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Cancel culture

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Cancel culture (or call-out culture) is a modern form of ostracism in which someone is thrust out of social or professional circles – whether it be online, on social media, or in person. Those who are subject to this ostracism are said to have been "cancelled".[1][a] The expression "cancel culture" has mostly negative connotations and is commonly used in debates on free speech and censorship.[4]

The notion of cancel culture is a variant on the term call-out culture and constitutes a form of boycotting involving an individual (usually a celebrity) who is deemed to have acted or spoken in a questionable or controversial manner.[2][5][6][7][8] For those on the receiving end of cancel culture, the consequences can lead to loss of reputation and income, from which it can be hard to recover.[9]

Origins

The expression "cancelling", in reference to cancel culture, has been used since 2015, with its widespread usage beginning in 2018.[10] Call-out culture itself has been in use since 2014 as part of the #MeToo movement.[11]

The term is often used as a hashtag on social media, where it originated from Black Twitter, which is a cultural identity consisting of Black users on Twitter from around the world focused on issues of interest to the black community, particularly in the United States.[10]

Academic analysis

According to the social psychologist Jonathan Haidt, call-out culture arises from what he calls "safetyism" on college campuses.[12] As illustrated by Keith Hampton, professor of media studies at Michigan State University, the practice contributes to the polarization of American society, but it does not lead to changes in opinion.[13] Some students are afraid to express unpopular ideas for fear of being called out on social media[14] and may avoid asking questions as a result.[15] Call-out culture's prevalence can make marginalized groups feel "even more hesitant to speak out for what they feel is right."[16] Cancel culture has also been described by a different media studies scholar, Eve Ng, as "a collective of typically marginalized voices 'calling out' and emphatically expressing their censure of a powerful figure."[17] Cultural studies scholar Frances Lee states that call-out culture leads to self-policing of "wrong, oppressive, or inappropriate" opinions.[18][19] According to Lisa Nakamura, University of Michigan professor of media studies, cancelling someone is a form of "cultural boycott" and that cancel culture is the “ultimate expression of agency” which is "born of a desire for control [as] people have limited power over what is presented to them on social media" and a need for "accountability which is not centralized".[8][20][21]

Some academics proposed alternatives and improvements to cancel culture. Critical multiculturalism[22] professor Anita Bright proposed "calling in" rather than "calling out" in order to bring forward the former's idea of accountability but in a more "humane, humble, and bridge-building" light.[23] Clinical Counsellor Anna Richards, who specializes in conflict mediation, says that "learning to analyze our own motivations when offering criticism" helps call-out culture work productively.[24]

Professor Joshua Knobe,[25] of the Philosophy Department at Yale, contends that public denunciation is not effective, and that society is quick to pass judgement against those we now view as public offenders or persona non-grata. Knobe asserts that these actions have the opposite effect on individuals and that it is best to bring attention to the positive actions that most of society participates in.

Some prominent examples

In August 2017, James Damore was fired from Google after writing a controversial internal memo.[26][27] In the memo, Damore called the culture at Google an "ideological echo chamber" and argued that gender disparities in the workplace could be partially explained by biological differences.[28]

In May 2017, Rebecca Tuvel, then assistant professor at Rhodes College in Memphis, published an academic paper called "“In Defense of Transracialism", which met furious criticism. In her paper, written in the tradition of analytic philosophy, Ms Tuvell claimed that arguments that support transgender identity could also support the possibility of transracial identity. A petition signed by 800 scholars called for the article to be retracted and asked to know the name of the anonymous reviewers[29].

In late 2017 and early 2018, as part of the #MeToo movement following the Harvey Weinstein sexual abuse allegations, numerous high-profile celebrities lost their reputations, and some their careers, due to allegations of sexual harassment.[30][31] Some actors such as Liam Neeson and Catherine Deneuve described the sweeping allegations in the industry as a "witch-hunt".[32]

In May 2020, after the video of a racially charged confrontation went viral (Central Park birdwatching incident), Amy Cooper was fired from her job at Franklin Templeton Investments and had to temporarily surrender her dog to a shelter.[33][34][35]

In February 2021, science and health reporter Donald McNeil Jr. was fired from the New York Times for repeating a racial slur in a 2019 conversation about a student being suspended for saying the word.[36] In a controversial note explaining the firing, the executive editor of the New York Times said the paper does not tolerate racist language "regardless of intent", though he later walked back this statement.[37]

Reactions

The expression "cancel culture" has mostly negative connotations and is commonly used in debates on free speech and censorship.[38][39]

Former US President Barack Obama warned against social media call-out culture, saying that "People who do really good stuff have flaws. People who you are fighting may love their kids and, you know, share certain things with you."[40] Former US President Donald Trump also criticized cancel culture in a speech in July 2020, comparing it to totalitarianism and claiming that it is a political weapon used to punish and shame dissenters by driving them from their jobs and demanding submission.[41]

Conservative commentator Cal Thomas noted the trend in the late 20th century, in the context of what would become known as a culture war. "Many of those with a purely secular vision of society, including some who exercised their right of free speech so forcefully in the past two decades, are slowly making a mockery of the First Amendment. ... The modern censors first manipulate and redefine language in a way that makes any challenge to their rule-setting appear intolerant and narrow-minded. ... God help anyone who utters the mildest protest or suggests that an alternative view should also be presented. Should such a person transgress and tresspass on the holy ground of the mass media and academia, the full weight of their elitist condemnation will come crashing down around them like multi-targeted warheads."[42]

Open letter

Main article: A Letter on Justice and Open Debate

Dalvin Brown, writing in USA Today, has described an open letter signed by 153 public figures and published in Harper's Magazine as marking a "high point" in the debate on the topic.[38] The letter set out arguments against "an intolerance of opposing views, a vogue for public shaming and ostracism, and the tendency to dissolve complex policy issues in a blinding moral certainty."[43][44][45]

A response letter organized by lecturer Arionne Nettles, "A More Specific Letter on Justice and Open Debate", was signed by over 160 people in academia and media and criticized the Harper's letter as a plea to end cancel culture by successful professionals with large platforms but to exclude others who have been "cancelled for generations".[46][47]

American public opinion

A poll of American registered voters conducted by Morning Consult in July 2020 showed that cancel culture, defined as "the practice of withdrawing support for (or canceling) public figures and companies after they have done or said something considered objectionable or offensive," was common: 40% of respondents said they had withdrawn support from public figures and companies, including on social media, because they had done or said something considered objectionable or offensive, 8% having engaged in this often. Behavior differed according to age, with a majority (55%) of voters 18 to 34 years old saying they have taken part in cancel culture, while only about a third (32%) of voters over 65 said they had joined a social media pile-on.[48] Attitude towards the practice was mixed, with 44% of respondents saying they disapproved of cancel culture, 32% who approved, and 24% who did not know or had no opinion. Furthermore, 46% believed cancel culture had gone too far, with only 10% thinking it had not gone far enough. However, a majority (53%) believed that people should expect social consequences for expressing unpopular opinions in public, especially those that may be construed as deeply offensive to other people.[49]

Criticism of the concept

Some journalists question the validity of cancel culture as an actual phenomenon.[50][51][52][53][54] Connor Garel, writing for Vice, states that cancel culture "rarely has any tangible or meaningful effect on the lives and comfortability of the cancelled."[55]

Historian C. J. Coventry argues that the term has been incorrectly applied, and that it more accurately reflects the propensity of people to hide historical instances of injustice:

While I agree that the line between debate and suppression is one that occasionally gets crossed by the so-called left wing, it is almost invariably true that the real cancel culture is perpetrated by those who have embraced the term. If you look through Australian history, as well as European and American history, you will find countless examples of people speaking out against injustice and being persecuted in return. I can think of a number of people in our own time who are being persecuted by supposedly democratic governments for revealing uncomfortable information.[56]

Another historian, David Olusoga, similarly argued:

The great myth about cancel culture, however, is that it exists only on the left. For the past 40 years, rightwing newspapers have ceaselessly fought to delegitimise and ultimately cancel our national broadcaster [the BBC], motivated by financial as well as political ambitions.[57]

Pam Palmater[who?] writes in Maclean's magazine that cancel culture differs from accountability in her article about the public backlash surrounding Canadian politicians who vacationed during COVID-19, despite pandemic rules not to.[58]

Former Secretary of Labor, Eugene Scalia, points out that cancel culture is a form of freedom of speech and protected under the First Amendment. At the same time, he brings to attention a consequence that has not been addressed, that cancel culture affects the equal opportunity of legal representation for those affected and that it limits the pool of lawyers who are willing to risk their personal and professional reputation on such controversial topics. The legal representation field is subject to manipulation by current clients who do not wish to be in any form associated with cancel culture matters even though firms or lawyers do not necessarily share the same ideology of those whom they represent. He concludes his article by emphasizing that every issue deserves to be heard and have appropriate representation regardless of its popularity in current society.[59]

The American animated television series South Park mocked cancel culture with its own "#CancelSouthPark" campaign in promotion of the show's twenty-second season (2018).[60][61][62][63] In the season's third episode, "The Problem with a Poo", there are references to the 2017 documentary The Problem with Apu, the cancellation of Roseanne after controversial tweets by the show's eponymous actress, and the confirmation hearings of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh.[64][65] Both the Dixie Chicks, for their outspoken criticism of the Iraq War and President Bush,[66] and Bill Maher have said they are victims of cancel culture.[67]

In 2019, cancel culture featured as a primary theme in the stand-up comedy shows Sticks & Stones by Dave Chappelle[68] and Paper Tiger by Bill Burr.[69]

See also

Notes

  1. ^ Merriam-Webster notes that to "cancel", in this context, means "to stop giving support to that person".[2]
    Dictionary.com, in its pop-culture dictionary, defines cancel culture as "withdrawing support for (canceling) public figures and companies after they have done or said something considered objectionable or offensive."[3]

References

  1. ^ McDermott, John (November 2, 2019). "Those People We Tried to Cancel? They're All Hanging Out Together". The New York Times. Retrieved August 3, 2020.
  2. ^ a b "What It Means to Get 'Canceled'". www.merriam-webster.com. Archived from the original on June 18, 2020. Retrieved July 4, 2020.
  3. ^ "What Does Cancel Culture Mean?". dictionary.com. Retrieved August 19, 2020.
  4. ^ Mishan, Ligaya (December 3, 2020). "The Long and Tortured History of Cancel Culture". T: The New York Times Style Magazine. Archived from the original on December 4, 2020.
  5. ^ Sills, Sophie; Pickens, Chelsea; Beach, Karishma; Jones, Lloyd; Calder-Dawe, Octavia; Benton-Greig, Paulette; Gavey, Nicola (March 23, 2016). "Rape culture and social media: young critics and a feminist counterpublic". Feminist Media Studies. 16 (6): 935–951. doi:10.1080/14680777.2015.1137962. S2CID 147023782.
  6. ^ Munro, Ealasaid (August 23, 2013). "Feminism: A Fourth Wave?". Political Insight. 4 (2): 22–25. doi:10.1111/2041-9066.12021. S2CID 142990260. Archived from the original on December 10, 2019. Retrieved April 29, 2020.
  7. ^ Yar, Sanam; Bromwich, Jonah Engel (October 31, 2019). "Tales From the Teenage Cancel Culture". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on June 1, 2020. Retrieved July 4, 2020.
  8. ^ a b Bromwich, Jonah Engel (June 28, 2018). "Everyone Is Canceled". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on August 13, 2019. Retrieved July 24, 2020.
  9. ^ "What is the cost of 'cancel culture'?". BBC News. October 8, 2020. Retrieved January 6, 2021.
  10. ^ a b Kinos-Goodin, Jesse (3 December 2018). "Have we hit peak cancel culture?". CBC Radio. Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 16 March 2019.
  11. ^ Mendes, Kaitlynn; Ringrose, Jessica; Keller, Jessalynn (May 1, 2018). "#MeToo and the promise and pitfalls of challenging rape culture through digital feminist activism". European Journal of Women's Studies. 25 (2): 236–246. doi:10.1177/1350506818765318. ISSN 1350-5068.
  12. ^ Haidt, Jonathan; Lukianoff, Greg (2018). The Coddling of the American Mind: How Good Intentions and Bad Ideas Are Setting Up a Generation for Failure. New York City: Penguin Press. ISBN 978-0-73522489-6. OCLC 1007552624.; For safetyism, see Lukianoff, Greg; Haidt, Jonathan (September 4, 2018). The Coddling of the American Mind. pp. 30, 158, 235, 268, 329. ISBN 9780735224902.
  13. ^ Agence France Presse (July 22, 2020). "La "cancel culture", nouvelle arme des anonymes et facteur de polarisation". Le Journal de Montréal (in French). Archived from the original on July 27, 2020. Retrieved July 24, 2020.
  14. ^ Merrill, Jacqueline Pfeffer (January 2, 2020). "An Intelligent Person's Guide to Modern Culture". Perspectives on Political Science. 49 (1): 48–50. doi:10.1080/10457097.2019.1673600. S2CID 210559427.
  15. ^ Harrison, Reviewed by Laura M. (July 3, 2019). "The Coddling of the American Mind: How Good Intentions and Bad Ideas Are Setting up a Generation for Failure". Journal of College and Character. 20 (3): 276–278. doi:10.1080/2194587X.2019.1631190. ISSN 2194-587X. S2CID 202274670.
  16. ^ Cunningham, David S. (January 4, 2019). Hearing Vocation Differently: Meaning, Purpose, and Identity in the Multi-Faith Academy. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-088867-1.
  17. ^ Ng, Eve (July 26, 2020). "No Grand Pronouncements Here...: Reflections on Cancel Culture and Digital Media Participation". Television and New Media. 21 (16): 621–627. doi:10.1177/1527476420918828. S2CID 220853829. Retrieved February 12, 2021.
  18. ^ Lee, Frances (September 17, 2017). "'Excommunicate me from the church of social justice': an activist's plea for change". The Sunday Magazine. CBC Radio.
  19. ^ "Why I've Started to Fear My Fellow Social Justice Activists". Yes! Magazine. Retrieved July 28, 2020.
  20. ^ Velasco, Joseph (October 2020). You are Cancelled: Virtual Collective Consciousness and the Emergence of Cancel Culture as Ideological Purging. Vol. 12. Conference: 1st Rupkatha International Open Conference on Recent Advances in Interdisciplinary Humanities. doi:10.21659/rupkatha.v12n5.rioc1s21n2. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
  21. ^ Wei, M. L.; Bunjun, Benita (October 21, 2020). "'We are not the shoes of white supremacists': a critical race perspective of consumer responses to brand attempts at countering racist associations". Journal of Marketing Management. 36 (13–14): 1252–1279. doi:10.1080/0267257X.2020.1806907. ISSN 0267-257X. S2CID 226315082.
  22. ^ "Anita Bright - Google Scholar". scholar.google.com. Retrieved August 28, 2020.
  23. ^ Bright, Anita; Gambrell, James (2017). "Calling In, Not Calling Out: A Critical Race Framework for Nurturing Cross-Cultural Alliances in Teacher Candidates". Handbook of Research on Promoting Cross-Cultural Competence and Social Justice in Teacher Education. Retrieved August 28, 2020.
  24. ^ Matei, Adrienne (November 1, 2019). "Call-out culture: how to get it right (and wrong)". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved August 31, 2020.
  25. ^ Stein, J. (August 13, 2015). "I'm making the case for public shaming-unless you publicly shame me for doing so". TIME Magazine. Retrieved March 8, 2021.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  26. ^ Wakabayashi, Daisuke (August 8, 2017). "Contentious Memo Strikes Nerve Inside Google and Out". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved March 22, 2021.
  27. ^ "Jonathan Kay: The main victims of progressive 'cancel culture' are progressives themselves". nationalpost. Retrieved March 22, 2021.
  28. ^ Friedersdorf, Conor (August 8, 2017). "The Most Common Error in Media Coverage of the Google Memo". The Atlantic. Retrieved March 22, 2021.
  29. ^ A Defense of ‘Transracial’ Identity Roils Philosophy World, By Jennifer Schuessler, The New York Times, May 19, 2017
  30. ^ "Will innocent men become 'casualities' of #MeToo movement?". Newsweek. December 21, 2017. Retrieved March 22, 2021.
  31. ^ Dastagir, Alia E. "The problem with asking the public to cancel Woody Allen". USA TODAY. Retrieved March 22, 2021.
  32. ^ "Liam Neeson says harassment allegations are now 'a witch-hunt'". the Guardian. January 13, 2018. Retrieved March 22, 2021.
  33. ^ August 19, Christopher Brito CBS News; 2020; Pm, 2:14. ""Cancel culture" seems to have started as an internet joke. Now it's anything but". www.cbsnews.com. Retrieved March 22, 2021. {{cite web}}: |last2= has numeric name (help)CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  34. ^ "Rescue organization returns dog to Amy Cooper, one week after "Central Park Karen" video went viral". www.cbsnews.com. Retrieved March 22, 2021.
  35. ^ "White woman fired from her job after she called the cops on a black man in Central Park". www.cbsnews.com. Retrieved March 22, 2021.
  36. ^ "Cancel culture: Have any two words become more weaponised?". BBC News. February 18, 2021. Retrieved March 22, 2021.
  37. ^ Business, Oliver Darcy, CNN. "Top editor at The New York Times walks back controversial comment on race amid criticism". CNN. Retrieved March 22, 2021. {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  38. ^ a b Brown, Dalvin. "Twitter's cancel culture: A force for good or a digital witchhunt? The answer is complicated". USA TODAY. Archived from the original on July 24, 2020.
  39. ^ "Where Did Cancel Culture Come From?". Dictionary.com. Archived from the original on June 30, 2020.
  40. ^ "Obama laid into young people being 'politically woke' and 'as judgmental as possible' in a speech about call-out culture". Business Insider. October 30, 2019. Archived from the original on July 23, 2020. Retrieved July 23, 2020.
  41. ^ Daniel Dale. "A list of people and things Donald Trump tried to get canceled before he railed against 'cancel culture'". CNN. Archived from the original on July 28, 2020. Retrieved August 1, 2020.
  42. ^ Thomas, Cal (1983). Book Burning. Westchester, Ill: Crossway Books. pp. 4, 15–16. ISBN 0891072845.
  43. ^ "A Letter on Justice and Open Debate". Harper's Magazine. July 7, 2020. Archived from the original on July 23, 2020.
  44. ^ "JK Rowling joins 150 public figures warning over free speech". July 8, 2020. Retrieved July 23, 2020.
  45. ^ Chiu, Allyson (July 8, 2020). "Letter signed by J.K. Rowling, Noam Chomsky warning of stifled free speech draws mixed reviews". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on July 24, 2020. Retrieved July 9, 2020.
  46. ^ Schuessler, Jennifer (July 10, 2020). "An Open Letter on Free Expression Draws a Counterblast". The New York Times. Retrieved July 12, 2020.
  47. ^ Roberts, Mikenzie (July 13, 2020). "Harper's letter and response signed by Northwestern academics". The Daily Northwestern. Retrieved July 18, 2020.
  48. ^ Lizza, Ryan (July 22, 2020). "Americans tune in to 'cancel culture' — and don't like what they see". POLITICO. Archived from the original on July 23, 2020. Retrieved July 22, 2020.
  49. ^ Morning Consult; Politico (July 2020). "National tracking poll, July 17-19, 2020". Politico.com. Archived from the original on July 22, 2020.
  50. ^ "Letters to the Editor: It's not 'cancel culture.' It's finally holding privileged people accountable". LA Times. July 15, 2020.
  51. ^ "No, cancel culture isn't a threat to civilization". ThePrint. India. July 15, 2020.
  52. ^ Hagi, Sarah (November 21, 2019). "Cancel Culture Is Not Real—At Least Not in the Way People Think". Time. Retrieved March 12, 2021.
  53. ^ "When Republicans Attack 'Cancel Culture,' What Does It Mean?". NPR.org. February 10, 2021. Retrieved March 12, 2021.
  54. ^ Fine, Duncan (March 4, 2021). "Dr Seuss not cancelled. Old stereotypes are being made redundant". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved March 12, 2021.
  55. ^ "Logan Paul Is Proof That Problematic People Are Never Truly Cancelled". www.vice.com. Retrieved August 16, 2020.
  56. ^ C. J. Coventry, "A New Birth of Freedom: South Australia, slavery and exceptionalism," Speech to History Council of South Australia (HCSA) (2020), https://hcommons.org/deposits/item/hc:33351/
  57. ^ "'Cancel culture' is not the preserve of the left. Just ask our historians | David Olusoga". The Guardian. January 3, 2021.
  58. ^ "The entitlement of Canadian politicians - Macleans.ca". www.macleans.ca. Retrieved January 6, 2021.
  59. ^ Scalia, Eugene (2021). "John Adams, Legal Representation, and the "Cancel Culture"". Harvard Journal of Law & Public Policy. 44 (1): 333–338 – via ProQuest.
  60. ^ Andrews, Travis M. (17 October 2018). "How 'South Park' became the ultimate #bothsides show". The Washington Post. Retrieved 31 December 2018.
  61. ^ Edwards, Chris (20 November 2018). "Post-outrage TV: how South Park is surviving the era of controversy". The Guardian. Retrieved 31 December 2018.
  62. ^ Mathews, Liam (11 October 2018). "South Park Just Trolled The Simpsons Really Hard, but Why?". TV Guide. Retrieved 31 December 2018.
  63. ^ Joho, Jess (12 October 2018). "Why the latest season of 'South Park' feels like a total game-changer". Mashable. Retrieved 31 December 2018.
  64. ^ Parker, Ryan (10 October 2018). "'South Park' Goes After Roseanne Barr, 'Simpsons' Apu Character". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 11 October 2018.
  65. ^ Barsanti, Sam (9 October 2018). "South Park will somehow tackle both Brett Kavanaugh and The Problem With Apu simultaneously". The A.V. Club. Retrieved 10 October 2018.
  66. ^ "Dixie Chicks talk cancel culture 17 years after being blacklisted". Good Morning America (ABC). March 16, 2020.
  67. ^ Ali, Rasha (August 1, 2020). "Bill Maher talks cancel culture and John Lewis with authors of Harper's open 'letter on justice'". USA Today.
  68. ^ "Concerning Consent, Chappelle, and Canceling Cancel Culture". Wired. ISSN 1059-1028. Retrieved October 19, 2020.
  69. ^ Placido, Dani Di. "Bill Burr's 'Paper Tiger' Exposes The Myth Of Outrage Culture". Forbes. Retrieved October 19, 2020.

Further reading

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Cancel_culture&oldid=1015483634"