Performative Activism and Civil Unrest – #BlackoutTuesday and #ChallengeAccepted

 

​Racism and police brutality are an undeniable reality in the United States. On May 25, 2020, the brutal murder of George Floyd sparked public outcry and protests in support of the Black Lives Matter movement, making headlines around the world. Social media platforms became valuable resources to keep protestors informed and allowed many individuals to showcase their support. On June 2, 2020, the hashtag #BlackoutTuesday flooded social media with millions of tiny black squares to raise awareness about racial inequality. However, many of these photos were posted without links, sources, or any information about why the hashtag started in the first place. What was intended to be a powerful wave of online support became a wave of performance pieces to avoid public backlash, offering no real advocacy or devotion to the cause many claimed to support. While there is no way to honestly know if an individual is attempting to unlearn systematic racism, a single post of a black square is not enough to unlearn such a dangerous way of thinking which is so embedded in this population. Performative activism romanticizes activism while diverting attention away from the causes it claims to support. It is an act that lacks dedication to the reason, with an ulterior motive for personal gain. It is conducted to raise one’s social capital and impress one’s peers rather than to make an effort to learn and aid those facing racism and unjust treatment. In 2020, two specific social media trends, #BlackoutTuesday and #ChallengeAccepted dominated social media. This paper will examine these trends, performative activism itself, and why it is a joint but ultimately unacceptable action.

​The term performative activism made its first appearance in the book “Spectacular Confessions: Autobiography, Performative Activism, and the Sites of Suffrage” by Barbara Green. While there is no official definition for performative activism, it can be found in the name itself. Performative is defined as “being or relating to an expression that serves to effect a transaction or that constitutes the performance of the specified act by virtue of its utterance.” The act of performative activism is just that: a performance. It is done with the sole intention of boosting one’s social standing to impress peers, and it is entirely self-serving. It is an obsession with optics and shows no real devotion to the cause it claims to support. The obsession with optics stems from the desire to receive the approval of one’s peers.

Almost everyone is inclined to gain the approval of others, and this inclination can be all-encompassing. With the rise of social media, the desire to be “liked” is compelling for many people. Over the past few years, social media has wholly engulfed society. Communication styles have shifted from face-to-face conversation to conversations that take place behind a phone or computer screen. Further, social media has become a primary way for individuals to control their public image and how their peers perceive them. There is no one reason why individuals use performative activism. Still, for this essay, I propose two causes: the preoccupation with one’s image on social media and a general lack of political knowledge and engagement. The preoccupation with social media is often due to the need for connectedness. These social media platforms influence human interactions on an international level, and it can be addictive for individuals to be so connected. Addiction or dependence on social media is a contributing factor to performative activism due to the desire to increase one’s social capital. Not supporting the Black Lives Matter movement can be viewed negatively by one’s peers and can be perceived as a statement of neutrality or racism. So, a simple post can counteract this and protect one’s social standing. The second cause is a lack of political knowledge. Political knowledge is a crucial facet of democracy. All citizens should be well informed on the fundamental ideas of what is considered correct and just in society by exchanging informed opinions. When observing the American political system, the intent of a functioning American democracy lies in the assumption of an informed citizenry. However, this is not always possible. Being politically informed relies on access to resources, such as continued education, but this is not always a reality. Well-informed political knowledge is a privilege that not everyone has access to. Further, politics in the U.S. have become fiercely partisan – elections often come down to Democrats vs.Republicans. Instead of taking the time to learn about candidates and their political views, partisanship typically determines an individual’s political feelings, including neutrality. Since U.S. elections can feel predetermined, coming down to the Democrats and the Republicans, citizens may feel they have no control over election results and grow indifferent to politics entirely. This neutrality can lead to an absence of knowledge and information, and uninformed citizens with a need to maintain or improve social standings via social media can cause performative activism. 

​On June 2, 2020, black squares began blossoming all over Instagram. These squares were in protest of police brutality and the murder of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and AhmaudArbery. Further, the day itself was meant to be one of reflection and learning about racism. Quickly, the original message became lost. The purpose of using #BlackoutTuesday was to differentiate it from #BLM and #BlackLivesMatter, both of which were used by protestors and activists to share information and updates relating to the protests on social media. Many people did not take the time to learn about the significance of the #BlackoutTuesday and caused critical information for activists and protesters to be drowned in a sea of black squares. Posting a simple black square without contributing to any other form of activism can be viewed as a performative and a self-serving action, which contributes nothing to the Black Lives Matter movement itself. Many companies, celebrities, and sports teams were called out for the hypocrisy of posting for #BlackoutTuesday.

The Washington Redskins tweeted support but were quickly called out at the time, for their then refusal to change their offensive name, which perpetuated stereotypes and the dehumanization of Indigenous people. In July 2020, another social media trend began cycling through Instagram. Glamorous black and white selfies of women with the caption “#ChallengeAccepted” often accompanied by “#WomenSupportingWomen” and tagging other women in their posts. It seemed like this trend became famous overnight, but there was no information relating to it. The selfies held no links or comments discussing the cause for the hashtag. As actress Jennifer Aniston wrote, “Truth be told, I don’t understand this #challengeaccepted thing… but who doesn't love a good reason to support women! Soooo…. challenge accepted!”. While there is no specific origin of the hashtag, many Turkish women were using the hashtag with the same black and white imagery to protest femicide and violence against women.

When a woman is murdered in Turkey, news outlets will show a black and white photo of the victim. In 2019, 474 Turkish women were murdered by men. With the death of Pinar Gültekin – a student murdered by her ex-boyfriend – Turkish women used black and white photos to highlight the femicide rates in Turkey and called on their government for greater protection and enforcement of the Istanbul convention. The convention was created in hopes of establishing a legal framework to prevent gender-based violence while prosecuting perpetrators and was ratified in 2012. Despite the ambiguous beginnings of the #ChallengeAccepted trend, the trend was used to support and raise awareness of femicide in Turkey in 2019-2020. But this important cause was lost in over three million black and white selfies. Ironically, with captions rallying for female support whilst simultaneously overshadowing Turkish women who needed support and acknowledgment more than ever. Many of the three million selfies came from America and Canada, and the trend was taken over primarily by influencers and celebrities. Many rich, white women used this trend without attempting to research or examine the reason behind it, demonstrating the dangers of performative activism, especially on social media. Celebrities, companies, brands, and influencers have large platforms and followings and could easily raise awareness for important issues and present them to a larger audience. Instead, many celebrities offer shallow donations, weak statements, and a general lack of willingness to get involved. This show of neutrality is reflected in citizens who contribute to these hashtags.

​Commonality is not an adequate excuse for performative activism, as it only serves as a complicit act. Performative activism serves as a frighteningly shallow and self-serving response to the very real, traumatic events happening around the world. To put it bluntly, this act is often done to soothe white guilt. Specifically, in America, growing awareness of racism and white privilege can create white guilt, which causes further feelings of anger and discomfort. The projection of white guilt and the drive to make sure white people are “comfortable” is a dangerous overshadowing of the constant, daily battle with racism that black people have been forced to endure. White people exhibiting racist acts are not secretive, nor are there no repercussions. In the age of social media and smartphones, everything can be caught on camera. Known as the Central Park birdwatching incident, New York City resident Amy Cooper was caught on the phone falsely accusing a black man of trying to attack her, going so far as to say, “... There is a man, an African American… threatening me and my dog.” The actions of this woman cannot be understated. A white woman, who knew the potential fate of the man she falsely accused, did this consciously and willingly. This extreme story emphasizes that the constant need for white people to feel comfortable and sheltered is a dangerous preferential choice to make. This can push people to engage with trends like #BlackoutTuesday to ensure their peers perceive them as allies and remain in a positive light.

Performative activism is a method used to soothe white guilt, raise one’s social capital, and subsequently ignore the voices of those directly affected by racism. White people can comfortably control their public image whilst cradling their white fragility and avoid the work needed to unlearn and fight against institutionalized racism. Posting a picture of a black square, then posting a picture of brunch, is avoiding the problem. For black people in America, the choice is not there to post a photo, exit out of Instagram, and the problem disappears. Racism is in every institution and every political structure. Performative activism overshadows the individuals who should be heard, the people who face racism, violence, and discrimination every day. A black square is meaningless and complicit in the face of a racist society, which still holds white comfort above black lives.

​Activism is not a tool for one to twist into a saturated Instagram photo, nor is it something to ease one’s complicit guilt. It is not a bandwagon trend or a one-time, rosy act of rebellion. Performative activism is a privilege as it displays a lack of political engagement and knowledge. It overshadows the causes it should be supporting. By participating in this self-serving act, one can comfortably soothe their guilt. At the same time, real activists on the front lines continue to be beaten and gassed in their tireless fight for equality; an equality which is long overdue. 

 

 

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