Empty Gestures: Performative Utterances and Allyship

“I don’t need advice but I will take it”: Allied labor in transgender allyship

“…Rather than rejecting or embracing any given emotion—whether positive like gratitude or negative like anger—partners in the ally relationship must consider what the emotion does, what function it serves, and whether or how it advances the common goal. This affect-informed approach to allyship would require an awareness of allyship’s “not-enough-ness” (Blair, 2021). When allyship is viewed as a dynamic relationship, a breach can be repaired, mistakes can be opportunities to learn, and conflict does not necessarily end a relationship but rather helps it grow and become stronger.…”

“…Many anti-racist allies posted a black square on social media accounts with the hashtags #BLM or #BlackLivesMatter. Not only did Blackout Tuesday do nothing to improve the conditions of black artists in the music industry, it harmed the BLM movement by cluttering the #BLM feed with black squares, preventing the dissemination of important anti-racist content (Blair, 2021). Allyship also harms social justice by centering and amplifying the voices of the allies rather than the allied, thereby strengthening the very inequalities allyship is supposed to undermine (Ahmed, 2004b; Mathew et al, 2021).…”

“…Yet allyship has downsides. Allies can be merely unhelpful, as when engaging in "empty gesture" or "non-performative" allyship that has no real impact on the lived reality of disadvantaged groups (Ahmed, 2004b;Blair, 2021;Grzanka et al, 2015). Allies can also cause harm, as when they silence those they are allied with (Droogendyk et al, 2016), tap the latter's energy and resources (Mathers, 2017;Mathew et al, 2021), or perpetuate the social inequalities they claim to fight against (Mathers et al, 2015(Mathers et al, , 2018Sumerau et al, 2020).…”

“It’s Like Youth are Talking Into a Microphone That is not Plugged in”: Engaging Youth in Disaster Risk Reduction Through Photovoice

“…To dismantle oppressive societal power structures in DRR and climate change activism, antiracist and decolonial allies must avoid performative allyship. Performative allyship includes empty gestures (i.e., saying something with limited to no effect) ( Blair, 2021 ). To support informative activism and solidarity, Blair (2021) suggests the following ethical approaches to solidarity and empty gestures: (1) Actions, defined by persons oppressed by societal power systems, are meant to dismantle oppressive power structures; (2) do research and learning prior to taking action; and (3) attention is on the act of disruption and not the person taking action.…”

“…Performative allyship includes empty gestures (i.e., saying something with limited to no effect) ( Blair, 2021 ). To support informative activism and solidarity, Blair (2021) suggests the following ethical approaches to solidarity and empty gestures: (1) Actions, defined by persons oppressed by societal power systems, are meant to dismantle oppressive power structures; (2) do research and learning prior to taking action; and (3) attention is on the act of disruption and not the person taking action. These meaningful actions can look like research, critical thinking, reflection, learning and unlearning, donating, and following Black, Indigenous, and People of Colour (BIPOC) and Indigenous leadership.…”