Performative Activism Might Not Be As Bad As It Seems

BY TAPTI SEN ‘21

People might read that headline and think I’m crazy -- of course performative activism is bad. At its core, it allows people to show enough support for something to be considered socially acceptable without actually putting their time and effort into that movement. In all effects, it basically pays lip service to a movement without actually trying to affect any change. Performative activism allows the public to do the bare minimum and be content with that, as the marginalized members of society struggle and fight for their rights. 

But you know what’s worse than performative activism? Silence. 

In the first few days after George Floyd’s death, when BLM first started permeating everyone’s Twitter timelines and Instagram stories, I was shocked to see that a couple of my own friends were silent. I confronted them: don’t you realize that silence is complacency, that saying nothing is another win for the racist justice system that we live in? They told me that they had signed the petitions, donated money, and held the necessary conversations with their family members -- but all of that had taken place outside of social media. They described feeling uncomfortable with posting anything about Black Lives Matter on their Instagram stories because it would feel more performative than anything. Celebrities have expressed similar sentiments. KJ Apa, for example, responded to the angry fans criticizing his silence by pointing out that he had donated, signed petitions, and protested -- he just didn’t feel the need to post about it. I had a hard time grappling with this perspective. After all, how could I accuse them, when I was also calling out performative activists for posting on their social media and doing nothing beyond that?

But performative activism might not be as bad as you think. It succeeds in two ways: firstly, it is incredibly accessible and, thus, raises awareness on issues you may know little to nothing about. Many of you might point out, “The time for raising awareness is over! We have to act.” And I absolutely agree. But as an international student, I know numerous people from Bangladesh who know little to nothing about Black Lives Matter, for whom seeing a black lives matter post on Instagram might genuinely be educational. Action is impossible if you don’t know that you need to act. And many of us may live in countries where freedom of speech is not a guaranteed right and the government can usually haul you in for speaking your mind on social media. In those circumstances, having access to posts from all around the world is a major boon. 

Secondly, performative activism shows that you care about the topic. And yes, usually this “care” is false, but it’s better than silence. Because, honestly, performative activism at least shows me that you’re thinking about the topic. Many of my classmates  have posted nothing about BLM though they may in fact be eagerly donating and petitioning and protesting; they’re just not doing that in front of a screen. But until I know that for sure, to me, their silence is telling me that they have “better things” to worry about than Black Lives Matter, that they don’t think their time on social media is worth spending on BLM. This especially applies to celebrities, who have a huge platform and a responsibility to use that platform for good. So yes, I am holding KJ Apa accountable for his silence, because if he had spoken out on the first day, then he would have shown his BIPOC fans that he cares about BLM. He would have shown his white supremecist fans that he does not condone their existence. 

Remember when Amazon posted its own supportive black square? There were dozens of complaints from white supremacists and racists who threatened to boycott the company. Jeff Bezos told them, “Good riddance.” Now, Amazon is a problematic company in many ways, and I’m sure it’s not as internally concerned about racism as it externally appears to be, but Bezos’ words send a direct message to racists worldwide: you are not welcome here. And if the least performative activism can do is make racists worldwide unwelcome and force companies into compliance with anti-racist guidelines, it will have done a lot. 

I say all this with a warning: performative activism cannot become a replacement for actual action. It is the important first step, but to actually be anti-racist, to truly fight for justice and equality in this country, we need to take actual meaningful steps. Sharing an Instagram post is not enough. Posting a picture with #JusticeforGeorgeFloyd is not enough. And all the companies who claim that they stand with the Black community at this time are not doing enough. If you are active on your social media, be active outside of it. Have the difficult conversations with your friends and family. Educate yourself. If you aren’t posting because you're afraid of what your community will say, contemplate the people you surround yourself with. Strive to constantly do better. Performative activism is an important entrypoint, but it cannot be the end of your activism.