Efforts to make change in society toward a perceived greater good
"Activist" redirects here. For similar titles, see The Activist (disambiguation).
Barricade at the Paris Commune, March 1871.Civil rights activists at the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom during the civil rights movement in August 1963.A women's liberation march in Washington, D.C., August 1970.
Activism (or advocacy) consists of efforts to promote, impede, direct or intervene in social, political, economic or environmental reform with the desire to make changes in society toward a perceived greater good. Forms of activism range from mandate building in a community (including writing letters to newspapers), petitioning elected officials, running or contributing to a political campaign, preferential patronage (or boycott) of businesses, and demonstrative forms of activism like rallies, street marches, strikes, sit-ins, or hunger strikes.
Activism may be performed on a day-to-day basis in a wide variety of ways, including through the creation of art (artivism), computer hacking (hacktivism), or simply in how one chooses to spend their money (economic activism). For example, the refusal to buy clothes or other merchandise from a company as a protest against the exploitation of workers by that company could be considered an expression of activism. However, the most highly visible and impactful activism often comes in the form of collective action, in which numerous individuals coordinate an act of protest together in order to make a bigger impact.[1] Collective action that is purposeful, organized, and sustained over a period of time becomes known as a social movement.[2]
Historically, activists have used literature, including pamphlets, tracts, and books to disseminate or propagate their messages and attempt to persuade their readers of the justice of their cause. Research has now begun to explore how contemporary activist groups use social media to facilitate civic engagement and collective action combining politics with technology.[3][4] Left-wing and right-wing online activists often use different tactics. Hashtag activism and offline protest are more common on the left. Working strategically with partisan media, migrating to alternative platforms, and manipulation of mainstream media are more common on the right (in the United States).[5] In addition, the perception of increased left-wing activism in science and academia may decrease conservative trust in science and motivate some forms of conservative activism, including on college campuses.[6] Some scholars have also shown how the influence of very wealthy Americans is a form of activism.[7][8]
Separating activism and terrorism can be difficult and has been described as a 'fine line'.[9]
^Tarrow, Sidney (1998). Power in Movement: Social Movements and Contentious Politics (2nd ed.). Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9781139076807. OCLC 727948411.
^Goodwin, Jeff; Jasper, James (2009). The Social Movements Reader: Cases and Concepts (2nd ed.). Wiley-Blackwell. ISBN 9781405187640.
^Obar, Jonathan; et al. (2012). "Advocacy 2.0: An Analysis of How Advocacy Groups in the United States Perceive and Use Social Media as Tools for Facilitating Civic Engagement and Collective Action". Journal of Information Policy. 2: 1–25. doi:10.5325/jinfopoli.2.2012.1. S2CID 246628982. SSRN 1956352.
^Obar, Jonathan (2014). "Canadian Advocacy 2.0: A Study of Social Media Use by Social Movement Groups and Activists in Canada". Canadian Journal of Communication. 39. doi:10.22230/cjc.2014v39n2a2678. SSRN 2254742.
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^Bohmer, Carol (2010). Rejecting refugees: political asylum in the 21st century. Routledge. p. 258. ISBN 978-0-415-77375-1. OCLC 743396687.
businesses, and demonstrative forms of activism like rallies, street marches, strikes, sit-ins, or hunger strikes. Activism may be performed on a day-to-day...
Black activism may refer to advocating for power from the perspectives of those of the Black community and African diaspora: African nationalism Afrocentrism...
Student activism or campus activism is work by students to cause political, environmental, economic, or social change. In addition to education, student...
Internet activism involves the use of electronic-communication technologies such as social media, e-mail, and podcasts for various forms of activism to enable...
could do, and so seek to avoid acting on their impulses. Anti-pedophile activism encompasses opposition against pedophiles, against pedophile advocacy groups...
Pagan activism may refer to: Reclaiming (Neopaganism) Pagan Pride This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title Pagan activism. If an...
of judicial activism and the specific decisions that are activist are controversial political issues. The question of judicial activism is closely related...
in climate change. Consumer activism includes both activism on behalf of consumers for consumer protection and activism by consumers themselves. Consumerism...
Performative activism is activism done to increase one's social capital rather than because of one's devotion to a cause. The term appeared online in a...
Youth activism is the participation in community organizing for social change by persons between the ages of 15–24. Youth activism has led to a shift in...
Shareholder activism is a form of activism in which shareholders use equity stakes in a corporation to put pressure on its management. A fairly small stake...
Activ may refer to: Activ (ship), SS Revoljucija 1909 Activ (band) Activ (car), 1.5L model of the Chevrolet Spin Activ (company which supplies automotive...
explicitly political forms of dressed activism. Other scholars have put emphasis on forms of fashion activism that highlights reflection, repair, self-care...
Vulva activism (also termed as vulvactivism) is the promotion of a raised awareness of the appearance of female genitalia and the breaking of taboos surrounding...
critically acclaimed period as an actress despite some setbacks for her ongoing activism. According to writer and critic Hilton Als, her performances starting with...
Data activism is a social practice that uses technology and data. It emerged from existing activism sub-cultures such as hacker an open-source movements...
Athlete activism is activism performed by athletes, both during sports events and outside them. Early examples of top-tier athletes using their status...
Media activism is a broad category of activism that utilizes media and communication technologies for social and political movements. Methods of media...
Literary activism is a form of protest and critique aimed at corporate publishing houses and the literary fiction/nonfiction that they publish. The progenitors...
Articles on Tamil activism: Tamil ethnic nationalist activism: anti-Brahminism Self-respect movement Dravidar Kazhagam Tamil linguistic activism Tanittamil Iyakkam...
schools, and youth-specific activism, such as the National Day of Silence. Colleges also became places of LGBT activism and support for activists and...
Economic activism involves using economic power for change. Both conservative and liberal groups use economic activism to boycott or outbid companies...
Hashtag activism refers to the use of Twitter's hashtags for Internet activism. The hashtag has become one of the many ways that social media contributes...
and global activism. The Info Activism Camp exists as space to bring together activists from around the world to develop information activism techniques...
accommodations, education, and health care. A major goal of transgender activism is to allow changes to identification documents to conform with a person's...
of activism. Malcolm Gladwell, in his October 2010 New Yorker article, lambasted those who compare social media "revolutions" with actual activism that...
supported and advanced by activism and movements. Frederick Buttel theorizes that the reasons for this are that environmental activism and movements fight back...
Asian American activism broadly refers to the political movements and social justice activities involving Asian Americans. Since the first wave of Asian...
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