorials PopularVideos Cities/Editions NewYork Miami Dallas LosAngeles Hamptons Chicago SanFrancisco ConnectWithUs SignUp Share Share Pin TEXT Email Twitter https://bit.ly/3AJg3sd Copy Fashion Beauty Family Recipes PureWow100 Podcasts Close AreyousureyouwanttoremovethisitemfromyourRecipeBox? Remove Save Close CreateaPassword Forgotyourpassword? *REQUIRED Save Login Close Forgotyourpassword? Enteryourregisteredemailbelow! Submit Don'thaveanaccount?Signuptoday. Close ToSavetoMyRecipeBox Pleaselogintoyouraccount Forgotyourpassword? LogIn Nevercreatedapassword?Createonehere. —or— Don'thaveanaccount?Signuptoday. Youarenotcurrentlysubscribed ItappearsyourFacebookemailaddressisnotsubscribedtoPureWow.com.Pleaseindicatehowyouliketoproceed: IamnotcurrentlysubscribedtoPureWow.com,sopleasesubscribetoPureWow.com   IamalreadysubscribedtoPureWow.com,letmetellyoutheemailaddressIusedtosubscribe Close Pleaselogintoyouraccount Forgotyourpassword? LogIn Nevercreatedapassword?Createonehere. —or— Don'thaveanaccount?Signuptoday. Close LikeWhatYouSee? SignupforPureWowtogetmoreideaslikethese(It’sfree!) Avalidemailaddressisrequired —or— Pleaseacceptthetermsandprivacystatementbycheckingtheboxbelow I'vereadandacceptedtheTerms&ConditionsandPrivacyPolicyandconfirmIamatleast21yearsold. SignMeUp Alreadyhaveanaccount?Loginhere. Close SignupforPureWowRecipes YourTasteBudsaregoingtothankyou. Avalidemailaddressisrequired SignUp Alreadyhaveanaccount?Loginhere. RECIPES Pleaseenteravalidemailaddress... Thanks! Theemailshavebeensent Clickme Close PleaseconsidersubscribingtoPureWow Clickme Close LikeWhatYouSee? SignupforPureWowtogetmoredailydiscoveriessentstraighttoyourinbox. Done Thanks,butnothanks Clickme ThanksforSharing!NowlikeusonFacebook Close No,thanksI'malreadyaPureWowfan. Clickme Close Wantmorewherethatcamefrom? FollowPureWowonPinterest No,thanksIhateprettythings. wellness WhatIsPerformativeActivism(andWhyDoesItDoMoreHarmThanGood)? By Chelsea Candelario | Sep.28,2021 It’s2020andyoujustpostedyoursupportfortheGeorgeFloydprotestswithablacksquareonyourInstagram.Youpatyourselfonthebackandclosetheappfortheday,onlytodiscoverthatyourdecision(whichwasalsomadebymanyothers,includingcelebrities)hasbecomeatopicofcontroversy.Butwhy? Associalmedia(andtheInternetasawhole)hasbecomeapartofourdailylives,thewayweaddressissueshasstirredabigdebate.Areweusingthesetoolstofightacauseorjustshowothersweareonthesamewavelengthwhenitcomestosocialjustice?That’swhereperformativeactivismcomesin.Here’severythingyouneedtoknow. DesignArtByKaitlynCollins Whatisperformativeactivism? Performativeactivism(alsoknownasperformativewokenessorallyship)issupportingacauseorissuetogarnerattention,supportormonetizationfromothersratherthanactuallycaringaboutmakingadifferenceinthecause.Thisbehavioroftenalignswiththegoodsamaritanidealor,forsome,the“whitesaviorcomplex.”Theseactionsalsoshowlittletonoeffortisbeingmadetolearnortakeaction.It’smoreaboutshowingfriendsandfamily,“Hey,I’mwoke!I’mhiptothelatestissues.Pleasepraisemeonmylatestsocialissuepostoftheweek.” Whataresomeexamplesofperformativeactivism? Unfortunately,performativeactivismhasbeenaroundfordecades,butit’sbecomemoreobvioussincetheGeorgeFloydprotests.Whilewecandoawholepieceonexamplesofperformativeactivism(becausetrustus,there’salot),hereareafewbigonesthatwillmakeyousigh(orcringe). myinitialthoughtisitfeelsdangerous...becauseonceyouclickontheblmhashtagyou?redirectedtoanoverflowofblackimages,insteadofothermoreusefulcontentpeoplecouldlookatforinformation.pic.twitter.com/QiaHPeoWGP—A(@atothebed)June2,2020 “BlackoutTuesday”:InJune2020,manyInstagramuserspostedablacksquaretoshowtheirsupportoftheGeorgeFloydprotests.ItwasawaytoraiseawarenessoftheviolenceanddiscriminationagainsttheBlackcommunity.However,itcausedmoreconfusion(especiallysincethemovementwasspecificallyforthemusicindustry)andbacklashforfloodingfeedsthatheldimportantinformationontheseissues. The“BlackLivesMatter”StreetMurals:CitieslikeWashingtonD.C.,NewYorkandPortlandbeganpainting“BlackLivesMatter”onthestreetstoshowsupport.Butabold,yellowphraseonthegrounddoesn’tbringbacktheliveswe'velost(likeBreonnaTaylor),orthediscriminationandbiasesthatarestillpresentinsociety.CriticsofthemuralsnotedthatthespectacleseemedlikeawayforWashingtonD.C.mayorMurielBowsertogetariseoutofDonaldTrump,ratherthanaddressingherstanceonherlawenforcementpracticesthatareactuallydoingmoredamagetotheBlackcommunity. BrandsshowingLGBTQ+supportonlyinJune.WhenPrideMonthrollsaround,companiesarequicktoaddrainbowflagstotheirsocialmediaaccountsandfloodtheirstoreswiththemedmerchandise.WhenLGBTQ+supportfromabusinessseemsmorelikeamarketingmove,it’sknownas“rainbow-washing.”HowmanyofthesebrandsactuallygivebacktoLGBTQ+organizations?Isamugreallystoppingtheviolenceanddiscriminationofthiscommunity? The“Powerpointactivism”era.VoxwriterTerryNguyencoinedthistermtodefinetheaesthetically-pleasinggraphicsthathavebecomepopularfororganizationsandbusinesstopostaboutavarietyofissuesonInstagram[email protected](formerlyknownas@soyouwantotalkabout).Whilemanyenjoyedrepostingitscontent,thecreatoroftheaccountfacedcriticismforoversimplifyingissues,notattributinginformationtoBIPOCactivistsandexpertsandprofitingofftheideabydevelopingabookonthebacksofuncreditedactivistsandexperts. Celebritiessinging“Imagine.”Behold,thecringiestmomentof2020.Thepandemiccontinuestobringmorehardshipsaroundtheworld.Thelastthingwewanted?RichcelebritiestellingusitwasgoingtobeOKthroughsong.Itdidn’tbringpeopletogether,itonlyleftusmoreconfusedandangry.Thistookawayfromtherealitiesofthisvirus.Wedidn’tneedsinging,weneededanswers. BenjaminSolomon/Contributor/GettyImages Whyisperformativeactivismsodangerous? Performativeactivismcantaketheattentionawayfromcriticallyimportantissuesandcauses.Itshinesalightonthe“activist”insteadofthecommunitiesaffected.Insteadofspreadingamessage,thefocusshiftstowhocangetcrownedthesocialjusticekingoftheday.(“HowmanylikesandcommentscanIget?”“Howdoesthismakemelookmore‘connected?’”) Performativeactivismisalsodangerousbecauseitdiscouragesothersfromdoingmore.It’sthatmentalityof,“Well,thispersonisdoingthework,sowhydoIneedtoexertmoreenergyinthissubjecttoo?”PerformativeactivismissoappealingbecauseitonlytakesasecondtosharealistofAsian-ownedbusinessesonTwitter,displayaBLMsignonyourporchorwearrainbow-coveredmerchallJunelongtofeellikeyou’re“down”withthecause.There’snoreasontocommitfullytochangingthelonghistoryoflaws,discriminationandunderrepresentation. Theseactionsmightseemhypocriticaland,whendoneforthewrongreasons,canbackfire.Caseinpoint?TheNationalFootballLeague(NFL)painted“EndRacism”ontheirfootballfields,whenjustfouryearsago,theyweredenouncingColinKaepernick’sactions(anddenyinghimaspotintheNFL)fortakingakneeinsupportofthesamemovement. Anotherconcern?Fightingquietly(orevenprivately)foracausemightbeseenas“lessthan,”becauseitisn’tasloudandflashyasperformativeactivism.Ifthere’snoproofofyoudonating,protestingorsupportinganissue,doesitstillholdtrue?(Spoileralert:Yes,yesitdoes.)JournalistYomiAdegokesaiditbest:“Irefertoitasa‘picsoritdidn’thappen’approachtogrief;ifyoudon’ttweetaboutit,youdon'tcareaboutit.Ifyoudon’tdocumentsomethingonline,itdidn’thappen.”Wehavebeensoprogrammedtoshareeverythingonline.We’veblurredthelinesbetweenpersonalandprivatelives.Ratherthanpostingaboutwhereyoustandontheissue,findoutwhatneedstobedonetofixtheissue. ViewthispostonInstagram ApostsharedbyKrisSchatzel(@rusabnb) Canwetalkmoreabouttheroleofsocialmedia? Thebiggestdriverofperformativeactivismissocialmedia.Alsoknownas“slacktivism”(and“clicktivism”or“hashtagactivism”),it’sthenotionthatchangingyourprofilepicture,likingapostorusingahashtagisenoughtoshowpeoplethatyoucareaboutwhat’sgoingon.It’sbecomepopularortrendyto“showsupport”withoutdoingitinreallife.But,askyourself,whatisactuallybeingdone?Isthiscreatingadifferenceinthebiggerissueorisitjustanotherviralmoment? It’simportanttonotethatsocialmediamakesahugeimpactinhowwelearnabouttheseissues.Itgivesustheabilitytoraiseawareness,sparkconversationsandinfluenceotherstotakeaction.Socialmedia,afterall,transformedBlackLivesMatterintoanationwidemovement.Butsocialmediaisnotthesolutiontoeverything.It’snotgoingtofixalltheproblemsintheworldbecauseyoutweetedahashtag. Somecriticsofperformativeactivismfearthatsocialmediahasevendiminishedthereal-lifeactivismthatwe’velearnedinourhistoryclasses.TheybelievethattheInternethasmadeiteasiertotakeactiononacomputerscreenratherthantakingtothestreets(likewhentheseinfluencerswenttoaprotestforaphoto-opandvideos). OK,howcanIbeabetterally? Haveyoudabbledinperformativeactivism?Reallythinkaboutit.Iftheansweris“yes,”bravoforowninguptoit.Itcanbetoughtolearnyoumaybepartoftheproblemandit’sOK.Aslongasyoubegintoeducateyourselfonhowtobeabetterally,youcantakestepstobeginhelpingothers.So,howcanyoubeabetterally? Listen.Listentowhatthatspecificcommunityistellingyou.Asanally,youshouldspendtimeamplifyingthesevoicesandputtingthemattheforefrontoftheconversation.Thiscanmeantakingacloserlookattheprivilegeyouholdinsociety.Isyourstancetakingawayfromtheindividualsfightingforthiscause? Research,research,research.Beforehittingthesharebutton,takethetimetoresearchacauseororganization.Askyourself,isthiswortharetweetormore?WhyamIraisingawareness?Whyisthissoimportanttopostthisonsocialmedia?We’resoquicktoputinahashtagorshareinformationwithouttakingintoaccounthowmuchwereallyknowaboutthesubject. Don’tfeelobligatedtosharehowyou’rehelpingonsocialmedia.It’sOKtomovesilently.Abigissuewithperformativeactivismisthatpeoplewanttoavoidbacklashorcriticismfromtheirpeersiftheydon’tspeakuponline.It’snotthetimetoshowyourfeedthatyou’rereadingWhiteFragility.So,howareyougoingtoshowupoutsideofyourInternetpersona?Whenit’snolongerthe“coolthingtodo”ornotdisplayedconstantlyacrossyourscreens,areyoustillgoingtobefightingforit? Takeaction.It’sfinetoletpeopleknowwhereyoustandonanissue,butwhatelseareyoudoing?Areyouinfluencingotherstovote,donateandmarch?Ifyou’rereallypassionateaboutatopic,maketheefforttobemoreinvolved. Don’tonlybeanallywhenit’sconvenient.Don’tonlyshowcaseyourallyshipwhenBlackHistoryMonth,PrideMonthorLatinxHeritageMonthrollsaround.Showyoursupportallyearround,notjustwhenyoufeelsocialpressuretodoit. Itcanbehardtodistinguishthedifferencebetweenperformativeactivismandtrueallyship.Buttherearestepsyoucantaketoavoiditinyourownlife.So,thenexttimeyouseeamovementstirringuponline,takeastepbackanddoyourresearchbeforeposting. RELATED:5‘Whitesplanations’YouMightBeGuiltyofWithoutRealizingIt SHARE12 PINIT4 EMAIL EMAIL SHARE EMAIL TEXT FromAroundTheWeb More MoreStories You’llLove MoreStories FromourPartners ManageYourAccount Enteryourregisteredemailbelow! Close Emailtoafriend(orfive). Hey,youknowwhatwouldmakeyourdaybetter?ReadingthisPureWowarticle. Send Close Thanks! Youremailhasbeensent.