Performative activism - Wikipedia

Performative activism is activism done to increase one's social capital rather than because of one's devotion to a cause. ... It is often associated with surface- ... Performativeactivism FromWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia Jumptonavigation Jumptosearch Activismdonetoincreaseone'ssocialcapitalratherthanbecauseofone'sdevotiontoacause Thisarticlepossiblycontainsoriginalresearch.Relevantdiscussionmaybefoundonthetalkpage.Pleaseimproveitbyverifyingtheclaimsmadeandaddinginlinecitations.Statementsconsistingonlyoforiginalresearchshouldberemoved.(November2021)(Learnhowandwhentoremovethistemplatemessage) Performativeactivismisactivismdonetoincreaseone'ssocialcapitalratherthanbecauseofone'sdevotiontoacause.[1]Itisoftenassociatedwithsurface-levelactivism,referredtoasslacktivism.[2] ThetermgainedanincreasedusageonsocialmediainthewakeoftheGeorgeFloydprotests. Contents 1Historyandusage 1.1Earlyusesoftheterm 1.2InrelationtotheGeorgeFloydprotestsandBlackLivesMatter 2Seealso 3References Historyandusage[edit] Earlyusesoftheterm[edit] In1998,St.Martin'sPresspublishedSpectacularConfessions:Autobiography,PerformativeActivism,andtheSitesofSuffrage,aworkbyBarbaraGreenaboutFederationerawomen'ssuffrageinAustralia.[3]Thetermappearedonlinein2015articlesbyHyperallergicandAtlasObscura,butreferredtotheactivismthatinvolvedanelementofperformanceart.[4][5]TheHyperallergicarticlereferencedtheGreenhamCommonWomen'sPeaceCamp,andhowsomewomenprotestednuclearweaponsbydecoratingafence"withpictures,banners,andotherobjects,"andaddedthat"theyblockedtheroadtothesitewithdanceperformances.Theyevenclimbedoverthefencetodanceintheforbiddenzone."[4] InFebruary2017,TheOutlinewriterJeffIhazawrotethat"oneofthemostcripplingtendenciesofmodernliberalsistheirobsessionwithbeingseen,whetheritbeataprotestwearingafuzzypinkhatalongsideMadonnaorinviraltweetstotallyowningthepresident.Thispreoccupationwithopticsismoreoftenthannotfrighteninglyself-centered,"andlateraddingthat"From'performative'activismtoafixationoncleverprotestsigns,modernliberalsknowbetterthananyoneelsehowtocashinonapoliticalmovement,buttheyknowverylittleabouthowtoharnessthepowerofone."[6]Alsoin2017,followingtheCharlottesvillecarattack,PhiladelphiawriterErnestOwensincludedthetermperformativeactivismwithoutinterruptingpunctuation,criticizingitasanactivism"aboutmakingcheapsymbolicgesturesandcatchyremarkstocenteryourselfinsteadoftheissue."[7] InSeptember2018,LouConstant-Desportes,theeditor-in-chiefofAFROPUNK.comresigned,citing"performative'activism'dippedinconsumerismand'woke'keywordsusedformarketingpurpose."[8]AnOctober2018articleinTheHarvardCrimsonemployedthetermperformativewokeness,definingitas"drowningyourlecturecommentswithahostofsocialjusticebuzzwords—tryfavoriteslikeintersectionality,marginalized,discourse,subjectivity,orany-ism—withoutregardtowhetherotherpeopleunderstandyou."[9]In2019,theColumbiaDailySpectatorandtheWashingtonSquareNews,thestudentnewspapersofColumbiaUniversityandNewYorkUniversity,respectively,publishedarticlesaddressingon-campusdiscoursesurroundingperformativeactivismandstudentsparticipatinginsocialmediaactivism.[10][11] InrelationtotheGeorgeFloydprotestsandBlackLivesMatter[edit] ThetermroseinpopularityfollowingthemurderofGeorgeFloydbyaMinneapolispoliceofficerin2020.[citationneeded]TheLosAngelesTimeswrotethatstudentshavewarnedagainstengaginginperformativeactivismonline.[12]OnMay28,2020,RiceUniversitystudentSummarMcGeefoundedRiceForBlackLifetohelppromotefundraisingforTexas-basednon-profitsandtonotgothroughbureaucraticprocessesofotherorganizationson-campus.McGeeandKendallVining,anothermemberoftheorganization,expressedthatthistypeof"nonhierarchicalactivismhelpsavoidperformativeallyshipandactivism."[13]Socialmediahasbecomeatoolforgenuinediscussion.Manypeoplehavebeguntheirjourneyofanti-racismonvarioussocialmediaplatforms.[citationneeded]OnJune1,whileexpressingsupportfortheBlackLivesMattermovementinthewakeoftheGeorgeFloydprotests,singerLordestated,"OneofthethingsIfindmostfrustratingaboutsocialmediaisperformativeactivism,predominantlybywhitecelebrities(likeme).It'shardtostrikeabalancebetweenself-servingsocialmediadisplaysandtrueaction."[14][15][16] OnJune2,about28millionInstagramusersparticipatedinthe"BlackoutTuesday"movement,whichinvolveduserspostingacompletelyblacked-outsquareimageinordertoshowsupportoftheGeorgeFloydprotests.[17]However,only13millionpeoplehadsignedthepetitiontoarrestthepoliceofficerswhowereinvolvedinthemurderofGeorgeFloyd.[18]Celebritiesandgeneralusersalikereceivedcriticismbyothersocialmediausersforengagingin"performativeactivism"viatheseBlackoutTuesdayposts.[19][20]Whileitwasencouragingtoseesuchalargepopulationparticipateinthemovement,notmuchgenuineactivismwasbeingdone.[accordingtowhom?]AccordingtoAliyahSymes,amaster'scandidateofUCLA,"Afundamentalpartofembracinganti-racismworkisleaningintothediscomfortofunlearning."[21] Anexampleofagovernmentofficialbeingcriticizedfor"performative"activismsprunguplaterinJune,whenWashington,D.C.mayorMurielBowserhadthephraseBlackLivesMatterpaintedon16thStreetinfrontoftheWhiteHouse.[22]Bowserwascriticizedforthis,assomebroughtupherpresidingoverlawenforcementpracticesthathavebeencalledharmfultotheblackcommunityinD.C.[23] Seealso[edit] Onlineshaming Slacktivism Thoughtsandprayers Virtuesignalling Performativity PRstunt Tokenism References[edit] ^Moore,Noah(2021-09-28)."OPINION:Wehavetobemorecriticalofperformativeactivism".IndianaDailyStudent.Retrieved2021-12-02. ^Metta,John(2020-07-20)."Theproblemofperformativeactivism-BlackLivesMatter".AlJazeera.Retrieved2021-12-02. ^Short,Stacey(1999)."Review:Untitled".TulsaStudiesinWomen'sLiterature.JSTOR.18(1):120–122.doi:10.2307/464353.JSTOR 464353. ^abLarkin,Daniel(February6,2015)."WhenWomenFoughtNukeswithAnarchyandWon".Hyperallergic.RetrievedJune2,2020. ^Zarrelli,Natalie(December9,2015)."TheDanishAnarchistsWhoInspiredSantaConCouldNotHaveImaginedItsBro-HellFuture".AtlasObscura.RetrievedJune2,2020. ^Ihaza,Jeff(February1,2017)."AT-shirtisnotaprotest".TheOutline.RetrievedJune2,2020. ^Owens,Ernest(August14,2017)."OPINION:WhitePeople,OnlyYouCanStoptheNextCharlottesville".Philadelphia.RetrievedJune2,2020. ^Darville,Jordan(September5,2018)."AFROPUNKeditorresigns,cites"performativeactivism,"employeemistreatment".TheFader.RetrievedJune2,2020. ^Gray,JennaM.(October1,2018)."PerformingWokeness".TheHarvardCrimson.RetrievedJune2,2020. ^Abrams,Kayla;Fregne,Jemima;Awadallah,Lana(March26,2019)."DiscourseandDebate:Isperformativeactivisminherentlybad?".ColumbiaDailySpectator.RetrievedJune2,2020. ^Lozano,Gabby(October28,2019)."UnderstandingtheTrendofPerformanceActivism".WashingtonSquareNews.RetrievedJune2,2020. ^Tiong,Annabel(June1,2020)."Saytheirnames:HowstudentsarerespondingtotheBLMmovement".HighSchoolInsider.LosAngelesTimes.RetrievedJune2,2020. ^Feldman,Ella(May31,2020)."RiceforBlackLifeencouragesRicecommunitytofinanciallysupportBlackactivism".RiceThresher.RetrievedJune2,2020. ^Rettig,James(June1,2020)."LordeAddressesGeorgeFloydProtests,"PerformativeActivism"InRareStatement".Stereogum.RetrievedJune2,2020. ^"LordespeaksoutafterGeorgeFloyddeath:'It'ssickening'".TheNewZealandHerald.June2,2020.RetrievedJune2,2020. ^Kaufman,Gil(June1,2020)."LordeWritestoFansAboutGeorgeFloydProtests:'WhiteSilenceRightNowisMoreDamaging'".Billboard.RetrievedJune2,2020. ^Ahlgrim,Callie(June2,2020)."Here'severythingyouneedtoknowaboutBlackoutTuesdayand#TheShowMustBePausedinitiatives".Insider.RetrievedJune2,2020. ^am,YomiAbdi1:01;Sep05;2020."ATaleofperformativeactivism:HowBlackLivesMatterbecamejustatrend".yaledailynews.com.Retrieved2021-04-26.{{citeweb}}:CS1maint:numericnames:authorslist(link) ^Singh,Olivia(June2,2020)."EmmaWatsonisbeingcriticizedfor'performativeactivism'afteralteringblacksquaresforBlackoutTuesdaytoseeminglyfitherInstagramaesthetic".Insider.RetrievedJune2,2020. ^Ledbetter,Carly(June2,2020)."EmilyRatajkowskiSlamsPeopleDoingThe'BareMinimum'ByJustPostingBlackSquares".HuffPost.RetrievedJune2,2020. ^Symes,Aliyah(September2020)."InMemoriam:TheOnlinePolicingandTrivializationofBlackLivesandBlackDeaths".StudentAnthropologist.7(1):98–102.doi:10.1002/j.sda2.20200700.0020.ISSN 2330-7625. ^Nirappil,Fenit;Zuzmer,Julie;Chason,Rachel(June5,2020)."D.C.paints'BlackLivesMatter'onstreetnearWhiteHouse".TheWashingtonPost.RetrievedJune6,2020. ^ElizabethKing(2018-01-20)."J20,OneYearLater:WhatIt'sLiketoFaceDecadesinPrisonforProtesting".RollingStone.Retrieved2020-06-18. 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