I’ve been thinking a lot about the idea of performative allyship - something I was accused of following the Bad Post. This was a very reasonable accusation, particularly due to the high number of shit “allies” out there. And I’ve never really sat back and extensively thought about how much of what I do is performative when I’m attempting to do ally work.
First of all, social media in itself was made to be a performative platform. My pants would be on fire if I said that I don’t do any of this to be seen, that I don’t like positive attention, that getting praise and seeing my follower count go up doesn’t make me feel good.
So yeah, we’re all performative to a degree. But of course there’s a line between the human desire to be seen and harmful performative behavior. I need to take a closer look at that line and consider whether I’m crossing it each time I post anything about a group of people that I hold privilege over.
There’s a great piece on this by Black Girl Dangerous, aka Mia McKenzie.
How to Tell the Difference Between Real Solidarity and ‘Ally Theater’
^Important read for my fellow white people.
What I get from this is that, before I do anything I’m considering ally work or solidarity, I need to consider why I’m doing it. Am I boosting the voice of someone from a marginalized group I don’t belong to? If so, is my commentary even a little bit needed here (no). Am I trying to use my privilege to educate my fellow privileged people? Am I trying to bring awareness to an issue? Am I trying to help make those around me who I have privilege over feel safe(r)?
Or am I just trying to get ally points?
I’m not gonna sit here and pretend that there’s not a greedy little part of me that wants ally points. And I don’t like that part, but there’s no getting rid of it, either. That means I have to work hard to keep it in check.
Why am I posting this? Mainly to try and help my fellow white people and others who have a lot of privilege become better at doing ally work. Practicing self-awareness and self-honesty is some of the best work you can do to minimize the harm you cause to oppressed groups.
