Is Performative Activism Really Activism?

Article by Celine Chang, TPT Staff Writer

After the killing of George Floyd, America was once again ignited by the Black Lives Matter Movement. On June 2, 2020, digital activists took it upon themselves to spread awareness through #BlackoutTuesday all across social media platforms such as Instagram and TikTok. By posting a black square on their stories, these activists wanted to showcase their solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement. However, their attempt to amplify the voices of African Americans who had experienced police brutality through posting black squares only trivialized the issue.

In one particular instance, Charli D’amelio, a rising TikTok star at the time, changed her profile picture to a banner of the Black Lives Matter Movement and posted several videos about it. However, some commenters found it “performative” because as the movement lost traction, D’amelio changed her profile picture and stopped posting content about the Black Lives Matter movement entirely.

In yet another example, X, formerly known as the social media platform Twitter, also participated in something similar during Pride Month. During Pride Month, they changed their profile picture to showcase their alliance with the LGBTQ+ community and added a rainbow to their bio. However, as soon as the month ended, the company changed everything back to the way it was before. Social media users believed that they only cared about using Pride Month because it aligned with their brand image.

In the digital age, activists who want to spread awareness about issues that they care about have found that social media is one of the best ways to gain a large audience. However, the genuine intentions behind their actions have often been manipulated by rising social media influencers as well as companies. Social media influencers and companies who believe that they can gain more interaction on their pages and continue to build their brand image through digital activism have become the definition of “performative activism” nowadays. Performative activism is known to be a format of activism meant to help someone gain social capital instead of being truly devoted to a cause.

This concern has led some activists to believe that performative activism should be stopped at all costs. Although performative activism soils the reputation of what activism truly means, it is still important to acknowledge that it is still able to spread the message of the issue at hand. However, the use of performative activism makes it appear as though those respective issues only matter during specific months and time frames before dissipating. In doing so, it minimizes the voices of those involved because the issues still have extensive impacts even after the fact. It is like baking a cake but not putting on the frosting. Although a simple re-post may spread the message, it continues to oversimplify the issue at hand. Though performative activism is not inherently a negative approach to activism, it is only doing the bare minimum when so much more can be done to magnify the voices of those that have consistently silenced in our society.

Sources:

’25, DIVYA KRISHNA. “Black Lives Matter, but Not Because Charli Posted about It...” The Eagle’s Eye, ehseagleseye.com/3459/opinion/black-lives-matter-but-not-because-charli-posted-about-it. Accessed 26 Oct. 2023.

The Lion’s Roar. “The Blurred Lines of Performative Activism.” The Lion’s Roar, 9 May 2022, nshslionsroar.com/2022/04/29/the-blurred-lines-of-performative-activism/.

Candelario, Chelsea. “What Is Performative Activism (and Why Does It Do More Harm than Good)?” PureWow, PureWow, 28 Sept. 2021, www.purewow.com/wellness/what-is-performative-activism.

Wang, Hannah. “Performative Activism Rises as Traditional Activism Becomes a Trend for Social Media.” The Wildcat Tribune, thewildcattribune.com/10174/news/performative-activism-rises-as-traditional-activism-becomes-a-trend-for-social-media/. Accessed 28 Oct. 2023.