How to Spot (and Avoid) Performative Activism
Target became one of the latest corporations to completely rollback its DEI initiatives.
In many ways, this is no surprise. Corporations like Target are primarily driven by their desire to maximize profit and to reduce risk – and with the Trump presidency, there is legitimate risk to taking a stand on important issues. It takes courage and integrity to say “No — this is what we truly stand for, regardless of the consequences.”
When news of the rollback broke and my partner and I decided to join the nationwide boycott (full transparency: Target has been one of our weekly go-to stores for years), a question emerged for me:
In this moment, how can we discern which actions are impactful and rooted in long-term commitment rather than just the short-term and surface-level?
Understanding Surface-Level Activism
At its core, surface-level activism, which includes performative activism, is an approach to change-making that prioritizes quick actions and our comfort and reputation over real, often sacrifice-filled, material change.
A few examples:
Wearing symbols of support (e.g., a Pride flag or BLM shirt) without addressing problematic behavior in personal circles or workplaces.
Bringing up justice topics in casual conversations to virtue-signal as progressive, but avoiding deeper (and more difficult) discussions that challenge biases.
Claiming the label of “ally,” but rarely going out of one’s way when material help, advocacy, or support is needed.
Corporate pinkwashing or greenwashing – when businesses claim allyship because it can enhance profit margins.
This kind of activism can make an impact — but more often than not, it gives the illusion of change, without the deep, often internal work, needed to actually create a long-lasting personal, communal, and societal shift.
You’ve probably heard all of this before.
But it’s important to consistently remind ourselves not all activist actions available to us are equal – and some can be harmful! That’s part of why discernment of which actions are rooted in long-term commitment and which are more surface-level is so important.
To that end, here are five conditions that lead us to being susceptible to surface-level activism in the first place. For each one, consider actions you have taken in the past or are taking now, and how you might act in depth-filled ways going forward.
1. Low Intimacy
Another way to think of this might be “high privilege.”
Privilege insulates us from the realities and up-close experiences of various forms of harm. And without our own experiences or close relationships with those who are directly experiencing harm, we are more likely to engage in activism that is symbolic rather than substantive.
Example: a white person posting a black square on social media in support of racial justice but rarely having any personal relationships or interactions with Black people and other people of color or conversations about race and white supremacy with other white folks.
Considerations:
Ask yourself: How closely am I connected to this issue? Do I have direct experience or relationships with those impacted? Why or why not?
Assess your understanding of the issue's history, root causes, and current challenges. Can you explain the complexities involved?
Actions: Listen to those impacted by issues of harm. Engage with communities directly impacted. Attend local gatherings, join community groups, and volunteer your time to create genuine connections and relationships.
2. Low Resilience
When an issue feels too large or never-ending, it can be easy to get overwhelmed by the scale of it all.
And in our overwhelm, it can seem like the only actions available to us are the quick and easy ones – the ones we perceive as having time, energy, and capacity for. The problem is these actions are often one-off and rarely lead to sustainable, long-term change.
When we have low resilience, we engage in short-term actions, but tend to check out or back away when things become inconvenient or uncomfortable. On the other hand, when we have built our resilience and are better able to “hold the charge” of an issue, as individuals and groups, we can maintain honest, intentional commitment over the long-haul.
Considerations:
What practices help you regulate your emotions so you can “stay in the conversation” when things get challenging?
What might help you sustain your engagement and commitment over time?
Actions: Attend local gatherings, join community groups, and volunteer – take an imperfect first step. Notice what emotions, frustrations, and defensiveness come up in you. (Even right now, reading this.) Journal about it, move with it, consider what its function is. Engage in repeatable practices that help regulate your system.
3. High Threat to Personal Comfort
Sometimes, we can fall into the trap of using activism as a form of personal emotional management.
And this can make our activism less about the issue and more about making sure we feel good.
To go back to the earlier social media example, I believe this is one of the major drivers of the #BlackoutTuesday online protest in 2020. Following the murder of George Floyd, millions of people – feeling a genuine desire to act – posted black squares to their Instagram profiles. By doing this, they (especially us white folks) could feel like they were “doing something,” and therefore soothe their own discomfort with the inhumanity of the moment, without actually sacrificing much at all (ex: through legislative advocacy, donating to activist organizations, having hard family conversations, etc.)
In other words, sometimes there is a high threat to our personal comfort if we don’t do anything in the face of harm.
And without resilience to hold this discomfort and metabolize it intentionally into meaningful activism, we once again opt for quick and easy actions. After the threat to our personal comfort is passed, whether because we took a surface-level action or simply by the passage of time, most of us return to our default operating system.
(This is shown by support for Black Lives Matter amongst white Americans rising to 60% in the immediate aftermath of George Floyd’s murder and then falling to 45% within three months.)
Considerations:
When you consider taking an action, ask yourself: Is this about addressing my discomfort, or is this action opening a door of possibility for meaningful change?
What does taking this action ask of you? What is the sacrifice you are making in order to engage with it?
Actions: Lean into the necessary discomfort of activism. As you take an action, intentionally feel for the discomfort or hesitation and become acquainted with that feeling. Notice its texture and how it impacts you.
4. High Threat to Social Belonging
Just as we can engage in activism to soothe our inner life, we can also take actions to solidify our social status and communal okayness.
This is activism driven not by an issue, but by our desire for acceptance and belonging.
And when this is the motivating factor for us, actions tend to begin (and often end) at the surface-level, emphasizing visibility over impact. We align with causes because our social circles expect us to and take actions to prove we’re “acceptable” to the group, rather than because we have an intimate, deeply-held belief and desire related to the issue. This leads to public displays of “progressive credentials” that are often at odds with more private or small-scale interactions, or non-interactions, with others.
Example: A manager at work who attends large group staff meetings wearing Pride pins and shirts, but consistently misgenders her employees in 1:1 settings, despite repeated requests for change.
Considerations:
Are your actions shaped by a fear of exclusion, or are they rooted in a commitment to justice that would persist even if your social circles or role changed?
How does your commitment to this issue, or your actions related to this issue, align with your values?
Actions: Align your private actions with your public advocacy. Gather with people to learn about the issues you claim to support and make communal action plans. Ask a friend to be your accountability buddy as it relates to your commitment to this issue. Join or volunteer with an existing organization committed to making change.
5. Miscalculation of Effective Actions
Most of us aren’t trained activists – which means sometimes we just don’t know which actions have impact and which do not.
We might opt for surface-level actions because we think they’re making an impact and don’t know of other actions available to us, given our time, energy, financial, and other constraints.
This is why increasing our intimacy with an issue and with those who are experiencing harm is vital to creating change. The folks directly interacting with harm know better than those of us who aren’t what they need. By listening and showing up in relational ways, we shift from the paternalistic approach to charity so often taught to us and into community-informed solidarity.
It is also worth noting there are different levels of changework:
Individual: Changes in purchasing decisions, directly giving to someone with material needs, educating oneself about issues and creating personal action plans
Community: Participating in local community groups and mutual aid networks, donating time or money to local charity or aid providers, organizing a small group to take action, engaging in local-issue protests, advocating at work or within community groups, having difficult conversations with family members
Societal: Advocating to elected officials, participating in phone banking for candidates or ballot measures, participating in large-scale protests and boycotts
For whatever issue you are committed to, it is important to understand what people experiencing harm are asking for, at what levels of action you can commit sustainably, and what you are willing to sacrifice (time, energy, money, etc.) in order to maximize the impact and effectiveness of any given action.
Example: A societal-level action that is far more effective than many people think is to contact your state and federal representatives and advocate for your stance on a given issue. Each call or email is read, logged, and counted for your representative to know about. This used to be really scary for many of us, but you can now do it in less than 5 minutes everyday using Resistbot or 5Calls. (And then, you can share about it on social media to increase reach.)
Considerations:
What do people most affected by this issue say they need? How can you ensure your efforts align with their leadership and priorities?
Which actions can you take right now and which can you prepare to take when the opportunity arises in the future?
Actions: Create an action plan. After you’ve identified the one or two issues you want to focus on, create a short list of actions at each of the personal, communal, and societal levels you can commit to.
This is a broad and not-so-complete list of conditions that may lead to surface-level action, but I hope it provides you a good place to start.
With each of these conditions in mind, we can better discern the issues we have passion for (to ensure long-term commitment) and engage in actions with others that can best make an impact in our communities.
