After #metoo, #cancelculture was also elected “word of the year”. The first, a movement that came to light following the numerous complaints of sexual harassment suffered by women in the entertainment world.
The second is a term linked to the first because it supports the complete elimination of certain characters from the scenes, for their sexual misconduct. Cancel Culture then became the nerve center of an international debate from the moment in which numerous writers expressed themselves on the subject, through an open letter in Harper's Magazine.
But the question remains.
For me the question stayed alive for weeks, reading about it, documenting me, indeed doubts about what Cancel culture were multiplied.
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A definition of the concept of Cancel Culture
I was able to get a more concrete idea of Cancel Culture, and necessarily Call-out-culture, by reading the words of Loretta Ross who defines Cancel Culture as a culture: “where people attempt to expunge anyone with whom they do not perfectly agree, rather than remain focused on those who profit from discrimination and injustice”.
I instinctively wondered what the difference was between these two concepts.
Cancel Culture acts like a reaction to errors. In other words, given the greater exposure and visibility of public figures (and therefore their ability to convey messages and influence normal people) how does society react to the mistakes made? We speak of cancellation because the desire to totally exclude the subject concerned from any environment is increasingly widespread.
While the Call-out Culture is a form of protest that aims at denouncing and exposing the media and virtual problems that are thought not to be given due attention.
The power of online communication is fundamental to make the Call-out Culture a tool that can be used by anyone who, however, has a very blurred boundary with Cancel Culture. It takes very little to go to the side of those who want to do “Internet justice”, having started with all the good intentions of those who would have wanted to give space to a particular problem and make the whole society aware of it. If it were not yet clear, Cancel Culture is a harsh exasperation of the Call-out Culture and has in itself toxic aspects that do not produce a critical discourse.
Cancel Culture and Feminism
It is not my intention to propose the brick from which everyone runs away as soon as the theme of feminism is introduced. So why Cancel Culture and Feminism? What is the point of contact?
The answer is so trivial that it is difficult to recognize. The point of contact is humanity. It very often happens that human beings lack sensitivity, in other words the ability to identify with a situation that happens to others and in which one should try to adopt an external point of view to really understand what happened.
Many discriminations originate in the lack of understanding of a situation, of a state of mind. The concept of feminism, having overcome the banal connection between feminism and female issues, carries on various struggles that do not concern only the female sphere and this is how it connects to Cancel Culture.
I would try again. The point of contact between feminism and Cancel culture is given by a frame that we see frequently repeated in the world we live in.
Today it has become almost normal to see another subject suffer and feel gratification, or rather rejoice because “the other is in worse shape” instead of trying to improve oneself. To get almost obsessed with the lives of others, indistinctly, just to be able to feel good knowing that there are those who are worse off than us.
Aim for downward parity.
We are constantly spectators of a world where an individual does something wrong/negative and, implicitly, deserves to be eliminated, deleted, canceled. The fundamental aspect, in my opinion, that makes this Cancel culture toxic is the lack of awareness.
Who could claim they have never been wrong?
Call-out culture is the answer you are looking for if, net of an objective analysis, you still believe that the behavior adopted is absolutely and unquestionably negative.
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And, I promise, I come to the end of this reflection.
Cancel culture and Call-out culture have become known above all because they are also implemented towards famous people. Sometimes the character cannot ignore the person so we cannot find ourselves justifying the person just because the character has won our sympathy or our esteem in the past.
So “I don't buy Woody Allen's book” becomes a sensible statement, behind a conscious reasoning of Call-out culture.
Speaking of Cancel culture, erasing and completely removing from memory a person or an action is not only wrong but also improductive. Reporting a mistake and giving relevance to the problems inherent in our society is right when you have the aim of improving yourself and improving the world in which you live. Doing it with sensitivity and critical thinking is a must.
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