Critics on social media are citing performative behavior by white activists, stemming from the increased visibility of a white cosplayer at a “No Kings” demonstration, dressed as Katsuki Bakugo from My Hero Academia.
An Asian influencer, Eunnuri Lee, took to TikTok with a get-ready-with-me type video, stating that even in rallies against authoritarianism, racism, xenophobia, deportation, state violence, and fascism, there is always some way for white people to focus on self-expression.
“Even in a protest against authoritarianism, racism, xenophobia, deportation, state violence, fascism, a white person can and will always find a way to make the moment orbit around their own self-expression,” Lee said.
While recognizing that the cosplayer had a strategy to attract attention and raise donations, Lee noted that the act is still a form of strategy rather than solidarity. The disclaimer regarding white privilege is no excuse for performative actions, Lee argues.
“If you know your whiteness gives you privilege to turn a protest into a cosplay and you do it anyway, that is not awareness. That is indulgence,” Lee said.
Lee also brings up the death of Ashley Gail Paxton, the African American cosplayer online as Squid Kid, who committed suicide due to harassment from white cosplayers on TikTok. She questions why there has been little discussion of Paxton’s death among the cosplayer community.
In general, Lee states that the issue reveals the problem of treating a political moment as one to be aesthetically captured. “Aesthetics pacify criticism,” Lee said, noting that white people and their fandoms constantly see political events as an opportunity to build their brands.
“Not every serious political moment needs to be filtered through the lens of your brand. A protest isn’t Comic Con,” Lee said. “When activism becomes pure spectacle, people start mistaking visibility for usefulness. People start thinking attention is the same thing as solidarity.”
Despite this, she did not condemn artistic expression altogether at the protests. “Humor, creativity, and artistry definitely have a place in protest,” Lee said, emphasizing that it is filming and turning such performances into content that she opposes. “Do you have to film it and turn it into content? I don’t think so. Not because cosplay is inherently bad, but because white people need to understand when to decenter themselves.”
The commenters responded by offering their thoughts and opinions, along with additional instances of performative behavior at different types of demonstrations. Commenters pointed out signs carrying explicitly racialized sexual language during black lives matter rallies. “And the SIGNS!! at BLM talking about ‘BBC’ and anti-ICE protests talking about ‘big booty Latinas’ like it’s literally a parade for them,” the commenter writes.
One user rejects the statement that just going makes one an activist. “I hate when people bring this up, and the annoying mfs are like ‘At least they went’ like holding a sign that says ‘I love BBC’ at a BLM protest isn’t the activism you think it is,” they write.
Another commenter criticizes women who bring “heated rivalry posters” to anti-ICE rallies. “Exactly why I think those girls bringing those heated rivalry posters to ICE protests need to go to hell. People were sympathizing with them, talking about ‘At least they were there!’ They should’ve kept their dumb male-centered asses at home,” they say.
The last commenter criticizes the double standard employed in discussions of performative behavior. “White people will always get a pass somehow, versus a person of color won’t get a pass and instantly be ‘held accountable,’” they write. “Stop trying to be oppressed and support the oppressed.”
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