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Artwork retrieved from https://minutehack.com/opinions/the-advocacy-economy-who-needs-experts |
As many people may notice, advocacy comes in many forms and
from many folks. People speak to the issues that speak to them, and as some are
noting, the “everyman” or as I prefer to say, the “everyperson”, are becoming
more and more trusted over expert opinion (Anson, 2017). As an avid watcher of
YouTube and consistent consumer of Instagram, I’ve watched people both
“experts” and “laypeople” share their messages of advocacy for issues that
impact their lives or lives of close others. Whether expert on a social justice
topic or not, advocacy can run into conflicts– as humans are fallible – and
mistakes are hard to correct given the stain that social media can leave.
Recently, I’ve noticed two instances in social media where I
believe advocacy has encountered conflict. The first of which is the social
media presence, or lack thereof, by the Fab 5 team from Queer Eye in the wake
of Jonathan Van Ness’s (JVN) public moment of disclosure as a person living
with H.I.V, coping with addiction, and a history of sexual trauma. In this
moment, the other four members of the Fab 5 team, who are allies and friends to
JVN, were remarkably silent on social media – failing to put out a public
message in support of JVN. This is not to say that the Fab 5 team does not support JVN and his advocacy, as I
am sure they do privately. Albeit behind the façade of social media, other
factors may have been present that could have prevented their public support, this
presents a tricky conflict in which allied support of one individual’s
advocacy, such as JVN’s, was noticeably lacking. This leaves the question: When
should celebrities be expected to show public support for those who take on the
role of an advocate and when is private support enough?
The second moment of advocacy in conflict was in the public
disclosure of Trisha Paytas on social media as a female to male transgender
person. Trisha is known in the YouTube community for acting in such a way
that attracts drama, making it hard for fellow YouTubers and fans to accept Trisha’s
identity as told to them. Trisha’s disclosure catalyzed a slew of negative
reactions from those who presumably belong to the same transgender community,
of which Trisha would be a member. While I must not overlook Trisha’s use of
language in the posted video as it tends to minimize and marginalize others in
the transgender community, that is beside the point. The point here is that
advocacy for the rights of one group is complex and comes with a variety of
within-group differences in the ways advocacy should occur and what goals the
community wishes to accomplish. Trisha’s truth, as told, may fly in the face of
others’ truths. This leaves the question: How do communities approach conflicts
in advocacy?
As with many things in our world, there is no absolute truth
and never any absolute answers. However, these are important questions social
advocates should actively attend to. When placed in a position of power, in
which many people may be influenced by what you say, you must think critically
about what you say or what you choose not
to say. Both are important to the goals of promoting social change and equity
among people.
Written by Kylie Steinhilber
References:
Anson, R. (2017, February 22). The Advocacy Economy: Who Needs ‘Experts’? Retrieved from https://minutehack.com/opinions/the-advocacy-economy-who-needs-experts
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