3 ms·

What's performative activism? Like they don't actually contribute to causes or they don't actually care?

drewcoo 4y ago
"Performative" as in "it's only a performance." The implication is that they only care in so far as they are perceived to care.
- nharada 4y ago
  But if they're contributing to the thing you care about does it really matter? I guess for some people it does, but if my company is donating $$$ per year to $MY_CAUSE isn't that still effective activism? They can curse and swear all they want as they write the check.
  - lambertsimnel 4y ago
    I think bell-cot's comment is alluding to a recent HN discussion of Amazon restricting LGBT-related searches in the UAE. naniwaduni summed it up there: "The trick is that they're not promoting an ideology/cultural value domestically; they're bowing to local influence everywhere, including domestically. i.e. we should not take corporate Pride as sincere support, but as an indicator of the zeitgeist." https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=31932146 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=31932146 If I understand "performative activism" correctly, it might include spending money on conspicuously proclaiming support for some cause, while undermining that cause (or at least omitting to benefit it). After all, money spent on public relations needn't be paid to the causes corporations want to associate themselves with.
    - bell-cot 4y ago
      No (on the Amazon restricting LGBT-...in the UAE). Sorry that I don't recall specifics. Performative Activism - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Performative_activism https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Performative_activism For a sizable corporation, that can include all sorts of cheap or self-promoting lip service, burying evidence that your "carbon neutral" plan is a mix of delusion and fraud, spending 100X the money on tight-lipped lobbying for things directly opposed to your supposed "values", and more.
tablespoon 4y ago
> What's performative activism? Like they don't actually contribute to causes or they don't actually care? This parody commerical explains it pretty succinctly: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kcI7FArUlL4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kcI7FArUlL4 IIRC, the actual episode that's from had the evil corporation cutting it charitable contributions but continuing to run the ads telling people about them.

"Performative" as in "it's only a performance." The implication is that they only care in so far as they are perceived to care.

nharada 4y ago
But if they're contributing to the thing you care about does it really matter? I guess for some people it does, but if my company is donating $$$ per year to $MY_CAUSE isn't that still effective activism? They can curse and swear all they want as they write the check.
- lambertsimnel 4y ago
  I think bell-cot's comment is alluding to a recent HN discussion of Amazon restricting LGBT-related searches in the UAE. naniwaduni summed it up there: "The trick is that they're not promoting an ideology/cultural value domestically; they're bowing to local influence everywhere, including domestically. i.e. we should not take corporate Pride as sincere support, but as an indicator of the zeitgeist." https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=31932146 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=31932146 If I understand "performative activism" correctly, it might include spending money on conspicuously proclaiming support for some cause, while undermining that cause (or at least omitting to benefit it). After all, money spent on public relations needn't be paid to the causes corporations want to associate themselves with.
  - bell-cot 4y ago
    No (on the Amazon restricting LGBT-...in the UAE). Sorry that I don't recall specifics. Performative Activism - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Performative_activism https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Performative_activism For a sizable corporation, that can include all sorts of cheap or self-promoting lip service, burying evidence that your "carbon neutral" plan is a mix of delusion and fraud, spending 100X the money on tight-lipped lobbying for things directly opposed to your supposed "values", and more.

tablespoon 4y ago

> What's performative activism? Like they don't actually contribute to causes or they don't actually care? This parody commerical explains it pretty succinctly: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kcI7FArUlL4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kcI7FArUlL4 IIRC, the actual episode that's from had the evil corporation cutting it charitable contributions but continuing to run the ads telling people about them.