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Brianna Romanos

ENGL 1302

Mr. Powers

5 March 2023

The Effectiveness of Performance Activism in the Queer Community

Introduction

A powerful method of establishing lasting connections with the public is performance

activism. As stated in Whitney’s article “A key strategy for overcoming gender binary limitations

is queer performance, which acknowledges the intersecting components of identity such as class,

religion, race, ability, and nationality.”( 247) Performance activism has recently been

characterized by analysts as being both ineffective and highly detrimental. This essay utilizes

Singhal's definition of performative activism which states “any form of performance that

requires and/or allows an audience to interact with the components of the performance in any

way they see fit.”(44) This research will discuss the effectiveness of performance activism based

on research that defines and highlights examples in the queer community (from this point on the

queer community will be referenced as the community). Due mainly to the current politics

revolving around the community in relation to the anti-LBGTQ bills that keep piling up, it is

vital to understand and recognize the effective protest tactics that continue to support the

community. It is important to recognize the many forms of playful activism that continue to

contribute information and awareness about issues pertaining to the community.

In the community, performance activism is a tool that has been utilized since Stonewall,

so any research on performative activism has been gathered to support this idea. Shepard et al

highlights the idea that “performance” or in his case “play” in terms of political performance
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“serves as a vehicle for community building, effectively supports a coordinated organizing effort,

and invites individuals to join.”(3) Performance activism creates safe spaces for audience

members to be able to interact with said performance, which ultimately leaves an audience to

resonate with a cause.The creation of safe spaces is essential for performance activism in order to

foster interactions, new friendships, dialogue, participation, and the expression of support for the

community. Some examples of performance that will be used in this paper include–festivals,

theater, and dance and how these methods of performance politically support organizations such

as ACT UP, AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power. There isn’t much discourse over the effectiveness

of performative activism; however, some researchers such as Robert Weissberg, who wrote The

Limits of Civic Activism: Cautionary Tales on the Use of Politics, have noted they find

performance activism to be a waste of coordinated efforts.

Playful Activism in Festivals

Pride festivals and parades provide opportunities for participants to interact and celebrate

queer culture within an open space. Rosendahl provides Pride Toronto to showcase how the

experience of a music festival attracts a greater audience which “provides opportunities for

members of the community to interact with one another in a more intimate setting.”(13) A key

component of Pride festivals is the exposure to the community along with the support of queer

artist and activists. Anna de Jong describes how the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras Parade

represents an alternative method of playful activism. Jong also concludes “this festival is critical

to performance activism because it plays a role long term.”(866) This statement can be supported

by Rosendhal’s idea that providing an experience can attract an audience because it is the

experience that resonates with the audience.

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Performance Activism in Theater

Theatrical tactics play a major role in performance activism for the community. For

example, Singhal references the unconventional strategies and playful activism that have both

been employed by ACT UP in the past to "engage citizens and provoke responses from

policy-makers."(43) More notably, ACT UP activists arranged a spectacle where they walked

into the church and pretended to be dead on the floor to illustrate the effects of the Bishop's

ambivalence to AIDS during mass at New York's St. Patrick's Church. This is a perfect example

of how performance activism creates space for interaction with citizens and policy makers. The

use of theater, according to Graff's conclusion, "indicates not just a shifting political, social, and

medical background for AIDS performances, but concurrently emphasizes a shift in the dramatic

portrayal of AIDS."(23) Schildcrout mentions Doric Wilson's Street Theater, represents the

Stonewall riots, to explain how it can "still captivate audiences because it offers an opportunity

not merely to witness LGBT individuals on stage but also to experience collective visibility,

perceiving ourselves as participants in and inheritors of the Stonewall Riots."(99)

Playful Actions in Dance

In Bauer’s interview with Sean Dorsey, he states “Dance is a visceral form of expression

that can evoke strong emotional responses from viewers, including identification, empathy, and

compassion.” (24) Bauer also provides some of Dorsey’s most famous dance productions and the

message behind each performance. For example, Dorsey’s production, The Missing Generation,

which provided information about local AIDS organizations and trans-youth nonprofits. Dorsey

is a choreographer known for utilizing dance as activism for the community. Clark lists Work for

peace as an example of dance performative activism and highlights how in 2017, the activist
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group Werk for Peace assembled over 200 people to dance past Mike Pence's suburban

neighborhood in opposition to his anti-LGBTQ ideology. Werk for peace is known for “hosting

dance parties in front of the homes of various politicians to protest various issues.”(169) As

stated on their website, Werk for Peace was founded in response to the killing at Pulse, hence the

slogan "on June 12, dance was taken away from us by hate, and today we chose to reclaim

it."(169)

Conclusion

Political performance and playful actions are effective methods for sparking social

movement, civic participation, and social justice amongst an audience. By utilizing different

modern influences to promote activism in the community, activists have continued to reinforce

the effectiveness of performance activism in organized efforts. Performative activism aims to

provide an alternate method of establishing safe spaces in order to maintain audience interest in

the community. Performance activism can be an effective way of creating long term bonds with

the public. For example, as mentioned in this essay, the utilization of festivals, theater, and

dance create modern interactions with the public in order to gain their interest in the community

and its political movements. Yet, some researchers, like Robert Weissberg, who wrote The

Limitations of Civic Activism: Cautionary Stories on the Use of Politics, have indicated they

perceive performance activism to be a waste of organized efforts. On the basis of the examples

given in this article, it can be concluded that performance activism in the community results in a

non-violent method of interacting with authority as opposed to repeating causes of discrimination

and violence.
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Works Cited

Bauer, C. “Pioneering Trans Artist Sean Dorsey is on a Mission to Reshape the Dance Field.”

Dance Magazine, 6 January 2022. Accessed 22 February 2023.

Clark, Jordin. “"Daddy Pence Come Dance": Queer(ing) Space in the Suburbs.” Western Journal

of Communication, vol. 85, no. 2, 2021, pp. 168-187. Accessed 24 February 2023.

Grady, Jonathan, et al. “A Critique of Neoliberalism with Fierceness: Queer Youth of Color

Creating Dialogues of Resistance.” Journal of Homosexuality, vol. 59, no. 7, 2012, pp.

982-1004. Accessed 19 February 2023.

Graff, Torsten. “Gay Dram/Queer Performance?” American Studies, vol. 46, no. 1, 2001, pp.

11-25. Accessed 1 March 2023.

Jong, Anna de. “Rethinking Activism: Tourism, Mobilities, and Emotion.” Social & Cultural

Geography, vol. 18, no. 6, 2017, pp. 851-868. Accessed 1 MARCH 2023.

Rand, Erin J. “Gay Pride ad Its Queer Discontents: ACT UP and Political Deployment of

Affect.” Quarterly Journal of Speech, vol. 98, no. 1, 2012, pp. 75-80. Accessed 1 March

2023.

Rosendahl, Todd J. “Setting the Stage: The Selection, Programming, and Staging of Musical

Entertainment at Pride Toronto.” vol. 46, no. 2, 2012, pp. 12-18. Accessed 25 February

2023.

Shefer, Tamara. “Activist Performance and Performative Activism Towards Intersectional

Gender and Sexual Justice in Contemporary South Africa.” International Sociology, vol.

34, no. 4, 2019, pp. 418-434. Accessed 20 February 2023.

Shepard, Benjamin. Queer Political Performance and Protest: Play, Pleasure, and Social

Movement. New York, Routledge, 2008. Accessed 18 February 2023.

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Shepard, Benjamin, et al. “Performing vs. the Insurmountable: Theatrics, Activism, and Social

Movements.” Liminalities: A Journal of Performance Studies, vol. 4, no. 3, 2008, pp.

1-30. Accessed 19 February 2023.

Singhal, Arvind, and Karen Greiner. “Performance Activism and Civic Engagement Through

Symbolic and Playful Actions.” Journal of Development Communication, vol. 19, no. 2,

2008, pp. 43-53. Accessed 19 February 2023.

Weissberg, Robert. The limits of Civic Activism: Cautionary Tales on the Use of Politcs.

Somerset, NJ, Transaction Publishers, 2004. Accessed 1 March 2023.

Whitney, Elizabeth. “The Dangerous Real: Queer Solo Performance in/as Active Disruption.”

Comparative American Studies An International Journal, vol. 14, no. 3-4, 2016, pp.

246-260. Accessed 1 March 2023.