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Fall 2020聽触听By Nicole Dudenhoefer聽 麻豆精品 S�17 | Illustrations by Matt Chase

Mob mentality. A modern social justice practice. An impediment to free speech. A platform for marginalized voices. Call it what you will. Cancel culture is a concept so hotly debated that it remains in limbo, much like many individuals 麻豆精品 S� attitudes toward it.

The one common theme everyone seems to agree on is that cancel culture involves taking a public stance against an individual or institution for actions considered objectionable or offensive. But is it an effective way to hold those in positions accountable, or is it punishment without a chance for redemption?

In July, when 贬补谤辫别谤 麻豆精品 S檚 Magazine published 麻豆精品 S淎 Letter on Justice and Open Debate 麻豆精品 S� 麻豆精品 S� a critique on cancel culture without directly naming it 麻豆精品 S� it was met with immediate backlash. The letter was initially signed by 153 notable individuals, including J.K. Rowling 麻豆精品 S� who has recently faced calls for cancellation due to social media comments considered transphobic by some. For Mel Stanfill, UCF assistant professor of texts and technology, the letter is an example of how cancel culture can be a complicated practice.

麻豆精品 S淚 think cancel culture can reflect awareness that people are not willing to accept things that they used to accept or have not been able to resist in the past, but in some ways it 麻豆精品 S檚 a moral panic, 麻豆精品 S� says Stanfill, who is also an assistant professor of English. 麻豆精品 S淭he 贬补谤辫别谤 麻豆精品 S檚 letter was a bunch of really rich and famous people writing in a national magazine about how they 麻豆精品 S檝e been silenced 麻豆精品 S� yet they still get access to this forum. So it highlights the fact that [cancel culture is] this fear over something that is not actually real. So if we 麻豆精品 S檙e going to talk about cancel culture, we can 麻豆精品 S檛 talk about it in isolation, we have to put it in context. 麻豆精品 S�

Influences From Black Culture

While public shaming and silencing are practices that have been around as long as society itself, cancel culture is a somewhat new concept with specific ties to Black culture.

According to the news site Vox, the first reference of canceling a person in pop culture possibly comes from the 1991 movie New Jack City, when Wesley Snipes 麻豆精品 S� character, Nino Brown, says, 麻豆精品 S淐ancel that [woman]. I 麻豆精品 S檒l buy another one, 麻豆精品 S� referencing his girlfriend 麻豆精品 S檚 disapproval of his violent ways. In 2010, rapper Lil Wayne referenced the quote in his song 麻豆精品 S淚 麻豆精品 S檓 Single. 麻豆精品 S� But it was after a 2014 Love & Hip-Hop: New York聽episode when cast member Cisco Rosado told his love interest 麻豆精品 S淵ou 麻豆精品 S檙e canceled, 麻豆精品 S� that the term gained traction on social media. Soon after, Black Twitter began using it both jokingly and seriously to express their disagreement with others.

麻豆精品 S淭here are also these series of practices on Twitter, some of which have come from Black Twitter, of skilled insults, which come from the Dozens, a game common in Black communities of finding clever ways to put someone down, 麻豆精品 S� Stanfill says.

And while cancel culture 麻豆精品 S檚 origins are linked to playful banter, it also stems from one form of protest: boycotting. Started by the Irish in the 1880s, boycotting became a powerful social and political tool used successfully by African Americans during the civil rights movement, such as the Montgomery bus boycott sparked by Rosa Parks.

麻豆精品 S淚f you don 麻豆精品 S檛 have the ability to stop something through political means, what you can do is refuse to participate, 麻豆精品 S� said Anne Charity Hudley 麻豆精品 S� North Hall Endowed Chair in the Linguistics of African America at the University of California, Santa Barbara 麻豆精品 S� in the same Vox article. 麻豆精品 S淐anceling is a way to acknowledge that you don 麻豆精品 S檛 have to have the power to change structural inequality. You don 麻豆精品 S檛 even have to have the power to change all of public sentiment. But as an individual, you can still have power beyond measure. 麻豆精品 S�

The internet heightens that power by collectively amplifying the voices of marginalized people who may be a minority 麻豆精品 S� and otherwise silenced 麻豆精品 S� in their physical communities. It 麻豆精品 S檚 also allowed others to become aware and support them as allies.

Since #BlackLivesMatter began in 2014 after George Zimmerman was acquitted for killing Trayvon Martin, the hashtag has grown into a historic global movement. For decades, Black communities have spoken out about racial injustices and police brutality, but social media has bolstered attention around these issues and seriously shifted the nation 麻豆精品 S檚 recognition of the need for change 麻豆精品 S� especially after the death of George Floyd.

Social media 麻豆精品 S檚 public access has also allowed this form of public shaming to become a practice for people of all backgrounds to address varying issues.

Public Shaming Throughout Human History

A core element of cancel culture, public shaming has been used since societies were first formed. Stocks, or public restraints, were used in medieval Europe up through Colonial America, where Puritans used them to punish criminals. Tarring and feathering was also a form of public corporal punishment used to keep people in line. And during World War II, French women who were deemed traitors had their heads shaved, says Stacey (Barreto) DiLiberto 麻豆精品 S�03 麻豆精品 S�11PhD, a UCF lecturer in philosophy.

Though often tied to personal punishment, public shaming has also been understood to be a positive social practice.

麻豆精品 S淧ublic shaming is a long-standing public ritual that helped to uphold social bonds and make sure people within communities were equal and understood the norms, and to ensure no one got too high and mighty, 麻豆精品 S� says Amanda Koontz, UCF associate professor of sociology.

One common example, Koontz notes, comes from the !Kung people, a band society 麻豆精品 S� the simplest known form of society 麻豆精品 S� in southern Africa. During Christmas 1969, Canadian anthropologist Robert Borshay Lee presented the group with a large ox as a gift. Members made fun of his offering and called it a 麻豆精品 S渂ag of bones, 麻豆精品 S� and it was later explained that this 麻豆精品 S渟haming of the meat 麻豆精品 S� practice was standard to keep someone humble whenever they brought back a large kill.

This type of equalizing is understood to be a positive practice as the !Kung 麻豆精品 S檚 strong communal bonds have not been disrupted by the complex issues of modern societies, such as racism, sexism and political polarization. The in-person practice among people you know and live with also doesn 麻豆精品 S檛 translate to the scale of the global internet community, where often you 麻豆精品 S檙e ultimately engaging with strangers.

Celebrities have always been highly susceptible to public criticism because of the nature of their privileged position. But in the era of cancel culture, they 麻豆精品 S檙e even more susceptible because they 麻豆精品 S檙e often viewed as agents of change, Koontz says.

The #MeToo movement is one example of how publicly calling out powerful individuals can lead to a widespread cultural shift. When sexual abuse allegations against former film producer Harvey Weinstein became public in 2017, it led to his conviction as a sex offender. Other influential people have faced their own reckonings for similar misconducts, and societal attitudes toward sexism and sexual harassment are becoming more intolerant.

But sometimes, public denouncement of powerful individuals can have the opposite effect of what is intended. When the Surviving R. Kelly docuseries premiered in January 2019, #MuteRKelly began trending, calling for the singer 麻豆精品 S檚 conviction for sexual crimes and an end to his career. But the increased negative attention around the artist seemed to backfire as on-demand streams for his music increased from 1.9 million the day before the docuseries began airing to 4.3 million 麻豆精品 S� a 126 percent increase 麻豆精品 S� on the day after the three-day premiere concluded.

麻豆精品 S淭he general public seems to have this power to hold accountable people who we 麻豆精品 S檝e historically deemed powerful entities, but is that authority ultimately fleeting? 麻豆精品 S� DiLiberto asks. 麻豆精品 S淵es, celebrities are real people too, and they say stupid things and do reprehensible things as well. But why should we care so much about what they do, as opposed to our own actions or our immediate community around us? 麻豆精品 S�

The Digital Divide

Whether you view cancel culture as empowering or destructive, the practice says a lot about our current cultural climate, which has been influenced by the increasingly digital world we inhabit.

麻豆精品 S淲e don 麻豆精品 S檛 have this distinction anymore between public and private, and it 麻豆精品 S檚 almost as if we 麻豆精品 S檙e living more of our lives online than we are in the real, tangible world, 麻豆精品 S� DiLiberto says.

This new way of living seems to be even more true during 2020, a time when we seem to be in constant crisis 麻豆精品 S� from the COVID-19 pandemic to a resurgence in public awareness around long-standing racial injustices 麻豆精品 S� all within an especially important election year. People are experiencing more unrest and heightened isolation, leading us to spend more time online. Globally, new social media users have grown by about 11 percent this year, and people are spending about 40 percent more time on social media, according to a July report from DataReportal.

麻豆精品 S淚f something comes on your timeline or feed, and it 麻豆精品 S檚 outrageous or terrible, we often have this knee-jerk reaction, rather than really investigating issues or listening, 麻豆精品 S� DiLiberto says. 麻豆精品 S淲e share so much stuff online, and we have a tendency sometimes to say things via social media or other platforms that maybe we wouldn 麻豆精品 S檛 say if we were face to face with someone. 麻豆精品 S�

In instances where someone has done something particularly egregious, perhaps committing a serious crime such as sexual assault, the case to cancel may seem clear-cut. But in other instances where certain behaviors may be more questionable than seriously problematic, deeper thinking, which requires time and effort, about the person and issues is required but rarely happens.

麻豆精品 S淭he instant nature of social media means that very large, complicated social issues get condensed into one sentence, one minute for TikTok [videos] or just a photo on Instagram, 麻豆精品 S� Koontz says. 麻豆精品 S淓verything is becoming very succinct, and it both discourages nuanced discussion and encourages all-or-nothing stances. Cancel culture is 麻豆精品 S榊ou 麻豆精品 S檙e all good, or you 麻豆精品 S檙e all bad, 麻豆精品 S� and human nature is much more complicated than that. 麻豆精品 S�

Humans are flawed beings, and it 麻豆精品 S檚 in our nature to make mistakes. And tactics such as online doxxing 麻豆精品 S� publicizing private or identifying information 麻豆精品 S� and their potentially permanent effects could leave everyone susceptible to being canceled. It 麻豆精品 S檚 worth asking, what motivates authentic, positive change?

Amy Cooper 麻豆精品 S� a white woman who called emergency services regarding Christian Cooper, a Black man, during a viral Central Park dispute about her illegally unleashed dog 麻豆精品 S� has been fired from her job, charged with a misdemeanor for filing a false police report, and faced notoriety and ridicule. Cooper has apologized for her actions, but who determines the sincerity of it? She was dealt real consequences, yet racist incidents continue to happen and appear online daily.

麻豆精品 S淲hen you have these forms of public shaming [oftentimes through] filming these interactions, it turns social issues into something that is completely individualized, 麻豆精品 S� Koontz says. 麻豆精品 S淚t puts great responsibility on an individual, and it does not [always] encourage actual societal change. We haven 麻豆精品 S檛 taken care of the larger institutional or systemic issues. 麻豆精品 S�

Social media has certainly changed the way we communicate, providing more ways to connect than ever before. But in many ways, it 麻豆精品 S檚 dividing us and causing us to focus our energy where it isn 麻豆精品 S檛 always needed.

麻豆精品 S淪o often we are told, 麻豆精品 S榃e must act and speak out, or we are part of the problem, 麻豆精品 S� and therefore we are not necessarily taught or trained that inaction or not speaking out can be a form of social-justice action, 麻豆精品 S� Koontz says. 麻豆精品 S淎t some point, we need to think about ways we can create positive change instead of fueling negative causes. 麻豆精品 S�

Perhaps we all need to take a step back and listen.