Department of Sociology

Masterrsquos thesis in sociology 30 Credits

Autumn term 2021

Supervisor Daniel Ritter

Not My Place

Interpretation Privilege and Passivism in

the White Ally Experience

Alice Junman

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to better understand the experiences of allies in social movements

in this case the Black Lives Matter movement in Sweden The sociological relevance lies in

understanding how allies balance being active in a movement that departs from an identity

category to which one is an outsider and what this means in terms of responsibility privilege

and problems 11 qualitative interviews with self-identified White allies constitute the data

which has been analyzed and interpreted in relation to theories of modernity and situated

knowledge The results indicate that the ally role is perceived as meaningful and rewarding but

surrounded by different aspects to carefully balance These balances relate to the term

interpretation privilege a political term related to the concept of situated knowledge and it both

motivates and paralyzes the allies in their navigation in ally work

Keywords

Allies Social movements Black Lives Matter Situated knowledge Passivism

Table of Contents

Abstract 2

Table of Contents 3

1 Introduction and background 5

12 Aim and research question 7

2 Previous research 7

21 Allies 9

211 Why are allies important 10

212 What is problematic with allies 11

22 Digital activism 13

221 Critical perspectives on digital activism 14

3 Theory 15

31 Giddens 15

311 Life in modernity reflexivity and ontological insecurity 16

32 Situated knowledge 17

321 Situated knowledge as political strategy 19

4 Methodology 20

41 Data collection 21

42 Sample 22

43 Coding and analysis 24

44 Ethical considerations 25

45 Methodological reflexivity 26

46 Limitations 27

5 Results and analysis 28

51 Balancing ally work 31

511 Interpretation privilege 32

512 Listen but donrsquot exploit 35

513 Help but donrsquot hijack 36

514 Take a step back but donrsquot become paralyzed 39

515 Do good but not for the wrong reasons Introspection 42

6 Discussion and conclusion 46

7 References 49

5

1 Introduction and background

Thinking back on the year 2020 most of us will probably think about the Covid-19 pandemic

and how it affected our lives But 2020 was also a year of political protest Polish feminists

protested the restrictions on the right to abortion raised fees for public transportation in Chile

were met with large protests and US antiracists protested police brutality towards Black1

people as a direct response to the murder of George Floyd (Global Protest Tracker 2020) The

killing of Floyd in Minneapolis was not the first time Black Lives Matter (or BLM) a global

informal network or grassroots movement against racism and for Black liberation (Jaumlmte et al

2020370) was protesting police brutality and racist violence BLM is contextualized within a

long history of antiracist mobilization with clear links to the Civil Rights Movement both in

how it is described and interpreted in public discourse and in their ideas methods and

strategies (Clayton 2018457) The start of the movement came on February 26 2012 when

17-year-old Treyvon Martin was shot to death by a volunteer neighborhood watchman while

walking in his fatherrsquos middle-class neighborhood When the killer was acquitted there were

massive reactions and protests (Clayton 2018453) Alicia Garza Patrisse Cullors and Opal

Tometti took the initiative to gather the antiracist protests under one name one hashtag

BlackLivesMatter This first BLM-wave has since then been followed by several other protests

after cases of police violence against Black people (Clark 2019519) For example in 2014 the

BLM movement organized freedom rides to Ferguson (Missouri) inspired by the Civil Rights

movement after the murder of Michael Brown (Clayton 2018454)

After the murder of George Floyd in May 2020 demonstrations took place globally including

in several Swedish cities In Stockholm up to a thousand people gathered to support the BLM

movement and to acknowledge the situation for ethnic minorities in Sweden (Rydberg amp

Weden 2020) Despite the Swedish self-image of exceptionalism in terms of equality (Schierup

amp Aringlund 2011 45 56) there are strong evidence that Afro-Swedes are marginalized in the

upper and lower divisions of the labor market (Wolgast et al 201810 28-36) as well as in the

hiring process health and hate crime (see Braring 2018 Bursell 2014 Lindstroumlm et al 2001)

1 The B in Black (and the W in White) is capitalized based on guidelines on writing about racial and ethnic identity

formulated by the American Psychological Association (2019)

6

The movement was quickly recognized by different social institutions for example BLM was

nominated for the Nobel peace prize (Belam 2021) and the Palme Prize (Palmefonden 2021)

and over the world millions of people showed their support of the movement digitally by

posting a Black square on Instagram using the hashtag blackouttuesday (Monckton 2020)

Not only Black and other POC2 joined the movement but also White allies activists working

politically for another grouprsquos benefit (Russo 201467) Allies of different ethnicities have been

recognized as important actors in the antiracist struggle by many researchers (see for example

Arora amp Stout 2019 Brown amp Ostrove 2013 Clark 2019) as well as male allies in feminist

movements (Drury amp Kaiser 2014642) The role of White people as both perpetuators and

challengers of racism has been highly debated in the public discourse and in academia Books

such as Why Irsquom No Longer Talking to White People About Race by Reni Eddo-Lodge and

White Fragility Why Itrsquos So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism by Robin DiAngelo

have been introduced to the Swedish market after the birth of the BLM movement (Andersson

2021 Hibomo 2019) The role of White allies is thus surrounded by both appraisal and

suspicion and they must navigate their own role in the movement taking both positive and

negative views into account while finding a pathway into activism that suits them This

navigation is challenging and when Judith Butler talks on the subject in an interview in The

Guardian (Gleeson 2021) she summarizes the problems of allyship

Yes it is important to acknowledge that while a white person cannot claim to represent

Black experience that is no reason for white people to be paralyzed on matters on race

refusing to intervene at all No one needs to represent all Black experience in order to

track expose and oppose systemic racism ndash and to call upon others to do the same If

white people become exclusively preoccupied with our own privilege we risk becoming

self-absorbed We definitely donrsquot need more white people making everything about

themselves that just re-centralizes whiteness and refuses to do the work of anti-racism

This balancing between activism and passivism constitutes the focus of this thesis and the

sociological relevance lies in understanding what allies themselves experience beyond the

public perceptions of White allies Their experiences and emotions matter insofar as they are

likely to affect the way the allies choose to act and this motivates the sociological relevance of

studying ally experience Although allyship is relatively well-studied there is less research on

the emotional experiences of allyship especially in the Swedish context

2 POC stands for people of color and describes people of non-White race or ethnicity (American Psychological

Association 2019)

7

12 Aim and research question

The purpose of this paper is to study White alliesrsquo experiences of participating in and supporting

antiracist causes and movements using the Swedish BLM movement as an illustrative case due

to its high topicality The aim is to better understand the role of emotions identity (defined as

ldquothe self as reflexively understood by the person in terms of her or his biographyrdquo [Giddens

199153]) and ideas about power and responsibility shaping ally work departing from the

Swedish context in order to evaluate what the circumstances of ally work are and how the

experience of ally work and identity is lived and understood by White allies themselves The

sociological relevance of the study consists of linking the macro-level political discourse on

responsibility and identity with lived experience agency and sense of self at the individual

micro-level reality of allies Previous research focuses on the emotions and experiences in itself

whereas this paper aims to link these experiences and emotions to action and agencyThe

research questions are

A What emotional experiences do participants have and how can these be related to

identity power and responsibility

B To what extent do White allies feel entitled to act and speak in the name of the

movement

2 Previous research

The field of social movement studies is a well-established field with a long history and there

is a variety of sub-fields with different focuses ranging from resource mobilization (McCarthy

amp Zald 1977) to political processes that enable or hinder social movement activity (McAdam

1983) to the collective interpretations of a movement that is created by framing processes

(Snow 1986) and much more There are many different definitions of the social movement

concept This paper will build upon the definition presented by Diani (19923) describing social

movements as ldquonetworks of informal interaction between a plurality of individuals groups

andor organizations engaged in a political andor cultural conflict on the basis of a shared

collective identityrdquo which describes the informal non-hierarchal form of BLM (Jaumlmte et al

2020370)

8

Social movements as a phenomenon have changed through history shifting from mostly class-

based collective action to movements built on multiple identity categories (Buechler

1995548) This assumption is foundational in new social movement theory (NSMT)

represented by for example Alain Touraine (1987) NSMT concludes that non-material values

replaced class interests as the main motivator for collective action if the goal for social

movements used to be to expropriate the power from the dominant class and thus empower

the working class it has now shifted to deconstructing and reframing power itself (Buechler

1995442 Touraine 1987218-20) New social movements deal specifically with ldquothe social

control of production and diffusion of symbolic goodsrdquo (Touraine 1987218) which means

focusing on for example domains of culture and language Research based on NSMT often

focus on the roles of emotions identities and lifestyles as central themes in modern social

movements which are seen as manifestations of the implicit economic and political structures

they appear within (Buechler 1995485) The centrality of identity is often referred to as

identity politics (Bernstein 200547) Kauffman (200124 29-32) argued that identity politics

implicates a shift from working for equality and redistribution to apolitical introspection and

lifestyle politics resonant with the market ideology Others recognized how identity politics

give previously unrecognized groups recognition and space to develop policy that favors their

specific interests instead of only serving those at top of the in-group hierarchy of the workersrsquo

movements (Bernstein 200564-6) Regardless of whether one associates identity politics with

something good or something bad it can be concluded that antiracist movements have some

basis in identity categories rather than class despite the historical link between antiracism and

socialist ideas (Bhattacharyya et al 20203) Identity as a political concept is also central to the

experiences thoughts and interpretations of the White allies participating in this study as their

recognition of their White identity is what their allyship departs from

When it comes to antiracist thought and practice similar tendencies as those described in

NSMT can be seen Bhattacharyya Virdee and Winter (20203) lined out the development of

antiracist academic thought showing how it has developed from anti-capitalist and anti-slavery

to a micro perspective seeing racism as everyday microaggressions and dehumanization

(ibid11-12) Recently antiracist thought has been more concerned with intersectionality

developing sub-theories of Black feminism and Black queer theory to emphasize how different

identities have different lived experiences of oppression The focus of antiracist thought and

practice today according to the authors is to amplify certain voices and perspectives to ensure

representation and diversity of different identities (ibid12)

9

Looking at the Swedish context Jaumlmte and colleagues (2020) discuss how the Swedish BLM

movement represents a structuralist turn in Swedish anti-racism which has historically been

focusing on extremities such as Apartheid or Nazism and less on discrimination in the labor

market housing and media (ibid369 375) Historically the antiracist movement in Sweden

been occupied by a large proportion of allies from the majority population but during the 2020

BLM wave this changed and more POC participated for their cause Because ally activism is

often more volatile the increased share of people with lived experience of racism contributes

to a more stable foundation for sustainable activism (ibid371-2) Digital methods also

dominated the Swedish case which can be compared to the MeToo movement rather than the

US-based BLM movement which focused much more on physical protest and resistance

(ibid369)

Based on the different important conclusions in previous research (the turn towards non-

material values antiracist tendencies to emphasize lived experience the overrepresentation of

White allies in the Swedish anti-racist movement historically and the dominance of digital

methods) the remainder of the previous research presented will focus on allyship and white

identity and digital methods in contemporary movements

21 Allies

In a movement where much emphasis is put on identities it is of interest to examine the role of

those who are part of the movement activity without belong to that specific identity group In

this case White allies The definition of an ally varies between different scholars Brown and

Ostrove (20132211) described an ally as a dominant group member who ldquowork to end

prejudice in their personal and professional lives and relinquish social privileges conferred by

their group status through their support of nondominant groupsrdquo Spanierman and Smith

(2017608-9) argued that an ally is someone who understands their privilege as well as their

own role in oppression through introspection and self-reflection and who use their privilege

in responsible ways to end oppression despite facing opposition from other dominant group

members For Drury and Kaiser (2014637) an ally is someone who ldquoaligns with a

disadvantaged group by recognizing the need for further progress in the fight for equal rights

and Russo (201467) simply defined allies as activists who are politically engaged to benefit a

group to which they are outsiders These definitions include both introspective aspects of

allyship and more action-oriented aspects and they are all relatively open regarding what

10

exactly an ally can be expected to do in support for the movement What almost all these

definitions have in common is the baseline assumption that allies recognize their own

privileges and in antiracist movements that they embrace their White identity whiteness is not

only a description of skin color or ethnicity but also a culturally and politically influenced

identity A White ally cannot only be White they must also recognize their whiteness as

culturally significant recognizing privilege and becoming aware of both oppression as such

and onersquos own role in it is the first step to become an ally (Drury amp Kaiser 2014638) Although

lsquoWhitersquo has not always been treated as a social identity in the same way as other ethnic

identities there has been a recent resurge of White identification in the US (Cole 20201627)

Cole identified three main types of White identity type 1 includes no recognition of whiteness

type 2 recognizes whiteness but sees it as a liability and type 3 recognizes whiteness as a

privilege Among these types of White identification type 3 is most likely to support the BLM

means and goals whereas type 2 is least likely to support the movement at all

White identity development is also closely linked to the idea of White guilt which is seen as a

normative response to realizing onersquos own whiteness and the privilege attached to it Individuals

who acknowledge recognize and understand racism have higher degrees of White guilt and

this can either motivate action or create passivity (Dull et al 20211081-84) Dull and

colleagues found that White guilt can motivate civic action under certain circumstances there

must also be individual beliefs of social responsibility and efficacy (ibid1089) If the individual

neither believes in their social responsibility nor their own efficacy as political actors they will

struggle to find motivation to act Efficacy was measured by asking the participants whether

they felt they had the knowledge capacity and opportunity to affect social change (ibid1086)

Feelings of shame and despair among other have demobilizing effects on political mobilization

(Zhelnina 2020361) and it is therefore highly relevant to explore what emotions are

experienced by the allies in this study and to what degree they motivate or hinder action

211 Why are allies important

The role of allies in social movements is considered important in creating both social change

and in improving the everyday conditions of marginalized groups Brown and Ostrove (2013)

argued that White allies have two main assignments in antiracist movements supporting

individual people from the nondominant group and engaging in informed political action After

realizing onersquos whiteness and privilege allies must actively work to dismantle the system of

11

oppression by for example willingly share power with the subordinated group (Clark

2019523)

One of the most valuable aspects of ally work in social movements is the fact that the costs of

confronting sexism racism or any other discriminatory behavior is much lower for allies

without personal interest in the issue than it is for marginalized group members Men

confronting sexist behavior are seen as more rational and credible and less hostile than their

female counterparts which can strengthen the receiverrsquos sympathy for the sentiment of the

movement (Drury amp Kaiser 2014642) Male allies speaking up can also normalize rejecting

sexist ideas for women too and thus create a more open climate for such confrontations

(ibid644) The cost of ally work is further lowered when utilizing digital methods Clark (2019)

found that when White allies use their digital platforms to amplify the voices of Black people

the personal costs are low while the effects are positive The narratives of Black activists often

marginalized in their outreach in other ethnic or cultural groups are spread and legitimized by

White allies and it may ultimately strengthen the movement at large (Clark 2019528-31)

The idea that White allies should help the movement by amplifying the voices of Black people

can be further validated by the results of a study conducted by Arora and Stout (2019) on co-

ethnic mobilization and support for BLM They conducted an experimental study on the support

for the movement and the effect of messages from co-ethnic versus non-co-ethnic messengers

In general people tend to accept and embrace a political message more easily if they find the

messenger trustworthy and likeable which is an increasingly rational mechanism in times of

excessive access to information (Arora amp Stout 2019390) In their study they had people read

letters in favor for supporting the BLM movement written by authors of different ethnicities

Their results showed that White people did not change their opinion on BLM unless the author

was also White (ibid394-5) The implications of these results are that ldquoif whitesrsquo attitudes about

Black Lives Matter are to change appeals are much more effective coming from co-racial

individualsrdquo (ibid396) This implies that the role of White allies in amplifying the message of

Black activists and spreading the message especially within their own racial group is a very

powerful and important way for White allies to support the movement

212 What is problematic with allies

Although the role of allies in social movements are important there are also problems Some

research indicates that without lived experience of for example sexism or racism it is harder

12

to detect when such discrimination occurs For example men are less likely to interpret subtle

sexism as sexism and they are less likely to sympathize with someone confronting sexism if

that someone is female (Drury amp Kaiser 2014639 642) Thus much time and effort may have

to be put into educating out-group allies Allies are also less likely to be emotionally receptive

towards grasping the magnitude of oppression which again comes from lack of lived

experience (Russo 201480) It is also important to recognize uniqueness in group experiences

instead of assuming that experience of one type of oppression automatically leads to insights

about other oppressions (Spanierman amp Smith 2017608-10)

Besides the problem of potential insensibility on behalf of the ally another issue is low

engagement (Jaumlmte et al 2020370) Brown and Ostrove (20132220) argued that although

some inactivity of allies could be attributed to general passivity of contemporary activists or

lack of emotional engagement it could also come out of fear of doing anything considered

wrong White allies they argued tend to be more cautious in their actions because of this and

instead of acting on their own they leave space for Black people to take the lead However in

the attempt to leave room for and amplify for example Black narratives there is a significant

risk that allies freeride on the political labor of Black people (Clark 2019530) This problem

is also present in feminist movements where male allies often engage in low risk high reward

activism and often take credit for work dependent on the efforts of female feminists (Linder amp

Johnson 20155 17-18) This is made possible Linder and Johnson argued by the master

narrative saying male allies should be recognized validated and granted credibility regardless

of their actual contributions to the movementndash even though there is an overwhelming risk with

male feminist ally work being directly counterproductive due to lack of sympathy for the

female perspective and expertise (ibid4-5) In adverse cases male allies have been known to

not only capitalize on womenrsquos pain ignore their perspective and steal their hard work but to

actually commit sexual assault in feminist organizations (ibid9)

There are many other risks associated with ally work Mostly it originates in the fact that many

have good intentions but lack in self-reflection or knowledge about real political work

Spanierman and Smith (2017) pointed to how such discrepancies between intention capacity

and self-awareness can lead to paternalistic behavior towards marginalized people and that this

can strengthen the unconscious sense of superiority and legitimize status quo instead of

challenging it Another mistake especially important in digital activism is the tendency to

engage in optics instead of politics and to treat members of the disenfranchised group as objects

13

to be used for personal virtue signaling Such cosmetic activism rarely leads to any structural

criticism or challenging (Spanierman amp Smith 2017609-10)

22 Digital activism

As can be seen in the previous research on the positive opportunities with allies digital methods

are important for allies to engage for example in amplifying voices of minorities (Clark

2019528-31) This is perhaps even more true in the 2020 BLM-wave when many were limited

in their capacity to participate physically due to the pandemic All participants in this study

participated in digital activism (most of them exclusively so) and it is therefore important to

account for some research on the role digitalism plays in contemporary movements The

introduction of new technologies into political activism has been studied for many years even

before the social medias we use today Information and Communication technologies (ICTrsquos)

such as mobile phones or the internet had many effects on political activism as they became

available for more people for example it contributed with increased sense of community

strengthened political participation facilitated movement organization and increased

independence from elite representations of movements (Garrett 2006205-14)

Modern social medias have the same effects to some extent The internet and social media are

acknowledged to affect how social movements come into being and how they operate (Barassi

amp Zamponi 2020 Earl 2014) Social media platforms are used as tools for organizing raising

awareness and spreading information (Ahmed et al 2017447) and was for example one of

the success factors of the MeToo movement (Li et al 2020 Lin amp Yang 2019) Social media

also played a major role in the BLM protests without social media the protests of 2020 would

perhaps not have been as widespread The fact that the video picturing Floydrsquos murder spread

so rapidly led to massive emotional involvement and increased motivation for participation

according to research on the efficiency of emotions in digital activism (Clark 2019 Heldman

201788) Facilitating the growth of collective emotion and identity is one of the main

contributions of social media because emotions are crucial in motivating political action

(Ahmed et al 201746 Zhelnina 2020361) Studying the emotional expressions before during

and after a social protest on Twitter Ahmed and colleagues concluded that emotions affect

involvement online similarly to their effect offline ndash they channel participation and create

community and identification (Ahmed et al 2017459-61) Besides this social media functions

as a megaphone for individuals without having to be represented by any formal leader (Earl

14

201537) Earl argued that some of the functions centralized and formal social movement

organizations used to fill can in many cases be substituted with online communities lowering

the costs of organizers and participants (ibid39)

221 Critical perspectives on digital activism

Social media as site and tool for social activism is also criticized based on ideas about how it

leads to passivity and how motives for online activism differs from those in offline or lsquorealrsquo

activism Online activism is sometimes called slacktivism referencing the lower degrees of

effort and risk required to engage in online activism (Skoric 201277) The slacktivist narrative

is often used to explain the decline in youth political engagement (Amnaring amp Ekman 20136)

although the link between digital activism and low degrees of participation have not been

determined Online activism is usually less valued than more traditional types of activism which

requires more from the individual activist (Craddock 2019148-9 Heldman 2017207) despite

the lack of consensus between researchers on whether online activism is effective or not

(Lilleker amp Koc-Michalska 201725) Skoric (201277) argued that the Internet promotes a

superficial mode of political activism where liking commenting and sharing are the main tools

for participating in political activism and that the focus often is aimed at the individual and her

capacity of introspection lifestyle politics or mere expression of opinions without further

actions Such positionings rarely challenges structures of power and dominance Slacktivism

feels good without actually doing any good and it distracts people from engaging in meaningful

activism (ibid78)

lsquoFeeling goodrsquo as a motive for political mobilization is further explored by Lilleker and Koc-

Michalska (201723) who argued that there is a strong link between both intrinsic and extrinsic

emotional motivations and political mobilization both self-fulfillment and recognition are

strong motivators for both online and offline activism Extrinsic motivations eg external

approval recognition and being perceived as lsquogoodrsquo has the strongest effect on motivating

participation (ibid34 25) The difference they found between online and offline participation

was that online activism is less self-fulfilling and more driven by ldquoconforming and earning

rewardsrdquo which they interpret as online participation potentially being mere clicktivism and

less personally meaningful to the people engaging in it (ibid35)

Although slacktivism is not necessarily a phenomenon limited to the digital sphere but includes

all performative positioning online activism arguably breeds slacktivism because of how easy

15

and available it is The motivation to engage in high-risk high-effort activism decreases if there

are always lower effort- and risk options available that gives the same recognition and

satisfaction (Skoric 201279) Morozov (2009) also has criticized the naiumlve faith in the potential

of Internet activism and argued that poorly planned online slacktivism is not only ineffective

and toothless but also holds potential for backfiring and causing devastating consequences For

example when Western activists attempted to attack Iranian government sources online they

accidentally slowed down the whole Iranian internet making the activism of local protestors

difficult (Morozov 200913)

As this section shows the relationship between social media and the general level of activism

among people is far from determined However the participants of this study all relied on digital

methods in their ally work and their experiences of digital methods are explored in the analysis

3 Theory

In this section the two theories used to analyze the data will be presented and discussed starting

with Giddensrsquo theories on modernity which are used to contextualize ally work as a 21st century

phenomenon shaped by the preconditions of modernity such as increased reflexivity and

ontological insecurity Thereafter theories of situated knowledge will be used to describe how

the allies relate to their own whiteness in relation to the concept of interpretation privilege

sometimes limiting the allies in their leeway of action Essentially Giddensrsquo theories will be

used to understand why allies hesitate about their role and theories of situated knowledge will

be used to understand what they base these hesitations on

31 Giddens

Giddensrsquo theory of modernity focuses on the circumstances of human activity and identity in

what he referred to as (late) modernity The theory will be used to contextualize ally work as

something that exists within a larger social cultural and economic structure that shapes the

way identity politics and human activity are formed with special focus on self-identity and

ontological security

16

Worth mentioning when using the term modernity is that there are scholarly disagreements on

whether the current era should be interpreted as modernity late (or liquid see Bauman 2001)

modernity or postmodernity However Giddens belongs to the group of theorists who see

contemporary society as still existing within the theoretical frames of late modernity where the

tendencies of modernity has been further stretched and strengthened (Giddens 199127) This

assumption will be present throughout this paper while also acknowledging this is only one

interpretation

311 Life in modernity reflexivity and ontological insecurity

Modernity is an era characterized by post-traditional orders institutionalized radical doubt

detachment of time and space risk-cultures and abstract systems (Giddens 19912-5)

Following these changes in increased emphasis on reflexivity the continuous revisiting of

previously taken-for-granted concepts truths and ideas This applies to the institutional and

individual level and the latter will be of focus in this paper Without the guiding hand of

tradition or custom as in premodern society people must navigate in the world without being

firmly grounded in pregiven sets of beliefs on what should be done in each situation and with

the constant flow of information in modernity the horizon of possible actions are constantly

broadened (ibid20)

The increased emphasis on reflexivity means for the individual that ldquoself-identity becomes a

reflexively organised endeavorrdquo (Giddens 19915) Giddensrsquo described self-identity as a

project based on coherent and ldquocontinuously revised biographical narrativesrdquo which ldquotakes

place in the context of multiple choices as filtered through abstract systemsrdquo (ibid5) This

means that self-identity is closely linked to actions and is ldquoroutinely created and sustainedrdquo in

the actions of the individual (ibid52) This includes making constant decisions while having

endless choices ndash on what to do how to act and ultimately who to be in late modernity ldquowe

are not what we are but what we make of ourselvesrdquo (ibid54 75) If the individual fails to

perform in coherence with their sense of self-identity the individual may start to doubt their

own biographical narrative and ultimately themselves (ibid58) In the context of social

movements the ally identity is thus constantly reshaped by each choice of action and it

becomes important to act in accordance with the ideal-typical ally role Allyship is also a

globalized phenomenon which increases the number of aspects to take into consideration while

reflexively making choices

17

As reflexivity become more and more significant in guiding human action people in late

modernity experience loss of ontological security which is a ldquorsquonatural attitudersquo in everyday

liferdquo in relation to how to act and orient oneself in the world (Giddens 199136) Being

ontologically secure is ldquoto possess on the level of the unconscious and practical consciousness

lsquoanswersrsquo to fundamental existential questions which all human life in some way addressesrdquo

(ibid47) and was previously guided by tradition custom rules and norms of premodern society

Ontological security thus secures the individualsrsquo smooth navigation through life without them

hesitating on their role in the world too much However as society developed into modernity

and late modernity the conditions for ontological security changed ndash the traditions of

premodern society that used to give ontological security by offering a sense of structure

firmness and purpose are now exchanged for reflexivity (ibid48) making each single decision

dependent on an almost infinite number of possible options (ibid36) Without ontological

security the individual experiences existential anxiety caused by uncertainty ndash and such anxiety

itself ldquotends to paralyse relevant actions rather than generate themrdquo (ibid44) This passivity can

occur in relation to specific actions or to the sense of self in general for example failing to

perform in line with onersquos perceived self-identity can create ontological insecurity and it opens

for questioning onersquos entire role in a specific context for example a social movement For allies

ontological insecurity could arise in relation to them trying to navigate what actions are

appropriate for them to engage in based on the reflexive project of self-identity However

inactivism or passivity cannot only be seen in the individualrsquos relation to action but in politics

in general Giddens argued that politics in premodern times were emancipatory and aiming to

end oppression but that politics in modernity has been transformed into life politics a shift in

ideology and activity towards emphasizing lifestyle and self-actualization (ibid210-14)

The purpose of including Giddensrsquo theory of modernity is to provide a potential context in

which the allies of this study act and shape their own ally identities and how their occasionally

self-restricting introspection may be understood

32 Situated knowledge

To complement the theory of Giddens theories on situated knowledge will be included in the

analysis to point to specific ways in which the allies engage in reflexive decision-making eg

on what basis they make decisions about ally strategies The included theories are feminist

theories but their implications are not limited to gender relations

18

Theories of situated knowledge (also referred to as standpoint theory or feminist epistemology)

is an epistemological attempt to challenge the way knowledge is produced validated and

valued Epistemology is an ldquooverarching theory of knowledgerdquo (Collins 1990408) and theories

of epistemology focuses on how truth and knowledge is shaped by power relations between

social positions and how this could change Easily put social position of the knowledge

producer shapes the kind of knowledge that can be produced (Young 200425) In this thesis

the theoretical works of Haraway Young and Collins will be included although there are more

contributors to the thoughts about situated knowledge

Relating knowledge to power feminist theorists have pointed to how knowledge production

has been dominated by men and postcolonial thinkers have questioned dominant knowledge

for its sometimes exploitative and colonializing tendencies (in for example Western thought

and anthropology) Part of this critique has included a call for recognition privilege of lived

experience and reflexivity in research (Voronka 2016191) Donna Haraway (1988) presented

a feminist epistemology (or feminist objectivism) that recognized how women have historically

seen as immanent beings unable to transcend the body and escape its ldquofinite point of viewrdquo

whereas men have been seen as able to attain lsquoobjectiversquo perspectives and knowledges

(Haraway 1988575) The (imagined) male capacity to transcend ldquoparticular social location

and adopt a lsquoview from nowherersquordquo gives men higher status epistemologically (Young 200424)

Thus the gaze of the White male has been favored in sociology as it represents the unmarked

and objective perspective (Haraway 1988581)

The problem with the idea of objectivity and the lsquoview from nowherersquo according to feminist

and postcolonial critics is that knowledge is a power process and only taking one groups

knowledge into account reinforces these power processes Patricia Hill Collins argued that

power over the production and validation of knowledge is an issue of group interest where the

dominant group preserves their own interests by invalidating knowledge that either challenges

their hegemonic ideas or follows alternative practices in their creation of alternative knowledges

(Collins 1990409-10) Black womenrsquos knowledge is subjugated knowledge and it must fight

for recognition in an anti-Black and anti-female world (ibid414) The Black feminist

epistemology she advocated for includes sensitivity to the combination of female and Black

experiences unique for Black women and it recognized alternative ways to create knowledge

specific to Black womenrsquos knowledge production (ibid407-8)

19

321 Situated knowledge as political strategy

If knowledge is then produced under circumstances of domination power structures and

hegemony ndash what would an alternative look like and what could these alternatives lead to

From a quality standpoint Haraway (1988583) argued that including several perspectives in

knowledge production leads to better conclusions Even though she dismissed the idea that

subjugated people have a purer vision on truth and objectivity an idea she claimed is often

rooted in a fetishized idea of the Third World woman she argued that subjugated groups are

less likely to ldquoallow denial of the critical and interpretive core of all knowledgerdquo than are

dominant groups (ibid583-586) She wrote that the only standpoint from which no objectivity

can ever be reached is ldquothe standpoint of the master the Man the One God whose Eye

produces appropriates and orders differencerdquo (ibid587) Thus to aim for objectivity depends

on including perspectives otherwise ignored by structures of power and dominance (ibid590)

Delegitimizing the idea of a lsquoGodrsquos eyersquo from where true knowledge can be observed and

mediated means including other perspectives and knowledges (Young 200420) This is not

only just and right it also contributes to wiser decision making in a context of democratic

processes including perspectives from all social standpoints maximizes knowledge which

should be treated as a democratic resource when fully utilized (ibid25-9) Thus the idea of

situated knowledges includes a normative assumption of inclusion and diversity in decision

making and knowledge production and social difference should be treated as a resource for

democratic societies (ibid29)

The standpoint theorists emphasize how recognizing specificity in knowledge claims for

different groups does not include the idea that subjugated groups are naturally epistemically

privileged eg that their perspective on every issue should be treated as automatically lsquotruersquo

(Haraway 1988583-4 Young 200427-29) Neither the position of these groups or any

imagined inherent attributes give subjugated groups automatic access to the truth but the

position opens up doors to new perspectives impossible to imagine from above (Haraway

1988584) The specific knowledge unique for the dominated social positions include different

understandings of their own position and others and the relation between them as well as ldquoa

point of view on the history of societyrdquo ldquoan interpretation of how the relations and processes

of the whole society operates especially as they affect onersquos own positionrdquo and finally ldquoa

position-specific experience and point of view on the natural and physical environmentrdquo

(Young 200429)

20

Applying these ideas in a context of practical politics for example in a social movement can

include such inclusion of different perspectives and emphasizing how group difference matters

in terms of knowledge but without claiming the existence of epistemic privilege Often this

practical application is based on including people with lived experience into different contexts

of power or knowledge production (Voronka 2016189)

However the strategy of using lived experience as a criterion for epistemic legitimacy can also

be problematized Voronka (2016192) argued that inclusion and representation of different

groups in decision making as a criterion for legitimate knowledge production can be seen as

resting on essentialist assumptions and stable identity categories The categories themselves are

left unaccounted for meaning the boundaries between and content of different identity groups

are seen as natural entities (ibid194) The concept of lived experience fails to answer questions

of who we are and why while the existence of these categories should be questioned in

themselves Thus acting based on ideas of lived experience and ldquoepistemic privilegerdquo (Young

200427) risks both treating identity as essentialist and constructing group attributes as

embodied truths and ignore difference in lived experience within groups (Voronka 2016196)

Thus Voronka (ibid197) argued

we need to mark how rsquopeople with lived experiencersquo [as a concept my note] risks

reproducing and replicating systems of domination that privileges subjects and

subjectivities that fit closely within the White heteropatriarchal matrix of ruling

Voronkarsquos experiences come from academia but the ideas can be applied to other contexts as

well Theories of situated knowledge can be extracted from the abstract epistemological level

and transformed into a concept more suitable and applicable for everyday situations and as will

be seen in the analysis this theme is highly present in the statements by the study participants

in the form of interpretation privilege (See section 5 Results and analysis)

4 Methodology

The study builds on phenomenological approach and aims to understand a social phenomenon

by interpreting the different meanings ascribed to it by the participant whose lived experience

is in focus for the analysis (Creswell amp Poth 2018150) Thus the focus of the study is not the

BLM movement itself but to understand the experience of the allies The study is abductive

21

meaning the research process was iterative - going back and forth between empirical findings

and theoretical background The aim of abductive analysis is often to generate theory by

cultivating already existing theories together with the surprising results found in the data

collection that are in turn reinterpreted through the revisited theoretical insights (Timmermans

amp Tavory 2012169 173-6) One important aspect of abduction is to revisit the phenomenon

as it can lead to new insights For example when the first couple of interviews were done the

lack of response to one specific question was interpreted as missing data But when the

transcripts were revisited after some additional previous research had been read I realized the

unanswered question was not missing data ndash it was data in itself This realization affected how

the data collection moved forward as the focus narrowed down on the ally role and its

limitations

41 Data collection

The data collection was done by conducting qualitative interviews with 11 self-identified White

allies to understand their perspective experiences and thoughts about their participation The

interviews were in average 010245 in length and they were conducted during a five-week

period The interviews were semi-structured guided by an interview guide without following

it in detail which creates room for flexibility This ensured both consistency between the

interviews and individual variations depending on the interviewee (Turner 2010755) The

interview guide had open-ended questions and covered three main themes (political

background identity emotions) Some questions related to relevant concepts for example they

were asked ldquoIn your perspective what is an allyrdquo The purpose was not to evaluate the

participants academic understanding of the term but to have them reflect upon their own

perceptions and thereby gain insight into their political thinking and its effect on their ally role

Other questions were about experiences such as ldquoCould you tell me about your participation in

the BLM movementrdquo and ldquoWhat emotional responses did you have when this happenedrdquo

Some parts of the interview focused on the BLM movement specifically but since the antiracist

ally identity was often developed before BLM started it also included more general experiences

of antiracist allyship At the end of each interview the participants were given a chance discuss

things important to them The limitation of interview data is that it is not a representation of the

world lsquoout therersquo but only a representation of how the interviewees describe their experiences

and these can be shaped by indefinite number of things beyond the scope of this thesis

22

All interviews were digitally conducted Although digital interviewing is often presented as a

second choice there are benefits to it For example Howlett (20217-8) noticed how the safe

environment of the home made the participants more relaxed and that the interviews also tended

to be both longer and richer in detail than offline interviews One could however imagine how

the opposite effect could occur if the home environment is unsafe or unfit for long

conversations The interviews took place more than a year into the pandemic and people were

thus more familiar with digital communication technologies than they were in the beginning

(ibid10) The pandemic was topic for small talk before the interviews started and our shared

experience with it created some sense of commonality and a relaxed atmosphere where potential

technical issues or disturbances were met with recognition from the other party Despite the

surprisingly positive experience with digital interviewing and as well as the rich data gathered

it is still important to recognize how the quality could have been even better with physical

interviews

The interviews were all conducted on Zoom and recorded in the software The interviews were

transcribed in full verbatim meaning that false starters stutters laughter and pauses were

included Such utterances are clues to how the participants feel about what they are telling and

should be treated as data

42 Sample

The sampling for this study is based on one inclusion criterion motivated by the purpose of the

study the criterion being White ally identification (Creswell amp Poth 201881 157) To base

the inclusion criterion on self-identification could potentially lead to low validity in terms of

not achieving a sample that represents the group one wishes to study by excluding those who

engage in ally work without identifying as such To ensure that the people included in the study

were lsquorealrsquo allies the criterion could have been having a certain amount of experience from ally

work or similar However this was a methodological choice motivated by reflections by

Craddock (2019) who studied activism Craddock learned that including the term activist in

her participant letter excluded people who - despite being very active - did not dare to call

themselves activists due to the high standard of what lsquorealrsquo activism is Especially women feel

that they cannot live up to the ideal and therefore they do not recognize their own activist

identity (Craddock 2019138-42) Therefore anyone who identified as an ally was allowed to

participate without evaluating or judging their level of participants

23

The sampling method was mixed consisting of convenience sampling and snowball sampling

(Creswell amp Poth 2018159) First an email was sent to the Swedish BLM organizationrsquos

official email telling them about the study and asking if they had any recommendations of

where participants could be found This email got no response Different Facebook groups were

chosen as lsquofieldsrsquo to sample in Personal acquaintances were also asked to participate The

choice of Facebook groups related to both convenience and lack of access to physical fields to

sample in and because much of the activism related to BLM took place online The Facebook

groups were all limited demographically (open only for women and non-binary people) and

they all had explicit value-systems with feminist anti-racist intersectional orientations Some

groups were simple support-and-chat groups some had a more political purpose (without party

connections) One participant was found in the comments section on a Facebook page that

relates to antiracism and contacted from there and a few were snowball sampled Recruiting

participants in online forums creates a problematic balance between transparency and

anonymity if too detailed information about the specific sampling sites is revealed the

participants identities can be spoiled due to traceability Thus the names of these Facebook

groups or pages cannot be revealed The groups were known to me beforehand as I am myself

a member in them and therefore had access to the lsquofieldrsquo which reduced the time and effort

spent on sampling If this study were a netnography with digital data to analyze it would be

problematic because my interpretation would be tainted by my personal experiences in the

groups but since the data itself was not related to the specific groups or the participants activity

in these groups it is less problematic

This digital convenience sampling limits the groups included in the sampling frame which

creates a skewed sample in terms of for example gender The complementary snowball

sampling creates a similar problem with homogeneity because of the tendency of participants

to recommend people who are like themselves As a result people with academic backgrounds

in social sciences and humanities are overrepresented in this sample The first interviewee Lisa

works in the international aid sector and she put me in touch with some old classmates and

colleagues which contributed to the skewed sample However the sampling method does not

aim to reach a randomized sample that is representative of the Swedish population in general

but instead a purposeful selection of people with certain experiences (Creswell amp Poth

2018272)

The final sample included people of different genders (9 female 1 male and 1 non-binary)

ages (22-36) education (from high school diploma to MA-degrees) and occupation (traditional

24

working-class occupations or white-collar jobs) They lived in or originated from different parts

of Sweden with one currently living in South Africa They also had very different backgrounds

in regards of political engagement some of them had been organized voluntarily or

professionally in multiple movements and civil society organizations some are or have been

active in party politics and some had their political experience mainly in online discussions

43 Coding and analysis

After all interviews were transcribed the data was coded in Excel using the guidelines for

phenomenological analysis presented called horizonalization (Creswell amp Poth 2018201

Moustakas 1994118) Horizonalization means creating a broad base or platform of equally

important statements to capture the experiences of the participants In phenomenological

studies coding and analysis should preferably be inductive highlighting ldquosignificant

statements sentences and quotesrdquo (Creswell amp Poth 201879) instead of deductively trying to

apply hypotheses or theories onto the data

The coding followed the subsequent steps First each transcript was read one at a time and

important statements were added in a quote-column in Excel (see Image 1) Following the

quote-column were categorical columns based on different themes from the interviews The 12

categories were Background Activity in BLM Identity Role Pandemic Emotion Motivation

Introspection BLM organization Balance Problems and Other There was also a column for

especially good quotes which were marked with an lsquoxrsquo In each column (for example ldquoRolerdquo)

inductively created codes were entered An example can be seen in Image 1

The coding was kept close to the data and focus was to create codes that described the specifics

of each statement instead of keeping the number of codes down which created some overlap

Image 1 Visual representation of the coding strategy

After the 11 interviews were coded the data included 243 quotes in 12 categories In order to

structure the analysis according to relevant topics themes were created out of the codes based

on representativeness and uniqueness These themes provided the basis for the interpretation

25

and analysis For example the previously mentioned code ldquoNot surerdquo was grouped together

with the code ldquoDecided by othersrdquo (in the column ldquoRolerdquo) and analyzed together because they

were interpreted as expressions of the same phenomenon eg insecurity regarding what the

role should contain (Moustakas 1994118)

After the coding which is a big part of the analysis itself the most relevant and interesting

themes were further analyzed This was related to observed regularities in statements being

repeated among several participants and novelty or lsquosurprise factorrsquo Whereas the coding was

unrelated to any specific theory the deeper analysis of the different themes was done parallel

to exploring theory The theories came into the process at different stages Giddensrsquo theory of

modernity and ontological security was explored after the initial coding before starting the

writing process of the analysis based on the pattern of insecurity and reflexivity among the

participantsrsquo descriptions of how they make decisions on how to act as an ally Thereafter the

concept of situated knowledge was introduced after all material had initially been analyzed and

written down in a first draft and the recurring use of the term interpretation privilege

(tolkningsfoumlretraumlde) caught my interest The focus was therefore the themes related to

interpretation privilege and how the participants made sense of the term as well as the different

aspects they had to balance because of their emphasis on interpretation privilege in the final

analysis

44 Ethical considerations

Research should be guided by ethical principles to ensure the safety of the participants and the

quality of the research The most important aspects include consent confidentiality and

anonymity Informed consent means that the participant must be given full information about

what participation means and they must be given the chance to both give and withdraw their

consent during or after the interview The researcher must tell the truth about the purpose of the

study and the participant can choose to leave any unwanted questions unanswered

(Vetenskapsraringdet 201710 16) All participants were given a letter with information about the

study which was again repeated verbally right before the interview The second important

aspect confidentiality means that all information and data must be handled safely and not be

shared with unauthorized people (ibid40) The data was stored on a password protected

computer and no personal information was saved along with the transcripts And finally

anonymity means that the identity of the participants must be concealed for example by giving

26

them new names or changing identifying details in their statements (ibid13) Both of my

sampling methods (digital convenience and snowball) can threaten the anonymity of the

participants because they become traceable either to those who were lsquosnowballedrsquo into the study

or those who were found online (see chapter 42 Sample)

In more qualitative terms the researcher must make fair interpretations of the statements made

by participants and be transparent with how conclusions were made This ensures both

transparency in a scientific standpoint and the well-being of the participants (Vetenskapsraringdet

201710) Related to this it is important to recognize how the analysis may affect the

participants for example Creswell and Poth (2018228) argue that there is always a risk that

participants feel bothered by the way their statements have been interpreted in relation to theory

and previous research and especially in a sensitive topic such as politics identity and emotions

In order to minimize this risk the interpretations will both be rooted in theory and previous

research and include alternative evidence and interpretations

45 Methodological reflexivity

Reflexivity requires researchers to be aware of and transparent about their own biases in their

interpretations as well as scrutinizing their power in relation to the research participants

(Creswell amp Poth 2018201 228) Besides the inherent power in the relation between

researcher and participants no specific power dynamics existed in this study The researcher

must reflect upon their own position (gender class race and similar) and how it affects the

way the research is conducted and how the results are interpreted (ibid228) Being reflexive

thus becomes a way to increase validity by clarifying where researcher bias may have affected

the results (ibid261) Evidence that contradicts the arguments made in the analysis has been

included to avoid bias The idea of researcher reflexivity builds on the epistemological approach

of social constructivism where knowledge is not seen as a neutral or objective but a subjective

socially embedded practice shaped by the lived experience of the author and the participants It

also means that self-criticism and self-consciousness is crucial aspects of qualitative

interpretive research (Lynch 200029-36)

According to Moustakas (1994103-4) reflexivity should guide every step in the

phenomenological research project including choice of topic it must have autobiographical

relevance to the researcher who must be genuinely curious and passionate about the

phenomenon ndash and of course be transparent about these motives The choice of BLM as an

27

empirical example in this study was based on my own experiences from the spring of 2020 I

was just as my respondents and many others very moved by the events that transpired and I

did too participate in some online actions such as checking myself into the US Ambassy on

Facebook to show my support of the movement I followed the news and read everything I

found on social media out of both political sympathy and sociological fascination I wanted to

know more about why the activism looked like it did and how others felt about being part of

it Being able to be fascinated in times of collective grief and trauma for Black people is of

course a privilege that I am aware of I can afford to be distanced towards and critical of the

antiracist movement and how it does or does not invite people to engage themselves in it

because my survival or well-being does not depend on it I aim to be respectful in my

interpretations and descriptions of the movement and its participants

46 Limitations

Instead of aiming to evaluate qualitative research by the same criteria as quantitative studies

there are adjusted validation practices for the specific approach of the study To assure good

quality for qualitative phenomenological studies phenomenological concepts should be used

properly understood and recommended methods should be followed Besides from engaging

in reflexive analysis it is also important to offer descriptive richness and interpretive depth

(Creswell amp Poth 2018272-82) There are also different validation strategies for qualitative

research The researcher can use triangulation to strengthen the stability of the results identify

disconfirming cases and clarify researcher reflexivity (ibid260-1) Member checking and

collaborating with participants can also strengthen the validity (ibid162 Arribas Lozano

2018455-6) All participants were informed of their right to see the transcripts and the analysis

if they wished but they were not contacted with the explicit purpose of checking the finished

results due to time Another aspect is reliability meaning how robust the results of the study

would be if someone else replicated the study (Creswell amp Poth 2018164-5) In the case of

qualitative studies where the researcher is intertwined with the interpretations the probability

of someone else reaching the exact same result is small but thick descriptions of methodology

and the data increases reliability somewhat The generalizability of qualitative studies is often

low and especially so when the sample is skewed The results of this study should be considered

valid only for the group studied since the results could have been different with different

28

representations of gender or class for example However with a purposeful sample of people

with a certain experience the goal is not generalizability beyond the group

Another potential issue is the fact that the quotes from the interviews included in this thesis

have been translated from Swedish to English which means that there is a risk that some of the

core meanings of the quotes may have been spoiled or changed However the analysis was

done on the Swedish transcripts making sure the interpretations were made on the original

material Thus the problem of translating quotes is mainly a problem of communicating the

results to the reader in the same form they appeared in the analysis process of the original

material

5 Results and analysis

As explained in the methods section (43 Coding and analysis) the analysis was gradually

turning toward the themes of a) interpretation privilege and b) how the notion of interpretation

privilege affects the leeway for action These themes will be the focus of the analysis which

will show that although the allies experience their allyship as important and meaningful they

sometimes struggle to find a path for themselves in their attempt to be lsquogoodrsquo allies Their

commitment to respecting interpretation privilege helps them live up the to the ally role as

supporters of Black people in general but it limits the leeway in which they are able to act

independently as political agents But first some general findings on how the allies think about

their role will be presented which primarily relates to the first research question about the

experiences of ally work

The overall experience of allyship is that the ally identity is surrounded by purpose community

and positive experiences They are all highly committed to and well-educated about the cause

Being part of the movement feels meaningful and even like rdquoa privilege to be able to be a part

of it and listen and learnrdquo as Lisa says She describes her emotional experiences

First there was a lot of frustration I think And then there was this powerfulhellip

some kind of like rsquowowrsquo there were a lot of chills there for a while [laughs]

because people really came together

29

Sam shares the experience of initial frustration and pain They describe the feeling when their

frustration and anger transformed into hope like ldquofree fallingrdquo ndash the realization that they were a

part of a group with so many sympathizers made it feel like change was possible

Most ally work was performed online and consisted of acts such as sharing information

knowledge and opinions participating in online seminars and meetings signing petitions and

lsquochecking inrsquo at the US Embassy in Stockholm on Facebook as part of a global protest act To

signal their support for the movement they occasionally used hashtags such as

blacklivesmatter and blackouttuesday All participants got most of their information from

social media in line with the general trend in contemporary activism (Ahmed et al 2017447

Heldman 201788) Previous research emphasizes the important role of emotions in social

movement mobilization and all participants in this study recognized how constant access to

heartbreaking stories virtual proof of mistreatment and a global sense of community provided

by social media motivated them to act (see for example Russo 2014)

Some interviewees also participated outside of social media by attending physical

demonstrations (Sam Sara and Emma) It is impossible to say how many of the interviewees

would have attended had there not been a global pandemic However as digital activism has

become dominating in contemporary social movements (Jaumlmte et al 2020371-2) the low rate

of physical protest among the participants in this study should not be attributed to the pandemic

alone For example Lucas says he has not been to as many demonstrations over the last years

as he would have wanted because of work and other circumstances Amanda says she has

always seen herself as an activist as someone who does what otherrsquos lacks the energy or

resources to do but that she is ldquonot the person who attends demos you knowrdquo And Caroline

who is involved in several organizations besides her antiracist engagement even experiences

that the pandemic has made participation easier for her since it can now be done from home ndash

a point Alva agrees with as she experiences difficulties joining offline protests due to physical

illness Thus the effects of the Covid pandemic are not exclusively negative and limiting Apart

from the different demonstrations the allies also emphasized how implementing antiracist ideas

into their everyday behavior and their professional lives is crucial to be a good ally

The main motivator for their allyship is the notion of privilege All interviewees refer to

themselves as White and relate it to privilege an increasingly common tendency and a

prerequisite for antiracist commitment among Whites (Cole 20201627 Spanierman amp Smith

2017608-9) Lisa describes herself as a ldquoprivileged White woman raised in a middle-class

homerdquo and she says that she faced few obstacles growing up and Sam argues that their White

30

identity gives them platforms and privileges many Black people lack Therefore they use their

social media to amplify the voices of Black people sharing their voices stories and

perspectives Amplifying voices of marginalized groups has been recognized in research as one

of the main tasks for allies (Arora amp Stout 2019390 Bhattacharyya et al 202012 Clark

2019528-31)

The argument of amplifying Black voices as a way to utilize onersquos privilege is twofold First

the participants see their privilege as an opportunity to reach out to fellow Whites who they

expect will listen more to their White counterparts than they would to a Black person which is

confirmed in previous research (see for example Arora amp Stout 2019 Linder amp Johnson 2015)

For example Lucas says

Us Whites who are not affected by racism we have to stand up and show that itrsquos

not OK to spread racism If we donrsquot therersquoll never be any change because

sometimes it feels like people listen more to [hellip] a White person confirming that

what a Black person says is true

Sam shares this reasoning and they actively try to reach people with ldquodeeply racist prejudicerdquo

who would ldquonever listen to a Black personrdquo According to Haraway (1988577) subjugated

groups are deprived the privilege of assumed objectivity and reduced to their position as

inherently linked to and epistemologically limited by their social position in a way the dominant

groups are not Subjugated knowledge must always be fought for in terms of recognition

(Collins 1990414) and the allies in this study is dedicated to doing so in order to reduce the

impact of their own privilege and increase the outreach of Black people Katrin recognizes how

this process of validation of knowledge based on power is an unequal process where Black

people are seen as unreliable because they are ldquoacting out of self-interestrdquo whereas White

people are assigned more credibility Recognizing these mechanisms does not mean that the

interviewees accept them they use words such as ldquoterriblerdquo and ldquodisgustingrdquo to describe the

phenomenon and they feel both guilty about having these privileges and motivated to use them

for good which has been recognized as a potential effect of guilt in previous research (Dull et

al 20211081-84) However acknowledging this epistemic hierarchy is not an automatic

renouncing of privilege but can instead reinforce racist structures by assuming the assigned

value of White knowledge is higher and thus seeing the role of White allies as more important

than that of Black people in fighting racism (see Collins 1009)

31

The second aspect of White privilege in antiracist activism is as recognized by the interviewees

the fact that the costs of engaging are much lower for White people than they are for Black

simply because one does not risk facing racism as a response to speaking up (Drury amp Kaiser

2014642) For example Sam says they saw their ability to participate in the demonstration as

a privilege ndash not everyone can be sure to get home safe if they choose to attend a demo due to

the potential threat of police harassment or counter-protestors These costs are further lowered

by the fact that most ally work is done online Sara for example says that it enables her to

ldquotake the fightrdquo without ending up in situations too uncomfortable or even dangerous

Essentially the privilege of being listened to and the lower cost of speaking up for White allies

motivates specific responsibilities assigned to ally work but it also risks reproducing racist

hierarchies by assigning White knowledge higher value The remainder of the analysis will

focus on how these responsibilities are put into practice and what may limit the allies in their

attempts to do ally work

51 Balancing ally work

Related to the second research question is to what extent the allies feel like they are entitled to

act in the movement and this following section aims to show what different aspects affect this

perception Based on the ideas about privilege and responsibility the difficulties in balancing

different strategies of ally work will now be analyzed Although it may seem self-explanatory

what allies should do based on the previous section ndash use their privilege to raise their voices

against racist discrimination ndash the experiences of the interviewed allies shows that it is more

complicated than at first glance They must balance different strategies which can be defined

as following

A Listen but do not exploit

B Help but do not hijack

C Step down but do not become paralyzed

These three points represent how different ally assignments presented by the interviewees are

at some point met with objections or disclaimers There are a multitude of examples in the

interviews but the above-mentioned strategies are the most representative and common For

analytical and stylistic purposes they will be presented in a step-by-step form but they should

not be understood as linear or causal The relationship between these aspects is much more

32

complicated which the analysis aims to demonstrate Before analyzing these three strategies

the concept that serves as an implicit (sometimes explicit) point of departure for most decisions

by the allies should be accounted for namely the concept of interpretation privilege

511 Interpretation privilege

In all interviews there is an assumption about what kind of knowledge is legitimate knowledge

and interpretations based on interpretation privilege (tolkningsfoumlretraumlde in Swedish) 9 of the

11 interviewees explicitly mention the term but the theme is discussed in all interviews This

means that despite their academic degrees years of professional experience in human rights

work or their genuine interest for social justice issues the interviewees recognize how their

lack of lived experience reduces their ability to fully understand the issue of racism The idea

of interpretation privilege is interpreted here as a translation of ideas about situated knowledge

(Collins 1990408) lived experience (Voronka 2016194) and power into everyday political

lingo This idea is expressed continuously throughout the interviews as a part of their political

reasoning and it guides how they relate to their role as allies Katrin explains

It is not the same thing to understand racism by reading about it or by seeing or

hearing about othersrsquo experiences as it is to carry it in the body It will never be

possible for me to understand that

Interpretation privilege then helps allies understand and accept their own inability to fully

comprehend racism and it creates respect towards the testimonies made by people who

experiences racism However knowing that one lacks access to a full understanding also

contributes to self-doubt about the ally role and the work associated with it Caroline who

studies to become a psychologist tells me she has some concerns about being a White

psychologist treating Black patients Her professors claim psychologists do not need to share

the patientsrsquo experiences but Caroline is doubtful

ldquoI as a White person will never be able to fully understand being constantly

vigilant as a Black person in Sweden not knowing what the day will be like to

constantly be exposed to microaggressions and discrimination and even worse

abuse every dayhelliprdquo

Accepting interpretation privilege as the fact that if one is not exposed to racism one will never

know exactly what it feels like is empathetic and sensitive to the lived experience of Black

33

people It means respecting the ways Black people make sense of and deal with their own

experiences of oppression without claiming to know better However for the participants in

this study it often leads them to disregard all kinds of personal opinions thoughts or ideas

about what racism is and what should be done about it simply because they lack lived

experience of racism The participants sometimes struggle to balance their own knowledge

against the opinions and experiences of Black people Caroline again

Itrsquos this thing about interpreting different actions ndash is this a racist action or not

Well thatrsquos not up to me [hellip] And I think that interpretation privilege in general

in social media too that you just donrsquot go in and interpret what is right and wrong

Here the lack of interpretation privilege disqualifies Caroline from even deciding whether she

finds something right or wrong although such judgements are foundational in political thinking

Interpretation privilege also decides the legitimacy of actions according to Sara she argues

that whereas it is the job of White allies to speak up against other Whites the meaning of the

action is not the same as if a Black person would do it Essentially if a White ally wants to

stand up against racism it should be with a disclaimer

I think it is important to be like lsquothis is my understanding of it but I donrsquot have

interpretation privilegersquo just to create some awareness that I donrsquot have any

right to think anything - Emma

Some participants strip themselves of their agency by retreating to the idea that their

perspectives thoughts and ideas do not matter Lisa tells me that she sometimes censors herself

by not posting or sharing certain things because she feels like she has too little knowledge She

also stays out of debates she is interested in because she ldquodoes not feel [she] has the right to say

something or make a statement in these issuesrdquo Another example of how allies renounce their

political agency can be represented by Sara who tells me that when she saw my participant

message she was concerned that I searched for lsquoself-identified alliesrsquo In her perspective the

label lsquoallyrsquo is not something that one can claim independently one must earn it by being

recognized as such by a Black person Zhelnina (2020361) points to the importance of activists

growing independence emotional confidence and autonomy in their political interpretations

for a movement to successfully mobilize and in a discourse where one does not even possess

the right to claim allyship to a political movement this type of independence and confidence

may be difficult to develop

34

Another important aspect is the conflict that arises when people with interpretation privilege

disagree within the group Lucas says he has met Black people who defend the right to use

racial slurs That does not mean he accept this as true and uses these words himself but he

acknowledges that these situations could be problematic The multitude of perspectives to

consider especially considering the global character of the movement and its social media

presence it becomes difficult to decide what to believe in And when those who have been

assigned authority in this case Black people with interpretation privilege it becomes even

harder The reflexive globalized world with endless sources of information with sometimes

contradictory messages makes it hard to navigate (Giddens 1991138) This problem also

relates to what Voronka (2016196) described as essentialist tendencies when using the concept

of lived experience as a criterion for inclusion With social media where almost unlimited

information is always accessible to the individual the effort to develop independent

interpretations becomes unnecessary and in the case of the White allies insensitive

However it should be noted that although the idea of interpretation privilege is present in all

interviews the participants are also aware that other types of knowledge such as skills from

previous experience in social movements or academic judicial or general professional

knowledge is important Many of them say that they do feel confident of the practical abilities

they have built up over many years of activism and civil society work and Alva among others

points to how she would like to take on the role of fixing practical organizational tasks for the

BLM movement if she were to become more involved in the future Thus there is no validity

in claiming that the interviewees lack all sorts of self-esteem in their ally identity and that they

completely disregard other types of knowledge as Lucas says ldquointerpretation privilege is not

everythingrdquo Still statements such as ldquoI donrsquot have any right to think anythingrdquo or rdquoItrsquos this

thing about interpreting actions ndash is this racist or not Well thatrsquos not up to merdquo are common

in the interviews Although many of the participants can be interpreted as having ontological

security in terms of knowing what they are good at they cannot translate this into a practical

consciousness that guides their actions in a natural manner which creates ontological insecurity

and passivity (Giddens 199144) This relates to findings about lack of lived experience as

leading to potential insensitivity to discrimination which the interviewees recognize in

themselves (Drury amp Kaiser 2014369-42) In theories of situated knowledge it is emphasized

how a multitude of perspectives is needed and that subjugated groups do not have natural access

to hidden truths (Haraway 1988583-6 Young 199027) The disregarding of White ally

perspectives due to lack of lived experience is thus not inherent in the theories themselves but

35

rather something that seems to occur along the popularized interpretation of the term as it is

translated into everyday political lingo as interpretation privilege

So in navigating what to do as an ally while being committed to the idea of interpretation

privilege the first strategy for good ally work is formulated listening

512 Listen but do not exploit

So drawing upon the notion of interpretation privilege the appropriate way to consume

information about racial issues and determining what to do is by listening to Black people

Listening itself becomes not only a way to retrieve information and insight but a political

practice that reflects power structures and identity It becomes a way to renounce onersquos owns

privilege and instead assigning the power of being heard to others (see Collins 1990 Haraway

1988 Young 2004) Sam explains

I as a White person will never be able to sit there and decide what is right and

wrong when it comes to Black experiences or just non-White experiences Irsquove got

nothing to say about that I know nothing about it I just donrsquot What I can do is

listen and learn and I need to take the initiative as a student in this subject

Listening and taking a step back represents successful allyship according to Lucas because it

means both getting access to the right information and showing emotional support and respect

for people exposed to racism Listening is a powerful way to use onersquos White privilege

respecting the interpretation privilege of Black people and redirecting some of the privilege

and power associated to onersquos whiteness to Black people which is one of the main assignments

of allies (Brown amp Ostrove 20132211) But apart from being a virtuous alternative strategy

for allies it is also a relatively effortless option compared to other types of activism such as

participating in demonstrations Effective unproblematic and ideologically right a seemingly

perfect strategy to apply as a White ally

However it is not that simple listening is not only an act of rejecting the power associated to

onersquos racial identity but also hauntingly close to exploitation of Black experience according

to the interviewees The problem of freeriding and exploiting or capitalizing on the stories of

subjugated groups has been acknowledged in previous research on allyship (Clark 2019530

Linder amp Johnson 20159) For example Lisa argues that White people should be careful

36

talking about racism as if they could understand it and instead listen to what Black people say

- but at the same time she says it quickly becomes counterproductive

Black Swedes are not supposed to have to educate me about the racism they

experience because in that case what do I really demand from a Black person

Lou has the same idea and she tells me about how she used to ask her Black partner many

lsquodumbrsquo questions but that she realized that this means that she puts the burden of educating her

on him Sara avoids asking her Black friends about how she as a White ally can help because

that puts too much responsibility on those Black friends Amanda tells me she is after having

listened to one of the biggest antiracist podcasts Raseriet afraid of being one of lsquothose White

peoplersquo who demand to be taught about racism from Black people After all they all agree that

racism is a problem White people created and a problem for White people to solve ndash the

responsibility should not land on Black people As Emma says

Itrsquos essentially White peoplersquos problem itrsquos White people who built the structures

we are protesting [hellip] Itrsquos not Black people who are supposed to stand there and

scream their lungs out about Black Lives Matter but itrsquos about White people

needing to get together and saying like lsquonow we have to fix this because we

created itrsquo

So while trying to balance interpretation privilege the participants easily stumble into another

pitfall Listening as ally work increases the risk of becoming a burden on Black people by

depending on them for education explanations and guidance and exploiting their knowledge

and lived experience for self-improvement which also reinforces racist structures Black people

are implicitly seen as political objects rather than subjects inevitably crushed under the pressure

of White questions and demands and in need of White protection The point of allyship is to

make life and activism easier for Black people not the other way around which brings us to

another strategy of allyship to balance helping

513 Help but do not hijack

Based on the idea that listening as political practice can become exploitative and freeriding the

allies land in the conclusion that helping is the main assignment for allies They motivate this

by referring to their own privileges However as this section will show helping as a political

practice is also surrounded by potential problems

37

The idea of helping as ally work relates again to the idea that the costs of confronting racism is

lower for White people than for Black people (Drury amp Kaiser 2014642) as well as the

realization that White people are granted more respect and legitimacy when advocating for

antiracist causes (Arora amp Stout 2019390) Helping consists of claiming co-responsibility of

changing society protecting Black people from painful experiences and deal with the racism

of White people For example if an ally hears someone being racist they must speak up Sara

tries to do so because she does not want to add to any Black personrsquos burden of having to take

every fight themselves Emma argues that it is not Black peoplersquos responsibility to keep the

movement alive and therefore it is important that White people speak up She thinks ldquoit feels

stupid if White people would just sit around and wait for initiatives cause then you donrsquot do

anything goodrdquo If Black people are left alone with total responsibility of changing institutions

and organizations in Loursquos experience that usually puts Black people in situations where the

risk of being exposed to racism is high and without the support system of allies to help

Although all interviewees describe different ways of helping and supporting Black people and

the BLM movement as a main task for allies such statements are often followed by a disclaimer

For example they say ldquoitrsquos this balance that you being White shouldnrsquot go in and take overrdquo

(Emma) and ldquoWe should support we should be there we should recognize and lift the issues

But we should not be the main actorsrdquo (Alva) One of the most common phrases in the

interviews were lsquothat is not my placersquo This reasoning is present regardless of what types of

actions the interviewees talk about both high-level activism in formal organizations or

representing the movement in media and everyday civil courage such as speaking up against

racist comments in the workplace Sara adds to her statement about wanting to speak up to help

Black people saying that she ldquoalso has to leave room for Black people to act and not trying to

be like lsquoI know best now so let me explain racismrsquordquo Amanda shares similar thoughts saying

Itrsquos important that this can be a movement that Black people own themselves and

that itrsquos not something us White people can just barge into and take over Itrsquos a

balancing between goodwill and wanting to help and to not barge in and be like

lsquoThis is what racism isrsquo

Amanda has worked in organizations who educate people in moral courage and antiracism for

a few years and she has much experience in this type of political work But when she is

contacted in her role as an antiracist educator and asked to hold a course in a workplace she

doubts herself She feels that she must lsquowarnrsquo them about her whiteness ldquoI have to start by

38

saying that Irsquom White Irsquoll never be able to talk about racism like a Black person couldrdquo During

spring of 2020 she started to think about her role again she tells me She concluded that ldquothis

is not my place this organization is not my place but I could do activism in other waysrdquo In

most interviews there are similar reasonings for example Bea explains how she is not against

White people organizing against racism but that she

would not be very comfortable doing it or starting an appeal or initiative like

lsquoWhites in support for Black Lives Matterrsquo because thatrsquos nothellip thatrsquos claiming

space and attention

Katrin said that she in her work at an equality foundation had to weigh her wish to do

something against the risk of ldquotaking over a voice that was just starting to build uprdquo and Lou

who works in HR criticizes her own attempts to implement antiracist ideas at her workplace

because she doubts if she has any right to ldquoclaim that we have to work with so-called diversity

issuesrdquo or ldquobe that voice in a White roomrdquo Emma mentions ldquosupporting without taking overrdquo

as the most important aspect of ally work This is an important part of allyship being

supportive standing by Black peoplersquos side acknowledging oppression raising the issues but

without being the protagonists of the movement as Alva explains Lisa agrees she asks herself

rdquoIs this my space to claim I donrsquot know am I supposed to march in the frontline when it comes

to this issue like Irsquom not so sure about thatrdquo In these statements it is implicitly assumed that

if Whites wanted to take over from Black people they easily could (even unconsciously) and

this implies Black people are less resilient as political actors

These arguments are often motivated by their own experiences with men taking space in

feminist movements They think about the way they want men to act and applies the same

reasoning to their own allyship

If this was about feminism and there was a dude telling me this or doing this that

Irsquom talking about now [taking over authorrsquos note] how would I react then [hellip]

I find it odd when female feminists feel like they have to pay tribute to and psyche

up male feminists I donrsquot think male feminists should need that And I feel the

same way about like Black people shouldnrsquot have to care about me at all it may

sound weird but I donrsquot do it for them itrsquos other Whites I want to affect ndash Katrin

Allies often use their own identities and social positions to understand other types of oppression

and although it seems to function as a source of empathy and compassion for the other group

as well as regulating ones ally behavior it is important to acknowledge that lived experience of

39

sexism does not mean inevitable understanding of experiences of racism (Spanierman amp Smith

2017608-10) which the allies mention themselves

This section shows that the strategy of helping is not as straight-forward and easily managed as

first described but instead associated with a big risk lsquoWhat if I take over What does it say

about me if I dordquo They engage in reflexive identity construction without being ontologically

secure eg without having a ldquopractical consciousnessrdquo or ldquonatural attituderdquo that guides how to

act This creates anxiety and fear of doing and thus being wrong (Giddens 199136) All

participants agree that although allies are important in creating change the movement is and

should be a Black space Although they are confident in these believes and dedicated to living

up to these ideals they are still afraid of unintentionally taking over or hijacking the movement

despite their wish to simply help and support the movement from the background To minimize

the risk of being one of those White allies who barges in and takes over the allies make sure to

balance this by taking a step back and leaving room for Black people to lead the way

514 Take a step back but do not become paralyzed

The choice to take a step back following the alliesrsquo reasoning about claiming space and taking

over means that they are more and more evolving toward a state of allyship where few actions

are legitimate and unproblematic This can be interpreted as a sign that the strategies described

previously (listening and helping) are not part of the alliesrsquo practical consciousness and that

engaging in such ally work is experienced as difficult and frightening due to ontological

insecurity This often leads to passivity (Giddens 199144) Taking a step back is described as

lsquoleaving room forrsquo Black people and it consists of listening (which as previous sections of the

analysis show is not seen as entirely unproblematic) and sharing the perspectives of Black

people for example in social media but without claiming a frontline position in the movement

These are two strategies that reduces the influence of White voices on the antiracist discourse

Taking a step back and leaving room for Black people is a way to denounce the privilege of

being listened to (Arora amp Stout 2019294-5) and reducing the power gap between dominant

and subjugated groups in terms of knowledge production (Collins 1990408)

However the interviewees testify to how the strategy to take a step back is often (but not

always) a shortcut to passivity Katrin who works in an equality foundation dealing with issues

of sexism and racism tells me what happened in her organization when choosing the take-a-

step-back approach by sharing articles Instagram posts and other materials created by Black

40

people and thus engaging in amplification of Black voices (Clark 2019528-31) They were

later criticized for ldquonot doing more not talking about it more screaming more sharing

morehelliprdquo They tried to do the right thing but failed Katrin wonders if they should have done

something of their own something bigger while also acknowledging how it would be

problematic of them to claim the spotlight

The allies worry about their own tendencies to become passive because of trying to navigate

among the different strategies Katrin explains this mechanism as a process where learning

about privilege and power creates an insight of onersquos own role in this power structure

ldquoYou realize that lsquoI have power I have responsibility and I do not have

interpretation privilegersquo and that makes you so scared to do anything wrong that

you end up doing nothing at allrdquo

She describes the insights as ldquoparalyzingrdquo and this experience is shared by more of the

interviewees and found in previous research (Brown amp Ostrove 20132220) Emma says that

it is a complex question that she thinks about a lot and that she has not yet landed in any

conclusions about what she should be doing as an ally but she knows that she must avoid

becoming paralyzed However it could be reflexivity itself that leads to such passivity

(Giddens 199144) Political background does not affect this mechanism as it is observed in

those with no prior experience as well as those with years of activism In some ways having

more prior experience can even make it harder to navigate the ally role because the roles

previously taken are no longer open to you as White Alva explains

Irsquom so used to being in the front and in the middle and being in the back is not

really like how I have been engaged before Irsquom not really used to it and to have

my role defined as being in the backseat in the back of the bus as Whitehellip [hellip] I

havenrsquot done that before And Irsquove struggled to find my role ndash what can I do

Cause I feel my hands are tied behind my back a little I would love to do more but

at the same time my interest cannot decide what the main issue should be Itrsquos all

about knowing your role and your place and being very sensitive to when people

tell you to back away or step up

At the end of each interview they were asked What would you like to see for the movement in

the future I got many analytical answers but some responded by saying like Alva ldquoItrsquos hard

for me to answer because Irsquom White I donrsquot know what needs to be focused on right now and

Irsquom not the right person to askrdquo Lisa says rdquoI donrsquot feel I have the right to speak on this or like

41

debate this issuerdquo Amanda does not answer the question either and refers to how it would be

inappropriate for her to try to decide what the movement should be about Interestingly she

notices how this perspective is only present in her relation to antiracism as she has worked for

LGBTQ-rights for years despite identifying as straight She cannot point out what is different

when it comes to antiracism but she feels there is a difference The uncertainty of knowing

what to do risks leading to passivity

ldquoItrsquos like Irsquove come tohellip Not a stop but a landmark and itrsquos like I canrsquot get

further than that because I donrsquot know what to do Irsquom sure there are things I

could do and a role for me to take on but I canrsquot find it right nowrdquo - Alva

Again the interviewees are aware of the paralyzing effect of their strategies and Lou claims

that she knows that she is overthinking it

When I discuss this with people who are exposed to racism I sometimes get the

feeling that theyrsquore like lsquowe donrsquot care who does it somebody just do itrsquo There

is a need for antiracist work to be done [hellip] So I think that itrsquos easy to fall into

some kind of paralyzed state that doesnrsquot help anybody

The assumption of passivity among contemporary activists can be considered mainstream in

the social movement field Youths of Western democracies are less engaged in any kind of

traditional political involvement such as voting political party membership or other

associational activities (Amnaring amp Ekman 20136) Often this decline in political activity is

attributed to the growing prevalence of digital methods instead of more traditional physical

methods because it gives people an undeserved sense of accomplishment (Skoric 201277) and

a false idea of what activism is efficient (Morozov 200913) Although the majority of the

intervieweesrsquo activism consisted of digital participation and digital participation only it would

be unfair to claim that it is out of a sense of undeserving feeling of accomplishment that they

stopped at digital methods Quite opposite to the conclusions made by Skoric and Morozov of

the self-absorbed slacktivist the interviewees are far from happy with their contributions to the

movement Digital activism is associated with laziness slack and performative allyship by the

interviewees and they usually do not value digital activism as high as physical engagement

For example Lisa says she feels a bit ashamed of being more of a ldquokeyboard activist than a real

activistrdquo and Amanda shares similar thoughts about her own participation

42

When I posted the image I felt like lsquoIrsquom so fucking lame for doing only thisrsquo

[laughs] I didnrsquot really think of it as an activist action because it was so easy

Thus the emotional experience relates to feeling ashamed which under specific circumstances

and motivate action ndash but often it leads to passivity (Dull et al 20211081-84 Zhelnina

2020361) When Emma describes how accessible online activism is she presents a scenario

where someone can ldquosit at home in the couch and watch a movie and at the same time just log

into social media and protestrdquo Bea even laughs while telling me that she ldquothinks she shared a

black square on Instagram like everyone elserdquo Accessibility is not an indicator of democratic

or inclusive value but quality and it seems like the easier it is the lower it is valued by the

allies Comparing to the study by Russo (2014) where the allies put themselves through

physical challenges to demonstrate their allyship the digital form of ally work is interpreted as

a lower form of activism and is surrounded by feelings of inadequacy and shame Although the

reasons for why many of them stopped at digital activism varies none of them did it out of

satisfaction or laziness In the cases where physical limitations the pandemic or lack of protests

in onersquos hometown was not the reason it was rooted in an insecurity about what to do as an

ally Digital methods were perceived as a safer option in a context where almost all other types

of White participation are criticized and the potential pain of being called out as a bad ally is

perceived to be lower in the digital realm than it would be in other contexts

As this section shows the allies handle the potential risk of hijacking the movement by taking

a step back to leave room for Black people to define shape and ultimately run the movement

themselves However this strategy creates its own problems there is an imminent risk of

becoming passive So when listening does not work because of the risk of freeriding and

exploiting Black experiences and actively helping to relieve Black people of the burden to

overthrow systemic racism is deemed inappropriate because it includes a risk of hijacking the

movement and stepping back is ruled out because it leads to passivity ndash what remains

515 Do good but not for the wrong reasons Introspection

In line with previous research and theory introspection of different kinds is often discussed as

an important ally assignment (Drury amp Kaiser 2014638 Kauffman 200124 29-32) Without

introspection the quality of allyship risks becoming deficient because without being aware of

onersquos privilege as well as guilt allyship easily slips into paternalistic behavior (Cole

20201267 Spanierman amp Smith 609-10) Introspection is described in terms of ldquochecking

43

myselfrdquo (Sam) ldquotake a step back and acknowledge that I am part of a racist systemrdquo (Lisa) and

being ldquohumble to the fact that you are part the structurerdquo (Caroline) All interviewees express

the idea that one cannot be a good ally or contribute to positive change without first having

engaged in introspection in different ways

I think one of the most important things is to understand your own whiteness It

sounds kind of ego and self-centered but I think that you canrsquot be an ally

otherwise ever if you donrsquot see your own privilege [hellip] Otherwise you end up

balancing the line between racism and antiracism and that line is thinner than

you think - Lou

This imagined thin line between antiracism and racism concerns many interviewees Lisa

Lucas and Emma also see the risk of falling into racist behavior as big and that they must start

by recognizing this risk to avoid it Amanda says that she knows that she eventually will do

something racist but that she tries not to fear it because ldquoself-criticism can create fear often

therersquos a fear of saying or doing the wrong thing which makes people afraid to be alliedrdquo which

creates passivity Sam calls self-reflection and rdquochecking themselvesrdquo their most important job

and claims that if their aim was to destroy racism that would indicate that they thought of

themselves as bias-free which they are not Lucas also recognizes his own prejudice and says

it is part of his ally work to try to diminish these biases The potential for racist behavior is both

ascribed to being raised in a racist system and to White identity Amanda attributes her future

racist actions to her whiteness explicitly and Caroline argues that all White people are capable

of racist actions regardless of intent lsquowokenessrsquo and knowledge and she knows that she will

at some point act racist despite her devotion to antiracism and her love for her Black partner

All these considerations are part of the reflexive process that is self-identity constantly

scrutinizing oneself and navigating around different actions to act in line with self-identity

(Giddens 199175) When the stakes are as high as they are for White allies ndash they risk acting

and thus being racist if they do not engage in enough introspection The room for action

becomes further limited

In relation to the digital realm where most ally work took place introspection also becomes

about motivations The main concern for the interviewees was whether or not they should use

their social media platforms for ally work at all since digital methods are sometimes frowned

upon for being shallow and too simple Despite this all of them did some type of digital ally

work When I asked those who shared the black square on Instagram why some of them

44

laughed and said that they did not know or could not explain it They mention motivations such

as fitting in

In a way it was like everyone on my Instagram did it and it became like a peer

pressure thing like rsquowhy didnrsquot she share itrsquo or rsquowhy didnrsquot he hare itrsquo you

know ndash Emma

Besides peer pressure the desire to lsquofeel goodrsquo was also reflected upon Many acknowledge

that this desire existed but they did not approve of it as a motive for action Caroline explains

that although it is good to show others where you stand it does not say much about who you

are in the everyday life and the act of posting on social media instead become about seeming

or feeling good The thing they worry about is whether them showing support for the BLM

movement was intended to help the movement or to make themselves look better ndash sometimes

called cosmetic activism (Spanierman amp Smith 2017609-10) or more often among the

participants performative allyship Lou who regularly shares information opinions petitions

and hashtags in her social media says that she worries about her allyship being performative

because she knows most of her followers already shares her opinions Thus her sharing yet

another Instagram post about how racism is wrong could possibly be to ldquoshow off and make

myself feel a little betterrdquo She is careful to stop and reflect upon her actions and intentions and

ask herself lsquowhy did I do this What was my purposersquo Bea shares the same concerns

describing online activism as potentially about ldquostrengthening your personal brandrdquo and

ldquomarketing yourselfrdquo ndash although she does not identify with these motives she feels like there

is always a risk of falling into performative allyship in social media Posting on social media is

also described as a way to claim an antiracist alibi as Bea explains

One way to avoid this is to actively choose not to share with others the activism they engage in

like Sam who calls it unlearning performative allyship Instead of risking acting in the wrong

way and for the wrong reasons they turn to strategic passivism However the unintended result

of this is that one of the main advantages of allies in social movements (that they can use their

voices and platforms to amplify Black voices) goes missing if social media posts are no longer

considered legitimate allyship (Arora amp Stout 2019390 Bhattacharyya et al 202012 Clark

2019528-31)

Introspection is not only a way to secure high-quality allyship but to reduce the risk of doing

something racist and thus being racist Identity is constructed biographically through action

and if the actions does not align with the sense of self-identity this incoherence leads to

45

ontological insecurity in terms of the self meaning one starts to doubt onersquos own motives

(Giddens 199152-54) Seeing onersquos own whiteness as a guarantee of future racist behavior

and knowing how such behavior would clash with the sense of self allies do best in trying to

avoid racist action by all means available Thus acting becomes a risk in itself and this could

be interpreted as ally work becoming unintuitive and unnatural to the allies both at a practical

level determining what to do and at a more discursive level shaping who to be Although

ontological security is defined as practical consciousness it applies to less hands-on orientation

in the world too for example finding onersquos role and identity in a social movement The way to

move forward after recognizing all possible ways one may act wrong is to engage in strategic

passivism apolitical introspection as a political strategy (Kauffman 200124 29-32 Giddens

199144) It is not equivalent to passivity because it includes a strategic choice and it is built

on ally work but ally work that is aimed inwards It becomes a way to be active without acting

in a context where other people may get hurt or judge you

Allies must also make sure not only to act coherently and right but to have pure intentions

being an ally for the sake of recognition or personal gratification is not accepted However

research shows that such extrinsic motivations are especially important in motivating digital

participation (Lilleker amp Koc-Michalska 201725 34-25) and that feelings of shame and guilt

can lead to passivity (Dull et al 20211081-84 Zhelnina 2020361) These two conditions

(ideas of inherent racism and requirements of pure motives) related to introspection does not

create an environment where being active is very appealing Lou admits how acknowledging

the thin line between antiracism and racism leaves her paralyzed instead of motivated

Introspection on the other hand requires no interaction with other people and thus no risk of

being evaluated judged or called out as a bad ally

As the analysis demonstrates the allies recognize there are many different ways they could

engage ndash but all of them are eventually met with disclaimers of how that specific strategy is

inappropriate They try to navigate their own identity and privilege in relation to interpretation

privilege based on theories of situated knowledge but because they lack ontological security

in their ally role they struggle to find a path that is neither inappropriate nor associated with

too much risk Eventually they land in what could be referred to as passivism strategic

passivity as a form of activism

46

6 Discussion and conclusion

The purpose of this study was to better understand how the ally role and participation is

experienced by White allies participating in the Swedish BLM movement and to investigate to

what extent they felt that they had legitimacy as political agents in the movement As the results

show the allies felt strongly for the cause and had many positive experiences of community

and purpose However emotions related to shame guilt and insecurity were also an integral

part of their ally experience and it limited them in their ally work The analysis also shows that

while they are willing and motivated to act as allies the strategies available to them are

surrounded by disclaimers doubt and criticism Few potential actions or approaches are left

unproblematized and the allies often struggle to find their specific path The analysis

emphasizes the link between academic theories of situated knowledge and what can be seen as

a translated popularized version of the term formulated in the political discourse as

interpretation privilege The contribution of Giddensrsquo theories is that the concepts of reflexivity

and ontological security describes the reason for the hesitation the allies engage in whereas the

concept of situated knowledge describes on what basis they hesitate modernity explains why

they worry and situated knowledge what they worry about

Although the analysis shows a pattern that seems to link ideas of interpretation privilege with

passivism among allies the conclusion should not be that acknowledging the importance of

situated knowledge and recognizing the power intertwined with the knowledge creation and

validation process is unnecessary or harmful The theories of situated knowledge standpoint

theory and Black feminist epistemology are important contributions to the sociology of

knowledge and crucial reminders of the power embedded in knowledge However of interest

to political sociology scholars could be the translation of academic concepts into everyday

political lingo and what effects it may have on how people think about politics agency and

identity It is also important to point out that the statements by the interviewees do not reflect

the concept of interpretation privilege in itself but only their interpretation of it Therefore one

could never claim that the concept in itself limits or motivates anything only the way it is

interpreted

Many parts of the results need further investigation One is the implication of guilt if allies are

so limited in this movement whose fault is it It is easy to jump to the conclusion that the fault

belongs to the movement itself and its participants that activists and allies specifically create

47

an environment where action is limited and surrounded by doubt and insecurity This is not the

conclusion of the study Black people or specifically Black movement participants are not to

blame for a culture created by all participants of the movement and this culture or discourse

should be treated as such a larger collective process or frame that is affected by and affecting

all movement participants and the social context it is constructed in It is power on the discursive

level and beyond the reach of any specific grouprsquos aims to control it The experiences and

emotions of the allies should be treated as manifestations of a larger socio-political context

(Buechler 1995458) which could be the focus of future research

Another important aspect to discuss is the implications of quality of the participants allyship

Much research on the passivity of modern activists for example texts on slacktivism (see

Skoric 2012) have a contemptuous tone while discussing how little activists do and how good

they feel about themselves I refrain from evaluating the quality of the actual activism

performed by the allies and from explaining their digitally dominated activism with slacktivism

Instead of seeing contemporary passivism as a potential problem of bad activists one must

focus on the cultural structural and discursive processes enabling this specific kind of activism

instead of other more traditional and acknowledged types of activism Something in the

political climate digital activism identity political social movements or something completely

different limits those who wish to support the movement as allies in their action repertoires

One interesting finding is the consistency in the way the participants describe their involvement

and the issues they thought about Looking at prior experience and their doubts and concerns

about current and future activism there seems to be no link between being unexperienced or

so to say a lsquorookiersquo activist and feeling insecure about what to do as an ally The same problem

was present for people working with equality issues for a living having academic degrees in

the field and well as those without similar professional and academic competences Thus it is

unlikely to be out of inexperience or lack of knowledge that allies sometimes turn to passivism

It is also important to note that while this analysis turned out to be about tendencies of

passivism the interviewed allies were in fact not passive They all engaged in different ally

work digitally and physically sharing information online participating in demonstrations and

trying to incorporate antiracism in their everyday lives and encounters The idea of passivism

applies to their own reasoning and thinking about their allyship more than it does to their

performed ally work Passivism describes their strategic use of introspection which resembles

being passive from out outside perspective but includes much effort in scrutinizing oneself and

trying to become a better ally something that the interviewees are very focused on

48

The main contribution of this study is its representation of the ally perspective something that

is not well researched in the Swedish context It contributes with an insight into the political

arguments of a contemporary social movement characterized by identity-focus and digital

methods Potential contributions could also relate to the questions what would be needed for

allyship to become effective motivating and less associated with introspection and passivism

questions to which the answers must be found in larger contexts than that of these 11 alliesrsquo

testimonies In order to say more about how contemporary allyship is constructed experienced

and given meaning a triangulation of different methods and data sources would be required

along with a bigger sample

The study raised more questioned than it answered which indicates the importance and

relevance of further studies For example the theoretical coherence between the academic

concept of situated knowledge and the more casual term interpretation privilege would need to

be further explored as this study is only a rather shallow review of the concepts Studying the

larger political development and the discourse on activism or racism could also help

constructing a more developed understanding of what it really means to be an ally in the local

context of 21st century Sweden while simultaneously being part of a global network of activists

The implications of these results could be that while allyship is considered important both for

social movements at large (see Brown amp Ostrove 2013 Arora amp Stout 2019 Clark 2019) and

for the individual allies themselves it is also problematized by the interviewees in line with the

problems presented in previous research Applying these results to White allyship there are

things that would need to change in order for the allies to feel secure enough to find the

motivation to participate in the way they all claim they would want to but have not found the

time motivation or feeling of legitimacy to do For ally work to be a force to be reckoned with

in the antiracist struggle preconditions for action beyond introspection and strategic passivism

must be further developed Relating back to Butler the risk is otherwise that

If white people become exclusively preoccupied with our own privilege we risk

becoming self-absorbed We definitely donrsquot need more white people making

everything about themselves that just re-centralizes whiteness and refuses to do

the work of anti-racism (Gleeson 2021)

49

7 References Ahmed S Jaidka K amp Cho J (2017) Tweeting Indiarsquos Nirbhaya protest a study of emotional dynamics in an online social

movement Social Movement Studies 16(4) 227-465 httpsdoi1010801474283720161192457

American Psychological Association (2019) Racial and ethnic identity httpapastyleapaorgstyle-grammar-

guidelinesbias-free-languageracial-ethnic-minorities

Amnaring E amp Ekman J (2013) Standby citizens diverse faces of political passivity European Political Science 1-21

httpsdoi101017S175577391300009X

Andersson P (2021) Bokrecension Vit skoumlrhet vaumllbehoumlvlig i svensk rasismdebatt SVT Nyheter Downloaded 2021-09-29

from httpswwwsvtsekulturbokrecension-vit-skorhet-skickar-meningsfulla-impulser-in-i-den-svenska-debatten

Arora M amp Stout CT (2018) Letters for Black Lives Co-ethnic Mobilization and Support for the Black Lives Matter

Movement Political Research Quarterly 72(2) 389-402 httpsdoiorg1011772F1065912918793222

Arribas Lozano A (2018) Knowledge co-production with social movement networks Redefining grassroots politics

rethinking research Social Movement Studies 17(4) 451-463 httpsdoiorg1010801474283720181457521

Barassi V amp Zamponi L (2020) Social media time identity narratives and the construction of political biographies Social

Movement Studies 195-6 592-608 httpsdoiorg1010801474283720201718489

Bauman Z (2001) Liquid Modernity Cambridge Polity Press

Bhattacharyya G Virdee S amp Winter A (2020) Revisiting histories of anti-racist thought and activism Identities 27(1)

1-19 httpsdoiorg1010801070289X20191647686

Belam M (2021) Black Lives Matter movement nominated for Nobel peace prize The Guardian 2021-01-29

httpswwwtheguardiancomworld2021jan29Black-lives-matter-nobel-peace-prize-petter-eide-norweigan-mp

(Downloaded 2021-06-16)

Bernstein M (2005) Identity Politics Annual Review of Sociology 31(1) 47-74

httpsdoiorg101146annurevsoc29010202100054

Brown K T amp Ostrove J M (2013) What does it mean to be an ally The perception of allies from the perspective of

people of color Journal of Applied Social Psychology 43(11) 2211ndash2222 httpsdoiorg101111jasp12172

Braring (2018) Sjaumllvrapporterad utsatthet foumlr hatbrott Analys utifraringn Nationella trygghetsundersoumlkningen 2006ndash2017 Rapport

201810 Downloaded 2021-03-05 at

httpswwwbrasedownload187f57ba351641b9cdc3d1e0b515344265455312018_10_Sjalvrapporterad_utsatthet_for_

hatbrottpdf

Buechler SM (1995) NEW SOCIAL MOVEMENT THEORIES Sociological Quarterly 36 441-464

httpsdoiorg101111j1533-85251995tb00447x

Bursell M (2014) The Multiple Burdens of Foreign-Named MenmdashEvidence from a Field Experiment on Gendered Ethnic

Hiring Discrimination in Sweden European Sociological Review 30(3) 399ndash409 httpsdoiorg101093esrjcu047

Carnegie Endowment for International Peace 2020 Global Protest Tracker Downloaded 2020-12-16 at

httpscarnegieendowmentorgpublicationsinteractiveprotest-trackergclid=CjwKCAiA_eb-

BRB2EiwAGBnXXve4_M0rNWlgU0_MmYUuIg6ThabxkIbk_kQhlB7O_542emIVDHX1HRoCCFsQAvD_BwE

Clark M (2019) White folksrsquo work digital allyship praxis in the BlackLivesMatter movement Social Movement Studies

18(5) 519-534 httpsdoiorg1010801474283720191603104

Clayton DM (2018) Black Lives Matter and the Civil Rights Movement A Comparative Analysis of Two Social

Movements in the United States Journal of Black Studies 40(5)448-480

httpsdoiorg1011772F0021934718764099

Cole G (2020) Types of White Identification and Attitudes About Black Lives Matter Social Science Quarterly

101(4)1627-1633) httpsdoiorg101111ssqu12837

Collins PH (1990) Black Feminist Epistemology In Calhoun C J Gerteis J Moody S Pfaff amp I Virk (Ed) (2012)

Contemporary Sociological Theory 3rd Ed Chichester Wiley-Blackwell

Craddock E (2019) Doing rsquoenoughrsquo of the lsquorightrsquo thing the gendered dimension of the lsquoideal activistrsquo and its negative

emotional consequencesrdquo Social Movement Studies 18(2)137-153) httpsdoiorg1010801474283720181555457

Creswell JW amp Poth CN (2017) Qualitative inquiry and research design choosing among five approaches (Fourth

edition) Los Angeles Sage Publications

Diani M (1992) The Concept of Social Movement The Sociological Review 40(1)1-25 httpsdoiorg1011112Fj1467-

954X1992tb02943x

Drury B amp C Kaiser (2014) Allies against Sexism The Role of Men in Confronting Sexism Journal of Social Issues

70(4)637-652 httpsdoiorg101111josi12083

Dull BD Hoyt LT Grzanka PR amp Zeider KH (2021) Can White Guilt Motivate Action The Role of Civic Beliefs

Journal of Youth and Adolescence 50 1081ndash1097 (2021) httpsdoiorg101007s10964-021-01401-7

Earl J (2014) The Future of Social Movement Organizations The Waning Dominance of SMOs Online American

Behavioral Scientist 5935-52 httpsdoiorg1011772F0002764214540507

Garrett RK (2006) Protest in an Information Society a review of literature on social movements and new ICTs

Information Communication amp Society 9(2) 202-224 httpsdoiorg10108013691180600630773

Giddens A (1991) Modernity and self-identity Self and society in the late modern age Stanford University Press

Gleeson J (2021) Judith Butler lsquoWe need to rethink the category of womanrsquo The Guardian 2021-09-07 (Accessed 20201-

09-14 at httpswwwtheguardiancomlifeandstyle2021sep07judith-butler-interview-gender)

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to better understand the experiences of allies in social movements

in this case the Black Lives Matter movement in Sweden The sociological relevance lies in

understanding how allies balance being active in a movement that departs from an identity

category to which one is an outsider and what this means in terms of responsibility privilege

and problems 11 qualitative interviews with self-identified White allies constitute the data

which has been analyzed and interpreted in relation to theories of modernity and situated

knowledge The results indicate that the ally role is perceived as meaningful and rewarding but

surrounded by different aspects to carefully balance These balances relate to the term

interpretation privilege a political term related to the concept of situated knowledge and it both

motivates and paralyzes the allies in their navigation in ally work

Keywords

Allies Social movements Black Lives Matter Situated knowledge Passivism

Table of Contents

Abstract 2

Table of Contents 3

1 Introduction and background 5

12 Aim and research question 7

2 Previous research 7

21 Allies 9

211 Why are allies important 10

212 What is problematic with allies 11

22 Digital activism 13

221 Critical perspectives on digital activism 14

3 Theory 15

31 Giddens 15

311 Life in modernity reflexivity and ontological insecurity 16

32 Situated knowledge 17

321 Situated knowledge as political strategy 19

4 Methodology 20

41 Data collection 21

42 Sample 22

43 Coding and analysis 24

44 Ethical considerations 25

45 Methodological reflexivity 26

46 Limitations 27

5 Results and analysis 28

51 Balancing ally work 31

511 Interpretation privilege 32

512 Listen but donrsquot exploit 35

513 Help but donrsquot hijack 36

514 Take a step back but donrsquot become paralyzed 39

515 Do good but not for the wrong reasons Introspection 42

6 Discussion and conclusion 46

7 References 49

5

1 Introduction and background

Thinking back on the year 2020 most of us will probably think about the Covid-19 pandemic

and how it affected our lives But 2020 was also a year of political protest Polish feminists

protested the restrictions on the right to abortion raised fees for public transportation in Chile

were met with large protests and US antiracists protested police brutality towards Black1

people as a direct response to the murder of George Floyd (Global Protest Tracker 2020) The

killing of Floyd in Minneapolis was not the first time Black Lives Matter (or BLM) a global

informal network or grassroots movement against racism and for Black liberation (Jaumlmte et al

2020370) was protesting police brutality and racist violence BLM is contextualized within a

long history of antiracist mobilization with clear links to the Civil Rights Movement both in

how it is described and interpreted in public discourse and in their ideas methods and

strategies (Clayton 2018457) The start of the movement came on February 26 2012 when

17-year-old Treyvon Martin was shot to death by a volunteer neighborhood watchman while

walking in his fatherrsquos middle-class neighborhood When the killer was acquitted there were

massive reactions and protests (Clayton 2018453) Alicia Garza Patrisse Cullors and Opal

Tometti took the initiative to gather the antiracist protests under one name one hashtag

BlackLivesMatter This first BLM-wave has since then been followed by several other protests

after cases of police violence against Black people (Clark 2019519) For example in 2014 the

BLM movement organized freedom rides to Ferguson (Missouri) inspired by the Civil Rights

movement after the murder of Michael Brown (Clayton 2018454)

After the murder of George Floyd in May 2020 demonstrations took place globally including

in several Swedish cities In Stockholm up to a thousand people gathered to support the BLM

movement and to acknowledge the situation for ethnic minorities in Sweden (Rydberg amp

Weden 2020) Despite the Swedish self-image of exceptionalism in terms of equality (Schierup

amp Aringlund 2011 45 56) there are strong evidence that Afro-Swedes are marginalized in the

upper and lower divisions of the labor market (Wolgast et al 201810 28-36) as well as in the

hiring process health and hate crime (see Braring 2018 Bursell 2014 Lindstroumlm et al 2001)

1 The B in Black (and the W in White) is capitalized based on guidelines on writing about racial and ethnic identity

formulated by the American Psychological Association (2019)

6

The movement was quickly recognized by different social institutions for example BLM was

nominated for the Nobel peace prize (Belam 2021) and the Palme Prize (Palmefonden 2021)

and over the world millions of people showed their support of the movement digitally by

posting a Black square on Instagram using the hashtag blackouttuesday (Monckton 2020)

Not only Black and other POC2 joined the movement but also White allies activists working

politically for another grouprsquos benefit (Russo 201467) Allies of different ethnicities have been

recognized as important actors in the antiracist struggle by many researchers (see for example

Arora amp Stout 2019 Brown amp Ostrove 2013 Clark 2019) as well as male allies in feminist

movements (Drury amp Kaiser 2014642) The role of White people as both perpetuators and

challengers of racism has been highly debated in the public discourse and in academia Books

such as Why Irsquom No Longer Talking to White People About Race by Reni Eddo-Lodge and

White Fragility Why Itrsquos So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism by Robin DiAngelo

have been introduced to the Swedish market after the birth of the BLM movement (Andersson

2021 Hibomo 2019) The role of White allies is thus surrounded by both appraisal and

suspicion and they must navigate their own role in the movement taking both positive and

negative views into account while finding a pathway into activism that suits them This

navigation is challenging and when Judith Butler talks on the subject in an interview in The

Guardian (Gleeson 2021) she summarizes the problems of allyship

Yes it is important to acknowledge that while a white person cannot claim to represent

Black experience that is no reason for white people to be paralyzed on matters on race

refusing to intervene at all No one needs to represent all Black experience in order to

track expose and oppose systemic racism ndash and to call upon others to do the same If

white people become exclusively preoccupied with our own privilege we risk becoming

self-absorbed We definitely donrsquot need more white people making everything about

themselves that just re-centralizes whiteness and refuses to do the work of anti-racism

This balancing between activism and passivism constitutes the focus of this thesis and the

sociological relevance lies in understanding what allies themselves experience beyond the

public perceptions of White allies Their experiences and emotions matter insofar as they are

likely to affect the way the allies choose to act and this motivates the sociological relevance of

studying ally experience Although allyship is relatively well-studied there is less research on

the emotional experiences of allyship especially in the Swedish context

2 POC stands for people of color and describes people of non-White race or ethnicity (American Psychological

Association 2019)

7

12 Aim and research question

The purpose of this paper is to study White alliesrsquo experiences of participating in and supporting

antiracist causes and movements using the Swedish BLM movement as an illustrative case due

to its high topicality The aim is to better understand the role of emotions identity (defined as

ldquothe self as reflexively understood by the person in terms of her or his biographyrdquo [Giddens

199153]) and ideas about power and responsibility shaping ally work departing from the

Swedish context in order to evaluate what the circumstances of ally work are and how the

experience of ally work and identity is lived and understood by White allies themselves The

sociological relevance of the study consists of linking the macro-level political discourse on

responsibility and identity with lived experience agency and sense of self at the individual

micro-level reality of allies Previous research focuses on the emotions and experiences in itself

whereas this paper aims to link these experiences and emotions to action and agencyThe

research questions are

A What emotional experiences do participants have and how can these be related to

identity power and responsibility

B To what extent do White allies feel entitled to act and speak in the name of the

movement

2 Previous research

The field of social movement studies is a well-established field with a long history and there

is a variety of sub-fields with different focuses ranging from resource mobilization (McCarthy

amp Zald 1977) to political processes that enable or hinder social movement activity (McAdam

1983) to the collective interpretations of a movement that is created by framing processes

(Snow 1986) and much more There are many different definitions of the social movement

concept This paper will build upon the definition presented by Diani (19923) describing social

movements as ldquonetworks of informal interaction between a plurality of individuals groups

andor organizations engaged in a political andor cultural conflict on the basis of a shared

collective identityrdquo which describes the informal non-hierarchal form of BLM (Jaumlmte et al

2020370)

8

Social movements as a phenomenon have changed through history shifting from mostly class-

based collective action to movements built on multiple identity categories (Buechler

1995548) This assumption is foundational in new social movement theory (NSMT)

represented by for example Alain Touraine (1987) NSMT concludes that non-material values

replaced class interests as the main motivator for collective action if the goal for social

movements used to be to expropriate the power from the dominant class and thus empower

the working class it has now shifted to deconstructing and reframing power itself (Buechler

1995442 Touraine 1987218-20) New social movements deal specifically with ldquothe social

control of production and diffusion of symbolic goodsrdquo (Touraine 1987218) which means

focusing on for example domains of culture and language Research based on NSMT often

focus on the roles of emotions identities and lifestyles as central themes in modern social

movements which are seen as manifestations of the implicit economic and political structures

they appear within (Buechler 1995485) The centrality of identity is often referred to as

identity politics (Bernstein 200547) Kauffman (200124 29-32) argued that identity politics

implicates a shift from working for equality and redistribution to apolitical introspection and

lifestyle politics resonant with the market ideology Others recognized how identity politics

give previously unrecognized groups recognition and space to develop policy that favors their

specific interests instead of only serving those at top of the in-group hierarchy of the workersrsquo

movements (Bernstein 200564-6) Regardless of whether one associates identity politics with

something good or something bad it can be concluded that antiracist movements have some

basis in identity categories rather than class despite the historical link between antiracism and

socialist ideas (Bhattacharyya et al 20203) Identity as a political concept is also central to the

experiences thoughts and interpretations of the White allies participating in this study as their

recognition of their White identity is what their allyship departs from

When it comes to antiracist thought and practice similar tendencies as those described in

NSMT can be seen Bhattacharyya Virdee and Winter (20203) lined out the development of

antiracist academic thought showing how it has developed from anti-capitalist and anti-slavery

to a micro perspective seeing racism as everyday microaggressions and dehumanization

(ibid11-12) Recently antiracist thought has been more concerned with intersectionality

developing sub-theories of Black feminism and Black queer theory to emphasize how different

identities have different lived experiences of oppression The focus of antiracist thought and

practice today according to the authors is to amplify certain voices and perspectives to ensure

representation and diversity of different identities (ibid12)

9

Looking at the Swedish context Jaumlmte and colleagues (2020) discuss how the Swedish BLM

movement represents a structuralist turn in Swedish anti-racism which has historically been

focusing on extremities such as Apartheid or Nazism and less on discrimination in the labor

market housing and media (ibid369 375) Historically the antiracist movement in Sweden

been occupied by a large proportion of allies from the majority population but during the 2020

BLM wave this changed and more POC participated for their cause Because ally activism is

often more volatile the increased share of people with lived experience of racism contributes

to a more stable foundation for sustainable activism (ibid371-2) Digital methods also

dominated the Swedish case which can be compared to the MeToo movement rather than the

US-based BLM movement which focused much more on physical protest and resistance

(ibid369)

Based on the different important conclusions in previous research (the turn towards non-

material values antiracist tendencies to emphasize lived experience the overrepresentation of

White allies in the Swedish anti-racist movement historically and the dominance of digital

methods) the remainder of the previous research presented will focus on allyship and white

identity and digital methods in contemporary movements

21 Allies

In a movement where much emphasis is put on identities it is of interest to examine the role of

those who are part of the movement activity without belong to that specific identity group In

this case White allies The definition of an ally varies between different scholars Brown and

Ostrove (20132211) described an ally as a dominant group member who ldquowork to end

prejudice in their personal and professional lives and relinquish social privileges conferred by

their group status through their support of nondominant groupsrdquo Spanierman and Smith

(2017608-9) argued that an ally is someone who understands their privilege as well as their

own role in oppression through introspection and self-reflection and who use their privilege

in responsible ways to end oppression despite facing opposition from other dominant group

members For Drury and Kaiser (2014637) an ally is someone who ldquoaligns with a

disadvantaged group by recognizing the need for further progress in the fight for equal rights

and Russo (201467) simply defined allies as activists who are politically engaged to benefit a

group to which they are outsiders These definitions include both introspective aspects of

allyship and more action-oriented aspects and they are all relatively open regarding what

10

exactly an ally can be expected to do in support for the movement What almost all these

definitions have in common is the baseline assumption that allies recognize their own

privileges and in antiracist movements that they embrace their White identity whiteness is not

only a description of skin color or ethnicity but also a culturally and politically influenced

identity A White ally cannot only be White they must also recognize their whiteness as

culturally significant recognizing privilege and becoming aware of both oppression as such

and onersquos own role in it is the first step to become an ally (Drury amp Kaiser 2014638) Although

lsquoWhitersquo has not always been treated as a social identity in the same way as other ethnic

identities there has been a recent resurge of White identification in the US (Cole 20201627)

Cole identified three main types of White identity type 1 includes no recognition of whiteness

type 2 recognizes whiteness but sees it as a liability and type 3 recognizes whiteness as a

privilege Among these types of White identification type 3 is most likely to support the BLM

means and goals whereas type 2 is least likely to support the movement at all

White identity development is also closely linked to the idea of White guilt which is seen as a

normative response to realizing onersquos own whiteness and the privilege attached to it Individuals

who acknowledge recognize and understand racism have higher degrees of White guilt and

this can either motivate action or create passivity (Dull et al 20211081-84) Dull and

colleagues found that White guilt can motivate civic action under certain circumstances there

must also be individual beliefs of social responsibility and efficacy (ibid1089) If the individual

neither believes in their social responsibility nor their own efficacy as political actors they will

struggle to find motivation to act Efficacy was measured by asking the participants whether

they felt they had the knowledge capacity and opportunity to affect social change (ibid1086)

Feelings of shame and despair among other have demobilizing effects on political mobilization

(Zhelnina 2020361) and it is therefore highly relevant to explore what emotions are

experienced by the allies in this study and to what degree they motivate or hinder action

211 Why are allies important

The role of allies in social movements is considered important in creating both social change

and in improving the everyday conditions of marginalized groups Brown and Ostrove (2013)

argued that White allies have two main assignments in antiracist movements supporting

individual people from the nondominant group and engaging in informed political action After

realizing onersquos whiteness and privilege allies must actively work to dismantle the system of

11

oppression by for example willingly share power with the subordinated group (Clark

2019523)

One of the most valuable aspects of ally work in social movements is the fact that the costs of

confronting sexism racism or any other discriminatory behavior is much lower for allies

without personal interest in the issue than it is for marginalized group members Men

confronting sexist behavior are seen as more rational and credible and less hostile than their

female counterparts which can strengthen the receiverrsquos sympathy for the sentiment of the

movement (Drury amp Kaiser 2014642) Male allies speaking up can also normalize rejecting

sexist ideas for women too and thus create a more open climate for such confrontations

(ibid644) The cost of ally work is further lowered when utilizing digital methods Clark (2019)

found that when White allies use their digital platforms to amplify the voices of Black people

the personal costs are low while the effects are positive The narratives of Black activists often

marginalized in their outreach in other ethnic or cultural groups are spread and legitimized by

White allies and it may ultimately strengthen the movement at large (Clark 2019528-31)

The idea that White allies should help the movement by amplifying the voices of Black people

can be further validated by the results of a study conducted by Arora and Stout (2019) on co-

ethnic mobilization and support for BLM They conducted an experimental study on the support

for the movement and the effect of messages from co-ethnic versus non-co-ethnic messengers

In general people tend to accept and embrace a political message more easily if they find the

messenger trustworthy and likeable which is an increasingly rational mechanism in times of

excessive access to information (Arora amp Stout 2019390) In their study they had people read

letters in favor for supporting the BLM movement written by authors of different ethnicities

Their results showed that White people did not change their opinion on BLM unless the author

was also White (ibid394-5) The implications of these results are that ldquoif whitesrsquo attitudes about

Black Lives Matter are to change appeals are much more effective coming from co-racial

individualsrdquo (ibid396) This implies that the role of White allies in amplifying the message of

Black activists and spreading the message especially within their own racial group is a very

powerful and important way for White allies to support the movement

212 What is problematic with allies

Although the role of allies in social movements are important there are also problems Some

research indicates that without lived experience of for example sexism or racism it is harder

12

to detect when such discrimination occurs For example men are less likely to interpret subtle

sexism as sexism and they are less likely to sympathize with someone confronting sexism if

that someone is female (Drury amp Kaiser 2014639 642) Thus much time and effort may have

to be put into educating out-group allies Allies are also less likely to be emotionally receptive

towards grasping the magnitude of oppression which again comes from lack of lived

experience (Russo 201480) It is also important to recognize uniqueness in group experiences

instead of assuming that experience of one type of oppression automatically leads to insights

about other oppressions (Spanierman amp Smith 2017608-10)

Besides the problem of potential insensibility on behalf of the ally another issue is low

engagement (Jaumlmte et al 2020370) Brown and Ostrove (20132220) argued that although

some inactivity of allies could be attributed to general passivity of contemporary activists or

lack of emotional engagement it could also come out of fear of doing anything considered

wrong White allies they argued tend to be more cautious in their actions because of this and

instead of acting on their own they leave space for Black people to take the lead However in

the attempt to leave room for and amplify for example Black narratives there is a significant

risk that allies freeride on the political labor of Black people (Clark 2019530) This problem

is also present in feminist movements where male allies often engage in low risk high reward

activism and often take credit for work dependent on the efforts of female feminists (Linder amp

Johnson 20155 17-18) This is made possible Linder and Johnson argued by the master

narrative saying male allies should be recognized validated and granted credibility regardless

of their actual contributions to the movementndash even though there is an overwhelming risk with

male feminist ally work being directly counterproductive due to lack of sympathy for the

female perspective and expertise (ibid4-5) In adverse cases male allies have been known to

not only capitalize on womenrsquos pain ignore their perspective and steal their hard work but to

actually commit sexual assault in feminist organizations (ibid9)

There are many other risks associated with ally work Mostly it originates in the fact that many

have good intentions but lack in self-reflection or knowledge about real political work

Spanierman and Smith (2017) pointed to how such discrepancies between intention capacity

and self-awareness can lead to paternalistic behavior towards marginalized people and that this

can strengthen the unconscious sense of superiority and legitimize status quo instead of

challenging it Another mistake especially important in digital activism is the tendency to

engage in optics instead of politics and to treat members of the disenfranchised group as objects

13

to be used for personal virtue signaling Such cosmetic activism rarely leads to any structural

criticism or challenging (Spanierman amp Smith 2017609-10)

22 Digital activism

As can be seen in the previous research on the positive opportunities with allies digital methods

are important for allies to engage for example in amplifying voices of minorities (Clark

2019528-31) This is perhaps even more true in the 2020 BLM-wave when many were limited

in their capacity to participate physically due to the pandemic All participants in this study

participated in digital activism (most of them exclusively so) and it is therefore important to

account for some research on the role digitalism plays in contemporary movements The

introduction of new technologies into political activism has been studied for many years even

before the social medias we use today Information and Communication technologies (ICTrsquos)

such as mobile phones or the internet had many effects on political activism as they became

available for more people for example it contributed with increased sense of community

strengthened political participation facilitated movement organization and increased

independence from elite representations of movements (Garrett 2006205-14)

Modern social medias have the same effects to some extent The internet and social media are

acknowledged to affect how social movements come into being and how they operate (Barassi

amp Zamponi 2020 Earl 2014) Social media platforms are used as tools for organizing raising

awareness and spreading information (Ahmed et al 2017447) and was for example one of

the success factors of the MeToo movement (Li et al 2020 Lin amp Yang 2019) Social media

also played a major role in the BLM protests without social media the protests of 2020 would

perhaps not have been as widespread The fact that the video picturing Floydrsquos murder spread

so rapidly led to massive emotional involvement and increased motivation for participation

according to research on the efficiency of emotions in digital activism (Clark 2019 Heldman

201788) Facilitating the growth of collective emotion and identity is one of the main

contributions of social media because emotions are crucial in motivating political action

(Ahmed et al 201746 Zhelnina 2020361) Studying the emotional expressions before during

and after a social protest on Twitter Ahmed and colleagues concluded that emotions affect

involvement online similarly to their effect offline ndash they channel participation and create

community and identification (Ahmed et al 2017459-61) Besides this social media functions

as a megaphone for individuals without having to be represented by any formal leader (Earl

14

201537) Earl argued that some of the functions centralized and formal social movement

organizations used to fill can in many cases be substituted with online communities lowering

the costs of organizers and participants (ibid39)

221 Critical perspectives on digital activism

Social media as site and tool for social activism is also criticized based on ideas about how it

leads to passivity and how motives for online activism differs from those in offline or lsquorealrsquo

activism Online activism is sometimes called slacktivism referencing the lower degrees of

effort and risk required to engage in online activism (Skoric 201277) The slacktivist narrative

is often used to explain the decline in youth political engagement (Amnaring amp Ekman 20136)

although the link between digital activism and low degrees of participation have not been

determined Online activism is usually less valued than more traditional types of activism which

requires more from the individual activist (Craddock 2019148-9 Heldman 2017207) despite

the lack of consensus between researchers on whether online activism is effective or not

(Lilleker amp Koc-Michalska 201725) Skoric (201277) argued that the Internet promotes a

superficial mode of political activism where liking commenting and sharing are the main tools

for participating in political activism and that the focus often is aimed at the individual and her

capacity of introspection lifestyle politics or mere expression of opinions without further

actions Such positionings rarely challenges structures of power and dominance Slacktivism

feels good without actually doing any good and it distracts people from engaging in meaningful

activism (ibid78)

lsquoFeeling goodrsquo as a motive for political mobilization is further explored by Lilleker and Koc-

Michalska (201723) who argued that there is a strong link between both intrinsic and extrinsic

emotional motivations and political mobilization both self-fulfillment and recognition are

strong motivators for both online and offline activism Extrinsic motivations eg external

approval recognition and being perceived as lsquogoodrsquo has the strongest effect on motivating

participation (ibid34 25) The difference they found between online and offline participation

was that online activism is less self-fulfilling and more driven by ldquoconforming and earning

rewardsrdquo which they interpret as online participation potentially being mere clicktivism and

less personally meaningful to the people engaging in it (ibid35)

Although slacktivism is not necessarily a phenomenon limited to the digital sphere but includes

all performative positioning online activism arguably breeds slacktivism because of how easy

15

and available it is The motivation to engage in high-risk high-effort activism decreases if there

are always lower effort- and risk options available that gives the same recognition and

satisfaction (Skoric 201279) Morozov (2009) also has criticized the naiumlve faith in the potential

of Internet activism and argued that poorly planned online slacktivism is not only ineffective

and toothless but also holds potential for backfiring and causing devastating consequences For

example when Western activists attempted to attack Iranian government sources online they

accidentally slowed down the whole Iranian internet making the activism of local protestors

difficult (Morozov 200913)

As this section shows the relationship between social media and the general level of activism

among people is far from determined However the participants of this study all relied on digital

methods in their ally work and their experiences of digital methods are explored in the analysis

3 Theory

In this section the two theories used to analyze the data will be presented and discussed starting

with Giddensrsquo theories on modernity which are used to contextualize ally work as a 21st century

phenomenon shaped by the preconditions of modernity such as increased reflexivity and

ontological insecurity Thereafter theories of situated knowledge will be used to describe how

the allies relate to their own whiteness in relation to the concept of interpretation privilege

sometimes limiting the allies in their leeway of action Essentially Giddensrsquo theories will be

used to understand why allies hesitate about their role and theories of situated knowledge will

be used to understand what they base these hesitations on

31 Giddens

Giddensrsquo theory of modernity focuses on the circumstances of human activity and identity in

what he referred to as (late) modernity The theory will be used to contextualize ally work as

something that exists within a larger social cultural and economic structure that shapes the

way identity politics and human activity are formed with special focus on self-identity and

ontological security

16

Worth mentioning when using the term modernity is that there are scholarly disagreements on

whether the current era should be interpreted as modernity late (or liquid see Bauman 2001)

modernity or postmodernity However Giddens belongs to the group of theorists who see

contemporary society as still existing within the theoretical frames of late modernity where the

tendencies of modernity has been further stretched and strengthened (Giddens 199127) This

assumption will be present throughout this paper while also acknowledging this is only one

interpretation

311 Life in modernity reflexivity and ontological insecurity

Modernity is an era characterized by post-traditional orders institutionalized radical doubt

detachment of time and space risk-cultures and abstract systems (Giddens 19912-5)

Following these changes in increased emphasis on reflexivity the continuous revisiting of

previously taken-for-granted concepts truths and ideas This applies to the institutional and

individual level and the latter will be of focus in this paper Without the guiding hand of

tradition or custom as in premodern society people must navigate in the world without being

firmly grounded in pregiven sets of beliefs on what should be done in each situation and with

the constant flow of information in modernity the horizon of possible actions are constantly

broadened (ibid20)

The increased emphasis on reflexivity means for the individual that ldquoself-identity becomes a

reflexively organised endeavorrdquo (Giddens 19915) Giddensrsquo described self-identity as a

project based on coherent and ldquocontinuously revised biographical narrativesrdquo which ldquotakes

place in the context of multiple choices as filtered through abstract systemsrdquo (ibid5) This

means that self-identity is closely linked to actions and is ldquoroutinely created and sustainedrdquo in

the actions of the individual (ibid52) This includes making constant decisions while having

endless choices ndash on what to do how to act and ultimately who to be in late modernity ldquowe

are not what we are but what we make of ourselvesrdquo (ibid54 75) If the individual fails to

perform in coherence with their sense of self-identity the individual may start to doubt their

own biographical narrative and ultimately themselves (ibid58) In the context of social

movements the ally identity is thus constantly reshaped by each choice of action and it

becomes important to act in accordance with the ideal-typical ally role Allyship is also a

globalized phenomenon which increases the number of aspects to take into consideration while

reflexively making choices

17

As reflexivity become more and more significant in guiding human action people in late

modernity experience loss of ontological security which is a ldquorsquonatural attitudersquo in everyday

liferdquo in relation to how to act and orient oneself in the world (Giddens 199136) Being

ontologically secure is ldquoto possess on the level of the unconscious and practical consciousness

lsquoanswersrsquo to fundamental existential questions which all human life in some way addressesrdquo

(ibid47) and was previously guided by tradition custom rules and norms of premodern society

Ontological security thus secures the individualsrsquo smooth navigation through life without them

hesitating on their role in the world too much However as society developed into modernity

and late modernity the conditions for ontological security changed ndash the traditions of

premodern society that used to give ontological security by offering a sense of structure

firmness and purpose are now exchanged for reflexivity (ibid48) making each single decision

dependent on an almost infinite number of possible options (ibid36) Without ontological

security the individual experiences existential anxiety caused by uncertainty ndash and such anxiety

itself ldquotends to paralyse relevant actions rather than generate themrdquo (ibid44) This passivity can

occur in relation to specific actions or to the sense of self in general for example failing to

perform in line with onersquos perceived self-identity can create ontological insecurity and it opens

for questioning onersquos entire role in a specific context for example a social movement For allies

ontological insecurity could arise in relation to them trying to navigate what actions are

appropriate for them to engage in based on the reflexive project of self-identity However

inactivism or passivity cannot only be seen in the individualrsquos relation to action but in politics

in general Giddens argued that politics in premodern times were emancipatory and aiming to

end oppression but that politics in modernity has been transformed into life politics a shift in

ideology and activity towards emphasizing lifestyle and self-actualization (ibid210-14)

The purpose of including Giddensrsquo theory of modernity is to provide a potential context in

which the allies of this study act and shape their own ally identities and how their occasionally

self-restricting introspection may be understood

32 Situated knowledge

To complement the theory of Giddens theories on situated knowledge will be included in the

analysis to point to specific ways in which the allies engage in reflexive decision-making eg

on what basis they make decisions about ally strategies The included theories are feminist

theories but their implications are not limited to gender relations

18

Theories of situated knowledge (also referred to as standpoint theory or feminist epistemology)

is an epistemological attempt to challenge the way knowledge is produced validated and

valued Epistemology is an ldquooverarching theory of knowledgerdquo (Collins 1990408) and theories

of epistemology focuses on how truth and knowledge is shaped by power relations between

social positions and how this could change Easily put social position of the knowledge

producer shapes the kind of knowledge that can be produced (Young 200425) In this thesis

the theoretical works of Haraway Young and Collins will be included although there are more

contributors to the thoughts about situated knowledge

Relating knowledge to power feminist theorists have pointed to how knowledge production

has been dominated by men and postcolonial thinkers have questioned dominant knowledge

for its sometimes exploitative and colonializing tendencies (in for example Western thought

and anthropology) Part of this critique has included a call for recognition privilege of lived

experience and reflexivity in research (Voronka 2016191) Donna Haraway (1988) presented

a feminist epistemology (or feminist objectivism) that recognized how women have historically

seen as immanent beings unable to transcend the body and escape its ldquofinite point of viewrdquo

whereas men have been seen as able to attain lsquoobjectiversquo perspectives and knowledges

(Haraway 1988575) The (imagined) male capacity to transcend ldquoparticular social location

and adopt a lsquoview from nowherersquordquo gives men higher status epistemologically (Young 200424)

Thus the gaze of the White male has been favored in sociology as it represents the unmarked

and objective perspective (Haraway 1988581)

The problem with the idea of objectivity and the lsquoview from nowherersquo according to feminist

and postcolonial critics is that knowledge is a power process and only taking one groups

knowledge into account reinforces these power processes Patricia Hill Collins argued that

power over the production and validation of knowledge is an issue of group interest where the

dominant group preserves their own interests by invalidating knowledge that either challenges

their hegemonic ideas or follows alternative practices in their creation of alternative knowledges

(Collins 1990409-10) Black womenrsquos knowledge is subjugated knowledge and it must fight

for recognition in an anti-Black and anti-female world (ibid414) The Black feminist

epistemology she advocated for includes sensitivity to the combination of female and Black

experiences unique for Black women and it recognized alternative ways to create knowledge

specific to Black womenrsquos knowledge production (ibid407-8)

19

321 Situated knowledge as political strategy

If knowledge is then produced under circumstances of domination power structures and

hegemony ndash what would an alternative look like and what could these alternatives lead to

From a quality standpoint Haraway (1988583) argued that including several perspectives in

knowledge production leads to better conclusions Even though she dismissed the idea that

subjugated people have a purer vision on truth and objectivity an idea she claimed is often

rooted in a fetishized idea of the Third World woman she argued that subjugated groups are

less likely to ldquoallow denial of the critical and interpretive core of all knowledgerdquo than are

dominant groups (ibid583-586) She wrote that the only standpoint from which no objectivity

can ever be reached is ldquothe standpoint of the master the Man the One God whose Eye

produces appropriates and orders differencerdquo (ibid587) Thus to aim for objectivity depends

on including perspectives otherwise ignored by structures of power and dominance (ibid590)

Delegitimizing the idea of a lsquoGodrsquos eyersquo from where true knowledge can be observed and

mediated means including other perspectives and knowledges (Young 200420) This is not

only just and right it also contributes to wiser decision making in a context of democratic

processes including perspectives from all social standpoints maximizes knowledge which

should be treated as a democratic resource when fully utilized (ibid25-9) Thus the idea of

situated knowledges includes a normative assumption of inclusion and diversity in decision

making and knowledge production and social difference should be treated as a resource for

democratic societies (ibid29)

The standpoint theorists emphasize how recognizing specificity in knowledge claims for

different groups does not include the idea that subjugated groups are naturally epistemically

privileged eg that their perspective on every issue should be treated as automatically lsquotruersquo

(Haraway 1988583-4 Young 200427-29) Neither the position of these groups or any

imagined inherent attributes give subjugated groups automatic access to the truth but the

position opens up doors to new perspectives impossible to imagine from above (Haraway

1988584) The specific knowledge unique for the dominated social positions include different

understandings of their own position and others and the relation between them as well as ldquoa

point of view on the history of societyrdquo ldquoan interpretation of how the relations and processes

of the whole society operates especially as they affect onersquos own positionrdquo and finally ldquoa

position-specific experience and point of view on the natural and physical environmentrdquo

(Young 200429)

20

Applying these ideas in a context of practical politics for example in a social movement can

include such inclusion of different perspectives and emphasizing how group difference matters

in terms of knowledge but without claiming the existence of epistemic privilege Often this

practical application is based on including people with lived experience into different contexts

of power or knowledge production (Voronka 2016189)

However the strategy of using lived experience as a criterion for epistemic legitimacy can also

be problematized Voronka (2016192) argued that inclusion and representation of different

groups in decision making as a criterion for legitimate knowledge production can be seen as

resting on essentialist assumptions and stable identity categories The categories themselves are

left unaccounted for meaning the boundaries between and content of different identity groups

are seen as natural entities (ibid194) The concept of lived experience fails to answer questions

of who we are and why while the existence of these categories should be questioned in

themselves Thus acting based on ideas of lived experience and ldquoepistemic privilegerdquo (Young

200427) risks both treating identity as essentialist and constructing group attributes as

embodied truths and ignore difference in lived experience within groups (Voronka 2016196)

Thus Voronka (ibid197) argued

we need to mark how rsquopeople with lived experiencersquo [as a concept my note] risks

reproducing and replicating systems of domination that privileges subjects and

subjectivities that fit closely within the White heteropatriarchal matrix of ruling

Voronkarsquos experiences come from academia but the ideas can be applied to other contexts as

well Theories of situated knowledge can be extracted from the abstract epistemological level

and transformed into a concept more suitable and applicable for everyday situations and as will

be seen in the analysis this theme is highly present in the statements by the study participants

in the form of interpretation privilege (See section 5 Results and analysis)

4 Methodology

The study builds on phenomenological approach and aims to understand a social phenomenon

by interpreting the different meanings ascribed to it by the participant whose lived experience

is in focus for the analysis (Creswell amp Poth 2018150) Thus the focus of the study is not the

BLM movement itself but to understand the experience of the allies The study is abductive

21

meaning the research process was iterative - going back and forth between empirical findings

and theoretical background The aim of abductive analysis is often to generate theory by

cultivating already existing theories together with the surprising results found in the data

collection that are in turn reinterpreted through the revisited theoretical insights (Timmermans

amp Tavory 2012169 173-6) One important aspect of abduction is to revisit the phenomenon

as it can lead to new insights For example when the first couple of interviews were done the

lack of response to one specific question was interpreted as missing data But when the

transcripts were revisited after some additional previous research had been read I realized the

unanswered question was not missing data ndash it was data in itself This realization affected how

the data collection moved forward as the focus narrowed down on the ally role and its

limitations

41 Data collection

The data collection was done by conducting qualitative interviews with 11 self-identified White

allies to understand their perspective experiences and thoughts about their participation The

interviews were in average 010245 in length and they were conducted during a five-week

period The interviews were semi-structured guided by an interview guide without following

it in detail which creates room for flexibility This ensured both consistency between the

interviews and individual variations depending on the interviewee (Turner 2010755) The

interview guide had open-ended questions and covered three main themes (political

background identity emotions) Some questions related to relevant concepts for example they

were asked ldquoIn your perspective what is an allyrdquo The purpose was not to evaluate the

participants academic understanding of the term but to have them reflect upon their own

perceptions and thereby gain insight into their political thinking and its effect on their ally role

Other questions were about experiences such as ldquoCould you tell me about your participation in

the BLM movementrdquo and ldquoWhat emotional responses did you have when this happenedrdquo

Some parts of the interview focused on the BLM movement specifically but since the antiracist

ally identity was often developed before BLM started it also included more general experiences

of antiracist allyship At the end of each interview the participants were given a chance discuss

things important to them The limitation of interview data is that it is not a representation of the

world lsquoout therersquo but only a representation of how the interviewees describe their experiences

and these can be shaped by indefinite number of things beyond the scope of this thesis

22

All interviews were digitally conducted Although digital interviewing is often presented as a

second choice there are benefits to it For example Howlett (20217-8) noticed how the safe

environment of the home made the participants more relaxed and that the interviews also tended

to be both longer and richer in detail than offline interviews One could however imagine how

the opposite effect could occur if the home environment is unsafe or unfit for long

conversations The interviews took place more than a year into the pandemic and people were

thus more familiar with digital communication technologies than they were in the beginning

(ibid10) The pandemic was topic for small talk before the interviews started and our shared

experience with it created some sense of commonality and a relaxed atmosphere where potential

technical issues or disturbances were met with recognition from the other party Despite the

surprisingly positive experience with digital interviewing and as well as the rich data gathered

it is still important to recognize how the quality could have been even better with physical

interviews

The interviews were all conducted on Zoom and recorded in the software The interviews were

transcribed in full verbatim meaning that false starters stutters laughter and pauses were

included Such utterances are clues to how the participants feel about what they are telling and

should be treated as data

42 Sample

The sampling for this study is based on one inclusion criterion motivated by the purpose of the

study the criterion being White ally identification (Creswell amp Poth 201881 157) To base

the inclusion criterion on self-identification could potentially lead to low validity in terms of

not achieving a sample that represents the group one wishes to study by excluding those who

engage in ally work without identifying as such To ensure that the people included in the study

were lsquorealrsquo allies the criterion could have been having a certain amount of experience from ally

work or similar However this was a methodological choice motivated by reflections by

Craddock (2019) who studied activism Craddock learned that including the term activist in

her participant letter excluded people who - despite being very active - did not dare to call

themselves activists due to the high standard of what lsquorealrsquo activism is Especially women feel

that they cannot live up to the ideal and therefore they do not recognize their own activist

identity (Craddock 2019138-42) Therefore anyone who identified as an ally was allowed to

participate without evaluating or judging their level of participants

23

The sampling method was mixed consisting of convenience sampling and snowball sampling

(Creswell amp Poth 2018159) First an email was sent to the Swedish BLM organizationrsquos

official email telling them about the study and asking if they had any recommendations of

where participants could be found This email got no response Different Facebook groups were

chosen as lsquofieldsrsquo to sample in Personal acquaintances were also asked to participate The

choice of Facebook groups related to both convenience and lack of access to physical fields to

sample in and because much of the activism related to BLM took place online The Facebook

groups were all limited demographically (open only for women and non-binary people) and

they all had explicit value-systems with feminist anti-racist intersectional orientations Some

groups were simple support-and-chat groups some had a more political purpose (without party

connections) One participant was found in the comments section on a Facebook page that

relates to antiracism and contacted from there and a few were snowball sampled Recruiting

participants in online forums creates a problematic balance between transparency and

anonymity if too detailed information about the specific sampling sites is revealed the

participants identities can be spoiled due to traceability Thus the names of these Facebook

groups or pages cannot be revealed The groups were known to me beforehand as I am myself

a member in them and therefore had access to the lsquofieldrsquo which reduced the time and effort

spent on sampling If this study were a netnography with digital data to analyze it would be

problematic because my interpretation would be tainted by my personal experiences in the

groups but since the data itself was not related to the specific groups or the participants activity

in these groups it is less problematic

This digital convenience sampling limits the groups included in the sampling frame which

creates a skewed sample in terms of for example gender The complementary snowball

sampling creates a similar problem with homogeneity because of the tendency of participants

to recommend people who are like themselves As a result people with academic backgrounds

in social sciences and humanities are overrepresented in this sample The first interviewee Lisa

works in the international aid sector and she put me in touch with some old classmates and

colleagues which contributed to the skewed sample However the sampling method does not

aim to reach a randomized sample that is representative of the Swedish population in general

but instead a purposeful selection of people with certain experiences (Creswell amp Poth

2018272)

The final sample included people of different genders (9 female 1 male and 1 non-binary)

ages (22-36) education (from high school diploma to MA-degrees) and occupation (traditional

24

working-class occupations or white-collar jobs) They lived in or originated from different parts

of Sweden with one currently living in South Africa They also had very different backgrounds

in regards of political engagement some of them had been organized voluntarily or

professionally in multiple movements and civil society organizations some are or have been

active in party politics and some had their political experience mainly in online discussions

43 Coding and analysis

After all interviews were transcribed the data was coded in Excel using the guidelines for

phenomenological analysis presented called horizonalization (Creswell amp Poth 2018201

Moustakas 1994118) Horizonalization means creating a broad base or platform of equally

important statements to capture the experiences of the participants In phenomenological

studies coding and analysis should preferably be inductive highlighting ldquosignificant

statements sentences and quotesrdquo (Creswell amp Poth 201879) instead of deductively trying to

apply hypotheses or theories onto the data

The coding followed the subsequent steps First each transcript was read one at a time and

important statements were added in a quote-column in Excel (see Image 1) Following the

quote-column were categorical columns based on different themes from the interviews The 12

categories were Background Activity in BLM Identity Role Pandemic Emotion Motivation

Introspection BLM organization Balance Problems and Other There was also a column for

especially good quotes which were marked with an lsquoxrsquo In each column (for example ldquoRolerdquo)

inductively created codes were entered An example can be seen in Image 1

The coding was kept close to the data and focus was to create codes that described the specifics

of each statement instead of keeping the number of codes down which created some overlap

Image 1 Visual representation of the coding strategy

After the 11 interviews were coded the data included 243 quotes in 12 categories In order to

structure the analysis according to relevant topics themes were created out of the codes based

on representativeness and uniqueness These themes provided the basis for the interpretation

25

and analysis For example the previously mentioned code ldquoNot surerdquo was grouped together

with the code ldquoDecided by othersrdquo (in the column ldquoRolerdquo) and analyzed together because they

were interpreted as expressions of the same phenomenon eg insecurity regarding what the

role should contain (Moustakas 1994118)

After the coding which is a big part of the analysis itself the most relevant and interesting

themes were further analyzed This was related to observed regularities in statements being

repeated among several participants and novelty or lsquosurprise factorrsquo Whereas the coding was

unrelated to any specific theory the deeper analysis of the different themes was done parallel

to exploring theory The theories came into the process at different stages Giddensrsquo theory of

modernity and ontological security was explored after the initial coding before starting the

writing process of the analysis based on the pattern of insecurity and reflexivity among the

participantsrsquo descriptions of how they make decisions on how to act as an ally Thereafter the

concept of situated knowledge was introduced after all material had initially been analyzed and

written down in a first draft and the recurring use of the term interpretation privilege

(tolkningsfoumlretraumlde) caught my interest The focus was therefore the themes related to

interpretation privilege and how the participants made sense of the term as well as the different

aspects they had to balance because of their emphasis on interpretation privilege in the final

analysis

44 Ethical considerations

Research should be guided by ethical principles to ensure the safety of the participants and the

quality of the research The most important aspects include consent confidentiality and

anonymity Informed consent means that the participant must be given full information about

what participation means and they must be given the chance to both give and withdraw their

consent during or after the interview The researcher must tell the truth about the purpose of the

study and the participant can choose to leave any unwanted questions unanswered

(Vetenskapsraringdet 201710 16) All participants were given a letter with information about the

study which was again repeated verbally right before the interview The second important

aspect confidentiality means that all information and data must be handled safely and not be

shared with unauthorized people (ibid40) The data was stored on a password protected

computer and no personal information was saved along with the transcripts And finally

anonymity means that the identity of the participants must be concealed for example by giving

26

them new names or changing identifying details in their statements (ibid13) Both of my

sampling methods (digital convenience and snowball) can threaten the anonymity of the

participants because they become traceable either to those who were lsquosnowballedrsquo into the study

or those who were found online (see chapter 42 Sample)

In more qualitative terms the researcher must make fair interpretations of the statements made

by participants and be transparent with how conclusions were made This ensures both

transparency in a scientific standpoint and the well-being of the participants (Vetenskapsraringdet

201710) Related to this it is important to recognize how the analysis may affect the

participants for example Creswell and Poth (2018228) argue that there is always a risk that

participants feel bothered by the way their statements have been interpreted in relation to theory

and previous research and especially in a sensitive topic such as politics identity and emotions

In order to minimize this risk the interpretations will both be rooted in theory and previous

research and include alternative evidence and interpretations

45 Methodological reflexivity

Reflexivity requires researchers to be aware of and transparent about their own biases in their

interpretations as well as scrutinizing their power in relation to the research participants

(Creswell amp Poth 2018201 228) Besides the inherent power in the relation between

researcher and participants no specific power dynamics existed in this study The researcher

must reflect upon their own position (gender class race and similar) and how it affects the

way the research is conducted and how the results are interpreted (ibid228) Being reflexive

thus becomes a way to increase validity by clarifying where researcher bias may have affected

the results (ibid261) Evidence that contradicts the arguments made in the analysis has been

included to avoid bias The idea of researcher reflexivity builds on the epistemological approach

of social constructivism where knowledge is not seen as a neutral or objective but a subjective

socially embedded practice shaped by the lived experience of the author and the participants It

also means that self-criticism and self-consciousness is crucial aspects of qualitative

interpretive research (Lynch 200029-36)

According to Moustakas (1994103-4) reflexivity should guide every step in the

phenomenological research project including choice of topic it must have autobiographical

relevance to the researcher who must be genuinely curious and passionate about the

phenomenon ndash and of course be transparent about these motives The choice of BLM as an

27

empirical example in this study was based on my own experiences from the spring of 2020 I

was just as my respondents and many others very moved by the events that transpired and I

did too participate in some online actions such as checking myself into the US Ambassy on

Facebook to show my support of the movement I followed the news and read everything I

found on social media out of both political sympathy and sociological fascination I wanted to

know more about why the activism looked like it did and how others felt about being part of

it Being able to be fascinated in times of collective grief and trauma for Black people is of

course a privilege that I am aware of I can afford to be distanced towards and critical of the

antiracist movement and how it does or does not invite people to engage themselves in it

because my survival or well-being does not depend on it I aim to be respectful in my

interpretations and descriptions of the movement and its participants

46 Limitations

Instead of aiming to evaluate qualitative research by the same criteria as quantitative studies

there are adjusted validation practices for the specific approach of the study To assure good

quality for qualitative phenomenological studies phenomenological concepts should be used

properly understood and recommended methods should be followed Besides from engaging

in reflexive analysis it is also important to offer descriptive richness and interpretive depth

(Creswell amp Poth 2018272-82) There are also different validation strategies for qualitative

research The researcher can use triangulation to strengthen the stability of the results identify

disconfirming cases and clarify researcher reflexivity (ibid260-1) Member checking and

collaborating with participants can also strengthen the validity (ibid162 Arribas Lozano

2018455-6) All participants were informed of their right to see the transcripts and the analysis

if they wished but they were not contacted with the explicit purpose of checking the finished

results due to time Another aspect is reliability meaning how robust the results of the study

would be if someone else replicated the study (Creswell amp Poth 2018164-5) In the case of

qualitative studies where the researcher is intertwined with the interpretations the probability

of someone else reaching the exact same result is small but thick descriptions of methodology

and the data increases reliability somewhat The generalizability of qualitative studies is often

low and especially so when the sample is skewed The results of this study should be considered

valid only for the group studied since the results could have been different with different

28

representations of gender or class for example However with a purposeful sample of people

with a certain experience the goal is not generalizability beyond the group

Another potential issue is the fact that the quotes from the interviews included in this thesis

have been translated from Swedish to English which means that there is a risk that some of the

core meanings of the quotes may have been spoiled or changed However the analysis was

done on the Swedish transcripts making sure the interpretations were made on the original

material Thus the problem of translating quotes is mainly a problem of communicating the

results to the reader in the same form they appeared in the analysis process of the original

material

5 Results and analysis

As explained in the methods section (43 Coding and analysis) the analysis was gradually

turning toward the themes of a) interpretation privilege and b) how the notion of interpretation

privilege affects the leeway for action These themes will be the focus of the analysis which

will show that although the allies experience their allyship as important and meaningful they

sometimes struggle to find a path for themselves in their attempt to be lsquogoodrsquo allies Their

commitment to respecting interpretation privilege helps them live up the to the ally role as

supporters of Black people in general but it limits the leeway in which they are able to act

independently as political agents But first some general findings on how the allies think about

their role will be presented which primarily relates to the first research question about the

experiences of ally work

The overall experience of allyship is that the ally identity is surrounded by purpose community

and positive experiences They are all highly committed to and well-educated about the cause

Being part of the movement feels meaningful and even like rdquoa privilege to be able to be a part

of it and listen and learnrdquo as Lisa says She describes her emotional experiences

First there was a lot of frustration I think And then there was this powerfulhellip

some kind of like rsquowowrsquo there were a lot of chills there for a while [laughs]

because people really came together

29

Sam shares the experience of initial frustration and pain They describe the feeling when their

frustration and anger transformed into hope like ldquofree fallingrdquo ndash the realization that they were a

part of a group with so many sympathizers made it feel like change was possible

Most ally work was performed online and consisted of acts such as sharing information

knowledge and opinions participating in online seminars and meetings signing petitions and

lsquochecking inrsquo at the US Embassy in Stockholm on Facebook as part of a global protest act To

signal their support for the movement they occasionally used hashtags such as

blacklivesmatter and blackouttuesday All participants got most of their information from

social media in line with the general trend in contemporary activism (Ahmed et al 2017447

Heldman 201788) Previous research emphasizes the important role of emotions in social

movement mobilization and all participants in this study recognized how constant access to

heartbreaking stories virtual proof of mistreatment and a global sense of community provided

by social media motivated them to act (see for example Russo 2014)

Some interviewees also participated outside of social media by attending physical

demonstrations (Sam Sara and Emma) It is impossible to say how many of the interviewees

would have attended had there not been a global pandemic However as digital activism has

become dominating in contemporary social movements (Jaumlmte et al 2020371-2) the low rate

of physical protest among the participants in this study should not be attributed to the pandemic

alone For example Lucas says he has not been to as many demonstrations over the last years

as he would have wanted because of work and other circumstances Amanda says she has

always seen herself as an activist as someone who does what otherrsquos lacks the energy or

resources to do but that she is ldquonot the person who attends demos you knowrdquo And Caroline

who is involved in several organizations besides her antiracist engagement even experiences

that the pandemic has made participation easier for her since it can now be done from home ndash

a point Alva agrees with as she experiences difficulties joining offline protests due to physical

illness Thus the effects of the Covid pandemic are not exclusively negative and limiting Apart

from the different demonstrations the allies also emphasized how implementing antiracist ideas

into their everyday behavior and their professional lives is crucial to be a good ally

The main motivator for their allyship is the notion of privilege All interviewees refer to

themselves as White and relate it to privilege an increasingly common tendency and a

prerequisite for antiracist commitment among Whites (Cole 20201627 Spanierman amp Smith

2017608-9) Lisa describes herself as a ldquoprivileged White woman raised in a middle-class

homerdquo and she says that she faced few obstacles growing up and Sam argues that their White

30

identity gives them platforms and privileges many Black people lack Therefore they use their

social media to amplify the voices of Black people sharing their voices stories and

perspectives Amplifying voices of marginalized groups has been recognized in research as one

of the main tasks for allies (Arora amp Stout 2019390 Bhattacharyya et al 202012 Clark

2019528-31)

The argument of amplifying Black voices as a way to utilize onersquos privilege is twofold First

the participants see their privilege as an opportunity to reach out to fellow Whites who they

expect will listen more to their White counterparts than they would to a Black person which is

confirmed in previous research (see for example Arora amp Stout 2019 Linder amp Johnson 2015)

For example Lucas says

Us Whites who are not affected by racism we have to stand up and show that itrsquos

not OK to spread racism If we donrsquot therersquoll never be any change because

sometimes it feels like people listen more to [hellip] a White person confirming that

what a Black person says is true

Sam shares this reasoning and they actively try to reach people with ldquodeeply racist prejudicerdquo

who would ldquonever listen to a Black personrdquo According to Haraway (1988577) subjugated

groups are deprived the privilege of assumed objectivity and reduced to their position as

inherently linked to and epistemologically limited by their social position in a way the dominant

groups are not Subjugated knowledge must always be fought for in terms of recognition

(Collins 1990414) and the allies in this study is dedicated to doing so in order to reduce the

impact of their own privilege and increase the outreach of Black people Katrin recognizes how

this process of validation of knowledge based on power is an unequal process where Black

people are seen as unreliable because they are ldquoacting out of self-interestrdquo whereas White

people are assigned more credibility Recognizing these mechanisms does not mean that the

interviewees accept them they use words such as ldquoterriblerdquo and ldquodisgustingrdquo to describe the

phenomenon and they feel both guilty about having these privileges and motivated to use them

for good which has been recognized as a potential effect of guilt in previous research (Dull et

al 20211081-84) However acknowledging this epistemic hierarchy is not an automatic

renouncing of privilege but can instead reinforce racist structures by assuming the assigned

value of White knowledge is higher and thus seeing the role of White allies as more important

than that of Black people in fighting racism (see Collins 1009)

31

The second aspect of White privilege in antiracist activism is as recognized by the interviewees

the fact that the costs of engaging are much lower for White people than they are for Black

simply because one does not risk facing racism as a response to speaking up (Drury amp Kaiser

2014642) For example Sam says they saw their ability to participate in the demonstration as

a privilege ndash not everyone can be sure to get home safe if they choose to attend a demo due to

the potential threat of police harassment or counter-protestors These costs are further lowered

by the fact that most ally work is done online Sara for example says that it enables her to

ldquotake the fightrdquo without ending up in situations too uncomfortable or even dangerous

Essentially the privilege of being listened to and the lower cost of speaking up for White allies

motivates specific responsibilities assigned to ally work but it also risks reproducing racist

hierarchies by assigning White knowledge higher value The remainder of the analysis will

focus on how these responsibilities are put into practice and what may limit the allies in their

attempts to do ally work

51 Balancing ally work

Related to the second research question is to what extent the allies feel like they are entitled to

act in the movement and this following section aims to show what different aspects affect this

perception Based on the ideas about privilege and responsibility the difficulties in balancing

different strategies of ally work will now be analyzed Although it may seem self-explanatory

what allies should do based on the previous section ndash use their privilege to raise their voices

against racist discrimination ndash the experiences of the interviewed allies shows that it is more

complicated than at first glance They must balance different strategies which can be defined

as following

A Listen but do not exploit

B Help but do not hijack

C Step down but do not become paralyzed

These three points represent how different ally assignments presented by the interviewees are

at some point met with objections or disclaimers There are a multitude of examples in the

interviews but the above-mentioned strategies are the most representative and common For

analytical and stylistic purposes they will be presented in a step-by-step form but they should

not be understood as linear or causal The relationship between these aspects is much more

32

complicated which the analysis aims to demonstrate Before analyzing these three strategies

the concept that serves as an implicit (sometimes explicit) point of departure for most decisions

by the allies should be accounted for namely the concept of interpretation privilege

511 Interpretation privilege

In all interviews there is an assumption about what kind of knowledge is legitimate knowledge

and interpretations based on interpretation privilege (tolkningsfoumlretraumlde in Swedish) 9 of the

11 interviewees explicitly mention the term but the theme is discussed in all interviews This

means that despite their academic degrees years of professional experience in human rights

work or their genuine interest for social justice issues the interviewees recognize how their

lack of lived experience reduces their ability to fully understand the issue of racism The idea

of interpretation privilege is interpreted here as a translation of ideas about situated knowledge

(Collins 1990408) lived experience (Voronka 2016194) and power into everyday political

lingo This idea is expressed continuously throughout the interviews as a part of their political

reasoning and it guides how they relate to their role as allies Katrin explains

It is not the same thing to understand racism by reading about it or by seeing or

hearing about othersrsquo experiences as it is to carry it in the body It will never be

possible for me to understand that

Interpretation privilege then helps allies understand and accept their own inability to fully

comprehend racism and it creates respect towards the testimonies made by people who

experiences racism However knowing that one lacks access to a full understanding also

contributes to self-doubt about the ally role and the work associated with it Caroline who

studies to become a psychologist tells me she has some concerns about being a White

psychologist treating Black patients Her professors claim psychologists do not need to share

the patientsrsquo experiences but Caroline is doubtful

ldquoI as a White person will never be able to fully understand being constantly

vigilant as a Black person in Sweden not knowing what the day will be like to

constantly be exposed to microaggressions and discrimination and even worse

abuse every dayhelliprdquo

Accepting interpretation privilege as the fact that if one is not exposed to racism one will never

know exactly what it feels like is empathetic and sensitive to the lived experience of Black

33

people It means respecting the ways Black people make sense of and deal with their own

experiences of oppression without claiming to know better However for the participants in

this study it often leads them to disregard all kinds of personal opinions thoughts or ideas

about what racism is and what should be done about it simply because they lack lived

experience of racism The participants sometimes struggle to balance their own knowledge

against the opinions and experiences of Black people Caroline again

Itrsquos this thing about interpreting different actions ndash is this a racist action or not

Well thatrsquos not up to me [hellip] And I think that interpretation privilege in general

in social media too that you just donrsquot go in and interpret what is right and wrong

Here the lack of interpretation privilege disqualifies Caroline from even deciding whether she

finds something right or wrong although such judgements are foundational in political thinking

Interpretation privilege also decides the legitimacy of actions according to Sara she argues

that whereas it is the job of White allies to speak up against other Whites the meaning of the

action is not the same as if a Black person would do it Essentially if a White ally wants to

stand up against racism it should be with a disclaimer

I think it is important to be like lsquothis is my understanding of it but I donrsquot have

interpretation privilegersquo just to create some awareness that I donrsquot have any

right to think anything - Emma

Some participants strip themselves of their agency by retreating to the idea that their

perspectives thoughts and ideas do not matter Lisa tells me that she sometimes censors herself

by not posting or sharing certain things because she feels like she has too little knowledge She

also stays out of debates she is interested in because she ldquodoes not feel [she] has the right to say

something or make a statement in these issuesrdquo Another example of how allies renounce their

political agency can be represented by Sara who tells me that when she saw my participant

message she was concerned that I searched for lsquoself-identified alliesrsquo In her perspective the

label lsquoallyrsquo is not something that one can claim independently one must earn it by being

recognized as such by a Black person Zhelnina (2020361) points to the importance of activists

growing independence emotional confidence and autonomy in their political interpretations

for a movement to successfully mobilize and in a discourse where one does not even possess

the right to claim allyship to a political movement this type of independence and confidence

may be difficult to develop

34

Another important aspect is the conflict that arises when people with interpretation privilege

disagree within the group Lucas says he has met Black people who defend the right to use

racial slurs That does not mean he accept this as true and uses these words himself but he

acknowledges that these situations could be problematic The multitude of perspectives to

consider especially considering the global character of the movement and its social media

presence it becomes difficult to decide what to believe in And when those who have been

assigned authority in this case Black people with interpretation privilege it becomes even

harder The reflexive globalized world with endless sources of information with sometimes

contradictory messages makes it hard to navigate (Giddens 1991138) This problem also

relates to what Voronka (2016196) described as essentialist tendencies when using the concept

of lived experience as a criterion for inclusion With social media where almost unlimited

information is always accessible to the individual the effort to develop independent

interpretations becomes unnecessary and in the case of the White allies insensitive

However it should be noted that although the idea of interpretation privilege is present in all

interviews the participants are also aware that other types of knowledge such as skills from

previous experience in social movements or academic judicial or general professional

knowledge is important Many of them say that they do feel confident of the practical abilities

they have built up over many years of activism and civil society work and Alva among others

points to how she would like to take on the role of fixing practical organizational tasks for the

BLM movement if she were to become more involved in the future Thus there is no validity

in claiming that the interviewees lack all sorts of self-esteem in their ally identity and that they

completely disregard other types of knowledge as Lucas says ldquointerpretation privilege is not

everythingrdquo Still statements such as ldquoI donrsquot have any right to think anythingrdquo or rdquoItrsquos this

thing about interpreting actions ndash is this racist or not Well thatrsquos not up to merdquo are common

in the interviews Although many of the participants can be interpreted as having ontological

security in terms of knowing what they are good at they cannot translate this into a practical

consciousness that guides their actions in a natural manner which creates ontological insecurity

and passivity (Giddens 199144) This relates to findings about lack of lived experience as

leading to potential insensitivity to discrimination which the interviewees recognize in

themselves (Drury amp Kaiser 2014369-42) In theories of situated knowledge it is emphasized

how a multitude of perspectives is needed and that subjugated groups do not have natural access

to hidden truths (Haraway 1988583-6 Young 199027) The disregarding of White ally

perspectives due to lack of lived experience is thus not inherent in the theories themselves but

35

rather something that seems to occur along the popularized interpretation of the term as it is

translated into everyday political lingo as interpretation privilege

So in navigating what to do as an ally while being committed to the idea of interpretation

privilege the first strategy for good ally work is formulated listening

512 Listen but do not exploit

So drawing upon the notion of interpretation privilege the appropriate way to consume

information about racial issues and determining what to do is by listening to Black people

Listening itself becomes not only a way to retrieve information and insight but a political

practice that reflects power structures and identity It becomes a way to renounce onersquos owns

privilege and instead assigning the power of being heard to others (see Collins 1990 Haraway

1988 Young 2004) Sam explains

I as a White person will never be able to sit there and decide what is right and

wrong when it comes to Black experiences or just non-White experiences Irsquove got

nothing to say about that I know nothing about it I just donrsquot What I can do is

listen and learn and I need to take the initiative as a student in this subject

Listening and taking a step back represents successful allyship according to Lucas because it

means both getting access to the right information and showing emotional support and respect

for people exposed to racism Listening is a powerful way to use onersquos White privilege

respecting the interpretation privilege of Black people and redirecting some of the privilege

and power associated to onersquos whiteness to Black people which is one of the main assignments

of allies (Brown amp Ostrove 20132211) But apart from being a virtuous alternative strategy

for allies it is also a relatively effortless option compared to other types of activism such as

participating in demonstrations Effective unproblematic and ideologically right a seemingly

perfect strategy to apply as a White ally

However it is not that simple listening is not only an act of rejecting the power associated to

onersquos racial identity but also hauntingly close to exploitation of Black experience according

to the interviewees The problem of freeriding and exploiting or capitalizing on the stories of

subjugated groups has been acknowledged in previous research on allyship (Clark 2019530

Linder amp Johnson 20159) For example Lisa argues that White people should be careful

36

talking about racism as if they could understand it and instead listen to what Black people say

- but at the same time she says it quickly becomes counterproductive

Black Swedes are not supposed to have to educate me about the racism they

experience because in that case what do I really demand from a Black person

Lou has the same idea and she tells me about how she used to ask her Black partner many

lsquodumbrsquo questions but that she realized that this means that she puts the burden of educating her

on him Sara avoids asking her Black friends about how she as a White ally can help because

that puts too much responsibility on those Black friends Amanda tells me she is after having

listened to one of the biggest antiracist podcasts Raseriet afraid of being one of lsquothose White

peoplersquo who demand to be taught about racism from Black people After all they all agree that

racism is a problem White people created and a problem for White people to solve ndash the

responsibility should not land on Black people As Emma says

Itrsquos essentially White peoplersquos problem itrsquos White people who built the structures

we are protesting [hellip] Itrsquos not Black people who are supposed to stand there and

scream their lungs out about Black Lives Matter but itrsquos about White people

needing to get together and saying like lsquonow we have to fix this because we

created itrsquo

So while trying to balance interpretation privilege the participants easily stumble into another

pitfall Listening as ally work increases the risk of becoming a burden on Black people by

depending on them for education explanations and guidance and exploiting their knowledge

and lived experience for self-improvement which also reinforces racist structures Black people

are implicitly seen as political objects rather than subjects inevitably crushed under the pressure

of White questions and demands and in need of White protection The point of allyship is to

make life and activism easier for Black people not the other way around which brings us to

another strategy of allyship to balance helping

513 Help but do not hijack

Based on the idea that listening as political practice can become exploitative and freeriding the

allies land in the conclusion that helping is the main assignment for allies They motivate this

by referring to their own privileges However as this section will show helping as a political

practice is also surrounded by potential problems

37

The idea of helping as ally work relates again to the idea that the costs of confronting racism is

lower for White people than for Black people (Drury amp Kaiser 2014642) as well as the

realization that White people are granted more respect and legitimacy when advocating for

antiracist causes (Arora amp Stout 2019390) Helping consists of claiming co-responsibility of

changing society protecting Black people from painful experiences and deal with the racism

of White people For example if an ally hears someone being racist they must speak up Sara

tries to do so because she does not want to add to any Black personrsquos burden of having to take

every fight themselves Emma argues that it is not Black peoplersquos responsibility to keep the

movement alive and therefore it is important that White people speak up She thinks ldquoit feels

stupid if White people would just sit around and wait for initiatives cause then you donrsquot do

anything goodrdquo If Black people are left alone with total responsibility of changing institutions

and organizations in Loursquos experience that usually puts Black people in situations where the

risk of being exposed to racism is high and without the support system of allies to help

Although all interviewees describe different ways of helping and supporting Black people and

the BLM movement as a main task for allies such statements are often followed by a disclaimer

For example they say ldquoitrsquos this balance that you being White shouldnrsquot go in and take overrdquo

(Emma) and ldquoWe should support we should be there we should recognize and lift the issues

But we should not be the main actorsrdquo (Alva) One of the most common phrases in the

interviews were lsquothat is not my placersquo This reasoning is present regardless of what types of

actions the interviewees talk about both high-level activism in formal organizations or

representing the movement in media and everyday civil courage such as speaking up against

racist comments in the workplace Sara adds to her statement about wanting to speak up to help

Black people saying that she ldquoalso has to leave room for Black people to act and not trying to

be like lsquoI know best now so let me explain racismrsquordquo Amanda shares similar thoughts saying

Itrsquos important that this can be a movement that Black people own themselves and

that itrsquos not something us White people can just barge into and take over Itrsquos a

balancing between goodwill and wanting to help and to not barge in and be like

lsquoThis is what racism isrsquo

Amanda has worked in organizations who educate people in moral courage and antiracism for

a few years and she has much experience in this type of political work But when she is

contacted in her role as an antiracist educator and asked to hold a course in a workplace she

doubts herself She feels that she must lsquowarnrsquo them about her whiteness ldquoI have to start by

38

saying that Irsquom White Irsquoll never be able to talk about racism like a Black person couldrdquo During

spring of 2020 she started to think about her role again she tells me She concluded that ldquothis

is not my place this organization is not my place but I could do activism in other waysrdquo In

most interviews there are similar reasonings for example Bea explains how she is not against

White people organizing against racism but that she

would not be very comfortable doing it or starting an appeal or initiative like

lsquoWhites in support for Black Lives Matterrsquo because thatrsquos nothellip thatrsquos claiming

space and attention

Katrin said that she in her work at an equality foundation had to weigh her wish to do

something against the risk of ldquotaking over a voice that was just starting to build uprdquo and Lou

who works in HR criticizes her own attempts to implement antiracist ideas at her workplace

because she doubts if she has any right to ldquoclaim that we have to work with so-called diversity

issuesrdquo or ldquobe that voice in a White roomrdquo Emma mentions ldquosupporting without taking overrdquo

as the most important aspect of ally work This is an important part of allyship being

supportive standing by Black peoplersquos side acknowledging oppression raising the issues but

without being the protagonists of the movement as Alva explains Lisa agrees she asks herself

rdquoIs this my space to claim I donrsquot know am I supposed to march in the frontline when it comes

to this issue like Irsquom not so sure about thatrdquo In these statements it is implicitly assumed that

if Whites wanted to take over from Black people they easily could (even unconsciously) and

this implies Black people are less resilient as political actors

These arguments are often motivated by their own experiences with men taking space in

feminist movements They think about the way they want men to act and applies the same

reasoning to their own allyship

If this was about feminism and there was a dude telling me this or doing this that

Irsquom talking about now [taking over authorrsquos note] how would I react then [hellip]

I find it odd when female feminists feel like they have to pay tribute to and psyche

up male feminists I donrsquot think male feminists should need that And I feel the

same way about like Black people shouldnrsquot have to care about me at all it may

sound weird but I donrsquot do it for them itrsquos other Whites I want to affect ndash Katrin

Allies often use their own identities and social positions to understand other types of oppression

and although it seems to function as a source of empathy and compassion for the other group

as well as regulating ones ally behavior it is important to acknowledge that lived experience of

39

sexism does not mean inevitable understanding of experiences of racism (Spanierman amp Smith

2017608-10) which the allies mention themselves

This section shows that the strategy of helping is not as straight-forward and easily managed as

first described but instead associated with a big risk lsquoWhat if I take over What does it say

about me if I dordquo They engage in reflexive identity construction without being ontologically

secure eg without having a ldquopractical consciousnessrdquo or ldquonatural attituderdquo that guides how to

act This creates anxiety and fear of doing and thus being wrong (Giddens 199136) All

participants agree that although allies are important in creating change the movement is and

should be a Black space Although they are confident in these believes and dedicated to living

up to these ideals they are still afraid of unintentionally taking over or hijacking the movement

despite their wish to simply help and support the movement from the background To minimize

the risk of being one of those White allies who barges in and takes over the allies make sure to

balance this by taking a step back and leaving room for Black people to lead the way

514 Take a step back but do not become paralyzed

The choice to take a step back following the alliesrsquo reasoning about claiming space and taking

over means that they are more and more evolving toward a state of allyship where few actions

are legitimate and unproblematic This can be interpreted as a sign that the strategies described

previously (listening and helping) are not part of the alliesrsquo practical consciousness and that

engaging in such ally work is experienced as difficult and frightening due to ontological

insecurity This often leads to passivity (Giddens 199144) Taking a step back is described as

lsquoleaving room forrsquo Black people and it consists of listening (which as previous sections of the

analysis show is not seen as entirely unproblematic) and sharing the perspectives of Black

people for example in social media but without claiming a frontline position in the movement

These are two strategies that reduces the influence of White voices on the antiracist discourse

Taking a step back and leaving room for Black people is a way to denounce the privilege of

being listened to (Arora amp Stout 2019294-5) and reducing the power gap between dominant

and subjugated groups in terms of knowledge production (Collins 1990408)

However the interviewees testify to how the strategy to take a step back is often (but not

always) a shortcut to passivity Katrin who works in an equality foundation dealing with issues

of sexism and racism tells me what happened in her organization when choosing the take-a-

step-back approach by sharing articles Instagram posts and other materials created by Black

40

people and thus engaging in amplification of Black voices (Clark 2019528-31) They were

later criticized for ldquonot doing more not talking about it more screaming more sharing

morehelliprdquo They tried to do the right thing but failed Katrin wonders if they should have done

something of their own something bigger while also acknowledging how it would be

problematic of them to claim the spotlight

The allies worry about their own tendencies to become passive because of trying to navigate

among the different strategies Katrin explains this mechanism as a process where learning

about privilege and power creates an insight of onersquos own role in this power structure

ldquoYou realize that lsquoI have power I have responsibility and I do not have

interpretation privilegersquo and that makes you so scared to do anything wrong that

you end up doing nothing at allrdquo

She describes the insights as ldquoparalyzingrdquo and this experience is shared by more of the

interviewees and found in previous research (Brown amp Ostrove 20132220) Emma says that

it is a complex question that she thinks about a lot and that she has not yet landed in any

conclusions about what she should be doing as an ally but she knows that she must avoid

becoming paralyzed However it could be reflexivity itself that leads to such passivity

(Giddens 199144) Political background does not affect this mechanism as it is observed in

those with no prior experience as well as those with years of activism In some ways having

more prior experience can even make it harder to navigate the ally role because the roles

previously taken are no longer open to you as White Alva explains

Irsquom so used to being in the front and in the middle and being in the back is not

really like how I have been engaged before Irsquom not really used to it and to have

my role defined as being in the backseat in the back of the bus as Whitehellip [hellip] I

havenrsquot done that before And Irsquove struggled to find my role ndash what can I do

Cause I feel my hands are tied behind my back a little I would love to do more but

at the same time my interest cannot decide what the main issue should be Itrsquos all

about knowing your role and your place and being very sensitive to when people

tell you to back away or step up

At the end of each interview they were asked What would you like to see for the movement in

the future I got many analytical answers but some responded by saying like Alva ldquoItrsquos hard

for me to answer because Irsquom White I donrsquot know what needs to be focused on right now and

Irsquom not the right person to askrdquo Lisa says rdquoI donrsquot feel I have the right to speak on this or like

41

debate this issuerdquo Amanda does not answer the question either and refers to how it would be

inappropriate for her to try to decide what the movement should be about Interestingly she

notices how this perspective is only present in her relation to antiracism as she has worked for

LGBTQ-rights for years despite identifying as straight She cannot point out what is different

when it comes to antiracism but she feels there is a difference The uncertainty of knowing

what to do risks leading to passivity

ldquoItrsquos like Irsquove come tohellip Not a stop but a landmark and itrsquos like I canrsquot get

further than that because I donrsquot know what to do Irsquom sure there are things I

could do and a role for me to take on but I canrsquot find it right nowrdquo - Alva

Again the interviewees are aware of the paralyzing effect of their strategies and Lou claims

that she knows that she is overthinking it

When I discuss this with people who are exposed to racism I sometimes get the

feeling that theyrsquore like lsquowe donrsquot care who does it somebody just do itrsquo There

is a need for antiracist work to be done [hellip] So I think that itrsquos easy to fall into

some kind of paralyzed state that doesnrsquot help anybody

The assumption of passivity among contemporary activists can be considered mainstream in

the social movement field Youths of Western democracies are less engaged in any kind of

traditional political involvement such as voting political party membership or other

associational activities (Amnaring amp Ekman 20136) Often this decline in political activity is

attributed to the growing prevalence of digital methods instead of more traditional physical

methods because it gives people an undeserved sense of accomplishment (Skoric 201277) and

a false idea of what activism is efficient (Morozov 200913) Although the majority of the

intervieweesrsquo activism consisted of digital participation and digital participation only it would

be unfair to claim that it is out of a sense of undeserving feeling of accomplishment that they

stopped at digital methods Quite opposite to the conclusions made by Skoric and Morozov of

the self-absorbed slacktivist the interviewees are far from happy with their contributions to the

movement Digital activism is associated with laziness slack and performative allyship by the

interviewees and they usually do not value digital activism as high as physical engagement

For example Lisa says she feels a bit ashamed of being more of a ldquokeyboard activist than a real

activistrdquo and Amanda shares similar thoughts about her own participation

42

When I posted the image I felt like lsquoIrsquom so fucking lame for doing only thisrsquo

[laughs] I didnrsquot really think of it as an activist action because it was so easy

Thus the emotional experience relates to feeling ashamed which under specific circumstances

and motivate action ndash but often it leads to passivity (Dull et al 20211081-84 Zhelnina

2020361) When Emma describes how accessible online activism is she presents a scenario

where someone can ldquosit at home in the couch and watch a movie and at the same time just log

into social media and protestrdquo Bea even laughs while telling me that she ldquothinks she shared a

black square on Instagram like everyone elserdquo Accessibility is not an indicator of democratic

or inclusive value but quality and it seems like the easier it is the lower it is valued by the

allies Comparing to the study by Russo (2014) where the allies put themselves through

physical challenges to demonstrate their allyship the digital form of ally work is interpreted as

a lower form of activism and is surrounded by feelings of inadequacy and shame Although the

reasons for why many of them stopped at digital activism varies none of them did it out of

satisfaction or laziness In the cases where physical limitations the pandemic or lack of protests

in onersquos hometown was not the reason it was rooted in an insecurity about what to do as an

ally Digital methods were perceived as a safer option in a context where almost all other types

of White participation are criticized and the potential pain of being called out as a bad ally is

perceived to be lower in the digital realm than it would be in other contexts

As this section shows the allies handle the potential risk of hijacking the movement by taking

a step back to leave room for Black people to define shape and ultimately run the movement

themselves However this strategy creates its own problems there is an imminent risk of

becoming passive So when listening does not work because of the risk of freeriding and

exploiting Black experiences and actively helping to relieve Black people of the burden to

overthrow systemic racism is deemed inappropriate because it includes a risk of hijacking the

movement and stepping back is ruled out because it leads to passivity ndash what remains

515 Do good but not for the wrong reasons Introspection

In line with previous research and theory introspection of different kinds is often discussed as

an important ally assignment (Drury amp Kaiser 2014638 Kauffman 200124 29-32) Without

introspection the quality of allyship risks becoming deficient because without being aware of

onersquos privilege as well as guilt allyship easily slips into paternalistic behavior (Cole

20201267 Spanierman amp Smith 609-10) Introspection is described in terms of ldquochecking

43

myselfrdquo (Sam) ldquotake a step back and acknowledge that I am part of a racist systemrdquo (Lisa) and

being ldquohumble to the fact that you are part the structurerdquo (Caroline) All interviewees express

the idea that one cannot be a good ally or contribute to positive change without first having

engaged in introspection in different ways

I think one of the most important things is to understand your own whiteness It

sounds kind of ego and self-centered but I think that you canrsquot be an ally

otherwise ever if you donrsquot see your own privilege [hellip] Otherwise you end up

balancing the line between racism and antiracism and that line is thinner than

you think - Lou

This imagined thin line between antiracism and racism concerns many interviewees Lisa

Lucas and Emma also see the risk of falling into racist behavior as big and that they must start

by recognizing this risk to avoid it Amanda says that she knows that she eventually will do

something racist but that she tries not to fear it because ldquoself-criticism can create fear often

therersquos a fear of saying or doing the wrong thing which makes people afraid to be alliedrdquo which

creates passivity Sam calls self-reflection and rdquochecking themselvesrdquo their most important job

and claims that if their aim was to destroy racism that would indicate that they thought of

themselves as bias-free which they are not Lucas also recognizes his own prejudice and says

it is part of his ally work to try to diminish these biases The potential for racist behavior is both

ascribed to being raised in a racist system and to White identity Amanda attributes her future

racist actions to her whiteness explicitly and Caroline argues that all White people are capable

of racist actions regardless of intent lsquowokenessrsquo and knowledge and she knows that she will

at some point act racist despite her devotion to antiracism and her love for her Black partner

All these considerations are part of the reflexive process that is self-identity constantly

scrutinizing oneself and navigating around different actions to act in line with self-identity

(Giddens 199175) When the stakes are as high as they are for White allies ndash they risk acting

and thus being racist if they do not engage in enough introspection The room for action

becomes further limited

In relation to the digital realm where most ally work took place introspection also becomes

about motivations The main concern for the interviewees was whether or not they should use

their social media platforms for ally work at all since digital methods are sometimes frowned

upon for being shallow and too simple Despite this all of them did some type of digital ally

work When I asked those who shared the black square on Instagram why some of them

44

laughed and said that they did not know or could not explain it They mention motivations such

as fitting in

In a way it was like everyone on my Instagram did it and it became like a peer

pressure thing like rsquowhy didnrsquot she share itrsquo or rsquowhy didnrsquot he hare itrsquo you

know ndash Emma

Besides peer pressure the desire to lsquofeel goodrsquo was also reflected upon Many acknowledge

that this desire existed but they did not approve of it as a motive for action Caroline explains

that although it is good to show others where you stand it does not say much about who you

are in the everyday life and the act of posting on social media instead become about seeming

or feeling good The thing they worry about is whether them showing support for the BLM

movement was intended to help the movement or to make themselves look better ndash sometimes

called cosmetic activism (Spanierman amp Smith 2017609-10) or more often among the

participants performative allyship Lou who regularly shares information opinions petitions

and hashtags in her social media says that she worries about her allyship being performative

because she knows most of her followers already shares her opinions Thus her sharing yet

another Instagram post about how racism is wrong could possibly be to ldquoshow off and make

myself feel a little betterrdquo She is careful to stop and reflect upon her actions and intentions and

ask herself lsquowhy did I do this What was my purposersquo Bea shares the same concerns

describing online activism as potentially about ldquostrengthening your personal brandrdquo and

ldquomarketing yourselfrdquo ndash although she does not identify with these motives she feels like there

is always a risk of falling into performative allyship in social media Posting on social media is

also described as a way to claim an antiracist alibi as Bea explains

One way to avoid this is to actively choose not to share with others the activism they engage in

like Sam who calls it unlearning performative allyship Instead of risking acting in the wrong

way and for the wrong reasons they turn to strategic passivism However the unintended result

of this is that one of the main advantages of allies in social movements (that they can use their

voices and platforms to amplify Black voices) goes missing if social media posts are no longer

considered legitimate allyship (Arora amp Stout 2019390 Bhattacharyya et al 202012 Clark

2019528-31)

Introspection is not only a way to secure high-quality allyship but to reduce the risk of doing

something racist and thus being racist Identity is constructed biographically through action

and if the actions does not align with the sense of self-identity this incoherence leads to

45

ontological insecurity in terms of the self meaning one starts to doubt onersquos own motives

(Giddens 199152-54) Seeing onersquos own whiteness as a guarantee of future racist behavior

and knowing how such behavior would clash with the sense of self allies do best in trying to

avoid racist action by all means available Thus acting becomes a risk in itself and this could

be interpreted as ally work becoming unintuitive and unnatural to the allies both at a practical

level determining what to do and at a more discursive level shaping who to be Although

ontological security is defined as practical consciousness it applies to less hands-on orientation

in the world too for example finding onersquos role and identity in a social movement The way to

move forward after recognizing all possible ways one may act wrong is to engage in strategic

passivism apolitical introspection as a political strategy (Kauffman 200124 29-32 Giddens

199144) It is not equivalent to passivity because it includes a strategic choice and it is built

on ally work but ally work that is aimed inwards It becomes a way to be active without acting

in a context where other people may get hurt or judge you

Allies must also make sure not only to act coherently and right but to have pure intentions

being an ally for the sake of recognition or personal gratification is not accepted However

research shows that such extrinsic motivations are especially important in motivating digital

participation (Lilleker amp Koc-Michalska 201725 34-25) and that feelings of shame and guilt

can lead to passivity (Dull et al 20211081-84 Zhelnina 2020361) These two conditions

(ideas of inherent racism and requirements of pure motives) related to introspection does not

create an environment where being active is very appealing Lou admits how acknowledging

the thin line between antiracism and racism leaves her paralyzed instead of motivated

Introspection on the other hand requires no interaction with other people and thus no risk of

being evaluated judged or called out as a bad ally

As the analysis demonstrates the allies recognize there are many different ways they could

engage ndash but all of them are eventually met with disclaimers of how that specific strategy is

inappropriate They try to navigate their own identity and privilege in relation to interpretation

privilege based on theories of situated knowledge but because they lack ontological security

in their ally role they struggle to find a path that is neither inappropriate nor associated with

too much risk Eventually they land in what could be referred to as passivism strategic

passivity as a form of activism

46

6 Discussion and conclusion

The purpose of this study was to better understand how the ally role and participation is

experienced by White allies participating in the Swedish BLM movement and to investigate to

what extent they felt that they had legitimacy as political agents in the movement As the results

show the allies felt strongly for the cause and had many positive experiences of community

and purpose However emotions related to shame guilt and insecurity were also an integral

part of their ally experience and it limited them in their ally work The analysis also shows that

while they are willing and motivated to act as allies the strategies available to them are

surrounded by disclaimers doubt and criticism Few potential actions or approaches are left

unproblematized and the allies often struggle to find their specific path The analysis

emphasizes the link between academic theories of situated knowledge and what can be seen as

a translated popularized version of the term formulated in the political discourse as

interpretation privilege The contribution of Giddensrsquo theories is that the concepts of reflexivity

and ontological security describes the reason for the hesitation the allies engage in whereas the

concept of situated knowledge describes on what basis they hesitate modernity explains why

they worry and situated knowledge what they worry about

Although the analysis shows a pattern that seems to link ideas of interpretation privilege with

passivism among allies the conclusion should not be that acknowledging the importance of

situated knowledge and recognizing the power intertwined with the knowledge creation and

validation process is unnecessary or harmful The theories of situated knowledge standpoint

theory and Black feminist epistemology are important contributions to the sociology of

knowledge and crucial reminders of the power embedded in knowledge However of interest

to political sociology scholars could be the translation of academic concepts into everyday

political lingo and what effects it may have on how people think about politics agency and

identity It is also important to point out that the statements by the interviewees do not reflect

the concept of interpretation privilege in itself but only their interpretation of it Therefore one

could never claim that the concept in itself limits or motivates anything only the way it is

interpreted

Many parts of the results need further investigation One is the implication of guilt if allies are

so limited in this movement whose fault is it It is easy to jump to the conclusion that the fault

belongs to the movement itself and its participants that activists and allies specifically create

47

an environment where action is limited and surrounded by doubt and insecurity This is not the

conclusion of the study Black people or specifically Black movement participants are not to

blame for a culture created by all participants of the movement and this culture or discourse

should be treated as such a larger collective process or frame that is affected by and affecting

all movement participants and the social context it is constructed in It is power on the discursive

level and beyond the reach of any specific grouprsquos aims to control it The experiences and

emotions of the allies should be treated as manifestations of a larger socio-political context

(Buechler 1995458) which could be the focus of future research

Another important aspect to discuss is the implications of quality of the participants allyship

Much research on the passivity of modern activists for example texts on slacktivism (see

Skoric 2012) have a contemptuous tone while discussing how little activists do and how good

they feel about themselves I refrain from evaluating the quality of the actual activism

performed by the allies and from explaining their digitally dominated activism with slacktivism

Instead of seeing contemporary passivism as a potential problem of bad activists one must

focus on the cultural structural and discursive processes enabling this specific kind of activism

instead of other more traditional and acknowledged types of activism Something in the

political climate digital activism identity political social movements or something completely

different limits those who wish to support the movement as allies in their action repertoires

One interesting finding is the consistency in the way the participants describe their involvement

and the issues they thought about Looking at prior experience and their doubts and concerns

about current and future activism there seems to be no link between being unexperienced or

so to say a lsquorookiersquo activist and feeling insecure about what to do as an ally The same problem

was present for people working with equality issues for a living having academic degrees in

the field and well as those without similar professional and academic competences Thus it is

unlikely to be out of inexperience or lack of knowledge that allies sometimes turn to passivism

It is also important to note that while this analysis turned out to be about tendencies of

passivism the interviewed allies were in fact not passive They all engaged in different ally

work digitally and physically sharing information online participating in demonstrations and

trying to incorporate antiracism in their everyday lives and encounters The idea of passivism

applies to their own reasoning and thinking about their allyship more than it does to their

performed ally work Passivism describes their strategic use of introspection which resembles

being passive from out outside perspective but includes much effort in scrutinizing oneself and

trying to become a better ally something that the interviewees are very focused on

48

The main contribution of this study is its representation of the ally perspective something that

is not well researched in the Swedish context It contributes with an insight into the political

arguments of a contemporary social movement characterized by identity-focus and digital

methods Potential contributions could also relate to the questions what would be needed for

allyship to become effective motivating and less associated with introspection and passivism

questions to which the answers must be found in larger contexts than that of these 11 alliesrsquo

testimonies In order to say more about how contemporary allyship is constructed experienced

and given meaning a triangulation of different methods and data sources would be required

along with a bigger sample

The study raised more questioned than it answered which indicates the importance and

relevance of further studies For example the theoretical coherence between the academic

concept of situated knowledge and the more casual term interpretation privilege would need to

be further explored as this study is only a rather shallow review of the concepts Studying the

larger political development and the discourse on activism or racism could also help

constructing a more developed understanding of what it really means to be an ally in the local

context of 21st century Sweden while simultaneously being part of a global network of activists

The implications of these results could be that while allyship is considered important both for

social movements at large (see Brown amp Ostrove 2013 Arora amp Stout 2019 Clark 2019) and

for the individual allies themselves it is also problematized by the interviewees in line with the

problems presented in previous research Applying these results to White allyship there are

things that would need to change in order for the allies to feel secure enough to find the

motivation to participate in the way they all claim they would want to but have not found the

time motivation or feeling of legitimacy to do For ally work to be a force to be reckoned with

in the antiracist struggle preconditions for action beyond introspection and strategic passivism

must be further developed Relating back to Butler the risk is otherwise that

If white people become exclusively preoccupied with our own privilege we risk

becoming self-absorbed We definitely donrsquot need more white people making

everything about themselves that just re-centralizes whiteness and refuses to do

the work of anti-racism (Gleeson 2021)

49

7 References Ahmed S Jaidka K amp Cho J (2017) Tweeting Indiarsquos Nirbhaya protest a study of emotional dynamics in an online social

movement Social Movement Studies 16(4) 227-465 httpsdoi1010801474283720161192457

American Psychological Association (2019) Racial and ethnic identity httpapastyleapaorgstyle-grammar-

guidelinesbias-free-languageracial-ethnic-minorities

Amnaring E amp Ekman J (2013) Standby citizens diverse faces of political passivity European Political Science 1-21

httpsdoi101017S175577391300009X

Andersson P (2021) Bokrecension Vit skoumlrhet vaumllbehoumlvlig i svensk rasismdebatt SVT Nyheter Downloaded 2021-09-29

from httpswwwsvtsekulturbokrecension-vit-skorhet-skickar-meningsfulla-impulser-in-i-den-svenska-debatten

Arora M amp Stout CT (2018) Letters for Black Lives Co-ethnic Mobilization and Support for the Black Lives Matter

Movement Political Research Quarterly 72(2) 389-402 httpsdoiorg1011772F1065912918793222

Arribas Lozano A (2018) Knowledge co-production with social movement networks Redefining grassroots politics

rethinking research Social Movement Studies 17(4) 451-463 httpsdoiorg1010801474283720181457521

Barassi V amp Zamponi L (2020) Social media time identity narratives and the construction of political biographies Social

Movement Studies 195-6 592-608 httpsdoiorg1010801474283720201718489

Bauman Z (2001) Liquid Modernity Cambridge Polity Press

Bhattacharyya G Virdee S amp Winter A (2020) Revisiting histories of anti-racist thought and activism Identities 27(1)

1-19 httpsdoiorg1010801070289X20191647686

Belam M (2021) Black Lives Matter movement nominated for Nobel peace prize The Guardian 2021-01-29

httpswwwtheguardiancomworld2021jan29Black-lives-matter-nobel-peace-prize-petter-eide-norweigan-mp

(Downloaded 2021-06-16)

Bernstein M (2005) Identity Politics Annual Review of Sociology 31(1) 47-74

httpsdoiorg101146annurevsoc29010202100054

Brown K T amp Ostrove J M (2013) What does it mean to be an ally The perception of allies from the perspective of

people of color Journal of Applied Social Psychology 43(11) 2211ndash2222 httpsdoiorg101111jasp12172

Braring (2018) Sjaumllvrapporterad utsatthet foumlr hatbrott Analys utifraringn Nationella trygghetsundersoumlkningen 2006ndash2017 Rapport

201810 Downloaded 2021-03-05 at

httpswwwbrasedownload187f57ba351641b9cdc3d1e0b515344265455312018_10_Sjalvrapporterad_utsatthet_for_

hatbrottpdf

Buechler SM (1995) NEW SOCIAL MOVEMENT THEORIES Sociological Quarterly 36 441-464

httpsdoiorg101111j1533-85251995tb00447x

Bursell M (2014) The Multiple Burdens of Foreign-Named MenmdashEvidence from a Field Experiment on Gendered Ethnic

Hiring Discrimination in Sweden European Sociological Review 30(3) 399ndash409 httpsdoiorg101093esrjcu047

Carnegie Endowment for International Peace 2020 Global Protest Tracker Downloaded 2020-12-16 at

httpscarnegieendowmentorgpublicationsinteractiveprotest-trackergclid=CjwKCAiA_eb-

BRB2EiwAGBnXXve4_M0rNWlgU0_MmYUuIg6ThabxkIbk_kQhlB7O_542emIVDHX1HRoCCFsQAvD_BwE

Clark M (2019) White folksrsquo work digital allyship praxis in the BlackLivesMatter movement Social Movement Studies

18(5) 519-534 httpsdoiorg1010801474283720191603104

Clayton DM (2018) Black Lives Matter and the Civil Rights Movement A Comparative Analysis of Two Social

Movements in the United States Journal of Black Studies 40(5)448-480

httpsdoiorg1011772F0021934718764099

Cole G (2020) Types of White Identification and Attitudes About Black Lives Matter Social Science Quarterly

101(4)1627-1633) httpsdoiorg101111ssqu12837

Collins PH (1990) Black Feminist Epistemology In Calhoun C J Gerteis J Moody S Pfaff amp I Virk (Ed) (2012)

Contemporary Sociological Theory 3rd Ed Chichester Wiley-Blackwell

Craddock E (2019) Doing rsquoenoughrsquo of the lsquorightrsquo thing the gendered dimension of the lsquoideal activistrsquo and its negative

emotional consequencesrdquo Social Movement Studies 18(2)137-153) httpsdoiorg1010801474283720181555457

Creswell JW amp Poth CN (2017) Qualitative inquiry and research design choosing among five approaches (Fourth

edition) Los Angeles Sage Publications

Diani M (1992) The Concept of Social Movement The Sociological Review 40(1)1-25 httpsdoiorg1011112Fj1467-

954X1992tb02943x

Drury B amp C Kaiser (2014) Allies against Sexism The Role of Men in Confronting Sexism Journal of Social Issues

70(4)637-652 httpsdoiorg101111josi12083

Dull BD Hoyt LT Grzanka PR amp Zeider KH (2021) Can White Guilt Motivate Action The Role of Civic Beliefs

Journal of Youth and Adolescence 50 1081ndash1097 (2021) httpsdoiorg101007s10964-021-01401-7

Earl J (2014) The Future of Social Movement Organizations The Waning Dominance of SMOs Online American

Behavioral Scientist 5935-52 httpsdoiorg1011772F0002764214540507

Garrett RK (2006) Protest in an Information Society a review of literature on social movements and new ICTs

Information Communication amp Society 9(2) 202-224 httpsdoiorg10108013691180600630773

Giddens A (1991) Modernity and self-identity Self and society in the late modern age Stanford University Press

Gleeson J (2021) Judith Butler lsquoWe need to rethink the category of womanrsquo The Guardian 2021-09-07 (Accessed 20201-

09-14 at httpswwwtheguardiancomlifeandstyle2021sep07judith-butler-interview-gender)

Table of Contents

Abstract 2

Table of Contents 3

1 Introduction and background 5

12 Aim and research question 7

2 Previous research 7

21 Allies 9

211 Why are allies important 10

212 What is problematic with allies 11

22 Digital activism 13

221 Critical perspectives on digital activism 14

3 Theory 15

31 Giddens 15

311 Life in modernity reflexivity and ontological insecurity 16

32 Situated knowledge 17

321 Situated knowledge as political strategy 19

4 Methodology 20

41 Data collection 21

42 Sample 22

43 Coding and analysis 24

44 Ethical considerations 25

45 Methodological reflexivity 26

46 Limitations 27

5 Results and analysis 28

51 Balancing ally work 31

511 Interpretation privilege 32

512 Listen but donrsquot exploit 35

513 Help but donrsquot hijack 36

514 Take a step back but donrsquot become paralyzed 39

515 Do good but not for the wrong reasons Introspection 42

6 Discussion and conclusion 46

7 References 49

5

1 Introduction and background

Thinking back on the year 2020 most of us will probably think about the Covid-19 pandemic

and how it affected our lives But 2020 was also a year of political protest Polish feminists

protested the restrictions on the right to abortion raised fees for public transportation in Chile

were met with large protests and US antiracists protested police brutality towards Black1

people as a direct response to the murder of George Floyd (Global Protest Tracker 2020) The

killing of Floyd in Minneapolis was not the first time Black Lives Matter (or BLM) a global

informal network or grassroots movement against racism and for Black liberation (Jaumlmte et al

2020370) was protesting police brutality and racist violence BLM is contextualized within a

long history of antiracist mobilization with clear links to the Civil Rights Movement both in

how it is described and interpreted in public discourse and in their ideas methods and

strategies (Clayton 2018457) The start of the movement came on February 26 2012 when

17-year-old Treyvon Martin was shot to death by a volunteer neighborhood watchman while

walking in his fatherrsquos middle-class neighborhood When the killer was acquitted there were

massive reactions and protests (Clayton 2018453) Alicia Garza Patrisse Cullors and Opal

Tometti took the initiative to gather the antiracist protests under one name one hashtag

BlackLivesMatter This first BLM-wave has since then been followed by several other protests

after cases of police violence against Black people (Clark 2019519) For example in 2014 the

BLM movement organized freedom rides to Ferguson (Missouri) inspired by the Civil Rights

movement after the murder of Michael Brown (Clayton 2018454)

After the murder of George Floyd in May 2020 demonstrations took place globally including

in several Swedish cities In Stockholm up to a thousand people gathered to support the BLM

movement and to acknowledge the situation for ethnic minorities in Sweden (Rydberg amp

Weden 2020) Despite the Swedish self-image of exceptionalism in terms of equality (Schierup

amp Aringlund 2011 45 56) there are strong evidence that Afro-Swedes are marginalized in the

upper and lower divisions of the labor market (Wolgast et al 201810 28-36) as well as in the

hiring process health and hate crime (see Braring 2018 Bursell 2014 Lindstroumlm et al 2001)

1 The B in Black (and the W in White) is capitalized based on guidelines on writing about racial and ethnic identity

formulated by the American Psychological Association (2019)

6

The movement was quickly recognized by different social institutions for example BLM was

nominated for the Nobel peace prize (Belam 2021) and the Palme Prize (Palmefonden 2021)

and over the world millions of people showed their support of the movement digitally by

posting a Black square on Instagram using the hashtag blackouttuesday (Monckton 2020)

Not only Black and other POC2 joined the movement but also White allies activists working

politically for another grouprsquos benefit (Russo 201467) Allies of different ethnicities have been

recognized as important actors in the antiracist struggle by many researchers (see for example

Arora amp Stout 2019 Brown amp Ostrove 2013 Clark 2019) as well as male allies in feminist

movements (Drury amp Kaiser 2014642) The role of White people as both perpetuators and

challengers of racism has been highly debated in the public discourse and in academia Books

such as Why Irsquom No Longer Talking to White People About Race by Reni Eddo-Lodge and

White Fragility Why Itrsquos So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism by Robin DiAngelo

have been introduced to the Swedish market after the birth of the BLM movement (Andersson

2021 Hibomo 2019) The role of White allies is thus surrounded by both appraisal and

suspicion and they must navigate their own role in the movement taking both positive and

negative views into account while finding a pathway into activism that suits them This

navigation is challenging and when Judith Butler talks on the subject in an interview in The

Guardian (Gleeson 2021) she summarizes the problems of allyship

Yes it is important to acknowledge that while a white person cannot claim to represent

Black experience that is no reason for white people to be paralyzed on matters on race

refusing to intervene at all No one needs to represent all Black experience in order to

track expose and oppose systemic racism ndash and to call upon others to do the same If

white people become exclusively preoccupied with our own privilege we risk becoming

self-absorbed We definitely donrsquot need more white people making everything about

themselves that just re-centralizes whiteness and refuses to do the work of anti-racism

This balancing between activism and passivism constitutes the focus of this thesis and the

sociological relevance lies in understanding what allies themselves experience beyond the

public perceptions of White allies Their experiences and emotions matter insofar as they are

likely to affect the way the allies choose to act and this motivates the sociological relevance of

studying ally experience Although allyship is relatively well-studied there is less research on

the emotional experiences of allyship especially in the Swedish context

2 POC stands for people of color and describes people of non-White race or ethnicity (American Psychological

Association 2019)

7

12 Aim and research question

The purpose of this paper is to study White alliesrsquo experiences of participating in and supporting

antiracist causes and movements using the Swedish BLM movement as an illustrative case due

to its high topicality The aim is to better understand the role of emotions identity (defined as

ldquothe self as reflexively understood by the person in terms of her or his biographyrdquo [Giddens

199153]) and ideas about power and responsibility shaping ally work departing from the

Swedish context in order to evaluate what the circumstances of ally work are and how the

experience of ally work and identity is lived and understood by White allies themselves The

sociological relevance of the study consists of linking the macro-level political discourse on

responsibility and identity with lived experience agency and sense of self at the individual

micro-level reality of allies Previous research focuses on the emotions and experiences in itself

whereas this paper aims to link these experiences and emotions to action and agencyThe

research questions are

A What emotional experiences do participants have and how can these be related to

identity power and responsibility

B To what extent do White allies feel entitled to act and speak in the name of the

movement

2 Previous research

The field of social movement studies is a well-established field with a long history and there

is a variety of sub-fields with different focuses ranging from resource mobilization (McCarthy

amp Zald 1977) to political processes that enable or hinder social movement activity (McAdam

1983) to the collective interpretations of a movement that is created by framing processes

(Snow 1986) and much more There are many different definitions of the social movement

concept This paper will build upon the definition presented by Diani (19923) describing social

movements as ldquonetworks of informal interaction between a plurality of individuals groups

andor organizations engaged in a political andor cultural conflict on the basis of a shared

collective identityrdquo which describes the informal non-hierarchal form of BLM (Jaumlmte et al

2020370)

8

Social movements as a phenomenon have changed through history shifting from mostly class-

based collective action to movements built on multiple identity categories (Buechler

1995548) This assumption is foundational in new social movement theory (NSMT)

represented by for example Alain Touraine (1987) NSMT concludes that non-material values

replaced class interests as the main motivator for collective action if the goal for social

movements used to be to expropriate the power from the dominant class and thus empower

the working class it has now shifted to deconstructing and reframing power itself (Buechler

1995442 Touraine 1987218-20) New social movements deal specifically with ldquothe social

control of production and diffusion of symbolic goodsrdquo (Touraine 1987218) which means

focusing on for example domains of culture and language Research based on NSMT often

focus on the roles of emotions identities and lifestyles as central themes in modern social

movements which are seen as manifestations of the implicit economic and political structures

they appear within (Buechler 1995485) The centrality of identity is often referred to as

identity politics (Bernstein 200547) Kauffman (200124 29-32) argued that identity politics

implicates a shift from working for equality and redistribution to apolitical introspection and

lifestyle politics resonant with the market ideology Others recognized how identity politics

give previously unrecognized groups recognition and space to develop policy that favors their

specific interests instead of only serving those at top of the in-group hierarchy of the workersrsquo

movements (Bernstein 200564-6) Regardless of whether one associates identity politics with

something good or something bad it can be concluded that antiracist movements have some

basis in identity categories rather than class despite the historical link between antiracism and

socialist ideas (Bhattacharyya et al 20203) Identity as a political concept is also central to the

experiences thoughts and interpretations of the White allies participating in this study as their

recognition of their White identity is what their allyship departs from

When it comes to antiracist thought and practice similar tendencies as those described in

NSMT can be seen Bhattacharyya Virdee and Winter (20203) lined out the development of

antiracist academic thought showing how it has developed from anti-capitalist and anti-slavery

to a micro perspective seeing racism as everyday microaggressions and dehumanization

(ibid11-12) Recently antiracist thought has been more concerned with intersectionality

developing sub-theories of Black feminism and Black queer theory to emphasize how different

identities have different lived experiences of oppression The focus of antiracist thought and

practice today according to the authors is to amplify certain voices and perspectives to ensure

representation and diversity of different identities (ibid12)

9

Looking at the Swedish context Jaumlmte and colleagues (2020) discuss how the Swedish BLM

movement represents a structuralist turn in Swedish anti-racism which has historically been

focusing on extremities such as Apartheid or Nazism and less on discrimination in the labor

market housing and media (ibid369 375) Historically the antiracist movement in Sweden

been occupied by a large proportion of allies from the majority population but during the 2020

BLM wave this changed and more POC participated for their cause Because ally activism is

often more volatile the increased share of people with lived experience of racism contributes

to a more stable foundation for sustainable activism (ibid371-2) Digital methods also

dominated the Swedish case which can be compared to the MeToo movement rather than the

US-based BLM movement which focused much more on physical protest and resistance

(ibid369)

Based on the different important conclusions in previous research (the turn towards non-

material values antiracist tendencies to emphasize lived experience the overrepresentation of

White allies in the Swedish anti-racist movement historically and the dominance of digital

methods) the remainder of the previous research presented will focus on allyship and white

identity and digital methods in contemporary movements

21 Allies

In a movement where much emphasis is put on identities it is of interest to examine the role of

those who are part of the movement activity without belong to that specific identity group In

this case White allies The definition of an ally varies between different scholars Brown and

Ostrove (20132211) described an ally as a dominant group member who ldquowork to end

prejudice in their personal and professional lives and relinquish social privileges conferred by

their group status through their support of nondominant groupsrdquo Spanierman and Smith

(2017608-9) argued that an ally is someone who understands their privilege as well as their

own role in oppression through introspection and self-reflection and who use their privilege

in responsible ways to end oppression despite facing opposition from other dominant group

members For Drury and Kaiser (2014637) an ally is someone who ldquoaligns with a

disadvantaged group by recognizing the need for further progress in the fight for equal rights

and Russo (201467) simply defined allies as activists who are politically engaged to benefit a

group to which they are outsiders These definitions include both introspective aspects of

allyship and more action-oriented aspects and they are all relatively open regarding what

10

exactly an ally can be expected to do in support for the movement What almost all these

definitions have in common is the baseline assumption that allies recognize their own

privileges and in antiracist movements that they embrace their White identity whiteness is not

only a description of skin color or ethnicity but also a culturally and politically influenced

identity A White ally cannot only be White they must also recognize their whiteness as

culturally significant recognizing privilege and becoming aware of both oppression as such

and onersquos own role in it is the first step to become an ally (Drury amp Kaiser 2014638) Although

lsquoWhitersquo has not always been treated as a social identity in the same way as other ethnic

identities there has been a recent resurge of White identification in the US (Cole 20201627)

Cole identified three main types of White identity type 1 includes no recognition of whiteness

type 2 recognizes whiteness but sees it as a liability and type 3 recognizes whiteness as a

privilege Among these types of White identification type 3 is most likely to support the BLM

means and goals whereas type 2 is least likely to support the movement at all

White identity development is also closely linked to the idea of White guilt which is seen as a

normative response to realizing onersquos own whiteness and the privilege attached to it Individuals

who acknowledge recognize and understand racism have higher degrees of White guilt and

this can either motivate action or create passivity (Dull et al 20211081-84) Dull and

colleagues found that White guilt can motivate civic action under certain circumstances there

must also be individual beliefs of social responsibility and efficacy (ibid1089) If the individual

neither believes in their social responsibility nor their own efficacy as political actors they will

struggle to find motivation to act Efficacy was measured by asking the participants whether

they felt they had the knowledge capacity and opportunity to affect social change (ibid1086)

Feelings of shame and despair among other have demobilizing effects on political mobilization

(Zhelnina 2020361) and it is therefore highly relevant to explore what emotions are

experienced by the allies in this study and to what degree they motivate or hinder action

211 Why are allies important

The role of allies in social movements is considered important in creating both social change

and in improving the everyday conditions of marginalized groups Brown and Ostrove (2013)

argued that White allies have two main assignments in antiracist movements supporting

individual people from the nondominant group and engaging in informed political action After

realizing onersquos whiteness and privilege allies must actively work to dismantle the system of

11

oppression by for example willingly share power with the subordinated group (Clark

2019523)

One of the most valuable aspects of ally work in social movements is the fact that the costs of

confronting sexism racism or any other discriminatory behavior is much lower for allies

without personal interest in the issue than it is for marginalized group members Men

confronting sexist behavior are seen as more rational and credible and less hostile than their

female counterparts which can strengthen the receiverrsquos sympathy for the sentiment of the

movement (Drury amp Kaiser 2014642) Male allies speaking up can also normalize rejecting

sexist ideas for women too and thus create a more open climate for such confrontations

(ibid644) The cost of ally work is further lowered when utilizing digital methods Clark (2019)

found that when White allies use their digital platforms to amplify the voices of Black people

the personal costs are low while the effects are positive The narratives of Black activists often

marginalized in their outreach in other ethnic or cultural groups are spread and legitimized by

White allies and it may ultimately strengthen the movement at large (Clark 2019528-31)

The idea that White allies should help the movement by amplifying the voices of Black people

can be further validated by the results of a study conducted by Arora and Stout (2019) on co-

ethnic mobilization and support for BLM They conducted an experimental study on the support

for the movement and the effect of messages from co-ethnic versus non-co-ethnic messengers

In general people tend to accept and embrace a political message more easily if they find the

messenger trustworthy and likeable which is an increasingly rational mechanism in times of

excessive access to information (Arora amp Stout 2019390) In their study they had people read

letters in favor for supporting the BLM movement written by authors of different ethnicities

Their results showed that White people did not change their opinion on BLM unless the author

was also White (ibid394-5) The implications of these results are that ldquoif whitesrsquo attitudes about

Black Lives Matter are to change appeals are much more effective coming from co-racial

individualsrdquo (ibid396) This implies that the role of White allies in amplifying the message of

Black activists and spreading the message especially within their own racial group is a very

powerful and important way for White allies to support the movement

212 What is problematic with allies

Although the role of allies in social movements are important there are also problems Some

research indicates that without lived experience of for example sexism or racism it is harder

12

to detect when such discrimination occurs For example men are less likely to interpret subtle

sexism as sexism and they are less likely to sympathize with someone confronting sexism if

that someone is female (Drury amp Kaiser 2014639 642) Thus much time and effort may have

to be put into educating out-group allies Allies are also less likely to be emotionally receptive

towards grasping the magnitude of oppression which again comes from lack of lived

experience (Russo 201480) It is also important to recognize uniqueness in group experiences

instead of assuming that experience of one type of oppression automatically leads to insights

about other oppressions (Spanierman amp Smith 2017608-10)

Besides the problem of potential insensibility on behalf of the ally another issue is low

engagement (Jaumlmte et al 2020370) Brown and Ostrove (20132220) argued that although

some inactivity of allies could be attributed to general passivity of contemporary activists or

lack of emotional engagement it could also come out of fear of doing anything considered

wrong White allies they argued tend to be more cautious in their actions because of this and

instead of acting on their own they leave space for Black people to take the lead However in

the attempt to leave room for and amplify for example Black narratives there is a significant

risk that allies freeride on the political labor of Black people (Clark 2019530) This problem

is also present in feminist movements where male allies often engage in low risk high reward

activism and often take credit for work dependent on the efforts of female feminists (Linder amp

Johnson 20155 17-18) This is made possible Linder and Johnson argued by the master

narrative saying male allies should be recognized validated and granted credibility regardless

of their actual contributions to the movementndash even though there is an overwhelming risk with

male feminist ally work being directly counterproductive due to lack of sympathy for the

female perspective and expertise (ibid4-5) In adverse cases male allies have been known to

not only capitalize on womenrsquos pain ignore their perspective and steal their hard work but to

actually commit sexual assault in feminist organizations (ibid9)

There are many other risks associated with ally work Mostly it originates in the fact that many

have good intentions but lack in self-reflection or knowledge about real political work

Spanierman and Smith (2017) pointed to how such discrepancies between intention capacity

and self-awareness can lead to paternalistic behavior towards marginalized people and that this

can strengthen the unconscious sense of superiority and legitimize status quo instead of

challenging it Another mistake especially important in digital activism is the tendency to

engage in optics instead of politics and to treat members of the disenfranchised group as objects

13

to be used for personal virtue signaling Such cosmetic activism rarely leads to any structural

criticism or challenging (Spanierman amp Smith 2017609-10)

22 Digital activism

As can be seen in the previous research on the positive opportunities with allies digital methods

are important for allies to engage for example in amplifying voices of minorities (Clark

2019528-31) This is perhaps even more true in the 2020 BLM-wave when many were limited

in their capacity to participate physically due to the pandemic All participants in this study

participated in digital activism (most of them exclusively so) and it is therefore important to

account for some research on the role digitalism plays in contemporary movements The

introduction of new technologies into political activism has been studied for many years even

before the social medias we use today Information and Communication technologies (ICTrsquos)

such as mobile phones or the internet had many effects on political activism as they became

available for more people for example it contributed with increased sense of community

strengthened political participation facilitated movement organization and increased

independence from elite representations of movements (Garrett 2006205-14)

Modern social medias have the same effects to some extent The internet and social media are

acknowledged to affect how social movements come into being and how they operate (Barassi

amp Zamponi 2020 Earl 2014) Social media platforms are used as tools for organizing raising

awareness and spreading information (Ahmed et al 2017447) and was for example one of

the success factors of the MeToo movement (Li et al 2020 Lin amp Yang 2019) Social media

also played a major role in the BLM protests without social media the protests of 2020 would

perhaps not have been as widespread The fact that the video picturing Floydrsquos murder spread

so rapidly led to massive emotional involvement and increased motivation for participation

according to research on the efficiency of emotions in digital activism (Clark 2019 Heldman

201788) Facilitating the growth of collective emotion and identity is one of the main

contributions of social media because emotions are crucial in motivating political action

(Ahmed et al 201746 Zhelnina 2020361) Studying the emotional expressions before during

and after a social protest on Twitter Ahmed and colleagues concluded that emotions affect

involvement online similarly to their effect offline ndash they channel participation and create

community and identification (Ahmed et al 2017459-61) Besides this social media functions

as a megaphone for individuals without having to be represented by any formal leader (Earl

14

201537) Earl argued that some of the functions centralized and formal social movement

organizations used to fill can in many cases be substituted with online communities lowering

the costs of organizers and participants (ibid39)

221 Critical perspectives on digital activism

Social media as site and tool for social activism is also criticized based on ideas about how it

leads to passivity and how motives for online activism differs from those in offline or lsquorealrsquo

activism Online activism is sometimes called slacktivism referencing the lower degrees of

effort and risk required to engage in online activism (Skoric 201277) The slacktivist narrative

is often used to explain the decline in youth political engagement (Amnaring amp Ekman 20136)

although the link between digital activism and low degrees of participation have not been

determined Online activism is usually less valued than more traditional types of activism which

requires more from the individual activist (Craddock 2019148-9 Heldman 2017207) despite

the lack of consensus between researchers on whether online activism is effective or not

(Lilleker amp Koc-Michalska 201725) Skoric (201277) argued that the Internet promotes a

superficial mode of political activism where liking commenting and sharing are the main tools

for participating in political activism and that the focus often is aimed at the individual and her

capacity of introspection lifestyle politics or mere expression of opinions without further

actions Such positionings rarely challenges structures of power and dominance Slacktivism

feels good without actually doing any good and it distracts people from engaging in meaningful

activism (ibid78)

lsquoFeeling goodrsquo as a motive for political mobilization is further explored by Lilleker and Koc-

Michalska (201723) who argued that there is a strong link between both intrinsic and extrinsic

emotional motivations and political mobilization both self-fulfillment and recognition are

strong motivators for both online and offline activism Extrinsic motivations eg external

approval recognition and being perceived as lsquogoodrsquo has the strongest effect on motivating

participation (ibid34 25) The difference they found between online and offline participation

was that online activism is less self-fulfilling and more driven by ldquoconforming and earning

rewardsrdquo which they interpret as online participation potentially being mere clicktivism and

less personally meaningful to the people engaging in it (ibid35)

Although slacktivism is not necessarily a phenomenon limited to the digital sphere but includes

all performative positioning online activism arguably breeds slacktivism because of how easy

15

and available it is The motivation to engage in high-risk high-effort activism decreases if there

are always lower effort- and risk options available that gives the same recognition and

satisfaction (Skoric 201279) Morozov (2009) also has criticized the naiumlve faith in the potential

of Internet activism and argued that poorly planned online slacktivism is not only ineffective

and toothless but also holds potential for backfiring and causing devastating consequences For

example when Western activists attempted to attack Iranian government sources online they

accidentally slowed down the whole Iranian internet making the activism of local protestors

difficult (Morozov 200913)

As this section shows the relationship between social media and the general level of activism

among people is far from determined However the participants of this study all relied on digital

methods in their ally work and their experiences of digital methods are explored in the analysis

3 Theory

In this section the two theories used to analyze the data will be presented and discussed starting

with Giddensrsquo theories on modernity which are used to contextualize ally work as a 21st century

phenomenon shaped by the preconditions of modernity such as increased reflexivity and

ontological insecurity Thereafter theories of situated knowledge will be used to describe how

the allies relate to their own whiteness in relation to the concept of interpretation privilege

sometimes limiting the allies in their leeway of action Essentially Giddensrsquo theories will be

used to understand why allies hesitate about their role and theories of situated knowledge will

be used to understand what they base these hesitations on

31 Giddens

Giddensrsquo theory of modernity focuses on the circumstances of human activity and identity in

what he referred to as (late) modernity The theory will be used to contextualize ally work as

something that exists within a larger social cultural and economic structure that shapes the

way identity politics and human activity are formed with special focus on self-identity and

ontological security

16

Worth mentioning when using the term modernity is that there are scholarly disagreements on

whether the current era should be interpreted as modernity late (or liquid see Bauman 2001)

modernity or postmodernity However Giddens belongs to the group of theorists who see

contemporary society as still existing within the theoretical frames of late modernity where the

tendencies of modernity has been further stretched and strengthened (Giddens 199127) This

assumption will be present throughout this paper while also acknowledging this is only one

interpretation

311 Life in modernity reflexivity and ontological insecurity

Modernity is an era characterized by post-traditional orders institutionalized radical doubt

detachment of time and space risk-cultures and abstract systems (Giddens 19912-5)

Following these changes in increased emphasis on reflexivity the continuous revisiting of

previously taken-for-granted concepts truths and ideas This applies to the institutional and

individual level and the latter will be of focus in this paper Without the guiding hand of

tradition or custom as in premodern society people must navigate in the world without being

firmly grounded in pregiven sets of beliefs on what should be done in each situation and with

the constant flow of information in modernity the horizon of possible actions are constantly

broadened (ibid20)

The increased emphasis on reflexivity means for the individual that ldquoself-identity becomes a

reflexively organised endeavorrdquo (Giddens 19915) Giddensrsquo described self-identity as a

project based on coherent and ldquocontinuously revised biographical narrativesrdquo which ldquotakes

place in the context of multiple choices as filtered through abstract systemsrdquo (ibid5) This

means that self-identity is closely linked to actions and is ldquoroutinely created and sustainedrdquo in

the actions of the individual (ibid52) This includes making constant decisions while having

endless choices ndash on what to do how to act and ultimately who to be in late modernity ldquowe

are not what we are but what we make of ourselvesrdquo (ibid54 75) If the individual fails to

perform in coherence with their sense of self-identity the individual may start to doubt their

own biographical narrative and ultimately themselves (ibid58) In the context of social

movements the ally identity is thus constantly reshaped by each choice of action and it

becomes important to act in accordance with the ideal-typical ally role Allyship is also a

globalized phenomenon which increases the number of aspects to take into consideration while

reflexively making choices

17

As reflexivity become more and more significant in guiding human action people in late

modernity experience loss of ontological security which is a ldquorsquonatural attitudersquo in everyday

liferdquo in relation to how to act and orient oneself in the world (Giddens 199136) Being

ontologically secure is ldquoto possess on the level of the unconscious and practical consciousness

lsquoanswersrsquo to fundamental existential questions which all human life in some way addressesrdquo

(ibid47) and was previously guided by tradition custom rules and norms of premodern society

Ontological security thus secures the individualsrsquo smooth navigation through life without them

hesitating on their role in the world too much However as society developed into modernity

and late modernity the conditions for ontological security changed ndash the traditions of

premodern society that used to give ontological security by offering a sense of structure

firmness and purpose are now exchanged for reflexivity (ibid48) making each single decision

dependent on an almost infinite number of possible options (ibid36) Without ontological

security the individual experiences existential anxiety caused by uncertainty ndash and such anxiety

itself ldquotends to paralyse relevant actions rather than generate themrdquo (ibid44) This passivity can

occur in relation to specific actions or to the sense of self in general for example failing to

perform in line with onersquos perceived self-identity can create ontological insecurity and it opens

for questioning onersquos entire role in a specific context for example a social movement For allies

ontological insecurity could arise in relation to them trying to navigate what actions are

appropriate for them to engage in based on the reflexive project of self-identity However

inactivism or passivity cannot only be seen in the individualrsquos relation to action but in politics

in general Giddens argued that politics in premodern times were emancipatory and aiming to

end oppression but that politics in modernity has been transformed into life politics a shift in

ideology and activity towards emphasizing lifestyle and self-actualization (ibid210-14)

The purpose of including Giddensrsquo theory of modernity is to provide a potential context in

which the allies of this study act and shape their own ally identities and how their occasionally

self-restricting introspection may be understood

32 Situated knowledge

To complement the theory of Giddens theories on situated knowledge will be included in the

analysis to point to specific ways in which the allies engage in reflexive decision-making eg

on what basis they make decisions about ally strategies The included theories are feminist

theories but their implications are not limited to gender relations

18

Theories of situated knowledge (also referred to as standpoint theory or feminist epistemology)

is an epistemological attempt to challenge the way knowledge is produced validated and

valued Epistemology is an ldquooverarching theory of knowledgerdquo (Collins 1990408) and theories

of epistemology focuses on how truth and knowledge is shaped by power relations between

social positions and how this could change Easily put social position of the knowledge

producer shapes the kind of knowledge that can be produced (Young 200425) In this thesis

the theoretical works of Haraway Young and Collins will be included although there are more

contributors to the thoughts about situated knowledge

Relating knowledge to power feminist theorists have pointed to how knowledge production

has been dominated by men and postcolonial thinkers have questioned dominant knowledge

for its sometimes exploitative and colonializing tendencies (in for example Western thought

and anthropology) Part of this critique has included a call for recognition privilege of lived

experience and reflexivity in research (Voronka 2016191) Donna Haraway (1988) presented

a feminist epistemology (or feminist objectivism) that recognized how women have historically

seen as immanent beings unable to transcend the body and escape its ldquofinite point of viewrdquo

whereas men have been seen as able to attain lsquoobjectiversquo perspectives and knowledges

(Haraway 1988575) The (imagined) male capacity to transcend ldquoparticular social location

and adopt a lsquoview from nowherersquordquo gives men higher status epistemologically (Young 200424)

Thus the gaze of the White male has been favored in sociology as it represents the unmarked

and objective perspective (Haraway 1988581)

The problem with the idea of objectivity and the lsquoview from nowherersquo according to feminist

and postcolonial critics is that knowledge is a power process and only taking one groups

knowledge into account reinforces these power processes Patricia Hill Collins argued that

power over the production and validation of knowledge is an issue of group interest where the

dominant group preserves their own interests by invalidating knowledge that either challenges

their hegemonic ideas or follows alternative practices in their creation of alternative knowledges

(Collins 1990409-10) Black womenrsquos knowledge is subjugated knowledge and it must fight

for recognition in an anti-Black and anti-female world (ibid414) The Black feminist

epistemology she advocated for includes sensitivity to the combination of female and Black

experiences unique for Black women and it recognized alternative ways to create knowledge

specific to Black womenrsquos knowledge production (ibid407-8)

19

321 Situated knowledge as political strategy

If knowledge is then produced under circumstances of domination power structures and

hegemony ndash what would an alternative look like and what could these alternatives lead to

From a quality standpoint Haraway (1988583) argued that including several perspectives in

knowledge production leads to better conclusions Even though she dismissed the idea that

subjugated people have a purer vision on truth and objectivity an idea she claimed is often

rooted in a fetishized idea of the Third World woman she argued that subjugated groups are

less likely to ldquoallow denial of the critical and interpretive core of all knowledgerdquo than are

dominant groups (ibid583-586) She wrote that the only standpoint from which no objectivity

can ever be reached is ldquothe standpoint of the master the Man the One God whose Eye

produces appropriates and orders differencerdquo (ibid587) Thus to aim for objectivity depends

on including perspectives otherwise ignored by structures of power and dominance (ibid590)

Delegitimizing the idea of a lsquoGodrsquos eyersquo from where true knowledge can be observed and

mediated means including other perspectives and knowledges (Young 200420) This is not

only just and right it also contributes to wiser decision making in a context of democratic

processes including perspectives from all social standpoints maximizes knowledge which

should be treated as a democratic resource when fully utilized (ibid25-9) Thus the idea of

situated knowledges includes a normative assumption of inclusion and diversity in decision

making and knowledge production and social difference should be treated as a resource for

democratic societies (ibid29)

The standpoint theorists emphasize how recognizing specificity in knowledge claims for

different groups does not include the idea that subjugated groups are naturally epistemically

privileged eg that their perspective on every issue should be treated as automatically lsquotruersquo

(Haraway 1988583-4 Young 200427-29) Neither the position of these groups or any

imagined inherent attributes give subjugated groups automatic access to the truth but the

position opens up doors to new perspectives impossible to imagine from above (Haraway

1988584) The specific knowledge unique for the dominated social positions include different

understandings of their own position and others and the relation between them as well as ldquoa

point of view on the history of societyrdquo ldquoan interpretation of how the relations and processes

of the whole society operates especially as they affect onersquos own positionrdquo and finally ldquoa

position-specific experience and point of view on the natural and physical environmentrdquo

(Young 200429)

20

Applying these ideas in a context of practical politics for example in a social movement can

include such inclusion of different perspectives and emphasizing how group difference matters

in terms of knowledge but without claiming the existence of epistemic privilege Often this

practical application is based on including people with lived experience into different contexts

of power or knowledge production (Voronka 2016189)

However the strategy of using lived experience as a criterion for epistemic legitimacy can also

be problematized Voronka (2016192) argued that inclusion and representation of different

groups in decision making as a criterion for legitimate knowledge production can be seen as

resting on essentialist assumptions and stable identity categories The categories themselves are

left unaccounted for meaning the boundaries between and content of different identity groups

are seen as natural entities (ibid194) The concept of lived experience fails to answer questions

of who we are and why while the existence of these categories should be questioned in

themselves Thus acting based on ideas of lived experience and ldquoepistemic privilegerdquo (Young

200427) risks both treating identity as essentialist and constructing group attributes as

embodied truths and ignore difference in lived experience within groups (Voronka 2016196)

Thus Voronka (ibid197) argued

we need to mark how rsquopeople with lived experiencersquo [as a concept my note] risks

reproducing and replicating systems of domination that privileges subjects and

subjectivities that fit closely within the White heteropatriarchal matrix of ruling

Voronkarsquos experiences come from academia but the ideas can be applied to other contexts as

well Theories of situated knowledge can be extracted from the abstract epistemological level

and transformed into a concept more suitable and applicable for everyday situations and as will

be seen in the analysis this theme is highly present in the statements by the study participants

in the form of interpretation privilege (See section 5 Results and analysis)

4 Methodology

The study builds on phenomenological approach and aims to understand a social phenomenon

by interpreting the different meanings ascribed to it by the participant whose lived experience

is in focus for the analysis (Creswell amp Poth 2018150) Thus the focus of the study is not the

BLM movement itself but to understand the experience of the allies The study is abductive

21

meaning the research process was iterative - going back and forth between empirical findings

and theoretical background The aim of abductive analysis is often to generate theory by

cultivating already existing theories together with the surprising results found in the data

collection that are in turn reinterpreted through the revisited theoretical insights (Timmermans

amp Tavory 2012169 173-6) One important aspect of abduction is to revisit the phenomenon

as it can lead to new insights For example when the first couple of interviews were done the

lack of response to one specific question was interpreted as missing data But when the

transcripts were revisited after some additional previous research had been read I realized the

unanswered question was not missing data ndash it was data in itself This realization affected how

the data collection moved forward as the focus narrowed down on the ally role and its

limitations

41 Data collection

The data collection was done by conducting qualitative interviews with 11 self-identified White

allies to understand their perspective experiences and thoughts about their participation The

interviews were in average 010245 in length and they were conducted during a five-week

period The interviews were semi-structured guided by an interview guide without following

it in detail which creates room for flexibility This ensured both consistency between the

interviews and individual variations depending on the interviewee (Turner 2010755) The

interview guide had open-ended questions and covered three main themes (political

background identity emotions) Some questions related to relevant concepts for example they

were asked ldquoIn your perspective what is an allyrdquo The purpose was not to evaluate the

participants academic understanding of the term but to have them reflect upon their own

perceptions and thereby gain insight into their political thinking and its effect on their ally role

Other questions were about experiences such as ldquoCould you tell me about your participation in

the BLM movementrdquo and ldquoWhat emotional responses did you have when this happenedrdquo

Some parts of the interview focused on the BLM movement specifically but since the antiracist

ally identity was often developed before BLM started it also included more general experiences

of antiracist allyship At the end of each interview the participants were given a chance discuss

things important to them The limitation of interview data is that it is not a representation of the

world lsquoout therersquo but only a representation of how the interviewees describe their experiences

and these can be shaped by indefinite number of things beyond the scope of this thesis

22

All interviews were digitally conducted Although digital interviewing is often presented as a

second choice there are benefits to it For example Howlett (20217-8) noticed how the safe

environment of the home made the participants more relaxed and that the interviews also tended

to be both longer and richer in detail than offline interviews One could however imagine how

the opposite effect could occur if the home environment is unsafe or unfit for long

conversations The interviews took place more than a year into the pandemic and people were

thus more familiar with digital communication technologies than they were in the beginning

(ibid10) The pandemic was topic for small talk before the interviews started and our shared

experience with it created some sense of commonality and a relaxed atmosphere where potential

technical issues or disturbances were met with recognition from the other party Despite the

surprisingly positive experience with digital interviewing and as well as the rich data gathered

it is still important to recognize how the quality could have been even better with physical

interviews

The interviews were all conducted on Zoom and recorded in the software The interviews were

transcribed in full verbatim meaning that false starters stutters laughter and pauses were

included Such utterances are clues to how the participants feel about what they are telling and

should be treated as data

42 Sample

The sampling for this study is based on one inclusion criterion motivated by the purpose of the

study the criterion being White ally identification (Creswell amp Poth 201881 157) To base

the inclusion criterion on self-identification could potentially lead to low validity in terms of

not achieving a sample that represents the group one wishes to study by excluding those who

engage in ally work without identifying as such To ensure that the people included in the study

were lsquorealrsquo allies the criterion could have been having a certain amount of experience from ally

work or similar However this was a methodological choice motivated by reflections by

Craddock (2019) who studied activism Craddock learned that including the term activist in

her participant letter excluded people who - despite being very active - did not dare to call

themselves activists due to the high standard of what lsquorealrsquo activism is Especially women feel

that they cannot live up to the ideal and therefore they do not recognize their own activist

identity (Craddock 2019138-42) Therefore anyone who identified as an ally was allowed to

participate without evaluating or judging their level of participants

23

The sampling method was mixed consisting of convenience sampling and snowball sampling

(Creswell amp Poth 2018159) First an email was sent to the Swedish BLM organizationrsquos

official email telling them about the study and asking if they had any recommendations of

where participants could be found This email got no response Different Facebook groups were

chosen as lsquofieldsrsquo to sample in Personal acquaintances were also asked to participate The

choice of Facebook groups related to both convenience and lack of access to physical fields to

sample in and because much of the activism related to BLM took place online The Facebook

groups were all limited demographically (open only for women and non-binary people) and

they all had explicit value-systems with feminist anti-racist intersectional orientations Some

groups were simple support-and-chat groups some had a more political purpose (without party

connections) One participant was found in the comments section on a Facebook page that

relates to antiracism and contacted from there and a few were snowball sampled Recruiting

participants in online forums creates a problematic balance between transparency and

anonymity if too detailed information about the specific sampling sites is revealed the

participants identities can be spoiled due to traceability Thus the names of these Facebook

groups or pages cannot be revealed The groups were known to me beforehand as I am myself

a member in them and therefore had access to the lsquofieldrsquo which reduced the time and effort

spent on sampling If this study were a netnography with digital data to analyze it would be

problematic because my interpretation would be tainted by my personal experiences in the

groups but since the data itself was not related to the specific groups or the participants activity

in these groups it is less problematic

This digital convenience sampling limits the groups included in the sampling frame which

creates a skewed sample in terms of for example gender The complementary snowball

sampling creates a similar problem with homogeneity because of the tendency of participants

to recommend people who are like themselves As a result people with academic backgrounds

in social sciences and humanities are overrepresented in this sample The first interviewee Lisa

works in the international aid sector and she put me in touch with some old classmates and

colleagues which contributed to the skewed sample However the sampling method does not

aim to reach a randomized sample that is representative of the Swedish population in general

but instead a purposeful selection of people with certain experiences (Creswell amp Poth

2018272)

The final sample included people of different genders (9 female 1 male and 1 non-binary)

ages (22-36) education (from high school diploma to MA-degrees) and occupation (traditional

24

working-class occupations or white-collar jobs) They lived in or originated from different parts

of Sweden with one currently living in South Africa They also had very different backgrounds

in regards of political engagement some of them had been organized voluntarily or

professionally in multiple movements and civil society organizations some are or have been

active in party politics and some had their political experience mainly in online discussions

43 Coding and analysis

After all interviews were transcribed the data was coded in Excel using the guidelines for

phenomenological analysis presented called horizonalization (Creswell amp Poth 2018201

Moustakas 1994118) Horizonalization means creating a broad base or platform of equally

important statements to capture the experiences of the participants In phenomenological

studies coding and analysis should preferably be inductive highlighting ldquosignificant

statements sentences and quotesrdquo (Creswell amp Poth 201879) instead of deductively trying to

apply hypotheses or theories onto the data

The coding followed the subsequent steps First each transcript was read one at a time and

important statements were added in a quote-column in Excel (see Image 1) Following the

quote-column were categorical columns based on different themes from the interviews The 12

categories were Background Activity in BLM Identity Role Pandemic Emotion Motivation

Introspection BLM organization Balance Problems and Other There was also a column for

especially good quotes which were marked with an lsquoxrsquo In each column (for example ldquoRolerdquo)

inductively created codes were entered An example can be seen in Image 1

The coding was kept close to the data and focus was to create codes that described the specifics

of each statement instead of keeping the number of codes down which created some overlap

Image 1 Visual representation of the coding strategy

After the 11 interviews were coded the data included 243 quotes in 12 categories In order to

structure the analysis according to relevant topics themes were created out of the codes based

on representativeness and uniqueness These themes provided the basis for the interpretation

25

and analysis For example the previously mentioned code ldquoNot surerdquo was grouped together

with the code ldquoDecided by othersrdquo (in the column ldquoRolerdquo) and analyzed together because they

were interpreted as expressions of the same phenomenon eg insecurity regarding what the

role should contain (Moustakas 1994118)

After the coding which is a big part of the analysis itself the most relevant and interesting

themes were further analyzed This was related to observed regularities in statements being

repeated among several participants and novelty or lsquosurprise factorrsquo Whereas the coding was

unrelated to any specific theory the deeper analysis of the different themes was done parallel

to exploring theory The theories came into the process at different stages Giddensrsquo theory of

modernity and ontological security was explored after the initial coding before starting the

writing process of the analysis based on the pattern of insecurity and reflexivity among the

participantsrsquo descriptions of how they make decisions on how to act as an ally Thereafter the

concept of situated knowledge was introduced after all material had initially been analyzed and

written down in a first draft and the recurring use of the term interpretation privilege

(tolkningsfoumlretraumlde) caught my interest The focus was therefore the themes related to

interpretation privilege and how the participants made sense of the term as well as the different

aspects they had to balance because of their emphasis on interpretation privilege in the final

analysis

44 Ethical considerations

Research should be guided by ethical principles to ensure the safety of the participants and the

quality of the research The most important aspects include consent confidentiality and

anonymity Informed consent means that the participant must be given full information about

what participation means and they must be given the chance to both give and withdraw their

consent during or after the interview The researcher must tell the truth about the purpose of the

study and the participant can choose to leave any unwanted questions unanswered

(Vetenskapsraringdet 201710 16) All participants were given a letter with information about the

study which was again repeated verbally right before the interview The second important

aspect confidentiality means that all information and data must be handled safely and not be

shared with unauthorized people (ibid40) The data was stored on a password protected

computer and no personal information was saved along with the transcripts And finally

anonymity means that the identity of the participants must be concealed for example by giving

26

them new names or changing identifying details in their statements (ibid13) Both of my

sampling methods (digital convenience and snowball) can threaten the anonymity of the

participants because they become traceable either to those who were lsquosnowballedrsquo into the study

or those who were found online (see chapter 42 Sample)

In more qualitative terms the researcher must make fair interpretations of the statements made

by participants and be transparent with how conclusions were made This ensures both

transparency in a scientific standpoint and the well-being of the participants (Vetenskapsraringdet

201710) Related to this it is important to recognize how the analysis may affect the

participants for example Creswell and Poth (2018228) argue that there is always a risk that

participants feel bothered by the way their statements have been interpreted in relation to theory

and previous research and especially in a sensitive topic such as politics identity and emotions

In order to minimize this risk the interpretations will both be rooted in theory and previous

research and include alternative evidence and interpretations

45 Methodological reflexivity

Reflexivity requires researchers to be aware of and transparent about their own biases in their

interpretations as well as scrutinizing their power in relation to the research participants

(Creswell amp Poth 2018201 228) Besides the inherent power in the relation between

researcher and participants no specific power dynamics existed in this study The researcher

must reflect upon their own position (gender class race and similar) and how it affects the

way the research is conducted and how the results are interpreted (ibid228) Being reflexive

thus becomes a way to increase validity by clarifying where researcher bias may have affected

the results (ibid261) Evidence that contradicts the arguments made in the analysis has been

included to avoid bias The idea of researcher reflexivity builds on the epistemological approach

of social constructivism where knowledge is not seen as a neutral or objective but a subjective

socially embedded practice shaped by the lived experience of the author and the participants It

also means that self-criticism and self-consciousness is crucial aspects of qualitative

interpretive research (Lynch 200029-36)

According to Moustakas (1994103-4) reflexivity should guide every step in the

phenomenological research project including choice of topic it must have autobiographical

relevance to the researcher who must be genuinely curious and passionate about the

phenomenon ndash and of course be transparent about these motives The choice of BLM as an

27

empirical example in this study was based on my own experiences from the spring of 2020 I

was just as my respondents and many others very moved by the events that transpired and I

did too participate in some online actions such as checking myself into the US Ambassy on

Facebook to show my support of the movement I followed the news and read everything I

found on social media out of both political sympathy and sociological fascination I wanted to

know more about why the activism looked like it did and how others felt about being part of

it Being able to be fascinated in times of collective grief and trauma for Black people is of

course a privilege that I am aware of I can afford to be distanced towards and critical of the

antiracist movement and how it does or does not invite people to engage themselves in it

because my survival or well-being does not depend on it I aim to be respectful in my

interpretations and descriptions of the movement and its participants

46 Limitations

Instead of aiming to evaluate qualitative research by the same criteria as quantitative studies

there are adjusted validation practices for the specific approach of the study To assure good

quality for qualitative phenomenological studies phenomenological concepts should be used

properly understood and recommended methods should be followed Besides from engaging

in reflexive analysis it is also important to offer descriptive richness and interpretive depth

(Creswell amp Poth 2018272-82) There are also different validation strategies for qualitative

research The researcher can use triangulation to strengthen the stability of the results identify

disconfirming cases and clarify researcher reflexivity (ibid260-1) Member checking and

collaborating with participants can also strengthen the validity (ibid162 Arribas Lozano

2018455-6) All participants were informed of their right to see the transcripts and the analysis

if they wished but they were not contacted with the explicit purpose of checking the finished

results due to time Another aspect is reliability meaning how robust the results of the study

would be if someone else replicated the study (Creswell amp Poth 2018164-5) In the case of

qualitative studies where the researcher is intertwined with the interpretations the probability

of someone else reaching the exact same result is small but thick descriptions of methodology

and the data increases reliability somewhat The generalizability of qualitative studies is often

low and especially so when the sample is skewed The results of this study should be considered

valid only for the group studied since the results could have been different with different

28

representations of gender or class for example However with a purposeful sample of people

with a certain experience the goal is not generalizability beyond the group

Another potential issue is the fact that the quotes from the interviews included in this thesis

have been translated from Swedish to English which means that there is a risk that some of the

core meanings of the quotes may have been spoiled or changed However the analysis was

done on the Swedish transcripts making sure the interpretations were made on the original

material Thus the problem of translating quotes is mainly a problem of communicating the

results to the reader in the same form they appeared in the analysis process of the original

material

5 Results and analysis

As explained in the methods section (43 Coding and analysis) the analysis was gradually

turning toward the themes of a) interpretation privilege and b) how the notion of interpretation

privilege affects the leeway for action These themes will be the focus of the analysis which

will show that although the allies experience their allyship as important and meaningful they

sometimes struggle to find a path for themselves in their attempt to be lsquogoodrsquo allies Their

commitment to respecting interpretation privilege helps them live up the to the ally role as

supporters of Black people in general but it limits the leeway in which they are able to act

independently as political agents But first some general findings on how the allies think about

their role will be presented which primarily relates to the first research question about the

experiences of ally work

The overall experience of allyship is that the ally identity is surrounded by purpose community

and positive experiences They are all highly committed to and well-educated about the cause

Being part of the movement feels meaningful and even like rdquoa privilege to be able to be a part

of it and listen and learnrdquo as Lisa says She describes her emotional experiences

First there was a lot of frustration I think And then there was this powerfulhellip

some kind of like rsquowowrsquo there were a lot of chills there for a while [laughs]

because people really came together

29

Sam shares the experience of initial frustration and pain They describe the feeling when their

frustration and anger transformed into hope like ldquofree fallingrdquo ndash the realization that they were a

part of a group with so many sympathizers made it feel like change was possible

Most ally work was performed online and consisted of acts such as sharing information

knowledge and opinions participating in online seminars and meetings signing petitions and

lsquochecking inrsquo at the US Embassy in Stockholm on Facebook as part of a global protest act To

signal their support for the movement they occasionally used hashtags such as

blacklivesmatter and blackouttuesday All participants got most of their information from

social media in line with the general trend in contemporary activism (Ahmed et al 2017447

Heldman 201788) Previous research emphasizes the important role of emotions in social

movement mobilization and all participants in this study recognized how constant access to

heartbreaking stories virtual proof of mistreatment and a global sense of community provided

by social media motivated them to act (see for example Russo 2014)

Some interviewees also participated outside of social media by attending physical

demonstrations (Sam Sara and Emma) It is impossible to say how many of the interviewees

would have attended had there not been a global pandemic However as digital activism has

become dominating in contemporary social movements (Jaumlmte et al 2020371-2) the low rate

of physical protest among the participants in this study should not be attributed to the pandemic

alone For example Lucas says he has not been to as many demonstrations over the last years

as he would have wanted because of work and other circumstances Amanda says she has

always seen herself as an activist as someone who does what otherrsquos lacks the energy or

resources to do but that she is ldquonot the person who attends demos you knowrdquo And Caroline

who is involved in several organizations besides her antiracist engagement even experiences

that the pandemic has made participation easier for her since it can now be done from home ndash

a point Alva agrees with as she experiences difficulties joining offline protests due to physical

illness Thus the effects of the Covid pandemic are not exclusively negative and limiting Apart

from the different demonstrations the allies also emphasized how implementing antiracist ideas

into their everyday behavior and their professional lives is crucial to be a good ally

The main motivator for their allyship is the notion of privilege All interviewees refer to

themselves as White and relate it to privilege an increasingly common tendency and a

prerequisite for antiracist commitment among Whites (Cole 20201627 Spanierman amp Smith

2017608-9) Lisa describes herself as a ldquoprivileged White woman raised in a middle-class

homerdquo and she says that she faced few obstacles growing up and Sam argues that their White

30

identity gives them platforms and privileges many Black people lack Therefore they use their

social media to amplify the voices of Black people sharing their voices stories and

perspectives Amplifying voices of marginalized groups has been recognized in research as one

of the main tasks for allies (Arora amp Stout 2019390 Bhattacharyya et al 202012 Clark

2019528-31)

The argument of amplifying Black voices as a way to utilize onersquos privilege is twofold First

the participants see their privilege as an opportunity to reach out to fellow Whites who they

expect will listen more to their White counterparts than they would to a Black person which is

confirmed in previous research (see for example Arora amp Stout 2019 Linder amp Johnson 2015)

For example Lucas says

Us Whites who are not affected by racism we have to stand up and show that itrsquos

not OK to spread racism If we donrsquot therersquoll never be any change because

sometimes it feels like people listen more to [hellip] a White person confirming that

what a Black person says is true

Sam shares this reasoning and they actively try to reach people with ldquodeeply racist prejudicerdquo

who would ldquonever listen to a Black personrdquo According to Haraway (1988577) subjugated

groups are deprived the privilege of assumed objectivity and reduced to their position as

inherently linked to and epistemologically limited by their social position in a way the dominant

groups are not Subjugated knowledge must always be fought for in terms of recognition

(Collins 1990414) and the allies in this study is dedicated to doing so in order to reduce the

impact of their own privilege and increase the outreach of Black people Katrin recognizes how

this process of validation of knowledge based on power is an unequal process where Black

people are seen as unreliable because they are ldquoacting out of self-interestrdquo whereas White

people are assigned more credibility Recognizing these mechanisms does not mean that the

interviewees accept them they use words such as ldquoterriblerdquo and ldquodisgustingrdquo to describe the

phenomenon and they feel both guilty about having these privileges and motivated to use them

for good which has been recognized as a potential effect of guilt in previous research (Dull et

al 20211081-84) However acknowledging this epistemic hierarchy is not an automatic

renouncing of privilege but can instead reinforce racist structures by assuming the assigned

value of White knowledge is higher and thus seeing the role of White allies as more important

than that of Black people in fighting racism (see Collins 1009)

31

The second aspect of White privilege in antiracist activism is as recognized by the interviewees

the fact that the costs of engaging are much lower for White people than they are for Black

simply because one does not risk facing racism as a response to speaking up (Drury amp Kaiser

2014642) For example Sam says they saw their ability to participate in the demonstration as

a privilege ndash not everyone can be sure to get home safe if they choose to attend a demo due to

the potential threat of police harassment or counter-protestors These costs are further lowered

by the fact that most ally work is done online Sara for example says that it enables her to

ldquotake the fightrdquo without ending up in situations too uncomfortable or even dangerous

Essentially the privilege of being listened to and the lower cost of speaking up for White allies

motivates specific responsibilities assigned to ally work but it also risks reproducing racist

hierarchies by assigning White knowledge higher value The remainder of the analysis will

focus on how these responsibilities are put into practice and what may limit the allies in their

attempts to do ally work

51 Balancing ally work

Related to the second research question is to what extent the allies feel like they are entitled to

act in the movement and this following section aims to show what different aspects affect this

perception Based on the ideas about privilege and responsibility the difficulties in balancing

different strategies of ally work will now be analyzed Although it may seem self-explanatory

what allies should do based on the previous section ndash use their privilege to raise their voices

against racist discrimination ndash the experiences of the interviewed allies shows that it is more

complicated than at first glance They must balance different strategies which can be defined

as following

A Listen but do not exploit

B Help but do not hijack

C Step down but do not become paralyzed

These three points represent how different ally assignments presented by the interviewees are

at some point met with objections or disclaimers There are a multitude of examples in the

interviews but the above-mentioned strategies are the most representative and common For

analytical and stylistic purposes they will be presented in a step-by-step form but they should

not be understood as linear or causal The relationship between these aspects is much more

32

complicated which the analysis aims to demonstrate Before analyzing these three strategies

the concept that serves as an implicit (sometimes explicit) point of departure for most decisions

by the allies should be accounted for namely the concept of interpretation privilege

511 Interpretation privilege

In all interviews there is an assumption about what kind of knowledge is legitimate knowledge

and interpretations based on interpretation privilege (tolkningsfoumlretraumlde in Swedish) 9 of the

11 interviewees explicitly mention the term but the theme is discussed in all interviews This

means that despite their academic degrees years of professional experience in human rights

work or their genuine interest for social justice issues the interviewees recognize how their

lack of lived experience reduces their ability to fully understand the issue of racism The idea

of interpretation privilege is interpreted here as a translation of ideas about situated knowledge

(Collins 1990408) lived experience (Voronka 2016194) and power into everyday political

lingo This idea is expressed continuously throughout the interviews as a part of their political

reasoning and it guides how they relate to their role as allies Katrin explains

It is not the same thing to understand racism by reading about it or by seeing or

hearing about othersrsquo experiences as it is to carry it in the body It will never be

possible for me to understand that

Interpretation privilege then helps allies understand and accept their own inability to fully

comprehend racism and it creates respect towards the testimonies made by people who

experiences racism However knowing that one lacks access to a full understanding also

contributes to self-doubt about the ally role and the work associated with it Caroline who

studies to become a psychologist tells me she has some concerns about being a White

psychologist treating Black patients Her professors claim psychologists do not need to share

the patientsrsquo experiences but Caroline is doubtful

ldquoI as a White person will never be able to fully understand being constantly

vigilant as a Black person in Sweden not knowing what the day will be like to

constantly be exposed to microaggressions and discrimination and even worse

abuse every dayhelliprdquo

Accepting interpretation privilege as the fact that if one is not exposed to racism one will never

know exactly what it feels like is empathetic and sensitive to the lived experience of Black

33

people It means respecting the ways Black people make sense of and deal with their own

experiences of oppression without claiming to know better However for the participants in

this study it often leads them to disregard all kinds of personal opinions thoughts or ideas

about what racism is and what should be done about it simply because they lack lived

experience of racism The participants sometimes struggle to balance their own knowledge

against the opinions and experiences of Black people Caroline again

Itrsquos this thing about interpreting different actions ndash is this a racist action or not

Well thatrsquos not up to me [hellip] And I think that interpretation privilege in general

in social media too that you just donrsquot go in and interpret what is right and wrong

Here the lack of interpretation privilege disqualifies Caroline from even deciding whether she

finds something right or wrong although such judgements are foundational in political thinking

Interpretation privilege also decides the legitimacy of actions according to Sara she argues

that whereas it is the job of White allies to speak up against other Whites the meaning of the

action is not the same as if a Black person would do it Essentially if a White ally wants to

stand up against racism it should be with a disclaimer

I think it is important to be like lsquothis is my understanding of it but I donrsquot have

interpretation privilegersquo just to create some awareness that I donrsquot have any

right to think anything - Emma

Some participants strip themselves of their agency by retreating to the idea that their

perspectives thoughts and ideas do not matter Lisa tells me that she sometimes censors herself

by not posting or sharing certain things because she feels like she has too little knowledge She

also stays out of debates she is interested in because she ldquodoes not feel [she] has the right to say

something or make a statement in these issuesrdquo Another example of how allies renounce their

political agency can be represented by Sara who tells me that when she saw my participant

message she was concerned that I searched for lsquoself-identified alliesrsquo In her perspective the

label lsquoallyrsquo is not something that one can claim independently one must earn it by being

recognized as such by a Black person Zhelnina (2020361) points to the importance of activists

growing independence emotional confidence and autonomy in their political interpretations

for a movement to successfully mobilize and in a discourse where one does not even possess

the right to claim allyship to a political movement this type of independence and confidence

may be difficult to develop

34

Another important aspect is the conflict that arises when people with interpretation privilege

disagree within the group Lucas says he has met Black people who defend the right to use

racial slurs That does not mean he accept this as true and uses these words himself but he

acknowledges that these situations could be problematic The multitude of perspectives to

consider especially considering the global character of the movement and its social media

presence it becomes difficult to decide what to believe in And when those who have been

assigned authority in this case Black people with interpretation privilege it becomes even

harder The reflexive globalized world with endless sources of information with sometimes

contradictory messages makes it hard to navigate (Giddens 1991138) This problem also

relates to what Voronka (2016196) described as essentialist tendencies when using the concept

of lived experience as a criterion for inclusion With social media where almost unlimited

information is always accessible to the individual the effort to develop independent

interpretations becomes unnecessary and in the case of the White allies insensitive

However it should be noted that although the idea of interpretation privilege is present in all

interviews the participants are also aware that other types of knowledge such as skills from

previous experience in social movements or academic judicial or general professional

knowledge is important Many of them say that they do feel confident of the practical abilities

they have built up over many years of activism and civil society work and Alva among others

points to how she would like to take on the role of fixing practical organizational tasks for the

BLM movement if she were to become more involved in the future Thus there is no validity

in claiming that the interviewees lack all sorts of self-esteem in their ally identity and that they

completely disregard other types of knowledge as Lucas says ldquointerpretation privilege is not

everythingrdquo Still statements such as ldquoI donrsquot have any right to think anythingrdquo or rdquoItrsquos this

thing about interpreting actions ndash is this racist or not Well thatrsquos not up to merdquo are common

in the interviews Although many of the participants can be interpreted as having ontological

security in terms of knowing what they are good at they cannot translate this into a practical

consciousness that guides their actions in a natural manner which creates ontological insecurity

and passivity (Giddens 199144) This relates to findings about lack of lived experience as

leading to potential insensitivity to discrimination which the interviewees recognize in

themselves (Drury amp Kaiser 2014369-42) In theories of situated knowledge it is emphasized

how a multitude of perspectives is needed and that subjugated groups do not have natural access

to hidden truths (Haraway 1988583-6 Young 199027) The disregarding of White ally

perspectives due to lack of lived experience is thus not inherent in the theories themselves but

35

rather something that seems to occur along the popularized interpretation of the term as it is

translated into everyday political lingo as interpretation privilege

So in navigating what to do as an ally while being committed to the idea of interpretation

privilege the first strategy for good ally work is formulated listening

512 Listen but do not exploit

So drawing upon the notion of interpretation privilege the appropriate way to consume

information about racial issues and determining what to do is by listening to Black people

Listening itself becomes not only a way to retrieve information and insight but a political

practice that reflects power structures and identity It becomes a way to renounce onersquos owns

privilege and instead assigning the power of being heard to others (see Collins 1990 Haraway

1988 Young 2004) Sam explains

I as a White person will never be able to sit there and decide what is right and

wrong when it comes to Black experiences or just non-White experiences Irsquove got

nothing to say about that I know nothing about it I just donrsquot What I can do is

listen and learn and I need to take the initiative as a student in this subject

Listening and taking a step back represents successful allyship according to Lucas because it

means both getting access to the right information and showing emotional support and respect

for people exposed to racism Listening is a powerful way to use onersquos White privilege

respecting the interpretation privilege of Black people and redirecting some of the privilege

and power associated to onersquos whiteness to Black people which is one of the main assignments

of allies (Brown amp Ostrove 20132211) But apart from being a virtuous alternative strategy

for allies it is also a relatively effortless option compared to other types of activism such as

participating in demonstrations Effective unproblematic and ideologically right a seemingly

perfect strategy to apply as a White ally

However it is not that simple listening is not only an act of rejecting the power associated to

onersquos racial identity but also hauntingly close to exploitation of Black experience according

to the interviewees The problem of freeriding and exploiting or capitalizing on the stories of

subjugated groups has been acknowledged in previous research on allyship (Clark 2019530

Linder amp Johnson 20159) For example Lisa argues that White people should be careful

36

talking about racism as if they could understand it and instead listen to what Black people say

- but at the same time she says it quickly becomes counterproductive

Black Swedes are not supposed to have to educate me about the racism they

experience because in that case what do I really demand from a Black person

Lou has the same idea and she tells me about how she used to ask her Black partner many

lsquodumbrsquo questions but that she realized that this means that she puts the burden of educating her

on him Sara avoids asking her Black friends about how she as a White ally can help because

that puts too much responsibility on those Black friends Amanda tells me she is after having

listened to one of the biggest antiracist podcasts Raseriet afraid of being one of lsquothose White

peoplersquo who demand to be taught about racism from Black people After all they all agree that

racism is a problem White people created and a problem for White people to solve ndash the

responsibility should not land on Black people As Emma says

Itrsquos essentially White peoplersquos problem itrsquos White people who built the structures

we are protesting [hellip] Itrsquos not Black people who are supposed to stand there and

scream their lungs out about Black Lives Matter but itrsquos about White people

needing to get together and saying like lsquonow we have to fix this because we

created itrsquo

So while trying to balance interpretation privilege the participants easily stumble into another

pitfall Listening as ally work increases the risk of becoming a burden on Black people by

depending on them for education explanations and guidance and exploiting their knowledge

and lived experience for self-improvement which also reinforces racist structures Black people

are implicitly seen as political objects rather than subjects inevitably crushed under the pressure

of White questions and demands and in need of White protection The point of allyship is to

make life and activism easier for Black people not the other way around which brings us to

another strategy of allyship to balance helping

513 Help but do not hijack

Based on the idea that listening as political practice can become exploitative and freeriding the

allies land in the conclusion that helping is the main assignment for allies They motivate this

by referring to their own privileges However as this section will show helping as a political

practice is also surrounded by potential problems

37

The idea of helping as ally work relates again to the idea that the costs of confronting racism is

lower for White people than for Black people (Drury amp Kaiser 2014642) as well as the

realization that White people are granted more respect and legitimacy when advocating for

antiracist causes (Arora amp Stout 2019390) Helping consists of claiming co-responsibility of

changing society protecting Black people from painful experiences and deal with the racism

of White people For example if an ally hears someone being racist they must speak up Sara

tries to do so because she does not want to add to any Black personrsquos burden of having to take

every fight themselves Emma argues that it is not Black peoplersquos responsibility to keep the

movement alive and therefore it is important that White people speak up She thinks ldquoit feels

stupid if White people would just sit around and wait for initiatives cause then you donrsquot do

anything goodrdquo If Black people are left alone with total responsibility of changing institutions

and organizations in Loursquos experience that usually puts Black people in situations where the

risk of being exposed to racism is high and without the support system of allies to help

Although all interviewees describe different ways of helping and supporting Black people and

the BLM movement as a main task for allies such statements are often followed by a disclaimer

For example they say ldquoitrsquos this balance that you being White shouldnrsquot go in and take overrdquo

(Emma) and ldquoWe should support we should be there we should recognize and lift the issues

But we should not be the main actorsrdquo (Alva) One of the most common phrases in the

interviews were lsquothat is not my placersquo This reasoning is present regardless of what types of

actions the interviewees talk about both high-level activism in formal organizations or

representing the movement in media and everyday civil courage such as speaking up against

racist comments in the workplace Sara adds to her statement about wanting to speak up to help

Black people saying that she ldquoalso has to leave room for Black people to act and not trying to

be like lsquoI know best now so let me explain racismrsquordquo Amanda shares similar thoughts saying

Itrsquos important that this can be a movement that Black people own themselves and

that itrsquos not something us White people can just barge into and take over Itrsquos a

balancing between goodwill and wanting to help and to not barge in and be like

lsquoThis is what racism isrsquo

Amanda has worked in organizations who educate people in moral courage and antiracism for

a few years and she has much experience in this type of political work But when she is

contacted in her role as an antiracist educator and asked to hold a course in a workplace she

doubts herself She feels that she must lsquowarnrsquo them about her whiteness ldquoI have to start by

38

saying that Irsquom White Irsquoll never be able to talk about racism like a Black person couldrdquo During

spring of 2020 she started to think about her role again she tells me She concluded that ldquothis

is not my place this organization is not my place but I could do activism in other waysrdquo In

most interviews there are similar reasonings for example Bea explains how she is not against

White people organizing against racism but that she

would not be very comfortable doing it or starting an appeal or initiative like

lsquoWhites in support for Black Lives Matterrsquo because thatrsquos nothellip thatrsquos claiming

space and attention

Katrin said that she in her work at an equality foundation had to weigh her wish to do

something against the risk of ldquotaking over a voice that was just starting to build uprdquo and Lou

who works in HR criticizes her own attempts to implement antiracist ideas at her workplace

because she doubts if she has any right to ldquoclaim that we have to work with so-called diversity

issuesrdquo or ldquobe that voice in a White roomrdquo Emma mentions ldquosupporting without taking overrdquo

as the most important aspect of ally work This is an important part of allyship being

supportive standing by Black peoplersquos side acknowledging oppression raising the issues but

without being the protagonists of the movement as Alva explains Lisa agrees she asks herself

rdquoIs this my space to claim I donrsquot know am I supposed to march in the frontline when it comes

to this issue like Irsquom not so sure about thatrdquo In these statements it is implicitly assumed that

if Whites wanted to take over from Black people they easily could (even unconsciously) and

this implies Black people are less resilient as political actors

These arguments are often motivated by their own experiences with men taking space in

feminist movements They think about the way they want men to act and applies the same

reasoning to their own allyship

If this was about feminism and there was a dude telling me this or doing this that

Irsquom talking about now [taking over authorrsquos note] how would I react then [hellip]

I find it odd when female feminists feel like they have to pay tribute to and psyche

up male feminists I donrsquot think male feminists should need that And I feel the

same way about like Black people shouldnrsquot have to care about me at all it may

sound weird but I donrsquot do it for them itrsquos other Whites I want to affect ndash Katrin

Allies often use their own identities and social positions to understand other types of oppression

and although it seems to function as a source of empathy and compassion for the other group

as well as regulating ones ally behavior it is important to acknowledge that lived experience of

39

sexism does not mean inevitable understanding of experiences of racism (Spanierman amp Smith

2017608-10) which the allies mention themselves

This section shows that the strategy of helping is not as straight-forward and easily managed as

first described but instead associated with a big risk lsquoWhat if I take over What does it say

about me if I dordquo They engage in reflexive identity construction without being ontologically

secure eg without having a ldquopractical consciousnessrdquo or ldquonatural attituderdquo that guides how to

act This creates anxiety and fear of doing and thus being wrong (Giddens 199136) All

participants agree that although allies are important in creating change the movement is and

should be a Black space Although they are confident in these believes and dedicated to living

up to these ideals they are still afraid of unintentionally taking over or hijacking the movement

despite their wish to simply help and support the movement from the background To minimize

the risk of being one of those White allies who barges in and takes over the allies make sure to

balance this by taking a step back and leaving room for Black people to lead the way

514 Take a step back but do not become paralyzed

The choice to take a step back following the alliesrsquo reasoning about claiming space and taking

over means that they are more and more evolving toward a state of allyship where few actions

are legitimate and unproblematic This can be interpreted as a sign that the strategies described

previously (listening and helping) are not part of the alliesrsquo practical consciousness and that

engaging in such ally work is experienced as difficult and frightening due to ontological

insecurity This often leads to passivity (Giddens 199144) Taking a step back is described as

lsquoleaving room forrsquo Black people and it consists of listening (which as previous sections of the

analysis show is not seen as entirely unproblematic) and sharing the perspectives of Black

people for example in social media but without claiming a frontline position in the movement

These are two strategies that reduces the influence of White voices on the antiracist discourse

Taking a step back and leaving room for Black people is a way to denounce the privilege of

being listened to (Arora amp Stout 2019294-5) and reducing the power gap between dominant

and subjugated groups in terms of knowledge production (Collins 1990408)

However the interviewees testify to how the strategy to take a step back is often (but not

always) a shortcut to passivity Katrin who works in an equality foundation dealing with issues

of sexism and racism tells me what happened in her organization when choosing the take-a-

step-back approach by sharing articles Instagram posts and other materials created by Black

40

people and thus engaging in amplification of Black voices (Clark 2019528-31) They were

later criticized for ldquonot doing more not talking about it more screaming more sharing

morehelliprdquo They tried to do the right thing but failed Katrin wonders if they should have done

something of their own something bigger while also acknowledging how it would be

problematic of them to claim the spotlight

The allies worry about their own tendencies to become passive because of trying to navigate

among the different strategies Katrin explains this mechanism as a process where learning

about privilege and power creates an insight of onersquos own role in this power structure

ldquoYou realize that lsquoI have power I have responsibility and I do not have

interpretation privilegersquo and that makes you so scared to do anything wrong that

you end up doing nothing at allrdquo

She describes the insights as ldquoparalyzingrdquo and this experience is shared by more of the

interviewees and found in previous research (Brown amp Ostrove 20132220) Emma says that

it is a complex question that she thinks about a lot and that she has not yet landed in any

conclusions about what she should be doing as an ally but she knows that she must avoid

becoming paralyzed However it could be reflexivity itself that leads to such passivity

(Giddens 199144) Political background does not affect this mechanism as it is observed in

those with no prior experience as well as those with years of activism In some ways having

more prior experience can even make it harder to navigate the ally role because the roles

previously taken are no longer open to you as White Alva explains

Irsquom so used to being in the front and in the middle and being in the back is not

really like how I have been engaged before Irsquom not really used to it and to have

my role defined as being in the backseat in the back of the bus as Whitehellip [hellip] I

havenrsquot done that before And Irsquove struggled to find my role ndash what can I do

Cause I feel my hands are tied behind my back a little I would love to do more but

at the same time my interest cannot decide what the main issue should be Itrsquos all

about knowing your role and your place and being very sensitive to when people

tell you to back away or step up

At the end of each interview they were asked What would you like to see for the movement in

the future I got many analytical answers but some responded by saying like Alva ldquoItrsquos hard

for me to answer because Irsquom White I donrsquot know what needs to be focused on right now and

Irsquom not the right person to askrdquo Lisa says rdquoI donrsquot feel I have the right to speak on this or like

41

debate this issuerdquo Amanda does not answer the question either and refers to how it would be

inappropriate for her to try to decide what the movement should be about Interestingly she

notices how this perspective is only present in her relation to antiracism as she has worked for

LGBTQ-rights for years despite identifying as straight She cannot point out what is different

when it comes to antiracism but she feels there is a difference The uncertainty of knowing

what to do risks leading to passivity

ldquoItrsquos like Irsquove come tohellip Not a stop but a landmark and itrsquos like I canrsquot get

further than that because I donrsquot know what to do Irsquom sure there are things I

could do and a role for me to take on but I canrsquot find it right nowrdquo - Alva

Again the interviewees are aware of the paralyzing effect of their strategies and Lou claims

that she knows that she is overthinking it

When I discuss this with people who are exposed to racism I sometimes get the

feeling that theyrsquore like lsquowe donrsquot care who does it somebody just do itrsquo There

is a need for antiracist work to be done [hellip] So I think that itrsquos easy to fall into

some kind of paralyzed state that doesnrsquot help anybody

The assumption of passivity among contemporary activists can be considered mainstream in

the social movement field Youths of Western democracies are less engaged in any kind of

traditional political involvement such as voting political party membership or other

associational activities (Amnaring amp Ekman 20136) Often this decline in political activity is

attributed to the growing prevalence of digital methods instead of more traditional physical

methods because it gives people an undeserved sense of accomplishment (Skoric 201277) and

a false idea of what activism is efficient (Morozov 200913) Although the majority of the

intervieweesrsquo activism consisted of digital participation and digital participation only it would

be unfair to claim that it is out of a sense of undeserving feeling of accomplishment that they

stopped at digital methods Quite opposite to the conclusions made by Skoric and Morozov of

the self-absorbed slacktivist the interviewees are far from happy with their contributions to the

movement Digital activism is associated with laziness slack and performative allyship by the

interviewees and they usually do not value digital activism as high as physical engagement

For example Lisa says she feels a bit ashamed of being more of a ldquokeyboard activist than a real

activistrdquo and Amanda shares similar thoughts about her own participation

42

When I posted the image I felt like lsquoIrsquom so fucking lame for doing only thisrsquo

[laughs] I didnrsquot really think of it as an activist action because it was so easy

Thus the emotional experience relates to feeling ashamed which under specific circumstances

and motivate action ndash but often it leads to passivity (Dull et al 20211081-84 Zhelnina

2020361) When Emma describes how accessible online activism is she presents a scenario

where someone can ldquosit at home in the couch and watch a movie and at the same time just log

into social media and protestrdquo Bea even laughs while telling me that she ldquothinks she shared a

black square on Instagram like everyone elserdquo Accessibility is not an indicator of democratic

or inclusive value but quality and it seems like the easier it is the lower it is valued by the

allies Comparing to the study by Russo (2014) where the allies put themselves through

physical challenges to demonstrate their allyship the digital form of ally work is interpreted as

a lower form of activism and is surrounded by feelings of inadequacy and shame Although the

reasons for why many of them stopped at digital activism varies none of them did it out of

satisfaction or laziness In the cases where physical limitations the pandemic or lack of protests

in onersquos hometown was not the reason it was rooted in an insecurity about what to do as an

ally Digital methods were perceived as a safer option in a context where almost all other types

of White participation are criticized and the potential pain of being called out as a bad ally is

perceived to be lower in the digital realm than it would be in other contexts

As this section shows the allies handle the potential risk of hijacking the movement by taking

a step back to leave room for Black people to define shape and ultimately run the movement

themselves However this strategy creates its own problems there is an imminent risk of

becoming passive So when listening does not work because of the risk of freeriding and

exploiting Black experiences and actively helping to relieve Black people of the burden to

overthrow systemic racism is deemed inappropriate because it includes a risk of hijacking the

movement and stepping back is ruled out because it leads to passivity ndash what remains

515 Do good but not for the wrong reasons Introspection

In line with previous research and theory introspection of different kinds is often discussed as

an important ally assignment (Drury amp Kaiser 2014638 Kauffman 200124 29-32) Without

introspection the quality of allyship risks becoming deficient because without being aware of

onersquos privilege as well as guilt allyship easily slips into paternalistic behavior (Cole

20201267 Spanierman amp Smith 609-10) Introspection is described in terms of ldquochecking

43

myselfrdquo (Sam) ldquotake a step back and acknowledge that I am part of a racist systemrdquo (Lisa) and

being ldquohumble to the fact that you are part the structurerdquo (Caroline) All interviewees express

the idea that one cannot be a good ally or contribute to positive change without first having

engaged in introspection in different ways

I think one of the most important things is to understand your own whiteness It

sounds kind of ego and self-centered but I think that you canrsquot be an ally

otherwise ever if you donrsquot see your own privilege [hellip] Otherwise you end up

balancing the line between racism and antiracism and that line is thinner than

you think - Lou

This imagined thin line between antiracism and racism concerns many interviewees Lisa

Lucas and Emma also see the risk of falling into racist behavior as big and that they must start

by recognizing this risk to avoid it Amanda says that she knows that she eventually will do

something racist but that she tries not to fear it because ldquoself-criticism can create fear often

therersquos a fear of saying or doing the wrong thing which makes people afraid to be alliedrdquo which

creates passivity Sam calls self-reflection and rdquochecking themselvesrdquo their most important job

and claims that if their aim was to destroy racism that would indicate that they thought of

themselves as bias-free which they are not Lucas also recognizes his own prejudice and says

it is part of his ally work to try to diminish these biases The potential for racist behavior is both

ascribed to being raised in a racist system and to White identity Amanda attributes her future

racist actions to her whiteness explicitly and Caroline argues that all White people are capable

of racist actions regardless of intent lsquowokenessrsquo and knowledge and she knows that she will

at some point act racist despite her devotion to antiracism and her love for her Black partner

All these considerations are part of the reflexive process that is self-identity constantly

scrutinizing oneself and navigating around different actions to act in line with self-identity

(Giddens 199175) When the stakes are as high as they are for White allies ndash they risk acting

and thus being racist if they do not engage in enough introspection The room for action

becomes further limited

In relation to the digital realm where most ally work took place introspection also becomes

about motivations The main concern for the interviewees was whether or not they should use

their social media platforms for ally work at all since digital methods are sometimes frowned

upon for being shallow and too simple Despite this all of them did some type of digital ally

work When I asked those who shared the black square on Instagram why some of them

44

laughed and said that they did not know or could not explain it They mention motivations such

as fitting in

In a way it was like everyone on my Instagram did it and it became like a peer

pressure thing like rsquowhy didnrsquot she share itrsquo or rsquowhy didnrsquot he hare itrsquo you

know ndash Emma

Besides peer pressure the desire to lsquofeel goodrsquo was also reflected upon Many acknowledge

that this desire existed but they did not approve of it as a motive for action Caroline explains

that although it is good to show others where you stand it does not say much about who you

are in the everyday life and the act of posting on social media instead become about seeming

or feeling good The thing they worry about is whether them showing support for the BLM

movement was intended to help the movement or to make themselves look better ndash sometimes

called cosmetic activism (Spanierman amp Smith 2017609-10) or more often among the

participants performative allyship Lou who regularly shares information opinions petitions

and hashtags in her social media says that she worries about her allyship being performative

because she knows most of her followers already shares her opinions Thus her sharing yet

another Instagram post about how racism is wrong could possibly be to ldquoshow off and make

myself feel a little betterrdquo She is careful to stop and reflect upon her actions and intentions and

ask herself lsquowhy did I do this What was my purposersquo Bea shares the same concerns

describing online activism as potentially about ldquostrengthening your personal brandrdquo and

ldquomarketing yourselfrdquo ndash although she does not identify with these motives she feels like there

is always a risk of falling into performative allyship in social media Posting on social media is

also described as a way to claim an antiracist alibi as Bea explains

One way to avoid this is to actively choose not to share with others the activism they engage in

like Sam who calls it unlearning performative allyship Instead of risking acting in the wrong

way and for the wrong reasons they turn to strategic passivism However the unintended result

of this is that one of the main advantages of allies in social movements (that they can use their

voices and platforms to amplify Black voices) goes missing if social media posts are no longer

considered legitimate allyship (Arora amp Stout 2019390 Bhattacharyya et al 202012 Clark

2019528-31)

Introspection is not only a way to secure high-quality allyship but to reduce the risk of doing

something racist and thus being racist Identity is constructed biographically through action

and if the actions does not align with the sense of self-identity this incoherence leads to

45

ontological insecurity in terms of the self meaning one starts to doubt onersquos own motives

(Giddens 199152-54) Seeing onersquos own whiteness as a guarantee of future racist behavior

and knowing how such behavior would clash with the sense of self allies do best in trying to

avoid racist action by all means available Thus acting becomes a risk in itself and this could

be interpreted as ally work becoming unintuitive and unnatural to the allies both at a practical

level determining what to do and at a more discursive level shaping who to be Although

ontological security is defined as practical consciousness it applies to less hands-on orientation

in the world too for example finding onersquos role and identity in a social movement The way to

move forward after recognizing all possible ways one may act wrong is to engage in strategic

passivism apolitical introspection as a political strategy (Kauffman 200124 29-32 Giddens

199144) It is not equivalent to passivity because it includes a strategic choice and it is built

on ally work but ally work that is aimed inwards It becomes a way to be active without acting

in a context where other people may get hurt or judge you

Allies must also make sure not only to act coherently and right but to have pure intentions

being an ally for the sake of recognition or personal gratification is not accepted However

research shows that such extrinsic motivations are especially important in motivating digital

participation (Lilleker amp Koc-Michalska 201725 34-25) and that feelings of shame and guilt

can lead to passivity (Dull et al 20211081-84 Zhelnina 2020361) These two conditions

(ideas of inherent racism and requirements of pure motives) related to introspection does not

create an environment where being active is very appealing Lou admits how acknowledging

the thin line between antiracism and racism leaves her paralyzed instead of motivated

Introspection on the other hand requires no interaction with other people and thus no risk of

being evaluated judged or called out as a bad ally

As the analysis demonstrates the allies recognize there are many different ways they could

engage ndash but all of them are eventually met with disclaimers of how that specific strategy is

inappropriate They try to navigate their own identity and privilege in relation to interpretation

privilege based on theories of situated knowledge but because they lack ontological security

in their ally role they struggle to find a path that is neither inappropriate nor associated with

too much risk Eventually they land in what could be referred to as passivism strategic

passivity as a form of activism

46

6 Discussion and conclusion

The purpose of this study was to better understand how the ally role and participation is

experienced by White allies participating in the Swedish BLM movement and to investigate to

what extent they felt that they had legitimacy as political agents in the movement As the results

show the allies felt strongly for the cause and had many positive experiences of community

and purpose However emotions related to shame guilt and insecurity were also an integral

part of their ally experience and it limited them in their ally work The analysis also shows that

while they are willing and motivated to act as allies the strategies available to them are

surrounded by disclaimers doubt and criticism Few potential actions or approaches are left

unproblematized and the allies often struggle to find their specific path The analysis

emphasizes the link between academic theories of situated knowledge and what can be seen as

a translated popularized version of the term formulated in the political discourse as

interpretation privilege The contribution of Giddensrsquo theories is that the concepts of reflexivity

and ontological security describes the reason for the hesitation the allies engage in whereas the

concept of situated knowledge describes on what basis they hesitate modernity explains why

they worry and situated knowledge what they worry about

Although the analysis shows a pattern that seems to link ideas of interpretation privilege with

passivism among allies the conclusion should not be that acknowledging the importance of

situated knowledge and recognizing the power intertwined with the knowledge creation and

validation process is unnecessary or harmful The theories of situated knowledge standpoint

theory and Black feminist epistemology are important contributions to the sociology of

knowledge and crucial reminders of the power embedded in knowledge However of interest

to political sociology scholars could be the translation of academic concepts into everyday

political lingo and what effects it may have on how people think about politics agency and

identity It is also important to point out that the statements by the interviewees do not reflect

the concept of interpretation privilege in itself but only their interpretation of it Therefore one

could never claim that the concept in itself limits or motivates anything only the way it is

interpreted

Many parts of the results need further investigation One is the implication of guilt if allies are

so limited in this movement whose fault is it It is easy to jump to the conclusion that the fault

belongs to the movement itself and its participants that activists and allies specifically create

47

an environment where action is limited and surrounded by doubt and insecurity This is not the

conclusion of the study Black people or specifically Black movement participants are not to

blame for a culture created by all participants of the movement and this culture or discourse

should be treated as such a larger collective process or frame that is affected by and affecting

all movement participants and the social context it is constructed in It is power on the discursive

level and beyond the reach of any specific grouprsquos aims to control it The experiences and

emotions of the allies should be treated as manifestations of a larger socio-political context

(Buechler 1995458) which could be the focus of future research

Another important aspect to discuss is the implications of quality of the participants allyship

Much research on the passivity of modern activists for example texts on slacktivism (see

Skoric 2012) have a contemptuous tone while discussing how little activists do and how good

they feel about themselves I refrain from evaluating the quality of the actual activism

performed by the allies and from explaining their digitally dominated activism with slacktivism

Instead of seeing contemporary passivism as a potential problem of bad activists one must

focus on the cultural structural and discursive processes enabling this specific kind of activism

instead of other more traditional and acknowledged types of activism Something in the

political climate digital activism identity political social movements or something completely

different limits those who wish to support the movement as allies in their action repertoires

One interesting finding is the consistency in the way the participants describe their involvement

and the issues they thought about Looking at prior experience and their doubts and concerns

about current and future activism there seems to be no link between being unexperienced or

so to say a lsquorookiersquo activist and feeling insecure about what to do as an ally The same problem

was present for people working with equality issues for a living having academic degrees in

the field and well as those without similar professional and academic competences Thus it is

unlikely to be out of inexperience or lack of knowledge that allies sometimes turn to passivism

It is also important to note that while this analysis turned out to be about tendencies of

passivism the interviewed allies were in fact not passive They all engaged in different ally

work digitally and physically sharing information online participating in demonstrations and

trying to incorporate antiracism in their everyday lives and encounters The idea of passivism

applies to their own reasoning and thinking about their allyship more than it does to their

performed ally work Passivism describes their strategic use of introspection which resembles

being passive from out outside perspective but includes much effort in scrutinizing oneself and

trying to become a better ally something that the interviewees are very focused on

48

The main contribution of this study is its representation of the ally perspective something that

is not well researched in the Swedish context It contributes with an insight into the political

arguments of a contemporary social movement characterized by identity-focus and digital

methods Potential contributions could also relate to the questions what would be needed for

allyship to become effective motivating and less associated with introspection and passivism

questions to which the answers must be found in larger contexts than that of these 11 alliesrsquo

testimonies In order to say more about how contemporary allyship is constructed experienced

and given meaning a triangulation of different methods and data sources would be required

along with a bigger sample

The study raised more questioned than it answered which indicates the importance and

relevance of further studies For example the theoretical coherence between the academic

concept of situated knowledge and the more casual term interpretation privilege would need to

be further explored as this study is only a rather shallow review of the concepts Studying the

larger political development and the discourse on activism or racism could also help

constructing a more developed understanding of what it really means to be an ally in the local

context of 21st century Sweden while simultaneously being part of a global network of activists

The implications of these results could be that while allyship is considered important both for

social movements at large (see Brown amp Ostrove 2013 Arora amp Stout 2019 Clark 2019) and

for the individual allies themselves it is also problematized by the interviewees in line with the

problems presented in previous research Applying these results to White allyship there are

things that would need to change in order for the allies to feel secure enough to find the

motivation to participate in the way they all claim they would want to but have not found the

time motivation or feeling of legitimacy to do For ally work to be a force to be reckoned with

in the antiracist struggle preconditions for action beyond introspection and strategic passivism

must be further developed Relating back to Butler the risk is otherwise that

If white people become exclusively preoccupied with our own privilege we risk

becoming self-absorbed We definitely donrsquot need more white people making

everything about themselves that just re-centralizes whiteness and refuses to do

the work of anti-racism (Gleeson 2021)

49

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movement Social Movement Studies 16(4) 227-465 httpsdoi1010801474283720161192457

American Psychological Association (2019) Racial and ethnic identity httpapastyleapaorgstyle-grammar-

guidelinesbias-free-languageracial-ethnic-minorities

Amnaring E amp Ekman J (2013) Standby citizens diverse faces of political passivity European Political Science 1-21

httpsdoi101017S175577391300009X

Andersson P (2021) Bokrecension Vit skoumlrhet vaumllbehoumlvlig i svensk rasismdebatt SVT Nyheter Downloaded 2021-09-29

from httpswwwsvtsekulturbokrecension-vit-skorhet-skickar-meningsfulla-impulser-in-i-den-svenska-debatten

Arora M amp Stout CT (2018) Letters for Black Lives Co-ethnic Mobilization and Support for the Black Lives Matter

Movement Political Research Quarterly 72(2) 389-402 httpsdoiorg1011772F1065912918793222

Arribas Lozano A (2018) Knowledge co-production with social movement networks Redefining grassroots politics

rethinking research Social Movement Studies 17(4) 451-463 httpsdoiorg1010801474283720181457521

Barassi V amp Zamponi L (2020) Social media time identity narratives and the construction of political biographies Social

Movement Studies 195-6 592-608 httpsdoiorg1010801474283720201718489

Bauman Z (2001) Liquid Modernity Cambridge Polity Press

Bhattacharyya G Virdee S amp Winter A (2020) Revisiting histories of anti-racist thought and activism Identities 27(1)

1-19 httpsdoiorg1010801070289X20191647686

Belam M (2021) Black Lives Matter movement nominated for Nobel peace prize The Guardian 2021-01-29

httpswwwtheguardiancomworld2021jan29Black-lives-matter-nobel-peace-prize-petter-eide-norweigan-mp

(Downloaded 2021-06-16)

Bernstein M (2005) Identity Politics Annual Review of Sociology 31(1) 47-74

httpsdoiorg101146annurevsoc29010202100054

Brown K T amp Ostrove J M (2013) What does it mean to be an ally The perception of allies from the perspective of

people of color Journal of Applied Social Psychology 43(11) 2211ndash2222 httpsdoiorg101111jasp12172

Braring (2018) Sjaumllvrapporterad utsatthet foumlr hatbrott Analys utifraringn Nationella trygghetsundersoumlkningen 2006ndash2017 Rapport

201810 Downloaded 2021-03-05 at

httpswwwbrasedownload187f57ba351641b9cdc3d1e0b515344265455312018_10_Sjalvrapporterad_utsatthet_for_

hatbrottpdf

Buechler SM (1995) NEW SOCIAL MOVEMENT THEORIES Sociological Quarterly 36 441-464

httpsdoiorg101111j1533-85251995tb00447x

Bursell M (2014) The Multiple Burdens of Foreign-Named MenmdashEvidence from a Field Experiment on Gendered Ethnic

Hiring Discrimination in Sweden European Sociological Review 30(3) 399ndash409 httpsdoiorg101093esrjcu047

Carnegie Endowment for International Peace 2020 Global Protest Tracker Downloaded 2020-12-16 at

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BRB2EiwAGBnXXve4_M0rNWlgU0_MmYUuIg6ThabxkIbk_kQhlB7O_542emIVDHX1HRoCCFsQAvD_BwE

Clark M (2019) White folksrsquo work digital allyship praxis in the BlackLivesMatter movement Social Movement Studies

18(5) 519-534 httpsdoiorg1010801474283720191603104

Clayton DM (2018) Black Lives Matter and the Civil Rights Movement A Comparative Analysis of Two Social

Movements in the United States Journal of Black Studies 40(5)448-480

httpsdoiorg1011772F0021934718764099

Cole G (2020) Types of White Identification and Attitudes About Black Lives Matter Social Science Quarterly

101(4)1627-1633) httpsdoiorg101111ssqu12837

Collins PH (1990) Black Feminist Epistemology In Calhoun C J Gerteis J Moody S Pfaff amp I Virk (Ed) (2012)

Contemporary Sociological Theory 3rd Ed Chichester Wiley-Blackwell

Craddock E (2019) Doing rsquoenoughrsquo of the lsquorightrsquo thing the gendered dimension of the lsquoideal activistrsquo and its negative

emotional consequencesrdquo Social Movement Studies 18(2)137-153) httpsdoiorg1010801474283720181555457

Creswell JW amp Poth CN (2017) Qualitative inquiry and research design choosing among five approaches (Fourth

edition) Los Angeles Sage Publications

Diani M (1992) The Concept of Social Movement The Sociological Review 40(1)1-25 httpsdoiorg1011112Fj1467-

954X1992tb02943x

Drury B amp C Kaiser (2014) Allies against Sexism The Role of Men in Confronting Sexism Journal of Social Issues

70(4)637-652 httpsdoiorg101111josi12083

Dull BD Hoyt LT Grzanka PR amp Zeider KH (2021) Can White Guilt Motivate Action The Role of Civic Beliefs

Journal of Youth and Adolescence 50 1081ndash1097 (2021) httpsdoiorg101007s10964-021-01401-7

Earl J (2014) The Future of Social Movement Organizations The Waning Dominance of SMOs Online American

Behavioral Scientist 5935-52 httpsdoiorg1011772F0002764214540507

Garrett RK (2006) Protest in an Information Society a review of literature on social movements and new ICTs

Information Communication amp Society 9(2) 202-224 httpsdoiorg10108013691180600630773

Giddens A (1991) Modernity and self-identity Self and society in the late modern age Stanford University Press

Gleeson J (2021) Judith Butler lsquoWe need to rethink the category of womanrsquo The Guardian 2021-09-07 (Accessed 20201-

09-14 at httpswwwtheguardiancomlifeandstyle2021sep07judith-butler-interview-gender)

512 Listen but donrsquot exploit 35

513 Help but donrsquot hijack 36

514 Take a step back but donrsquot become paralyzed 39

515 Do good but not for the wrong reasons Introspection 42

6 Discussion and conclusion 46

7 References 49

5

1 Introduction and background

Thinking back on the year 2020 most of us will probably think about the Covid-19 pandemic

and how it affected our lives But 2020 was also a year of political protest Polish feminists

protested the restrictions on the right to abortion raised fees for public transportation in Chile

were met with large protests and US antiracists protested police brutality towards Black1

people as a direct response to the murder of George Floyd (Global Protest Tracker 2020) The

killing of Floyd in Minneapolis was not the first time Black Lives Matter (or BLM) a global

informal network or grassroots movement against racism and for Black liberation (Jaumlmte et al

2020370) was protesting police brutality and racist violence BLM is contextualized within a

long history of antiracist mobilization with clear links to the Civil Rights Movement both in

how it is described and interpreted in public discourse and in their ideas methods and

strategies (Clayton 2018457) The start of the movement came on February 26 2012 when

17-year-old Treyvon Martin was shot to death by a volunteer neighborhood watchman while

walking in his fatherrsquos middle-class neighborhood When the killer was acquitted there were

massive reactions and protests (Clayton 2018453) Alicia Garza Patrisse Cullors and Opal

Tometti took the initiative to gather the antiracist protests under one name one hashtag

BlackLivesMatter This first BLM-wave has since then been followed by several other protests

after cases of police violence against Black people (Clark 2019519) For example in 2014 the

BLM movement organized freedom rides to Ferguson (Missouri) inspired by the Civil Rights

movement after the murder of Michael Brown (Clayton 2018454)

After the murder of George Floyd in May 2020 demonstrations took place globally including

in several Swedish cities In Stockholm up to a thousand people gathered to support the BLM

movement and to acknowledge the situation for ethnic minorities in Sweden (Rydberg amp

Weden 2020) Despite the Swedish self-image of exceptionalism in terms of equality (Schierup

amp Aringlund 2011 45 56) there are strong evidence that Afro-Swedes are marginalized in the

upper and lower divisions of the labor market (Wolgast et al 201810 28-36) as well as in the

hiring process health and hate crime (see Braring 2018 Bursell 2014 Lindstroumlm et al 2001)

1 The B in Black (and the W in White) is capitalized based on guidelines on writing about racial and ethnic identity

formulated by the American Psychological Association (2019)

6

The movement was quickly recognized by different social institutions for example BLM was

nominated for the Nobel peace prize (Belam 2021) and the Palme Prize (Palmefonden 2021)

and over the world millions of people showed their support of the movement digitally by

posting a Black square on Instagram using the hashtag blackouttuesday (Monckton 2020)

Not only Black and other POC2 joined the movement but also White allies activists working

politically for another grouprsquos benefit (Russo 201467) Allies of different ethnicities have been

recognized as important actors in the antiracist struggle by many researchers (see for example

Arora amp Stout 2019 Brown amp Ostrove 2013 Clark 2019) as well as male allies in feminist

movements (Drury amp Kaiser 2014642) The role of White people as both perpetuators and

challengers of racism has been highly debated in the public discourse and in academia Books

such as Why Irsquom No Longer Talking to White People About Race by Reni Eddo-Lodge and

White Fragility Why Itrsquos So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism by Robin DiAngelo

have been introduced to the Swedish market after the birth of the BLM movement (Andersson

2021 Hibomo 2019) The role of White allies is thus surrounded by both appraisal and

suspicion and they must navigate their own role in the movement taking both positive and

negative views into account while finding a pathway into activism that suits them This

navigation is challenging and when Judith Butler talks on the subject in an interview in The

Guardian (Gleeson 2021) she summarizes the problems of allyship

Yes it is important to acknowledge that while a white person cannot claim to represent

Black experience that is no reason for white people to be paralyzed on matters on race

refusing to intervene at all No one needs to represent all Black experience in order to

track expose and oppose systemic racism ndash and to call upon others to do the same If

white people become exclusively preoccupied with our own privilege we risk becoming

self-absorbed We definitely donrsquot need more white people making everything about

themselves that just re-centralizes whiteness and refuses to do the work of anti-racism

This balancing between activism and passivism constitutes the focus of this thesis and the

sociological relevance lies in understanding what allies themselves experience beyond the

public perceptions of White allies Their experiences and emotions matter insofar as they are

likely to affect the way the allies choose to act and this motivates the sociological relevance of

studying ally experience Although allyship is relatively well-studied there is less research on

the emotional experiences of allyship especially in the Swedish context

2 POC stands for people of color and describes people of non-White race or ethnicity (American Psychological

Association 2019)

7

12 Aim and research question

The purpose of this paper is to study White alliesrsquo experiences of participating in and supporting

antiracist causes and movements using the Swedish BLM movement as an illustrative case due

to its high topicality The aim is to better understand the role of emotions identity (defined as

ldquothe self as reflexively understood by the person in terms of her or his biographyrdquo [Giddens

199153]) and ideas about power and responsibility shaping ally work departing from the

Swedish context in order to evaluate what the circumstances of ally work are and how the

experience of ally work and identity is lived and understood by White allies themselves The

sociological relevance of the study consists of linking the macro-level political discourse on

responsibility and identity with lived experience agency and sense of self at the individual

micro-level reality of allies Previous research focuses on the emotions and experiences in itself

whereas this paper aims to link these experiences and emotions to action and agencyThe

research questions are

A What emotional experiences do participants have and how can these be related to

identity power and responsibility

B To what extent do White allies feel entitled to act and speak in the name of the

movement

2 Previous research

The field of social movement studies is a well-established field with a long history and there

is a variety of sub-fields with different focuses ranging from resource mobilization (McCarthy

amp Zald 1977) to political processes that enable or hinder social movement activity (McAdam

1983) to the collective interpretations of a movement that is created by framing processes

(Snow 1986) and much more There are many different definitions of the social movement

concept This paper will build upon the definition presented by Diani (19923) describing social

movements as ldquonetworks of informal interaction between a plurality of individuals groups

andor organizations engaged in a political andor cultural conflict on the basis of a shared

collective identityrdquo which describes the informal non-hierarchal form of BLM (Jaumlmte et al

2020370)

8

Social movements as a phenomenon have changed through history shifting from mostly class-

based collective action to movements built on multiple identity categories (Buechler

1995548) This assumption is foundational in new social movement theory (NSMT)

represented by for example Alain Touraine (1987) NSMT concludes that non-material values

replaced class interests as the main motivator for collective action if the goal for social

movements used to be to expropriate the power from the dominant class and thus empower

the working class it has now shifted to deconstructing and reframing power itself (Buechler

1995442 Touraine 1987218-20) New social movements deal specifically with ldquothe social

control of production and diffusion of symbolic goodsrdquo (Touraine 1987218) which means

focusing on for example domains of culture and language Research based on NSMT often

focus on the roles of emotions identities and lifestyles as central themes in modern social

movements which are seen as manifestations of the implicit economic and political structures

they appear within (Buechler 1995485) The centrality of identity is often referred to as

identity politics (Bernstein 200547) Kauffman (200124 29-32) argued that identity politics

implicates a shift from working for equality and redistribution to apolitical introspection and

lifestyle politics resonant with the market ideology Others recognized how identity politics

give previously unrecognized groups recognition and space to develop policy that favors their

specific interests instead of only serving those at top of the in-group hierarchy of the workersrsquo

movements (Bernstein 200564-6) Regardless of whether one associates identity politics with

something good or something bad it can be concluded that antiracist movements have some

basis in identity categories rather than class despite the historical link between antiracism and

socialist ideas (Bhattacharyya et al 20203) Identity as a political concept is also central to the

experiences thoughts and interpretations of the White allies participating in this study as their

recognition of their White identity is what their allyship departs from

When it comes to antiracist thought and practice similar tendencies as those described in

NSMT can be seen Bhattacharyya Virdee and Winter (20203) lined out the development of

antiracist academic thought showing how it has developed from anti-capitalist and anti-slavery

to a micro perspective seeing racism as everyday microaggressions and dehumanization

(ibid11-12) Recently antiracist thought has been more concerned with intersectionality

developing sub-theories of Black feminism and Black queer theory to emphasize how different

identities have different lived experiences of oppression The focus of antiracist thought and

practice today according to the authors is to amplify certain voices and perspectives to ensure

representation and diversity of different identities (ibid12)

9

Looking at the Swedish context Jaumlmte and colleagues (2020) discuss how the Swedish BLM

movement represents a structuralist turn in Swedish anti-racism which has historically been

focusing on extremities such as Apartheid or Nazism and less on discrimination in the labor

market housing and media (ibid369 375) Historically the antiracist movement in Sweden

been occupied by a large proportion of allies from the majority population but during the 2020

BLM wave this changed and more POC participated for their cause Because ally activism is

often more volatile the increased share of people with lived experience of racism contributes

to a more stable foundation for sustainable activism (ibid371-2) Digital methods also

dominated the Swedish case which can be compared to the MeToo movement rather than the

US-based BLM movement which focused much more on physical protest and resistance

(ibid369)

Based on the different important conclusions in previous research (the turn towards non-

material values antiracist tendencies to emphasize lived experience the overrepresentation of

White allies in the Swedish anti-racist movement historically and the dominance of digital

methods) the remainder of the previous research presented will focus on allyship and white

identity and digital methods in contemporary movements

21 Allies

In a movement where much emphasis is put on identities it is of interest to examine the role of

those who are part of the movement activity without belong to that specific identity group In

this case White allies The definition of an ally varies between different scholars Brown and

Ostrove (20132211) described an ally as a dominant group member who ldquowork to end

prejudice in their personal and professional lives and relinquish social privileges conferred by

their group status through their support of nondominant groupsrdquo Spanierman and Smith

(2017608-9) argued that an ally is someone who understands their privilege as well as their

own role in oppression through introspection and self-reflection and who use their privilege

in responsible ways to end oppression despite facing opposition from other dominant group

members For Drury and Kaiser (2014637) an ally is someone who ldquoaligns with a

disadvantaged group by recognizing the need for further progress in the fight for equal rights

and Russo (201467) simply defined allies as activists who are politically engaged to benefit a

group to which they are outsiders These definitions include both introspective aspects of

allyship and more action-oriented aspects and they are all relatively open regarding what

10

exactly an ally can be expected to do in support for the movement What almost all these

definitions have in common is the baseline assumption that allies recognize their own

privileges and in antiracist movements that they embrace their White identity whiteness is not

only a description of skin color or ethnicity but also a culturally and politically influenced

identity A White ally cannot only be White they must also recognize their whiteness as

culturally significant recognizing privilege and becoming aware of both oppression as such

and onersquos own role in it is the first step to become an ally (Drury amp Kaiser 2014638) Although

lsquoWhitersquo has not always been treated as a social identity in the same way as other ethnic

identities there has been a recent resurge of White identification in the US (Cole 20201627)

Cole identified three main types of White identity type 1 includes no recognition of whiteness

type 2 recognizes whiteness but sees it as a liability and type 3 recognizes whiteness as a

privilege Among these types of White identification type 3 is most likely to support the BLM

means and goals whereas type 2 is least likely to support the movement at all

White identity development is also closely linked to the idea of White guilt which is seen as a

normative response to realizing onersquos own whiteness and the privilege attached to it Individuals

who acknowledge recognize and understand racism have higher degrees of White guilt and

this can either motivate action or create passivity (Dull et al 20211081-84) Dull and

colleagues found that White guilt can motivate civic action under certain circumstances there

must also be individual beliefs of social responsibility and efficacy (ibid1089) If the individual

neither believes in their social responsibility nor their own efficacy as political actors they will

struggle to find motivation to act Efficacy was measured by asking the participants whether

they felt they had the knowledge capacity and opportunity to affect social change (ibid1086)

Feelings of shame and despair among other have demobilizing effects on political mobilization

(Zhelnina 2020361) and it is therefore highly relevant to explore what emotions are

experienced by the allies in this study and to what degree they motivate or hinder action

211 Why are allies important

The role of allies in social movements is considered important in creating both social change

and in improving the everyday conditions of marginalized groups Brown and Ostrove (2013)

argued that White allies have two main assignments in antiracist movements supporting

individual people from the nondominant group and engaging in informed political action After

realizing onersquos whiteness and privilege allies must actively work to dismantle the system of

11

oppression by for example willingly share power with the subordinated group (Clark

2019523)

One of the most valuable aspects of ally work in social movements is the fact that the costs of

confronting sexism racism or any other discriminatory behavior is much lower for allies

without personal interest in the issue than it is for marginalized group members Men

confronting sexist behavior are seen as more rational and credible and less hostile than their

female counterparts which can strengthen the receiverrsquos sympathy for the sentiment of the

movement (Drury amp Kaiser 2014642) Male allies speaking up can also normalize rejecting

sexist ideas for women too and thus create a more open climate for such confrontations

(ibid644) The cost of ally work is further lowered when utilizing digital methods Clark (2019)

found that when White allies use their digital platforms to amplify the voices of Black people

the personal costs are low while the effects are positive The narratives of Black activists often

marginalized in their outreach in other ethnic or cultural groups are spread and legitimized by

White allies and it may ultimately strengthen the movement at large (Clark 2019528-31)

The idea that White allies should help the movement by amplifying the voices of Black people

can be further validated by the results of a study conducted by Arora and Stout (2019) on co-

ethnic mobilization and support for BLM They conducted an experimental study on the support

for the movement and the effect of messages from co-ethnic versus non-co-ethnic messengers

In general people tend to accept and embrace a political message more easily if they find the

messenger trustworthy and likeable which is an increasingly rational mechanism in times of

excessive access to information (Arora amp Stout 2019390) In their study they had people read

letters in favor for supporting the BLM movement written by authors of different ethnicities

Their results showed that White people did not change their opinion on BLM unless the author

was also White (ibid394-5) The implications of these results are that ldquoif whitesrsquo attitudes about

Black Lives Matter are to change appeals are much more effective coming from co-racial

individualsrdquo (ibid396) This implies that the role of White allies in amplifying the message of

Black activists and spreading the message especially within their own racial group is a very

powerful and important way for White allies to support the movement

212 What is problematic with allies

Although the role of allies in social movements are important there are also problems Some

research indicates that without lived experience of for example sexism or racism it is harder

12

to detect when such discrimination occurs For example men are less likely to interpret subtle

sexism as sexism and they are less likely to sympathize with someone confronting sexism if

that someone is female (Drury amp Kaiser 2014639 642) Thus much time and effort may have

to be put into educating out-group allies Allies are also less likely to be emotionally receptive

towards grasping the magnitude of oppression which again comes from lack of lived

experience (Russo 201480) It is also important to recognize uniqueness in group experiences

instead of assuming that experience of one type of oppression automatically leads to insights

about other oppressions (Spanierman amp Smith 2017608-10)

Besides the problem of potential insensibility on behalf of the ally another issue is low

engagement (Jaumlmte et al 2020370) Brown and Ostrove (20132220) argued that although

some inactivity of allies could be attributed to general passivity of contemporary activists or

lack of emotional engagement it could also come out of fear of doing anything considered

wrong White allies they argued tend to be more cautious in their actions because of this and

instead of acting on their own they leave space for Black people to take the lead However in

the attempt to leave room for and amplify for example Black narratives there is a significant

risk that allies freeride on the political labor of Black people (Clark 2019530) This problem

is also present in feminist movements where male allies often engage in low risk high reward

activism and often take credit for work dependent on the efforts of female feminists (Linder amp

Johnson 20155 17-18) This is made possible Linder and Johnson argued by the master

narrative saying male allies should be recognized validated and granted credibility regardless

of their actual contributions to the movementndash even though there is an overwhelming risk with

male feminist ally work being directly counterproductive due to lack of sympathy for the

female perspective and expertise (ibid4-5) In adverse cases male allies have been known to

not only capitalize on womenrsquos pain ignore their perspective and steal their hard work but to

actually commit sexual assault in feminist organizations (ibid9)

There are many other risks associated with ally work Mostly it originates in the fact that many

have good intentions but lack in self-reflection or knowledge about real political work

Spanierman and Smith (2017) pointed to how such discrepancies between intention capacity

and self-awareness can lead to paternalistic behavior towards marginalized people and that this

can strengthen the unconscious sense of superiority and legitimize status quo instead of

challenging it Another mistake especially important in digital activism is the tendency to

engage in optics instead of politics and to treat members of the disenfranchised group as objects

13

to be used for personal virtue signaling Such cosmetic activism rarely leads to any structural

criticism or challenging (Spanierman amp Smith 2017609-10)

22 Digital activism

As can be seen in the previous research on the positive opportunities with allies digital methods

are important for allies to engage for example in amplifying voices of minorities (Clark

2019528-31) This is perhaps even more true in the 2020 BLM-wave when many were limited

in their capacity to participate physically due to the pandemic All participants in this study

participated in digital activism (most of them exclusively so) and it is therefore important to

account for some research on the role digitalism plays in contemporary movements The

introduction of new technologies into political activism has been studied for many years even

before the social medias we use today Information and Communication technologies (ICTrsquos)

such as mobile phones or the internet had many effects on political activism as they became

available for more people for example it contributed with increased sense of community

strengthened political participation facilitated movement organization and increased

independence from elite representations of movements (Garrett 2006205-14)

Modern social medias have the same effects to some extent The internet and social media are

acknowledged to affect how social movements come into being and how they operate (Barassi

amp Zamponi 2020 Earl 2014) Social media platforms are used as tools for organizing raising

awareness and spreading information (Ahmed et al 2017447) and was for example one of

the success factors of the MeToo movement (Li et al 2020 Lin amp Yang 2019) Social media

also played a major role in the BLM protests without social media the protests of 2020 would

perhaps not have been as widespread The fact that the video picturing Floydrsquos murder spread

so rapidly led to massive emotional involvement and increased motivation for participation

according to research on the efficiency of emotions in digital activism (Clark 2019 Heldman

201788) Facilitating the growth of collective emotion and identity is one of the main

contributions of social media because emotions are crucial in motivating political action

(Ahmed et al 201746 Zhelnina 2020361) Studying the emotional expressions before during

and after a social protest on Twitter Ahmed and colleagues concluded that emotions affect

involvement online similarly to their effect offline ndash they channel participation and create

community and identification (Ahmed et al 2017459-61) Besides this social media functions

as a megaphone for individuals without having to be represented by any formal leader (Earl

14

201537) Earl argued that some of the functions centralized and formal social movement

organizations used to fill can in many cases be substituted with online communities lowering

the costs of organizers and participants (ibid39)

221 Critical perspectives on digital activism

Social media as site and tool for social activism is also criticized based on ideas about how it

leads to passivity and how motives for online activism differs from those in offline or lsquorealrsquo

activism Online activism is sometimes called slacktivism referencing the lower degrees of

effort and risk required to engage in online activism (Skoric 201277) The slacktivist narrative

is often used to explain the decline in youth political engagement (Amnaring amp Ekman 20136)

although the link between digital activism and low degrees of participation have not been

determined Online activism is usually less valued than more traditional types of activism which

requires more from the individual activist (Craddock 2019148-9 Heldman 2017207) despite

the lack of consensus between researchers on whether online activism is effective or not

(Lilleker amp Koc-Michalska 201725) Skoric (201277) argued that the Internet promotes a

superficial mode of political activism where liking commenting and sharing are the main tools

for participating in political activism and that the focus often is aimed at the individual and her

capacity of introspection lifestyle politics or mere expression of opinions without further

actions Such positionings rarely challenges structures of power and dominance Slacktivism

feels good without actually doing any good and it distracts people from engaging in meaningful

activism (ibid78)

lsquoFeeling goodrsquo as a motive for political mobilization is further explored by Lilleker and Koc-

Michalska (201723) who argued that there is a strong link between both intrinsic and extrinsic

emotional motivations and political mobilization both self-fulfillment and recognition are

strong motivators for both online and offline activism Extrinsic motivations eg external

approval recognition and being perceived as lsquogoodrsquo has the strongest effect on motivating

participation (ibid34 25) The difference they found between online and offline participation

was that online activism is less self-fulfilling and more driven by ldquoconforming and earning

rewardsrdquo which they interpret as online participation potentially being mere clicktivism and

less personally meaningful to the people engaging in it (ibid35)

Although slacktivism is not necessarily a phenomenon limited to the digital sphere but includes

all performative positioning online activism arguably breeds slacktivism because of how easy

15

and available it is The motivation to engage in high-risk high-effort activism decreases if there

are always lower effort- and risk options available that gives the same recognition and

satisfaction (Skoric 201279) Morozov (2009) also has criticized the naiumlve faith in the potential

of Internet activism and argued that poorly planned online slacktivism is not only ineffective

and toothless but also holds potential for backfiring and causing devastating consequences For

example when Western activists attempted to attack Iranian government sources online they

accidentally slowed down the whole Iranian internet making the activism of local protestors

difficult (Morozov 200913)

As this section shows the relationship between social media and the general level of activism

among people is far from determined However the participants of this study all relied on digital

methods in their ally work and their experiences of digital methods are explored in the analysis

3 Theory

In this section the two theories used to analyze the data will be presented and discussed starting

with Giddensrsquo theories on modernity which are used to contextualize ally work as a 21st century

phenomenon shaped by the preconditions of modernity such as increased reflexivity and

ontological insecurity Thereafter theories of situated knowledge will be used to describe how

the allies relate to their own whiteness in relation to the concept of interpretation privilege

sometimes limiting the allies in their leeway of action Essentially Giddensrsquo theories will be

used to understand why allies hesitate about their role and theories of situated knowledge will

be used to understand what they base these hesitations on

31 Giddens

Giddensrsquo theory of modernity focuses on the circumstances of human activity and identity in

what he referred to as (late) modernity The theory will be used to contextualize ally work as

something that exists within a larger social cultural and economic structure that shapes the

way identity politics and human activity are formed with special focus on self-identity and

ontological security

16

Worth mentioning when using the term modernity is that there are scholarly disagreements on

whether the current era should be interpreted as modernity late (or liquid see Bauman 2001)

modernity or postmodernity However Giddens belongs to the group of theorists who see

contemporary society as still existing within the theoretical frames of late modernity where the

tendencies of modernity has been further stretched and strengthened (Giddens 199127) This

assumption will be present throughout this paper while also acknowledging this is only one

interpretation

311 Life in modernity reflexivity and ontological insecurity

Modernity is an era characterized by post-traditional orders institutionalized radical doubt

detachment of time and space risk-cultures and abstract systems (Giddens 19912-5)

Following these changes in increased emphasis on reflexivity the continuous revisiting of

previously taken-for-granted concepts truths and ideas This applies to the institutional and

individual level and the latter will be of focus in this paper Without the guiding hand of

tradition or custom as in premodern society people must navigate in the world without being

firmly grounded in pregiven sets of beliefs on what should be done in each situation and with

the constant flow of information in modernity the horizon of possible actions are constantly

broadened (ibid20)

The increased emphasis on reflexivity means for the individual that ldquoself-identity becomes a

reflexively organised endeavorrdquo (Giddens 19915) Giddensrsquo described self-identity as a

project based on coherent and ldquocontinuously revised biographical narrativesrdquo which ldquotakes

place in the context of multiple choices as filtered through abstract systemsrdquo (ibid5) This

means that self-identity is closely linked to actions and is ldquoroutinely created and sustainedrdquo in

the actions of the individual (ibid52) This includes making constant decisions while having

endless choices ndash on what to do how to act and ultimately who to be in late modernity ldquowe

are not what we are but what we make of ourselvesrdquo (ibid54 75) If the individual fails to

perform in coherence with their sense of self-identity the individual may start to doubt their

own biographical narrative and ultimately themselves (ibid58) In the context of social

movements the ally identity is thus constantly reshaped by each choice of action and it

becomes important to act in accordance with the ideal-typical ally role Allyship is also a

globalized phenomenon which increases the number of aspects to take into consideration while

reflexively making choices

17

As reflexivity become more and more significant in guiding human action people in late

modernity experience loss of ontological security which is a ldquorsquonatural attitudersquo in everyday

liferdquo in relation to how to act and orient oneself in the world (Giddens 199136) Being

ontologically secure is ldquoto possess on the level of the unconscious and practical consciousness

lsquoanswersrsquo to fundamental existential questions which all human life in some way addressesrdquo

(ibid47) and was previously guided by tradition custom rules and norms of premodern society

Ontological security thus secures the individualsrsquo smooth navigation through life without them

hesitating on their role in the world too much However as society developed into modernity

and late modernity the conditions for ontological security changed ndash the traditions of

premodern society that used to give ontological security by offering a sense of structure

firmness and purpose are now exchanged for reflexivity (ibid48) making each single decision

dependent on an almost infinite number of possible options (ibid36) Without ontological

security the individual experiences existential anxiety caused by uncertainty ndash and such anxiety

itself ldquotends to paralyse relevant actions rather than generate themrdquo (ibid44) This passivity can

occur in relation to specific actions or to the sense of self in general for example failing to

perform in line with onersquos perceived self-identity can create ontological insecurity and it opens

for questioning onersquos entire role in a specific context for example a social movement For allies

ontological insecurity could arise in relation to them trying to navigate what actions are

appropriate for them to engage in based on the reflexive project of self-identity However

inactivism or passivity cannot only be seen in the individualrsquos relation to action but in politics

in general Giddens argued that politics in premodern times were emancipatory and aiming to

end oppression but that politics in modernity has been transformed into life politics a shift in

ideology and activity towards emphasizing lifestyle and self-actualization (ibid210-14)

The purpose of including Giddensrsquo theory of modernity is to provide a potential context in

which the allies of this study act and shape their own ally identities and how their occasionally

self-restricting introspection may be understood

32 Situated knowledge

To complement the theory of Giddens theories on situated knowledge will be included in the

analysis to point to specific ways in which the allies engage in reflexive decision-making eg

on what basis they make decisions about ally strategies The included theories are feminist

theories but their implications are not limited to gender relations

18

Theories of situated knowledge (also referred to as standpoint theory or feminist epistemology)

is an epistemological attempt to challenge the way knowledge is produced validated and

valued Epistemology is an ldquooverarching theory of knowledgerdquo (Collins 1990408) and theories

of epistemology focuses on how truth and knowledge is shaped by power relations between

social positions and how this could change Easily put social position of the knowledge

producer shapes the kind of knowledge that can be produced (Young 200425) In this thesis

the theoretical works of Haraway Young and Collins will be included although there are more

contributors to the thoughts about situated knowledge

Relating knowledge to power feminist theorists have pointed to how knowledge production

has been dominated by men and postcolonial thinkers have questioned dominant knowledge

for its sometimes exploitative and colonializing tendencies (in for example Western thought

and anthropology) Part of this critique has included a call for recognition privilege of lived

experience and reflexivity in research (Voronka 2016191) Donna Haraway (1988) presented

a feminist epistemology (or feminist objectivism) that recognized how women have historically

seen as immanent beings unable to transcend the body and escape its ldquofinite point of viewrdquo

whereas men have been seen as able to attain lsquoobjectiversquo perspectives and knowledges

(Haraway 1988575) The (imagined) male capacity to transcend ldquoparticular social location

and adopt a lsquoview from nowherersquordquo gives men higher status epistemologically (Young 200424)

Thus the gaze of the White male has been favored in sociology as it represents the unmarked

and objective perspective (Haraway 1988581)

The problem with the idea of objectivity and the lsquoview from nowherersquo according to feminist

and postcolonial critics is that knowledge is a power process and only taking one groups

knowledge into account reinforces these power processes Patricia Hill Collins argued that

power over the production and validation of knowledge is an issue of group interest where the

dominant group preserves their own interests by invalidating knowledge that either challenges

their hegemonic ideas or follows alternative practices in their creation of alternative knowledges

(Collins 1990409-10) Black womenrsquos knowledge is subjugated knowledge and it must fight

for recognition in an anti-Black and anti-female world (ibid414) The Black feminist

epistemology she advocated for includes sensitivity to the combination of female and Black

experiences unique for Black women and it recognized alternative ways to create knowledge

specific to Black womenrsquos knowledge production (ibid407-8)

19

321 Situated knowledge as political strategy

If knowledge is then produced under circumstances of domination power structures and

hegemony ndash what would an alternative look like and what could these alternatives lead to

From a quality standpoint Haraway (1988583) argued that including several perspectives in

knowledge production leads to better conclusions Even though she dismissed the idea that

subjugated people have a purer vision on truth and objectivity an idea she claimed is often

rooted in a fetishized idea of the Third World woman she argued that subjugated groups are

less likely to ldquoallow denial of the critical and interpretive core of all knowledgerdquo than are

dominant groups (ibid583-586) She wrote that the only standpoint from which no objectivity

can ever be reached is ldquothe standpoint of the master the Man the One God whose Eye

produces appropriates and orders differencerdquo (ibid587) Thus to aim for objectivity depends

on including perspectives otherwise ignored by structures of power and dominance (ibid590)

Delegitimizing the idea of a lsquoGodrsquos eyersquo from where true knowledge can be observed and

mediated means including other perspectives and knowledges (Young 200420) This is not

only just and right it also contributes to wiser decision making in a context of democratic

processes including perspectives from all social standpoints maximizes knowledge which

should be treated as a democratic resource when fully utilized (ibid25-9) Thus the idea of

situated knowledges includes a normative assumption of inclusion and diversity in decision

making and knowledge production and social difference should be treated as a resource for

democratic societies (ibid29)

The standpoint theorists emphasize how recognizing specificity in knowledge claims for

different groups does not include the idea that subjugated groups are naturally epistemically

privileged eg that their perspective on every issue should be treated as automatically lsquotruersquo

(Haraway 1988583-4 Young 200427-29) Neither the position of these groups or any

imagined inherent attributes give subjugated groups automatic access to the truth but the

position opens up doors to new perspectives impossible to imagine from above (Haraway

1988584) The specific knowledge unique for the dominated social positions include different

understandings of their own position and others and the relation between them as well as ldquoa

point of view on the history of societyrdquo ldquoan interpretation of how the relations and processes

of the whole society operates especially as they affect onersquos own positionrdquo and finally ldquoa

position-specific experience and point of view on the natural and physical environmentrdquo

(Young 200429)

20

Applying these ideas in a context of practical politics for example in a social movement can

include such inclusion of different perspectives and emphasizing how group difference matters

in terms of knowledge but without claiming the existence of epistemic privilege Often this

practical application is based on including people with lived experience into different contexts

of power or knowledge production (Voronka 2016189)

However the strategy of using lived experience as a criterion for epistemic legitimacy can also

be problematized Voronka (2016192) argued that inclusion and representation of different

groups in decision making as a criterion for legitimate knowledge production can be seen as

resting on essentialist assumptions and stable identity categories The categories themselves are

left unaccounted for meaning the boundaries between and content of different identity groups

are seen as natural entities (ibid194) The concept of lived experience fails to answer questions

of who we are and why while the existence of these categories should be questioned in

themselves Thus acting based on ideas of lived experience and ldquoepistemic privilegerdquo (Young

200427) risks both treating identity as essentialist and constructing group attributes as

embodied truths and ignore difference in lived experience within groups (Voronka 2016196)

Thus Voronka (ibid197) argued

we need to mark how rsquopeople with lived experiencersquo [as a concept my note] risks

reproducing and replicating systems of domination that privileges subjects and

subjectivities that fit closely within the White heteropatriarchal matrix of ruling

Voronkarsquos experiences come from academia but the ideas can be applied to other contexts as

well Theories of situated knowledge can be extracted from the abstract epistemological level

and transformed into a concept more suitable and applicable for everyday situations and as will

be seen in the analysis this theme is highly present in the statements by the study participants

in the form of interpretation privilege (See section 5 Results and analysis)

4 Methodology

The study builds on phenomenological approach and aims to understand a social phenomenon

by interpreting the different meanings ascribed to it by the participant whose lived experience

is in focus for the analysis (Creswell amp Poth 2018150) Thus the focus of the study is not the

BLM movement itself but to understand the experience of the allies The study is abductive

21

meaning the research process was iterative - going back and forth between empirical findings

and theoretical background The aim of abductive analysis is often to generate theory by

cultivating already existing theories together with the surprising results found in the data

collection that are in turn reinterpreted through the revisited theoretical insights (Timmermans

amp Tavory 2012169 173-6) One important aspect of abduction is to revisit the phenomenon

as it can lead to new insights For example when the first couple of interviews were done the

lack of response to one specific question was interpreted as missing data But when the

transcripts were revisited after some additional previous research had been read I realized the

unanswered question was not missing data ndash it was data in itself This realization affected how

the data collection moved forward as the focus narrowed down on the ally role and its

limitations

41 Data collection

The data collection was done by conducting qualitative interviews with 11 self-identified White

allies to understand their perspective experiences and thoughts about their participation The

interviews were in average 010245 in length and they were conducted during a five-week

period The interviews were semi-structured guided by an interview guide without following

it in detail which creates room for flexibility This ensured both consistency between the

interviews and individual variations depending on the interviewee (Turner 2010755) The

interview guide had open-ended questions and covered three main themes (political

background identity emotions) Some questions related to relevant concepts for example they

were asked ldquoIn your perspective what is an allyrdquo The purpose was not to evaluate the

participants academic understanding of the term but to have them reflect upon their own

perceptions and thereby gain insight into their political thinking and its effect on their ally role

Other questions were about experiences such as ldquoCould you tell me about your participation in

the BLM movementrdquo and ldquoWhat emotional responses did you have when this happenedrdquo

Some parts of the interview focused on the BLM movement specifically but since the antiracist

ally identity was often developed before BLM started it also included more general experiences

of antiracist allyship At the end of each interview the participants were given a chance discuss

things important to them The limitation of interview data is that it is not a representation of the

world lsquoout therersquo but only a representation of how the interviewees describe their experiences

and these can be shaped by indefinite number of things beyond the scope of this thesis

22

All interviews were digitally conducted Although digital interviewing is often presented as a

second choice there are benefits to it For example Howlett (20217-8) noticed how the safe

environment of the home made the participants more relaxed and that the interviews also tended

to be both longer and richer in detail than offline interviews One could however imagine how

the opposite effect could occur if the home environment is unsafe or unfit for long

conversations The interviews took place more than a year into the pandemic and people were

thus more familiar with digital communication technologies than they were in the beginning

(ibid10) The pandemic was topic for small talk before the interviews started and our shared

experience with it created some sense of commonality and a relaxed atmosphere where potential

technical issues or disturbances were met with recognition from the other party Despite the

surprisingly positive experience with digital interviewing and as well as the rich data gathered

it is still important to recognize how the quality could have been even better with physical

interviews

The interviews were all conducted on Zoom and recorded in the software The interviews were

transcribed in full verbatim meaning that false starters stutters laughter and pauses were

included Such utterances are clues to how the participants feel about what they are telling and

should be treated as data

42 Sample

The sampling for this study is based on one inclusion criterion motivated by the purpose of the

study the criterion being White ally identification (Creswell amp Poth 201881 157) To base

the inclusion criterion on self-identification could potentially lead to low validity in terms of

not achieving a sample that represents the group one wishes to study by excluding those who

engage in ally work without identifying as such To ensure that the people included in the study

were lsquorealrsquo allies the criterion could have been having a certain amount of experience from ally

work or similar However this was a methodological choice motivated by reflections by

Craddock (2019) who studied activism Craddock learned that including the term activist in

her participant letter excluded people who - despite being very active - did not dare to call

themselves activists due to the high standard of what lsquorealrsquo activism is Especially women feel

that they cannot live up to the ideal and therefore they do not recognize their own activist

identity (Craddock 2019138-42) Therefore anyone who identified as an ally was allowed to

participate without evaluating or judging their level of participants

23

The sampling method was mixed consisting of convenience sampling and snowball sampling

(Creswell amp Poth 2018159) First an email was sent to the Swedish BLM organizationrsquos

official email telling them about the study and asking if they had any recommendations of

where participants could be found This email got no response Different Facebook groups were

chosen as lsquofieldsrsquo to sample in Personal acquaintances were also asked to participate The

choice of Facebook groups related to both convenience and lack of access to physical fields to

sample in and because much of the activism related to BLM took place online The Facebook

groups were all limited demographically (open only for women and non-binary people) and

they all had explicit value-systems with feminist anti-racist intersectional orientations Some

groups were simple support-and-chat groups some had a more political purpose (without party

connections) One participant was found in the comments section on a Facebook page that

relates to antiracism and contacted from there and a few were snowball sampled Recruiting

participants in online forums creates a problematic balance between transparency and

anonymity if too detailed information about the specific sampling sites is revealed the

participants identities can be spoiled due to traceability Thus the names of these Facebook

groups or pages cannot be revealed The groups were known to me beforehand as I am myself

a member in them and therefore had access to the lsquofieldrsquo which reduced the time and effort

spent on sampling If this study were a netnography with digital data to analyze it would be

problematic because my interpretation would be tainted by my personal experiences in the

groups but since the data itself was not related to the specific groups or the participants activity

in these groups it is less problematic

This digital convenience sampling limits the groups included in the sampling frame which

creates a skewed sample in terms of for example gender The complementary snowball

sampling creates a similar problem with homogeneity because of the tendency of participants

to recommend people who are like themselves As a result people with academic backgrounds

in social sciences and humanities are overrepresented in this sample The first interviewee Lisa

works in the international aid sector and she put me in touch with some old classmates and

colleagues which contributed to the skewed sample However the sampling method does not

aim to reach a randomized sample that is representative of the Swedish population in general

but instead a purposeful selection of people with certain experiences (Creswell amp Poth

2018272)

The final sample included people of different genders (9 female 1 male and 1 non-binary)

ages (22-36) education (from high school diploma to MA-degrees) and occupation (traditional

24

working-class occupations or white-collar jobs) They lived in or originated from different parts

of Sweden with one currently living in South Africa They also had very different backgrounds

in regards of political engagement some of them had been organized voluntarily or

professionally in multiple movements and civil society organizations some are or have been

active in party politics and some had their political experience mainly in online discussions

43 Coding and analysis

After all interviews were transcribed the data was coded in Excel using the guidelines for

phenomenological analysis presented called horizonalization (Creswell amp Poth 2018201

Moustakas 1994118) Horizonalization means creating a broad base or platform of equally

important statements to capture the experiences of the participants In phenomenological

studies coding and analysis should preferably be inductive highlighting ldquosignificant

statements sentences and quotesrdquo (Creswell amp Poth 201879) instead of deductively trying to

apply hypotheses or theories onto the data

The coding followed the subsequent steps First each transcript was read one at a time and

important statements were added in a quote-column in Excel (see Image 1) Following the

quote-column were categorical columns based on different themes from the interviews The 12

categories were Background Activity in BLM Identity Role Pandemic Emotion Motivation

Introspection BLM organization Balance Problems and Other There was also a column for

especially good quotes which were marked with an lsquoxrsquo In each column (for example ldquoRolerdquo)

inductively created codes were entered An example can be seen in Image 1

The coding was kept close to the data and focus was to create codes that described the specifics

of each statement instead of keeping the number of codes down which created some overlap

Image 1 Visual representation of the coding strategy

After the 11 interviews were coded the data included 243 quotes in 12 categories In order to

structure the analysis according to relevant topics themes were created out of the codes based

on representativeness and uniqueness These themes provided the basis for the interpretation

25

and analysis For example the previously mentioned code ldquoNot surerdquo was grouped together

with the code ldquoDecided by othersrdquo (in the column ldquoRolerdquo) and analyzed together because they

were interpreted as expressions of the same phenomenon eg insecurity regarding what the

role should contain (Moustakas 1994118)

After the coding which is a big part of the analysis itself the most relevant and interesting

themes were further analyzed This was related to observed regularities in statements being

repeated among several participants and novelty or lsquosurprise factorrsquo Whereas the coding was

unrelated to any specific theory the deeper analysis of the different themes was done parallel

to exploring theory The theories came into the process at different stages Giddensrsquo theory of

modernity and ontological security was explored after the initial coding before starting the

writing process of the analysis based on the pattern of insecurity and reflexivity among the

participantsrsquo descriptions of how they make decisions on how to act as an ally Thereafter the

concept of situated knowledge was introduced after all material had initially been analyzed and

written down in a first draft and the recurring use of the term interpretation privilege

(tolkningsfoumlretraumlde) caught my interest The focus was therefore the themes related to

interpretation privilege and how the participants made sense of the term as well as the different

aspects they had to balance because of their emphasis on interpretation privilege in the final

analysis

44 Ethical considerations

Research should be guided by ethical principles to ensure the safety of the participants and the

quality of the research The most important aspects include consent confidentiality and

anonymity Informed consent means that the participant must be given full information about

what participation means and they must be given the chance to both give and withdraw their

consent during or after the interview The researcher must tell the truth about the purpose of the

study and the participant can choose to leave any unwanted questions unanswered

(Vetenskapsraringdet 201710 16) All participants were given a letter with information about the

study which was again repeated verbally right before the interview The second important

aspect confidentiality means that all information and data must be handled safely and not be

shared with unauthorized people (ibid40) The data was stored on a password protected

computer and no personal information was saved along with the transcripts And finally

anonymity means that the identity of the participants must be concealed for example by giving

26

them new names or changing identifying details in their statements (ibid13) Both of my

sampling methods (digital convenience and snowball) can threaten the anonymity of the

participants because they become traceable either to those who were lsquosnowballedrsquo into the study

or those who were found online (see chapter 42 Sample)

In more qualitative terms the researcher must make fair interpretations of the statements made

by participants and be transparent with how conclusions were made This ensures both

transparency in a scientific standpoint and the well-being of the participants (Vetenskapsraringdet

201710) Related to this it is important to recognize how the analysis may affect the

participants for example Creswell and Poth (2018228) argue that there is always a risk that

participants feel bothered by the way their statements have been interpreted in relation to theory

and previous research and especially in a sensitive topic such as politics identity and emotions

In order to minimize this risk the interpretations will both be rooted in theory and previous

research and include alternative evidence and interpretations

45 Methodological reflexivity

Reflexivity requires researchers to be aware of and transparent about their own biases in their

interpretations as well as scrutinizing their power in relation to the research participants

(Creswell amp Poth 2018201 228) Besides the inherent power in the relation between

researcher and participants no specific power dynamics existed in this study The researcher

must reflect upon their own position (gender class race and similar) and how it affects the

way the research is conducted and how the results are interpreted (ibid228) Being reflexive

thus becomes a way to increase validity by clarifying where researcher bias may have affected

the results (ibid261) Evidence that contradicts the arguments made in the analysis has been

included to avoid bias The idea of researcher reflexivity builds on the epistemological approach

of social constructivism where knowledge is not seen as a neutral or objective but a subjective

socially embedded practice shaped by the lived experience of the author and the participants It

also means that self-criticism and self-consciousness is crucial aspects of qualitative

interpretive research (Lynch 200029-36)

According to Moustakas (1994103-4) reflexivity should guide every step in the

phenomenological research project including choice of topic it must have autobiographical

relevance to the researcher who must be genuinely curious and passionate about the

phenomenon ndash and of course be transparent about these motives The choice of BLM as an

27

empirical example in this study was based on my own experiences from the spring of 2020 I

was just as my respondents and many others very moved by the events that transpired and I

did too participate in some online actions such as checking myself into the US Ambassy on

Facebook to show my support of the movement I followed the news and read everything I

found on social media out of both political sympathy and sociological fascination I wanted to

know more about why the activism looked like it did and how others felt about being part of

it Being able to be fascinated in times of collective grief and trauma for Black people is of

course a privilege that I am aware of I can afford to be distanced towards and critical of the

antiracist movement and how it does or does not invite people to engage themselves in it

because my survival or well-being does not depend on it I aim to be respectful in my

interpretations and descriptions of the movement and its participants

46 Limitations

Instead of aiming to evaluate qualitative research by the same criteria as quantitative studies

there are adjusted validation practices for the specific approach of the study To assure good

quality for qualitative phenomenological studies phenomenological concepts should be used

properly understood and recommended methods should be followed Besides from engaging

in reflexive analysis it is also important to offer descriptive richness and interpretive depth

(Creswell amp Poth 2018272-82) There are also different validation strategies for qualitative

research The researcher can use triangulation to strengthen the stability of the results identify

disconfirming cases and clarify researcher reflexivity (ibid260-1) Member checking and

collaborating with participants can also strengthen the validity (ibid162 Arribas Lozano

2018455-6) All participants were informed of their right to see the transcripts and the analysis

if they wished but they were not contacted with the explicit purpose of checking the finished

results due to time Another aspect is reliability meaning how robust the results of the study

would be if someone else replicated the study (Creswell amp Poth 2018164-5) In the case of

qualitative studies where the researcher is intertwined with the interpretations the probability

of someone else reaching the exact same result is small but thick descriptions of methodology

and the data increases reliability somewhat The generalizability of qualitative studies is often

low and especially so when the sample is skewed The results of this study should be considered

valid only for the group studied since the results could have been different with different

28

representations of gender or class for example However with a purposeful sample of people

with a certain experience the goal is not generalizability beyond the group

Another potential issue is the fact that the quotes from the interviews included in this thesis

have been translated from Swedish to English which means that there is a risk that some of the

core meanings of the quotes may have been spoiled or changed However the analysis was

done on the Swedish transcripts making sure the interpretations were made on the original

material Thus the problem of translating quotes is mainly a problem of communicating the

results to the reader in the same form they appeared in the analysis process of the original

material

5 Results and analysis

As explained in the methods section (43 Coding and analysis) the analysis was gradually

turning toward the themes of a) interpretation privilege and b) how the notion of interpretation

privilege affects the leeway for action These themes will be the focus of the analysis which

will show that although the allies experience their allyship as important and meaningful they

sometimes struggle to find a path for themselves in their attempt to be lsquogoodrsquo allies Their

commitment to respecting interpretation privilege helps them live up the to the ally role as

supporters of Black people in general but it limits the leeway in which they are able to act

independently as political agents But first some general findings on how the allies think about

their role will be presented which primarily relates to the first research question about the

experiences of ally work

The overall experience of allyship is that the ally identity is surrounded by purpose community

and positive experiences They are all highly committed to and well-educated about the cause

Being part of the movement feels meaningful and even like rdquoa privilege to be able to be a part

of it and listen and learnrdquo as Lisa says She describes her emotional experiences

First there was a lot of frustration I think And then there was this powerfulhellip

some kind of like rsquowowrsquo there were a lot of chills there for a while [laughs]

because people really came together

29

Sam shares the experience of initial frustration and pain They describe the feeling when their

frustration and anger transformed into hope like ldquofree fallingrdquo ndash the realization that they were a

part of a group with so many sympathizers made it feel like change was possible

Most ally work was performed online and consisted of acts such as sharing information

knowledge and opinions participating in online seminars and meetings signing petitions and

lsquochecking inrsquo at the US Embassy in Stockholm on Facebook as part of a global protest act To

signal their support for the movement they occasionally used hashtags such as

blacklivesmatter and blackouttuesday All participants got most of their information from

social media in line with the general trend in contemporary activism (Ahmed et al 2017447

Heldman 201788) Previous research emphasizes the important role of emotions in social

movement mobilization and all participants in this study recognized how constant access to

heartbreaking stories virtual proof of mistreatment and a global sense of community provided

by social media motivated them to act (see for example Russo 2014)

Some interviewees also participated outside of social media by attending physical

demonstrations (Sam Sara and Emma) It is impossible to say how many of the interviewees

would have attended had there not been a global pandemic However as digital activism has

become dominating in contemporary social movements (Jaumlmte et al 2020371-2) the low rate

of physical protest among the participants in this study should not be attributed to the pandemic

alone For example Lucas says he has not been to as many demonstrations over the last years

as he would have wanted because of work and other circumstances Amanda says she has

always seen herself as an activist as someone who does what otherrsquos lacks the energy or

resources to do but that she is ldquonot the person who attends demos you knowrdquo And Caroline

who is involved in several organizations besides her antiracist engagement even experiences

that the pandemic has made participation easier for her since it can now be done from home ndash

a point Alva agrees with as she experiences difficulties joining offline protests due to physical

illness Thus the effects of the Covid pandemic are not exclusively negative and limiting Apart

from the different demonstrations the allies also emphasized how implementing antiracist ideas

into their everyday behavior and their professional lives is crucial to be a good ally

The main motivator for their allyship is the notion of privilege All interviewees refer to

themselves as White and relate it to privilege an increasingly common tendency and a

prerequisite for antiracist commitment among Whites (Cole 20201627 Spanierman amp Smith

2017608-9) Lisa describes herself as a ldquoprivileged White woman raised in a middle-class

homerdquo and she says that she faced few obstacles growing up and Sam argues that their White

30

identity gives them platforms and privileges many Black people lack Therefore they use their

social media to amplify the voices of Black people sharing their voices stories and

perspectives Amplifying voices of marginalized groups has been recognized in research as one

of the main tasks for allies (Arora amp Stout 2019390 Bhattacharyya et al 202012 Clark

2019528-31)

The argument of amplifying Black voices as a way to utilize onersquos privilege is twofold First

the participants see their privilege as an opportunity to reach out to fellow Whites who they

expect will listen more to their White counterparts than they would to a Black person which is

confirmed in previous research (see for example Arora amp Stout 2019 Linder amp Johnson 2015)

For example Lucas says

Us Whites who are not affected by racism we have to stand up and show that itrsquos

not OK to spread racism If we donrsquot therersquoll never be any change because

sometimes it feels like people listen more to [hellip] a White person confirming that

what a Black person says is true

Sam shares this reasoning and they actively try to reach people with ldquodeeply racist prejudicerdquo

who would ldquonever listen to a Black personrdquo According to Haraway (1988577) subjugated

groups are deprived the privilege of assumed objectivity and reduced to their position as

inherently linked to and epistemologically limited by their social position in a way the dominant

groups are not Subjugated knowledge must always be fought for in terms of recognition

(Collins 1990414) and the allies in this study is dedicated to doing so in order to reduce the

impact of their own privilege and increase the outreach of Black people Katrin recognizes how

this process of validation of knowledge based on power is an unequal process where Black

people are seen as unreliable because they are ldquoacting out of self-interestrdquo whereas White

people are assigned more credibility Recognizing these mechanisms does not mean that the

interviewees accept them they use words such as ldquoterriblerdquo and ldquodisgustingrdquo to describe the

phenomenon and they feel both guilty about having these privileges and motivated to use them

for good which has been recognized as a potential effect of guilt in previous research (Dull et

al 20211081-84) However acknowledging this epistemic hierarchy is not an automatic

renouncing of privilege but can instead reinforce racist structures by assuming the assigned

value of White knowledge is higher and thus seeing the role of White allies as more important

than that of Black people in fighting racism (see Collins 1009)

31

The second aspect of White privilege in antiracist activism is as recognized by the interviewees

the fact that the costs of engaging are much lower for White people than they are for Black

simply because one does not risk facing racism as a response to speaking up (Drury amp Kaiser

2014642) For example Sam says they saw their ability to participate in the demonstration as

a privilege ndash not everyone can be sure to get home safe if they choose to attend a demo due to

the potential threat of police harassment or counter-protestors These costs are further lowered

by the fact that most ally work is done online Sara for example says that it enables her to

ldquotake the fightrdquo without ending up in situations too uncomfortable or even dangerous

Essentially the privilege of being listened to and the lower cost of speaking up for White allies

motivates specific responsibilities assigned to ally work but it also risks reproducing racist

hierarchies by assigning White knowledge higher value The remainder of the analysis will

focus on how these responsibilities are put into practice and what may limit the allies in their

attempts to do ally work

51 Balancing ally work

Related to the second research question is to what extent the allies feel like they are entitled to

act in the movement and this following section aims to show what different aspects affect this

perception Based on the ideas about privilege and responsibility the difficulties in balancing

different strategies of ally work will now be analyzed Although it may seem self-explanatory

what allies should do based on the previous section ndash use their privilege to raise their voices

against racist discrimination ndash the experiences of the interviewed allies shows that it is more

complicated than at first glance They must balance different strategies which can be defined

as following

A Listen but do not exploit

B Help but do not hijack

C Step down but do not become paralyzed

These three points represent how different ally assignments presented by the interviewees are

at some point met with objections or disclaimers There are a multitude of examples in the

interviews but the above-mentioned strategies are the most representative and common For

analytical and stylistic purposes they will be presented in a step-by-step form but they should

not be understood as linear or causal The relationship between these aspects is much more

32

complicated which the analysis aims to demonstrate Before analyzing these three strategies

the concept that serves as an implicit (sometimes explicit) point of departure for most decisions

by the allies should be accounted for namely the concept of interpretation privilege

511 Interpretation privilege

In all interviews there is an assumption about what kind of knowledge is legitimate knowledge

and interpretations based on interpretation privilege (tolkningsfoumlretraumlde in Swedish) 9 of the

11 interviewees explicitly mention the term but the theme is discussed in all interviews This

means that despite their academic degrees years of professional experience in human rights

work or their genuine interest for social justice issues the interviewees recognize how their

lack of lived experience reduces their ability to fully understand the issue of racism The idea

of interpretation privilege is interpreted here as a translation of ideas about situated knowledge

(Collins 1990408) lived experience (Voronka 2016194) and power into everyday political

lingo This idea is expressed continuously throughout the interviews as a part of their political

reasoning and it guides how they relate to their role as allies Katrin explains

It is not the same thing to understand racism by reading about it or by seeing or

hearing about othersrsquo experiences as it is to carry it in the body It will never be

possible for me to understand that

Interpretation privilege then helps allies understand and accept their own inability to fully

comprehend racism and it creates respect towards the testimonies made by people who

experiences racism However knowing that one lacks access to a full understanding also

contributes to self-doubt about the ally role and the work associated with it Caroline who

studies to become a psychologist tells me she has some concerns about being a White

psychologist treating Black patients Her professors claim psychologists do not need to share

the patientsrsquo experiences but Caroline is doubtful

ldquoI as a White person will never be able to fully understand being constantly

vigilant as a Black person in Sweden not knowing what the day will be like to

constantly be exposed to microaggressions and discrimination and even worse

abuse every dayhelliprdquo

Accepting interpretation privilege as the fact that if one is not exposed to racism one will never

know exactly what it feels like is empathetic and sensitive to the lived experience of Black

33

people It means respecting the ways Black people make sense of and deal with their own

experiences of oppression without claiming to know better However for the participants in

this study it often leads them to disregard all kinds of personal opinions thoughts or ideas

about what racism is and what should be done about it simply because they lack lived

experience of racism The participants sometimes struggle to balance their own knowledge

against the opinions and experiences of Black people Caroline again

Itrsquos this thing about interpreting different actions ndash is this a racist action or not

Well thatrsquos not up to me [hellip] And I think that interpretation privilege in general

in social media too that you just donrsquot go in and interpret what is right and wrong

Here the lack of interpretation privilege disqualifies Caroline from even deciding whether she

finds something right or wrong although such judgements are foundational in political thinking

Interpretation privilege also decides the legitimacy of actions according to Sara she argues

that whereas it is the job of White allies to speak up against other Whites the meaning of the

action is not the same as if a Black person would do it Essentially if a White ally wants to

stand up against racism it should be with a disclaimer

I think it is important to be like lsquothis is my understanding of it but I donrsquot have

interpretation privilegersquo just to create some awareness that I donrsquot have any

right to think anything - Emma

Some participants strip themselves of their agency by retreating to the idea that their

perspectives thoughts and ideas do not matter Lisa tells me that she sometimes censors herself

by not posting or sharing certain things because she feels like she has too little knowledge She

also stays out of debates she is interested in because she ldquodoes not feel [she] has the right to say

something or make a statement in these issuesrdquo Another example of how allies renounce their

political agency can be represented by Sara who tells me that when she saw my participant

message she was concerned that I searched for lsquoself-identified alliesrsquo In her perspective the

label lsquoallyrsquo is not something that one can claim independently one must earn it by being

recognized as such by a Black person Zhelnina (2020361) points to the importance of activists

growing independence emotional confidence and autonomy in their political interpretations

for a movement to successfully mobilize and in a discourse where one does not even possess

the right to claim allyship to a political movement this type of independence and confidence

may be difficult to develop

34

Another important aspect is the conflict that arises when people with interpretation privilege

disagree within the group Lucas says he has met Black people who defend the right to use

racial slurs That does not mean he accept this as true and uses these words himself but he

acknowledges that these situations could be problematic The multitude of perspectives to

consider especially considering the global character of the movement and its social media

presence it becomes difficult to decide what to believe in And when those who have been

assigned authority in this case Black people with interpretation privilege it becomes even

harder The reflexive globalized world with endless sources of information with sometimes

contradictory messages makes it hard to navigate (Giddens 1991138) This problem also

relates to what Voronka (2016196) described as essentialist tendencies when using the concept

of lived experience as a criterion for inclusion With social media where almost unlimited

information is always accessible to the individual the effort to develop independent

interpretations becomes unnecessary and in the case of the White allies insensitive

However it should be noted that although the idea of interpretation privilege is present in all

interviews the participants are also aware that other types of knowledge such as skills from

previous experience in social movements or academic judicial or general professional

knowledge is important Many of them say that they do feel confident of the practical abilities

they have built up over many years of activism and civil society work and Alva among others

points to how she would like to take on the role of fixing practical organizational tasks for the

BLM movement if she were to become more involved in the future Thus there is no validity

in claiming that the interviewees lack all sorts of self-esteem in their ally identity and that they

completely disregard other types of knowledge as Lucas says ldquointerpretation privilege is not

everythingrdquo Still statements such as ldquoI donrsquot have any right to think anythingrdquo or rdquoItrsquos this

thing about interpreting actions ndash is this racist or not Well thatrsquos not up to merdquo are common

in the interviews Although many of the participants can be interpreted as having ontological

security in terms of knowing what they are good at they cannot translate this into a practical

consciousness that guides their actions in a natural manner which creates ontological insecurity

and passivity (Giddens 199144) This relates to findings about lack of lived experience as

leading to potential insensitivity to discrimination which the interviewees recognize in

themselves (Drury amp Kaiser 2014369-42) In theories of situated knowledge it is emphasized

how a multitude of perspectives is needed and that subjugated groups do not have natural access

to hidden truths (Haraway 1988583-6 Young 199027) The disregarding of White ally

perspectives due to lack of lived experience is thus not inherent in the theories themselves but

35

rather something that seems to occur along the popularized interpretation of the term as it is

translated into everyday political lingo as interpretation privilege

So in navigating what to do as an ally while being committed to the idea of interpretation

privilege the first strategy for good ally work is formulated listening

512 Listen but do not exploit

So drawing upon the notion of interpretation privilege the appropriate way to consume

information about racial issues and determining what to do is by listening to Black people

Listening itself becomes not only a way to retrieve information and insight but a political

practice that reflects power structures and identity It becomes a way to renounce onersquos owns

privilege and instead assigning the power of being heard to others (see Collins 1990 Haraway

1988 Young 2004) Sam explains

I as a White person will never be able to sit there and decide what is right and

wrong when it comes to Black experiences or just non-White experiences Irsquove got

nothing to say about that I know nothing about it I just donrsquot What I can do is

listen and learn and I need to take the initiative as a student in this subject

Listening and taking a step back represents successful allyship according to Lucas because it

means both getting access to the right information and showing emotional support and respect

for people exposed to racism Listening is a powerful way to use onersquos White privilege

respecting the interpretation privilege of Black people and redirecting some of the privilege

and power associated to onersquos whiteness to Black people which is one of the main assignments

of allies (Brown amp Ostrove 20132211) But apart from being a virtuous alternative strategy

for allies it is also a relatively effortless option compared to other types of activism such as

participating in demonstrations Effective unproblematic and ideologically right a seemingly

perfect strategy to apply as a White ally

However it is not that simple listening is not only an act of rejecting the power associated to

onersquos racial identity but also hauntingly close to exploitation of Black experience according

to the interviewees The problem of freeriding and exploiting or capitalizing on the stories of

subjugated groups has been acknowledged in previous research on allyship (Clark 2019530

Linder amp Johnson 20159) For example Lisa argues that White people should be careful

36

talking about racism as if they could understand it and instead listen to what Black people say

- but at the same time she says it quickly becomes counterproductive

Black Swedes are not supposed to have to educate me about the racism they

experience because in that case what do I really demand from a Black person

Lou has the same idea and she tells me about how she used to ask her Black partner many

lsquodumbrsquo questions but that she realized that this means that she puts the burden of educating her

on him Sara avoids asking her Black friends about how she as a White ally can help because

that puts too much responsibility on those Black friends Amanda tells me she is after having

listened to one of the biggest antiracist podcasts Raseriet afraid of being one of lsquothose White

peoplersquo who demand to be taught about racism from Black people After all they all agree that

racism is a problem White people created and a problem for White people to solve ndash the

responsibility should not land on Black people As Emma says

Itrsquos essentially White peoplersquos problem itrsquos White people who built the structures

we are protesting [hellip] Itrsquos not Black people who are supposed to stand there and

scream their lungs out about Black Lives Matter but itrsquos about White people

needing to get together and saying like lsquonow we have to fix this because we

created itrsquo

So while trying to balance interpretation privilege the participants easily stumble into another

pitfall Listening as ally work increases the risk of becoming a burden on Black people by

depending on them for education explanations and guidance and exploiting their knowledge

and lived experience for self-improvement which also reinforces racist structures Black people

are implicitly seen as political objects rather than subjects inevitably crushed under the pressure

of White questions and demands and in need of White protection The point of allyship is to

make life and activism easier for Black people not the other way around which brings us to

another strategy of allyship to balance helping

513 Help but do not hijack

Based on the idea that listening as political practice can become exploitative and freeriding the

allies land in the conclusion that helping is the main assignment for allies They motivate this

by referring to their own privileges However as this section will show helping as a political

practice is also surrounded by potential problems

37

The idea of helping as ally work relates again to the idea that the costs of confronting racism is

lower for White people than for Black people (Drury amp Kaiser 2014642) as well as the

realization that White people are granted more respect and legitimacy when advocating for

antiracist causes (Arora amp Stout 2019390) Helping consists of claiming co-responsibility of

changing society protecting Black people from painful experiences and deal with the racism

of White people For example if an ally hears someone being racist they must speak up Sara

tries to do so because she does not want to add to any Black personrsquos burden of having to take

every fight themselves Emma argues that it is not Black peoplersquos responsibility to keep the

movement alive and therefore it is important that White people speak up She thinks ldquoit feels

stupid if White people would just sit around and wait for initiatives cause then you donrsquot do

anything goodrdquo If Black people are left alone with total responsibility of changing institutions

and organizations in Loursquos experience that usually puts Black people in situations where the

risk of being exposed to racism is high and without the support system of allies to help

Although all interviewees describe different ways of helping and supporting Black people and

the BLM movement as a main task for allies such statements are often followed by a disclaimer

For example they say ldquoitrsquos this balance that you being White shouldnrsquot go in and take overrdquo

(Emma) and ldquoWe should support we should be there we should recognize and lift the issues

But we should not be the main actorsrdquo (Alva) One of the most common phrases in the

interviews were lsquothat is not my placersquo This reasoning is present regardless of what types of

actions the interviewees talk about both high-level activism in formal organizations or

representing the movement in media and everyday civil courage such as speaking up against

racist comments in the workplace Sara adds to her statement about wanting to speak up to help

Black people saying that she ldquoalso has to leave room for Black people to act and not trying to

be like lsquoI know best now so let me explain racismrsquordquo Amanda shares similar thoughts saying

Itrsquos important that this can be a movement that Black people own themselves and

that itrsquos not something us White people can just barge into and take over Itrsquos a

balancing between goodwill and wanting to help and to not barge in and be like

lsquoThis is what racism isrsquo

Amanda has worked in organizations who educate people in moral courage and antiracism for

a few years and she has much experience in this type of political work But when she is

contacted in her role as an antiracist educator and asked to hold a course in a workplace she

doubts herself She feels that she must lsquowarnrsquo them about her whiteness ldquoI have to start by

38

saying that Irsquom White Irsquoll never be able to talk about racism like a Black person couldrdquo During

spring of 2020 she started to think about her role again she tells me She concluded that ldquothis

is not my place this organization is not my place but I could do activism in other waysrdquo In

most interviews there are similar reasonings for example Bea explains how she is not against

White people organizing against racism but that she

would not be very comfortable doing it or starting an appeal or initiative like

lsquoWhites in support for Black Lives Matterrsquo because thatrsquos nothellip thatrsquos claiming

space and attention

Katrin said that she in her work at an equality foundation had to weigh her wish to do

something against the risk of ldquotaking over a voice that was just starting to build uprdquo and Lou

who works in HR criticizes her own attempts to implement antiracist ideas at her workplace

because she doubts if she has any right to ldquoclaim that we have to work with so-called diversity

issuesrdquo or ldquobe that voice in a White roomrdquo Emma mentions ldquosupporting without taking overrdquo

as the most important aspect of ally work This is an important part of allyship being

supportive standing by Black peoplersquos side acknowledging oppression raising the issues but

without being the protagonists of the movement as Alva explains Lisa agrees she asks herself

rdquoIs this my space to claim I donrsquot know am I supposed to march in the frontline when it comes

to this issue like Irsquom not so sure about thatrdquo In these statements it is implicitly assumed that

if Whites wanted to take over from Black people they easily could (even unconsciously) and

this implies Black people are less resilient as political actors

These arguments are often motivated by their own experiences with men taking space in

feminist movements They think about the way they want men to act and applies the same

reasoning to their own allyship

If this was about feminism and there was a dude telling me this or doing this that

Irsquom talking about now [taking over authorrsquos note] how would I react then [hellip]

I find it odd when female feminists feel like they have to pay tribute to and psyche

up male feminists I donrsquot think male feminists should need that And I feel the

same way about like Black people shouldnrsquot have to care about me at all it may

sound weird but I donrsquot do it for them itrsquos other Whites I want to affect ndash Katrin

Allies often use their own identities and social positions to understand other types of oppression

and although it seems to function as a source of empathy and compassion for the other group

as well as regulating ones ally behavior it is important to acknowledge that lived experience of

39

sexism does not mean inevitable understanding of experiences of racism (Spanierman amp Smith

2017608-10) which the allies mention themselves

This section shows that the strategy of helping is not as straight-forward and easily managed as

first described but instead associated with a big risk lsquoWhat if I take over What does it say

about me if I dordquo They engage in reflexive identity construction without being ontologically

secure eg without having a ldquopractical consciousnessrdquo or ldquonatural attituderdquo that guides how to

act This creates anxiety and fear of doing and thus being wrong (Giddens 199136) All

participants agree that although allies are important in creating change the movement is and

should be a Black space Although they are confident in these believes and dedicated to living

up to these ideals they are still afraid of unintentionally taking over or hijacking the movement

despite their wish to simply help and support the movement from the background To minimize

the risk of being one of those White allies who barges in and takes over the allies make sure to

balance this by taking a step back and leaving room for Black people to lead the way

514 Take a step back but do not become paralyzed

The choice to take a step back following the alliesrsquo reasoning about claiming space and taking

over means that they are more and more evolving toward a state of allyship where few actions

are legitimate and unproblematic This can be interpreted as a sign that the strategies described

previously (listening and helping) are not part of the alliesrsquo practical consciousness and that

engaging in such ally work is experienced as difficult and frightening due to ontological

insecurity This often leads to passivity (Giddens 199144) Taking a step back is described as

lsquoleaving room forrsquo Black people and it consists of listening (which as previous sections of the

analysis show is not seen as entirely unproblematic) and sharing the perspectives of Black

people for example in social media but without claiming a frontline position in the movement

These are two strategies that reduces the influence of White voices on the antiracist discourse

Taking a step back and leaving room for Black people is a way to denounce the privilege of

being listened to (Arora amp Stout 2019294-5) and reducing the power gap between dominant

and subjugated groups in terms of knowledge production (Collins 1990408)

However the interviewees testify to how the strategy to take a step back is often (but not

always) a shortcut to passivity Katrin who works in an equality foundation dealing with issues

of sexism and racism tells me what happened in her organization when choosing the take-a-

step-back approach by sharing articles Instagram posts and other materials created by Black

40

people and thus engaging in amplification of Black voices (Clark 2019528-31) They were

later criticized for ldquonot doing more not talking about it more screaming more sharing

morehelliprdquo They tried to do the right thing but failed Katrin wonders if they should have done

something of their own something bigger while also acknowledging how it would be

problematic of them to claim the spotlight

The allies worry about their own tendencies to become passive because of trying to navigate

among the different strategies Katrin explains this mechanism as a process where learning

about privilege and power creates an insight of onersquos own role in this power structure

ldquoYou realize that lsquoI have power I have responsibility and I do not have

interpretation privilegersquo and that makes you so scared to do anything wrong that

you end up doing nothing at allrdquo

She describes the insights as ldquoparalyzingrdquo and this experience is shared by more of the

interviewees and found in previous research (Brown amp Ostrove 20132220) Emma says that

it is a complex question that she thinks about a lot and that she has not yet landed in any

conclusions about what she should be doing as an ally but she knows that she must avoid

becoming paralyzed However it could be reflexivity itself that leads to such passivity

(Giddens 199144) Political background does not affect this mechanism as it is observed in

those with no prior experience as well as those with years of activism In some ways having

more prior experience can even make it harder to navigate the ally role because the roles

previously taken are no longer open to you as White Alva explains

Irsquom so used to being in the front and in the middle and being in the back is not

really like how I have been engaged before Irsquom not really used to it and to have

my role defined as being in the backseat in the back of the bus as Whitehellip [hellip] I

havenrsquot done that before And Irsquove struggled to find my role ndash what can I do

Cause I feel my hands are tied behind my back a little I would love to do more but

at the same time my interest cannot decide what the main issue should be Itrsquos all

about knowing your role and your place and being very sensitive to when people

tell you to back away or step up

At the end of each interview they were asked What would you like to see for the movement in

the future I got many analytical answers but some responded by saying like Alva ldquoItrsquos hard

for me to answer because Irsquom White I donrsquot know what needs to be focused on right now and

Irsquom not the right person to askrdquo Lisa says rdquoI donrsquot feel I have the right to speak on this or like

41

debate this issuerdquo Amanda does not answer the question either and refers to how it would be

inappropriate for her to try to decide what the movement should be about Interestingly she

notices how this perspective is only present in her relation to antiracism as she has worked for

LGBTQ-rights for years despite identifying as straight She cannot point out what is different

when it comes to antiracism but she feels there is a difference The uncertainty of knowing

what to do risks leading to passivity

ldquoItrsquos like Irsquove come tohellip Not a stop but a landmark and itrsquos like I canrsquot get

further than that because I donrsquot know what to do Irsquom sure there are things I

could do and a role for me to take on but I canrsquot find it right nowrdquo - Alva

Again the interviewees are aware of the paralyzing effect of their strategies and Lou claims

that she knows that she is overthinking it

When I discuss this with people who are exposed to racism I sometimes get the

feeling that theyrsquore like lsquowe donrsquot care who does it somebody just do itrsquo There

is a need for antiracist work to be done [hellip] So I think that itrsquos easy to fall into

some kind of paralyzed state that doesnrsquot help anybody

The assumption of passivity among contemporary activists can be considered mainstream in

the social movement field Youths of Western democracies are less engaged in any kind of

traditional political involvement such as voting political party membership or other

associational activities (Amnaring amp Ekman 20136) Often this decline in political activity is

attributed to the growing prevalence of digital methods instead of more traditional physical

methods because it gives people an undeserved sense of accomplishment (Skoric 201277) and

a false idea of what activism is efficient (Morozov 200913) Although the majority of the

intervieweesrsquo activism consisted of digital participation and digital participation only it would

be unfair to claim that it is out of a sense of undeserving feeling of accomplishment that they

stopped at digital methods Quite opposite to the conclusions made by Skoric and Morozov of

the self-absorbed slacktivist the interviewees are far from happy with their contributions to the

movement Digital activism is associated with laziness slack and performative allyship by the

interviewees and they usually do not value digital activism as high as physical engagement

For example Lisa says she feels a bit ashamed of being more of a ldquokeyboard activist than a real

activistrdquo and Amanda shares similar thoughts about her own participation

42

When I posted the image I felt like lsquoIrsquom so fucking lame for doing only thisrsquo

[laughs] I didnrsquot really think of it as an activist action because it was so easy

Thus the emotional experience relates to feeling ashamed which under specific circumstances

and motivate action ndash but often it leads to passivity (Dull et al 20211081-84 Zhelnina

2020361) When Emma describes how accessible online activism is she presents a scenario

where someone can ldquosit at home in the couch and watch a movie and at the same time just log

into social media and protestrdquo Bea even laughs while telling me that she ldquothinks she shared a

black square on Instagram like everyone elserdquo Accessibility is not an indicator of democratic

or inclusive value but quality and it seems like the easier it is the lower it is valued by the

allies Comparing to the study by Russo (2014) where the allies put themselves through

physical challenges to demonstrate their allyship the digital form of ally work is interpreted as

a lower form of activism and is surrounded by feelings of inadequacy and shame Although the

reasons for why many of them stopped at digital activism varies none of them did it out of

satisfaction or laziness In the cases where physical limitations the pandemic or lack of protests

in onersquos hometown was not the reason it was rooted in an insecurity about what to do as an

ally Digital methods were perceived as a safer option in a context where almost all other types

of White participation are criticized and the potential pain of being called out as a bad ally is

perceived to be lower in the digital realm than it would be in other contexts

As this section shows the allies handle the potential risk of hijacking the movement by taking

a step back to leave room for Black people to define shape and ultimately run the movement

themselves However this strategy creates its own problems there is an imminent risk of

becoming passive So when listening does not work because of the risk of freeriding and

exploiting Black experiences and actively helping to relieve Black people of the burden to

overthrow systemic racism is deemed inappropriate because it includes a risk of hijacking the

movement and stepping back is ruled out because it leads to passivity ndash what remains

515 Do good but not for the wrong reasons Introspection

In line with previous research and theory introspection of different kinds is often discussed as

an important ally assignment (Drury amp Kaiser 2014638 Kauffman 200124 29-32) Without

introspection the quality of allyship risks becoming deficient because without being aware of

onersquos privilege as well as guilt allyship easily slips into paternalistic behavior (Cole

20201267 Spanierman amp Smith 609-10) Introspection is described in terms of ldquochecking

43

myselfrdquo (Sam) ldquotake a step back and acknowledge that I am part of a racist systemrdquo (Lisa) and

being ldquohumble to the fact that you are part the structurerdquo (Caroline) All interviewees express

the idea that one cannot be a good ally or contribute to positive change without first having

engaged in introspection in different ways

I think one of the most important things is to understand your own whiteness It

sounds kind of ego and self-centered but I think that you canrsquot be an ally

otherwise ever if you donrsquot see your own privilege [hellip] Otherwise you end up

balancing the line between racism and antiracism and that line is thinner than

you think - Lou

This imagined thin line between antiracism and racism concerns many interviewees Lisa

Lucas and Emma also see the risk of falling into racist behavior as big and that they must start

by recognizing this risk to avoid it Amanda says that she knows that she eventually will do

something racist but that she tries not to fear it because ldquoself-criticism can create fear often

therersquos a fear of saying or doing the wrong thing which makes people afraid to be alliedrdquo which

creates passivity Sam calls self-reflection and rdquochecking themselvesrdquo their most important job

and claims that if their aim was to destroy racism that would indicate that they thought of

themselves as bias-free which they are not Lucas also recognizes his own prejudice and says

it is part of his ally work to try to diminish these biases The potential for racist behavior is both

ascribed to being raised in a racist system and to White identity Amanda attributes her future

racist actions to her whiteness explicitly and Caroline argues that all White people are capable

of racist actions regardless of intent lsquowokenessrsquo and knowledge and she knows that she will

at some point act racist despite her devotion to antiracism and her love for her Black partner

All these considerations are part of the reflexive process that is self-identity constantly

scrutinizing oneself and navigating around different actions to act in line with self-identity

(Giddens 199175) When the stakes are as high as they are for White allies ndash they risk acting

and thus being racist if they do not engage in enough introspection The room for action

becomes further limited

In relation to the digital realm where most ally work took place introspection also becomes

about motivations The main concern for the interviewees was whether or not they should use

their social media platforms for ally work at all since digital methods are sometimes frowned

upon for being shallow and too simple Despite this all of them did some type of digital ally

work When I asked those who shared the black square on Instagram why some of them

44

laughed and said that they did not know or could not explain it They mention motivations such

as fitting in

In a way it was like everyone on my Instagram did it and it became like a peer

pressure thing like rsquowhy didnrsquot she share itrsquo or rsquowhy didnrsquot he hare itrsquo you

know ndash Emma

Besides peer pressure the desire to lsquofeel goodrsquo was also reflected upon Many acknowledge

that this desire existed but they did not approve of it as a motive for action Caroline explains

that although it is good to show others where you stand it does not say much about who you

are in the everyday life and the act of posting on social media instead become about seeming

or feeling good The thing they worry about is whether them showing support for the BLM

movement was intended to help the movement or to make themselves look better ndash sometimes

called cosmetic activism (Spanierman amp Smith 2017609-10) or more often among the

participants performative allyship Lou who regularly shares information opinions petitions

and hashtags in her social media says that she worries about her allyship being performative

because she knows most of her followers already shares her opinions Thus her sharing yet

another Instagram post about how racism is wrong could possibly be to ldquoshow off and make

myself feel a little betterrdquo She is careful to stop and reflect upon her actions and intentions and

ask herself lsquowhy did I do this What was my purposersquo Bea shares the same concerns

describing online activism as potentially about ldquostrengthening your personal brandrdquo and

ldquomarketing yourselfrdquo ndash although she does not identify with these motives she feels like there

is always a risk of falling into performative allyship in social media Posting on social media is

also described as a way to claim an antiracist alibi as Bea explains

One way to avoid this is to actively choose not to share with others the activism they engage in

like Sam who calls it unlearning performative allyship Instead of risking acting in the wrong

way and for the wrong reasons they turn to strategic passivism However the unintended result

of this is that one of the main advantages of allies in social movements (that they can use their

voices and platforms to amplify Black voices) goes missing if social media posts are no longer

considered legitimate allyship (Arora amp Stout 2019390 Bhattacharyya et al 202012 Clark

2019528-31)

Introspection is not only a way to secure high-quality allyship but to reduce the risk of doing

something racist and thus being racist Identity is constructed biographically through action

and if the actions does not align with the sense of self-identity this incoherence leads to

45

ontological insecurity in terms of the self meaning one starts to doubt onersquos own motives

(Giddens 199152-54) Seeing onersquos own whiteness as a guarantee of future racist behavior

and knowing how such behavior would clash with the sense of self allies do best in trying to

avoid racist action by all means available Thus acting becomes a risk in itself and this could

be interpreted as ally work becoming unintuitive and unnatural to the allies both at a practical

level determining what to do and at a more discursive level shaping who to be Although

ontological security is defined as practical consciousness it applies to less hands-on orientation

in the world too for example finding onersquos role and identity in a social movement The way to

move forward after recognizing all possible ways one may act wrong is to engage in strategic

passivism apolitical introspection as a political strategy (Kauffman 200124 29-32 Giddens

199144) It is not equivalent to passivity because it includes a strategic choice and it is built

on ally work but ally work that is aimed inwards It becomes a way to be active without acting

in a context where other people may get hurt or judge you

Allies must also make sure not only to act coherently and right but to have pure intentions

being an ally for the sake of recognition or personal gratification is not accepted However

research shows that such extrinsic motivations are especially important in motivating digital

participation (Lilleker amp Koc-Michalska 201725 34-25) and that feelings of shame and guilt

can lead to passivity (Dull et al 20211081-84 Zhelnina 2020361) These two conditions

(ideas of inherent racism and requirements of pure motives) related to introspection does not

create an environment where being active is very appealing Lou admits how acknowledging

the thin line between antiracism and racism leaves her paralyzed instead of motivated

Introspection on the other hand requires no interaction with other people and thus no risk of

being evaluated judged or called out as a bad ally

As the analysis demonstrates the allies recognize there are many different ways they could

engage ndash but all of them are eventually met with disclaimers of how that specific strategy is

inappropriate They try to navigate their own identity and privilege in relation to interpretation

privilege based on theories of situated knowledge but because they lack ontological security

in their ally role they struggle to find a path that is neither inappropriate nor associated with

too much risk Eventually they land in what could be referred to as passivism strategic

passivity as a form of activism

46

6 Discussion and conclusion

The purpose of this study was to better understand how the ally role and participation is

experienced by White allies participating in the Swedish BLM movement and to investigate to

what extent they felt that they had legitimacy as political agents in the movement As the results

show the allies felt strongly for the cause and had many positive experiences of community

and purpose However emotions related to shame guilt and insecurity were also an integral

part of their ally experience and it limited them in their ally work The analysis also shows that

while they are willing and motivated to act as allies the strategies available to them are

surrounded by disclaimers doubt and criticism Few potential actions or approaches are left

unproblematized and the allies often struggle to find their specific path The analysis

emphasizes the link between academic theories of situated knowledge and what can be seen as

a translated popularized version of the term formulated in the political discourse as

interpretation privilege The contribution of Giddensrsquo theories is that the concepts of reflexivity

and ontological security describes the reason for the hesitation the allies engage in whereas the

concept of situated knowledge describes on what basis they hesitate modernity explains why

they worry and situated knowledge what they worry about

Although the analysis shows a pattern that seems to link ideas of interpretation privilege with

passivism among allies the conclusion should not be that acknowledging the importance of

situated knowledge and recognizing the power intertwined with the knowledge creation and

validation process is unnecessary or harmful The theories of situated knowledge standpoint

theory and Black feminist epistemology are important contributions to the sociology of

knowledge and crucial reminders of the power embedded in knowledge However of interest

to political sociology scholars could be the translation of academic concepts into everyday

political lingo and what effects it may have on how people think about politics agency and

identity It is also important to point out that the statements by the interviewees do not reflect

the concept of interpretation privilege in itself but only their interpretation of it Therefore one

could never claim that the concept in itself limits or motivates anything only the way it is

interpreted

Many parts of the results need further investigation One is the implication of guilt if allies are

so limited in this movement whose fault is it It is easy to jump to the conclusion that the fault

belongs to the movement itself and its participants that activists and allies specifically create

47

an environment where action is limited and surrounded by doubt and insecurity This is not the

conclusion of the study Black people or specifically Black movement participants are not to

blame for a culture created by all participants of the movement and this culture or discourse

should be treated as such a larger collective process or frame that is affected by and affecting

all movement participants and the social context it is constructed in It is power on the discursive

level and beyond the reach of any specific grouprsquos aims to control it The experiences and

emotions of the allies should be treated as manifestations of a larger socio-political context

(Buechler 1995458) which could be the focus of future research

Another important aspect to discuss is the implications of quality of the participants allyship

Much research on the passivity of modern activists for example texts on slacktivism (see

Skoric 2012) have a contemptuous tone while discussing how little activists do and how good

they feel about themselves I refrain from evaluating the quality of the actual activism

performed by the allies and from explaining their digitally dominated activism with slacktivism

Instead of seeing contemporary passivism as a potential problem of bad activists one must

focus on the cultural structural and discursive processes enabling this specific kind of activism

instead of other more traditional and acknowledged types of activism Something in the

political climate digital activism identity political social movements or something completely

different limits those who wish to support the movement as allies in their action repertoires

One interesting finding is the consistency in the way the participants describe their involvement

and the issues they thought about Looking at prior experience and their doubts and concerns

about current and future activism there seems to be no link between being unexperienced or

so to say a lsquorookiersquo activist and feeling insecure about what to do as an ally The same problem

was present for people working with equality issues for a living having academic degrees in

the field and well as those without similar professional and academic competences Thus it is

unlikely to be out of inexperience or lack of knowledge that allies sometimes turn to passivism

It is also important to note that while this analysis turned out to be about tendencies of

passivism the interviewed allies were in fact not passive They all engaged in different ally

work digitally and physically sharing information online participating in demonstrations and

trying to incorporate antiracism in their everyday lives and encounters The idea of passivism

applies to their own reasoning and thinking about their allyship more than it does to their

performed ally work Passivism describes their strategic use of introspection which resembles

being passive from out outside perspective but includes much effort in scrutinizing oneself and

trying to become a better ally something that the interviewees are very focused on

48

The main contribution of this study is its representation of the ally perspective something that

is not well researched in the Swedish context It contributes with an insight into the political

arguments of a contemporary social movement characterized by identity-focus and digital

methods Potential contributions could also relate to the questions what would be needed for

allyship to become effective motivating and less associated with introspection and passivism

questions to which the answers must be found in larger contexts than that of these 11 alliesrsquo

testimonies In order to say more about how contemporary allyship is constructed experienced

and given meaning a triangulation of different methods and data sources would be required

along with a bigger sample

The study raised more questioned than it answered which indicates the importance and

relevance of further studies For example the theoretical coherence between the academic

concept of situated knowledge and the more casual term interpretation privilege would need to

be further explored as this study is only a rather shallow review of the concepts Studying the

larger political development and the discourse on activism or racism could also help

constructing a more developed understanding of what it really means to be an ally in the local

context of 21st century Sweden while simultaneously being part of a global network of activists

The implications of these results could be that while allyship is considered important both for

social movements at large (see Brown amp Ostrove 2013 Arora amp Stout 2019 Clark 2019) and

for the individual allies themselves it is also problematized by the interviewees in line with the

problems presented in previous research Applying these results to White allyship there are

things that would need to change in order for the allies to feel secure enough to find the

motivation to participate in the way they all claim they would want to but have not found the

time motivation or feeling of legitimacy to do For ally work to be a force to be reckoned with

in the antiracist struggle preconditions for action beyond introspection and strategic passivism

must be further developed Relating back to Butler the risk is otherwise that

If white people become exclusively preoccupied with our own privilege we risk

becoming self-absorbed We definitely donrsquot need more white people making

everything about themselves that just re-centralizes whiteness and refuses to do

the work of anti-racism (Gleeson 2021)

49

7 References Ahmed S Jaidka K amp Cho J (2017) Tweeting Indiarsquos Nirbhaya protest a study of emotional dynamics in an online social

movement Social Movement Studies 16(4) 227-465 httpsdoi1010801474283720161192457

American Psychological Association (2019) Racial and ethnic identity httpapastyleapaorgstyle-grammar-

guidelinesbias-free-languageracial-ethnic-minorities

Amnaring E amp Ekman J (2013) Standby citizens diverse faces of political passivity European Political Science 1-21

httpsdoi101017S175577391300009X

Andersson P (2021) Bokrecension Vit skoumlrhet vaumllbehoumlvlig i svensk rasismdebatt SVT Nyheter Downloaded 2021-09-29

from httpswwwsvtsekulturbokrecension-vit-skorhet-skickar-meningsfulla-impulser-in-i-den-svenska-debatten

Arora M amp Stout CT (2018) Letters for Black Lives Co-ethnic Mobilization and Support for the Black Lives Matter

Movement Political Research Quarterly 72(2) 389-402 httpsdoiorg1011772F1065912918793222

Arribas Lozano A (2018) Knowledge co-production with social movement networks Redefining grassroots politics

rethinking research Social Movement Studies 17(4) 451-463 httpsdoiorg1010801474283720181457521

Barassi V amp Zamponi L (2020) Social media time identity narratives and the construction of political biographies Social

Movement Studies 195-6 592-608 httpsdoiorg1010801474283720201718489

Bauman Z (2001) Liquid Modernity Cambridge Polity Press

Bhattacharyya G Virdee S amp Winter A (2020) Revisiting histories of anti-racist thought and activism Identities 27(1)

1-19 httpsdoiorg1010801070289X20191647686

Belam M (2021) Black Lives Matter movement nominated for Nobel peace prize The Guardian 2021-01-29

httpswwwtheguardiancomworld2021jan29Black-lives-matter-nobel-peace-prize-petter-eide-norweigan-mp

(Downloaded 2021-06-16)

Bernstein M (2005) Identity Politics Annual Review of Sociology 31(1) 47-74

httpsdoiorg101146annurevsoc29010202100054

Brown K T amp Ostrove J M (2013) What does it mean to be an ally The perception of allies from the perspective of

people of color Journal of Applied Social Psychology 43(11) 2211ndash2222 httpsdoiorg101111jasp12172

Braring (2018) Sjaumllvrapporterad utsatthet foumlr hatbrott Analys utifraringn Nationella trygghetsundersoumlkningen 2006ndash2017 Rapport

201810 Downloaded 2021-03-05 at

httpswwwbrasedownload187f57ba351641b9cdc3d1e0b515344265455312018_10_Sjalvrapporterad_utsatthet_for_

hatbrottpdf

Buechler SM (1995) NEW SOCIAL MOVEMENT THEORIES Sociological Quarterly 36 441-464

httpsdoiorg101111j1533-85251995tb00447x

Bursell M (2014) The Multiple Burdens of Foreign-Named MenmdashEvidence from a Field Experiment on Gendered Ethnic

Hiring Discrimination in Sweden European Sociological Review 30(3) 399ndash409 httpsdoiorg101093esrjcu047

Carnegie Endowment for International Peace 2020 Global Protest Tracker Downloaded 2020-12-16 at

httpscarnegieendowmentorgpublicationsinteractiveprotest-trackergclid=CjwKCAiA_eb-

BRB2EiwAGBnXXve4_M0rNWlgU0_MmYUuIg6ThabxkIbk_kQhlB7O_542emIVDHX1HRoCCFsQAvD_BwE

Clark M (2019) White folksrsquo work digital allyship praxis in the BlackLivesMatter movement Social Movement Studies

18(5) 519-534 httpsdoiorg1010801474283720191603104

Clayton DM (2018) Black Lives Matter and the Civil Rights Movement A Comparative Analysis of Two Social

Movements in the United States Journal of Black Studies 40(5)448-480

httpsdoiorg1011772F0021934718764099

Cole G (2020) Types of White Identification and Attitudes About Black Lives Matter Social Science Quarterly

101(4)1627-1633) httpsdoiorg101111ssqu12837

Collins PH (1990) Black Feminist Epistemology In Calhoun C J Gerteis J Moody S Pfaff amp I Virk (Ed) (2012)

Contemporary Sociological Theory 3rd Ed Chichester Wiley-Blackwell

Craddock E (2019) Doing rsquoenoughrsquo of the lsquorightrsquo thing the gendered dimension of the lsquoideal activistrsquo and its negative

emotional consequencesrdquo Social Movement Studies 18(2)137-153) httpsdoiorg1010801474283720181555457

Creswell JW amp Poth CN (2017) Qualitative inquiry and research design choosing among five approaches (Fourth

edition) Los Angeles Sage Publications

Diani M (1992) The Concept of Social Movement The Sociological Review 40(1)1-25 httpsdoiorg1011112Fj1467-

954X1992tb02943x

Drury B amp C Kaiser (2014) Allies against Sexism The Role of Men in Confronting Sexism Journal of Social Issues

70(4)637-652 httpsdoiorg101111josi12083

Dull BD Hoyt LT Grzanka PR amp Zeider KH (2021) Can White Guilt Motivate Action The Role of Civic Beliefs

Journal of Youth and Adolescence 50 1081ndash1097 (2021) httpsdoiorg101007s10964-021-01401-7

Earl J (2014) The Future of Social Movement Organizations The Waning Dominance of SMOs Online American

Behavioral Scientist 5935-52 httpsdoiorg1011772F0002764214540507

Garrett RK (2006) Protest in an Information Society a review of literature on social movements and new ICTs

Information Communication amp Society 9(2) 202-224 httpsdoiorg10108013691180600630773

Giddens A (1991) Modernity and self-identity Self and society in the late modern age Stanford University Press

Gleeson J (2021) Judith Butler lsquoWe need to rethink the category of womanrsquo The Guardian 2021-09-07 (Accessed 20201-

09-14 at httpswwwtheguardiancomlifeandstyle2021sep07judith-butler-interview-gender)

5

1 Introduction and background

Thinking back on the year 2020 most of us will probably think about the Covid-19 pandemic

and how it affected our lives But 2020 was also a year of political protest Polish feminists

protested the restrictions on the right to abortion raised fees for public transportation in Chile

were met with large protests and US antiracists protested police brutality towards Black1

people as a direct response to the murder of George Floyd (Global Protest Tracker 2020) The

killing of Floyd in Minneapolis was not the first time Black Lives Matter (or BLM) a global

informal network or grassroots movement against racism and for Black liberation (Jaumlmte et al

2020370) was protesting police brutality and racist violence BLM is contextualized within a

long history of antiracist mobilization with clear links to the Civil Rights Movement both in

how it is described and interpreted in public discourse and in their ideas methods and

strategies (Clayton 2018457) The start of the movement came on February 26 2012 when

17-year-old Treyvon Martin was shot to death by a volunteer neighborhood watchman while

walking in his fatherrsquos middle-class neighborhood When the killer was acquitted there were

massive reactions and protests (Clayton 2018453) Alicia Garza Patrisse Cullors and Opal

Tometti took the initiative to gather the antiracist protests under one name one hashtag

BlackLivesMatter This first BLM-wave has since then been followed by several other protests

after cases of police violence against Black people (Clark 2019519) For example in 2014 the

BLM movement organized freedom rides to Ferguson (Missouri) inspired by the Civil Rights

movement after the murder of Michael Brown (Clayton 2018454)

After the murder of George Floyd in May 2020 demonstrations took place globally including

in several Swedish cities In Stockholm up to a thousand people gathered to support the BLM

movement and to acknowledge the situation for ethnic minorities in Sweden (Rydberg amp

Weden 2020) Despite the Swedish self-image of exceptionalism in terms of equality (Schierup

amp Aringlund 2011 45 56) there are strong evidence that Afro-Swedes are marginalized in the

upper and lower divisions of the labor market (Wolgast et al 201810 28-36) as well as in the

hiring process health and hate crime (see Braring 2018 Bursell 2014 Lindstroumlm et al 2001)

1 The B in Black (and the W in White) is capitalized based on guidelines on writing about racial and ethnic identity

formulated by the American Psychological Association (2019)

6

The movement was quickly recognized by different social institutions for example BLM was

nominated for the Nobel peace prize (Belam 2021) and the Palme Prize (Palmefonden 2021)

and over the world millions of people showed their support of the movement digitally by

posting a Black square on Instagram using the hashtag blackouttuesday (Monckton 2020)

Not only Black and other POC2 joined the movement but also White allies activists working

politically for another grouprsquos benefit (Russo 201467) Allies of different ethnicities have been

recognized as important actors in the antiracist struggle by many researchers (see for example

Arora amp Stout 2019 Brown amp Ostrove 2013 Clark 2019) as well as male allies in feminist

movements (Drury amp Kaiser 2014642) The role of White people as both perpetuators and

challengers of racism has been highly debated in the public discourse and in academia Books

such as Why Irsquom No Longer Talking to White People About Race by Reni Eddo-Lodge and

White Fragility Why Itrsquos So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism by Robin DiAngelo

have been introduced to the Swedish market after the birth of the BLM movement (Andersson

2021 Hibomo 2019) The role of White allies is thus surrounded by both appraisal and

suspicion and they must navigate their own role in the movement taking both positive and

negative views into account while finding a pathway into activism that suits them This

navigation is challenging and when Judith Butler talks on the subject in an interview in The

Guardian (Gleeson 2021) she summarizes the problems of allyship

Yes it is important to acknowledge that while a white person cannot claim to represent

Black experience that is no reason for white people to be paralyzed on matters on race

refusing to intervene at all No one needs to represent all Black experience in order to

track expose and oppose systemic racism ndash and to call upon others to do the same If

white people become exclusively preoccupied with our own privilege we risk becoming

self-absorbed We definitely donrsquot need more white people making everything about

themselves that just re-centralizes whiteness and refuses to do the work of anti-racism

This balancing between activism and passivism constitutes the focus of this thesis and the

sociological relevance lies in understanding what allies themselves experience beyond the

public perceptions of White allies Their experiences and emotions matter insofar as they are

likely to affect the way the allies choose to act and this motivates the sociological relevance of

studying ally experience Although allyship is relatively well-studied there is less research on

the emotional experiences of allyship especially in the Swedish context

2 POC stands for people of color and describes people of non-White race or ethnicity (American Psychological

Association 2019)

7

12 Aim and research question

The purpose of this paper is to study White alliesrsquo experiences of participating in and supporting

antiracist causes and movements using the Swedish BLM movement as an illustrative case due

to its high topicality The aim is to better understand the role of emotions identity (defined as

ldquothe self as reflexively understood by the person in terms of her or his biographyrdquo [Giddens

199153]) and ideas about power and responsibility shaping ally work departing from the

Swedish context in order to evaluate what the circumstances of ally work are and how the

experience of ally work and identity is lived and understood by White allies themselves The

sociological relevance of the study consists of linking the macro-level political discourse on

responsibility and identity with lived experience agency and sense of self at the individual

micro-level reality of allies Previous research focuses on the emotions and experiences in itself

whereas this paper aims to link these experiences and emotions to action and agencyThe

research questions are

A What emotional experiences do participants have and how can these be related to

identity power and responsibility

B To what extent do White allies feel entitled to act and speak in the name of the

movement

2 Previous research

The field of social movement studies is a well-established field with a long history and there

is a variety of sub-fields with different focuses ranging from resource mobilization (McCarthy

amp Zald 1977) to political processes that enable or hinder social movement activity (McAdam

1983) to the collective interpretations of a movement that is created by framing processes

(Snow 1986) and much more There are many different definitions of the social movement

concept This paper will build upon the definition presented by Diani (19923) describing social

movements as ldquonetworks of informal interaction between a plurality of individuals groups

andor organizations engaged in a political andor cultural conflict on the basis of a shared

collective identityrdquo which describes the informal non-hierarchal form of BLM (Jaumlmte et al

2020370)

8

Social movements as a phenomenon have changed through history shifting from mostly class-

based collective action to movements built on multiple identity categories (Buechler

1995548) This assumption is foundational in new social movement theory (NSMT)

represented by for example Alain Touraine (1987) NSMT concludes that non-material values

replaced class interests as the main motivator for collective action if the goal for social

movements used to be to expropriate the power from the dominant class and thus empower

the working class it has now shifted to deconstructing and reframing power itself (Buechler

1995442 Touraine 1987218-20) New social movements deal specifically with ldquothe social

control of production and diffusion of symbolic goodsrdquo (Touraine 1987218) which means

focusing on for example domains of culture and language Research based on NSMT often

focus on the roles of emotions identities and lifestyles as central themes in modern social

movements which are seen as manifestations of the implicit economic and political structures

they appear within (Buechler 1995485) The centrality of identity is often referred to as

identity politics (Bernstein 200547) Kauffman (200124 29-32) argued that identity politics

implicates a shift from working for equality and redistribution to apolitical introspection and

lifestyle politics resonant with the market ideology Others recognized how identity politics

give previously unrecognized groups recognition and space to develop policy that favors their

specific interests instead of only serving those at top of the in-group hierarchy of the workersrsquo

movements (Bernstein 200564-6) Regardless of whether one associates identity politics with

something good or something bad it can be concluded that antiracist movements have some

basis in identity categories rather than class despite the historical link between antiracism and

socialist ideas (Bhattacharyya et al 20203) Identity as a political concept is also central to the

experiences thoughts and interpretations of the White allies participating in this study as their

recognition of their White identity is what their allyship departs from

When it comes to antiracist thought and practice similar tendencies as those described in

NSMT can be seen Bhattacharyya Virdee and Winter (20203) lined out the development of

antiracist academic thought showing how it has developed from anti-capitalist and anti-slavery

to a micro perspective seeing racism as everyday microaggressions and dehumanization

(ibid11-12) Recently antiracist thought has been more concerned with intersectionality

developing sub-theories of Black feminism and Black queer theory to emphasize how different

identities have different lived experiences of oppression The focus of antiracist thought and

practice today according to the authors is to amplify certain voices and perspectives to ensure

representation and diversity of different identities (ibid12)

9

Looking at the Swedish context Jaumlmte and colleagues (2020) discuss how the Swedish BLM

movement represents a structuralist turn in Swedish anti-racism which has historically been

focusing on extremities such as Apartheid or Nazism and less on discrimination in the labor

market housing and media (ibid369 375) Historically the antiracist movement in Sweden

been occupied by a large proportion of allies from the majority population but during the 2020

BLM wave this changed and more POC participated for their cause Because ally activism is

often more volatile the increased share of people with lived experience of racism contributes

to a more stable foundation for sustainable activism (ibid371-2) Digital methods also

dominated the Swedish case which can be compared to the MeToo movement rather than the

US-based BLM movement which focused much more on physical protest and resistance

(ibid369)

Based on the different important conclusions in previous research (the turn towards non-

material values antiracist tendencies to emphasize lived experience the overrepresentation of

White allies in the Swedish anti-racist movement historically and the dominance of digital

methods) the remainder of the previous research presented will focus on allyship and white

identity and digital methods in contemporary movements

21 Allies

In a movement where much emphasis is put on identities it is of interest to examine the role of

those who are part of the movement activity without belong to that specific identity group In

this case White allies The definition of an ally varies between different scholars Brown and

Ostrove (20132211) described an ally as a dominant group member who ldquowork to end

prejudice in their personal and professional lives and relinquish social privileges conferred by

their group status through their support of nondominant groupsrdquo Spanierman and Smith

(2017608-9) argued that an ally is someone who understands their privilege as well as their

own role in oppression through introspection and self-reflection and who use their privilege

in responsible ways to end oppression despite facing opposition from other dominant group

members For Drury and Kaiser (2014637) an ally is someone who ldquoaligns with a

disadvantaged group by recognizing the need for further progress in the fight for equal rights

and Russo (201467) simply defined allies as activists who are politically engaged to benefit a

group to which they are outsiders These definitions include both introspective aspects of

allyship and more action-oriented aspects and they are all relatively open regarding what

10

exactly an ally can be expected to do in support for the movement What almost all these

definitions have in common is the baseline assumption that allies recognize their own

privileges and in antiracist movements that they embrace their White identity whiteness is not

only a description of skin color or ethnicity but also a culturally and politically influenced

identity A White ally cannot only be White they must also recognize their whiteness as

culturally significant recognizing privilege and becoming aware of both oppression as such

and onersquos own role in it is the first step to become an ally (Drury amp Kaiser 2014638) Although

lsquoWhitersquo has not always been treated as a social identity in the same way as other ethnic

identities there has been a recent resurge of White identification in the US (Cole 20201627)

Cole identified three main types of White identity type 1 includes no recognition of whiteness

type 2 recognizes whiteness but sees it as a liability and type 3 recognizes whiteness as a

privilege Among these types of White identification type 3 is most likely to support the BLM

means and goals whereas type 2 is least likely to support the movement at all

White identity development is also closely linked to the idea of White guilt which is seen as a

normative response to realizing onersquos own whiteness and the privilege attached to it Individuals

who acknowledge recognize and understand racism have higher degrees of White guilt and

this can either motivate action or create passivity (Dull et al 20211081-84) Dull and

colleagues found that White guilt can motivate civic action under certain circumstances there

must also be individual beliefs of social responsibility and efficacy (ibid1089) If the individual

neither believes in their social responsibility nor their own efficacy as political actors they will

struggle to find motivation to act Efficacy was measured by asking the participants whether

they felt they had the knowledge capacity and opportunity to affect social change (ibid1086)

Feelings of shame and despair among other have demobilizing effects on political mobilization

(Zhelnina 2020361) and it is therefore highly relevant to explore what emotions are

experienced by the allies in this study and to what degree they motivate or hinder action

211 Why are allies important

The role of allies in social movements is considered important in creating both social change

and in improving the everyday conditions of marginalized groups Brown and Ostrove (2013)

argued that White allies have two main assignments in antiracist movements supporting

individual people from the nondominant group and engaging in informed political action After

realizing onersquos whiteness and privilege allies must actively work to dismantle the system of

11

oppression by for example willingly share power with the subordinated group (Clark

2019523)

One of the most valuable aspects of ally work in social movements is the fact that the costs of

confronting sexism racism or any other discriminatory behavior is much lower for allies

without personal interest in the issue than it is for marginalized group members Men

confronting sexist behavior are seen as more rational and credible and less hostile than their

female counterparts which can strengthen the receiverrsquos sympathy for the sentiment of the

movement (Drury amp Kaiser 2014642) Male allies speaking up can also normalize rejecting

sexist ideas for women too and thus create a more open climate for such confrontations

(ibid644) The cost of ally work is further lowered when utilizing digital methods Clark (2019)

found that when White allies use their digital platforms to amplify the voices of Black people

the personal costs are low while the effects are positive The narratives of Black activists often

marginalized in their outreach in other ethnic or cultural groups are spread and legitimized by

White allies and it may ultimately strengthen the movement at large (Clark 2019528-31)

The idea that White allies should help the movement by amplifying the voices of Black people

can be further validated by the results of a study conducted by Arora and Stout (2019) on co-

ethnic mobilization and support for BLM They conducted an experimental study on the support

for the movement and the effect of messages from co-ethnic versus non-co-ethnic messengers

In general people tend to accept and embrace a political message more easily if they find the

messenger trustworthy and likeable which is an increasingly rational mechanism in times of

excessive access to information (Arora amp Stout 2019390) In their study they had people read

letters in favor for supporting the BLM movement written by authors of different ethnicities

Their results showed that White people did not change their opinion on BLM unless the author

was also White (ibid394-5) The implications of these results are that ldquoif whitesrsquo attitudes about

Black Lives Matter are to change appeals are much more effective coming from co-racial

individualsrdquo (ibid396) This implies that the role of White allies in amplifying the message of

Black activists and spreading the message especially within their own racial group is a very

powerful and important way for White allies to support the movement

212 What is problematic with allies

Although the role of allies in social movements are important there are also problems Some

research indicates that without lived experience of for example sexism or racism it is harder

12

to detect when such discrimination occurs For example men are less likely to interpret subtle

sexism as sexism and they are less likely to sympathize with someone confronting sexism if

that someone is female (Drury amp Kaiser 2014639 642) Thus much time and effort may have

to be put into educating out-group allies Allies are also less likely to be emotionally receptive

towards grasping the magnitude of oppression which again comes from lack of lived

experience (Russo 201480) It is also important to recognize uniqueness in group experiences

instead of assuming that experience of one type of oppression automatically leads to insights

about other oppressions (Spanierman amp Smith 2017608-10)

Besides the problem of potential insensibility on behalf of the ally another issue is low

engagement (Jaumlmte et al 2020370) Brown and Ostrove (20132220) argued that although

some inactivity of allies could be attributed to general passivity of contemporary activists or

lack of emotional engagement it could also come out of fear of doing anything considered

wrong White allies they argued tend to be more cautious in their actions because of this and

instead of acting on their own they leave space for Black people to take the lead However in

the attempt to leave room for and amplify for example Black narratives there is a significant

risk that allies freeride on the political labor of Black people (Clark 2019530) This problem

is also present in feminist movements where male allies often engage in low risk high reward

activism and often take credit for work dependent on the efforts of female feminists (Linder amp

Johnson 20155 17-18) This is made possible Linder and Johnson argued by the master

narrative saying male allies should be recognized validated and granted credibility regardless

of their actual contributions to the movementndash even though there is an overwhelming risk with

male feminist ally work being directly counterproductive due to lack of sympathy for the

female perspective and expertise (ibid4-5) In adverse cases male allies have been known to

not only capitalize on womenrsquos pain ignore their perspective and steal their hard work but to

actually commit sexual assault in feminist organizations (ibid9)

There are many other risks associated with ally work Mostly it originates in the fact that many

have good intentions but lack in self-reflection or knowledge about real political work

Spanierman and Smith (2017) pointed to how such discrepancies between intention capacity

and self-awareness can lead to paternalistic behavior towards marginalized people and that this

can strengthen the unconscious sense of superiority and legitimize status quo instead of

challenging it Another mistake especially important in digital activism is the tendency to

engage in optics instead of politics and to treat members of the disenfranchised group as objects

13

to be used for personal virtue signaling Such cosmetic activism rarely leads to any structural

criticism or challenging (Spanierman amp Smith 2017609-10)

22 Digital activism

As can be seen in the previous research on the positive opportunities with allies digital methods

are important for allies to engage for example in amplifying voices of minorities (Clark

2019528-31) This is perhaps even more true in the 2020 BLM-wave when many were limited

in their capacity to participate physically due to the pandemic All participants in this study

participated in digital activism (most of them exclusively so) and it is therefore important to

account for some research on the role digitalism plays in contemporary movements The

introduction of new technologies into political activism has been studied for many years even

before the social medias we use today Information and Communication technologies (ICTrsquos)

such as mobile phones or the internet had many effects on political activism as they became

available for more people for example it contributed with increased sense of community

strengthened political participation facilitated movement organization and increased

independence from elite representations of movements (Garrett 2006205-14)

Modern social medias have the same effects to some extent The internet and social media are

acknowledged to affect how social movements come into being and how they operate (Barassi

amp Zamponi 2020 Earl 2014) Social media platforms are used as tools for organizing raising

awareness and spreading information (Ahmed et al 2017447) and was for example one of

the success factors of the MeToo movement (Li et al 2020 Lin amp Yang 2019) Social media

also played a major role in the BLM protests without social media the protests of 2020 would

perhaps not have been as widespread The fact that the video picturing Floydrsquos murder spread

so rapidly led to massive emotional involvement and increased motivation for participation

according to research on the efficiency of emotions in digital activism (Clark 2019 Heldman

201788) Facilitating the growth of collective emotion and identity is one of the main

contributions of social media because emotions are crucial in motivating political action

(Ahmed et al 201746 Zhelnina 2020361) Studying the emotional expressions before during

and after a social protest on Twitter Ahmed and colleagues concluded that emotions affect

involvement online similarly to their effect offline ndash they channel participation and create

community and identification (Ahmed et al 2017459-61) Besides this social media functions

as a megaphone for individuals without having to be represented by any formal leader (Earl

14

201537) Earl argued that some of the functions centralized and formal social movement

organizations used to fill can in many cases be substituted with online communities lowering

the costs of organizers and participants (ibid39)

221 Critical perspectives on digital activism

Social media as site and tool for social activism is also criticized based on ideas about how it

leads to passivity and how motives for online activism differs from those in offline or lsquorealrsquo

activism Online activism is sometimes called slacktivism referencing the lower degrees of

effort and risk required to engage in online activism (Skoric 201277) The slacktivist narrative

is often used to explain the decline in youth political engagement (Amnaring amp Ekman 20136)

although the link between digital activism and low degrees of participation have not been

determined Online activism is usually less valued than more traditional types of activism which

requires more from the individual activist (Craddock 2019148-9 Heldman 2017207) despite

the lack of consensus between researchers on whether online activism is effective or not

(Lilleker amp Koc-Michalska 201725) Skoric (201277) argued that the Internet promotes a

superficial mode of political activism where liking commenting and sharing are the main tools

for participating in political activism and that the focus often is aimed at the individual and her

capacity of introspection lifestyle politics or mere expression of opinions without further

actions Such positionings rarely challenges structures of power and dominance Slacktivism

feels good without actually doing any good and it distracts people from engaging in meaningful

activism (ibid78)

lsquoFeeling goodrsquo as a motive for political mobilization is further explored by Lilleker and Koc-

Michalska (201723) who argued that there is a strong link between both intrinsic and extrinsic

emotional motivations and political mobilization both self-fulfillment and recognition are

strong motivators for both online and offline activism Extrinsic motivations eg external

approval recognition and being perceived as lsquogoodrsquo has the strongest effect on motivating

participation (ibid34 25) The difference they found between online and offline participation

was that online activism is less self-fulfilling and more driven by ldquoconforming and earning

rewardsrdquo which they interpret as online participation potentially being mere clicktivism and

less personally meaningful to the people engaging in it (ibid35)

Although slacktivism is not necessarily a phenomenon limited to the digital sphere but includes

all performative positioning online activism arguably breeds slacktivism because of how easy

15

and available it is The motivation to engage in high-risk high-effort activism decreases if there

are always lower effort- and risk options available that gives the same recognition and

satisfaction (Skoric 201279) Morozov (2009) also has criticized the naiumlve faith in the potential

of Internet activism and argued that poorly planned online slacktivism is not only ineffective

and toothless but also holds potential for backfiring and causing devastating consequences For

example when Western activists attempted to attack Iranian government sources online they

accidentally slowed down the whole Iranian internet making the activism of local protestors

difficult (Morozov 200913)

As this section shows the relationship between social media and the general level of activism

among people is far from determined However the participants of this study all relied on digital

methods in their ally work and their experiences of digital methods are explored in the analysis

3 Theory

In this section the two theories used to analyze the data will be presented and discussed starting

with Giddensrsquo theories on modernity which are used to contextualize ally work as a 21st century

phenomenon shaped by the preconditions of modernity such as increased reflexivity and

ontological insecurity Thereafter theories of situated knowledge will be used to describe how

the allies relate to their own whiteness in relation to the concept of interpretation privilege

sometimes limiting the allies in their leeway of action Essentially Giddensrsquo theories will be

used to understand why allies hesitate about their role and theories of situated knowledge will

be used to understand what they base these hesitations on

31 Giddens

Giddensrsquo theory of modernity focuses on the circumstances of human activity and identity in

what he referred to as (late) modernity The theory will be used to contextualize ally work as

something that exists within a larger social cultural and economic structure that shapes the

way identity politics and human activity are formed with special focus on self-identity and

ontological security

16

Worth mentioning when using the term modernity is that there are scholarly disagreements on

whether the current era should be interpreted as modernity late (or liquid see Bauman 2001)

modernity or postmodernity However Giddens belongs to the group of theorists who see

contemporary society as still existing within the theoretical frames of late modernity where the

tendencies of modernity has been further stretched and strengthened (Giddens 199127) This

assumption will be present throughout this paper while also acknowledging this is only one

interpretation

311 Life in modernity reflexivity and ontological insecurity

Modernity is an era characterized by post-traditional orders institutionalized radical doubt

detachment of time and space risk-cultures and abstract systems (Giddens 19912-5)

Following these changes in increased emphasis on reflexivity the continuous revisiting of

previously taken-for-granted concepts truths and ideas This applies to the institutional and

individual level and the latter will be of focus in this paper Without the guiding hand of

tradition or custom as in premodern society people must navigate in the world without being

firmly grounded in pregiven sets of beliefs on what should be done in each situation and with

the constant flow of information in modernity the horizon of possible actions are constantly

broadened (ibid20)

The increased emphasis on reflexivity means for the individual that ldquoself-identity becomes a

reflexively organised endeavorrdquo (Giddens 19915) Giddensrsquo described self-identity as a

project based on coherent and ldquocontinuously revised biographical narrativesrdquo which ldquotakes

place in the context of multiple choices as filtered through abstract systemsrdquo (ibid5) This

means that self-identity is closely linked to actions and is ldquoroutinely created and sustainedrdquo in

the actions of the individual (ibid52) This includes making constant decisions while having

endless choices ndash on what to do how to act and ultimately who to be in late modernity ldquowe

are not what we are but what we make of ourselvesrdquo (ibid54 75) If the individual fails to

perform in coherence with their sense of self-identity the individual may start to doubt their

own biographical narrative and ultimately themselves (ibid58) In the context of social

movements the ally identity is thus constantly reshaped by each choice of action and it

becomes important to act in accordance with the ideal-typical ally role Allyship is also a

globalized phenomenon which increases the number of aspects to take into consideration while

reflexively making choices

17

As reflexivity become more and more significant in guiding human action people in late

modernity experience loss of ontological security which is a ldquorsquonatural attitudersquo in everyday

liferdquo in relation to how to act and orient oneself in the world (Giddens 199136) Being

ontologically secure is ldquoto possess on the level of the unconscious and practical consciousness

lsquoanswersrsquo to fundamental existential questions which all human life in some way addressesrdquo

(ibid47) and was previously guided by tradition custom rules and norms of premodern society

Ontological security thus secures the individualsrsquo smooth navigation through life without them

hesitating on their role in the world too much However as society developed into modernity

and late modernity the conditions for ontological security changed ndash the traditions of

premodern society that used to give ontological security by offering a sense of structure

firmness and purpose are now exchanged for reflexivity (ibid48) making each single decision

dependent on an almost infinite number of possible options (ibid36) Without ontological

security the individual experiences existential anxiety caused by uncertainty ndash and such anxiety

itself ldquotends to paralyse relevant actions rather than generate themrdquo (ibid44) This passivity can

occur in relation to specific actions or to the sense of self in general for example failing to

perform in line with onersquos perceived self-identity can create ontological insecurity and it opens

for questioning onersquos entire role in a specific context for example a social movement For allies

ontological insecurity could arise in relation to them trying to navigate what actions are

appropriate for them to engage in based on the reflexive project of self-identity However

inactivism or passivity cannot only be seen in the individualrsquos relation to action but in politics

in general Giddens argued that politics in premodern times were emancipatory and aiming to

end oppression but that politics in modernity has been transformed into life politics a shift in

ideology and activity towards emphasizing lifestyle and self-actualization (ibid210-14)

The purpose of including Giddensrsquo theory of modernity is to provide a potential context in

which the allies of this study act and shape their own ally identities and how their occasionally

self-restricting introspection may be understood

32 Situated knowledge

To complement the theory of Giddens theories on situated knowledge will be included in the

analysis to point to specific ways in which the allies engage in reflexive decision-making eg

on what basis they make decisions about ally strategies The included theories are feminist

theories but their implications are not limited to gender relations

18

Theories of situated knowledge (also referred to as standpoint theory or feminist epistemology)

is an epistemological attempt to challenge the way knowledge is produced validated and

valued Epistemology is an ldquooverarching theory of knowledgerdquo (Collins 1990408) and theories

of epistemology focuses on how truth and knowledge is shaped by power relations between

social positions and how this could change Easily put social position of the knowledge

producer shapes the kind of knowledge that can be produced (Young 200425) In this thesis

the theoretical works of Haraway Young and Collins will be included although there are more

contributors to the thoughts about situated knowledge

Relating knowledge to power feminist theorists have pointed to how knowledge production

has been dominated by men and postcolonial thinkers have questioned dominant knowledge

for its sometimes exploitative and colonializing tendencies (in for example Western thought

and anthropology) Part of this critique has included a call for recognition privilege of lived

experience and reflexivity in research (Voronka 2016191) Donna Haraway (1988) presented

a feminist epistemology (or feminist objectivism) that recognized how women have historically

seen as immanent beings unable to transcend the body and escape its ldquofinite point of viewrdquo

whereas men have been seen as able to attain lsquoobjectiversquo perspectives and knowledges

(Haraway 1988575) The (imagined) male capacity to transcend ldquoparticular social location

and adopt a lsquoview from nowherersquordquo gives men higher status epistemologically (Young 200424)

Thus the gaze of the White male has been favored in sociology as it represents the unmarked

and objective perspective (Haraway 1988581)

The problem with the idea of objectivity and the lsquoview from nowherersquo according to feminist

and postcolonial critics is that knowledge is a power process and only taking one groups

knowledge into account reinforces these power processes Patricia Hill Collins argued that

power over the production and validation of knowledge is an issue of group interest where the

dominant group preserves their own interests by invalidating knowledge that either challenges

their hegemonic ideas or follows alternative practices in their creation of alternative knowledges

(Collins 1990409-10) Black womenrsquos knowledge is subjugated knowledge and it must fight

for recognition in an anti-Black and anti-female world (ibid414) The Black feminist

epistemology she advocated for includes sensitivity to the combination of female and Black

experiences unique for Black women and it recognized alternative ways to create knowledge

specific to Black womenrsquos knowledge production (ibid407-8)

19

321 Situated knowledge as political strategy

If knowledge is then produced under circumstances of domination power structures and

hegemony ndash what would an alternative look like and what could these alternatives lead to

From a quality standpoint Haraway (1988583) argued that including several perspectives in

knowledge production leads to better conclusions Even though she dismissed the idea that

subjugated people have a purer vision on truth and objectivity an idea she claimed is often

rooted in a fetishized idea of the Third World woman she argued that subjugated groups are

less likely to ldquoallow denial of the critical and interpretive core of all knowledgerdquo than are

dominant groups (ibid583-586) She wrote that the only standpoint from which no objectivity

can ever be reached is ldquothe standpoint of the master the Man the One God whose Eye

produces appropriates and orders differencerdquo (ibid587) Thus to aim for objectivity depends

on including perspectives otherwise ignored by structures of power and dominance (ibid590)

Delegitimizing the idea of a lsquoGodrsquos eyersquo from where true knowledge can be observed and

mediated means including other perspectives and knowledges (Young 200420) This is not

only just and right it also contributes to wiser decision making in a context of democratic

processes including perspectives from all social standpoints maximizes knowledge which

should be treated as a democratic resource when fully utilized (ibid25-9) Thus the idea of

situated knowledges includes a normative assumption of inclusion and diversity in decision

making and knowledge production and social difference should be treated as a resource for

democratic societies (ibid29)

The standpoint theorists emphasize how recognizing specificity in knowledge claims for

different groups does not include the idea that subjugated groups are naturally epistemically

privileged eg that their perspective on every issue should be treated as automatically lsquotruersquo

(Haraway 1988583-4 Young 200427-29) Neither the position of these groups or any

imagined inherent attributes give subjugated groups automatic access to the truth but the

position opens up doors to new perspectives impossible to imagine from above (Haraway

1988584) The specific knowledge unique for the dominated social positions include different

understandings of their own position and others and the relation between them as well as ldquoa

point of view on the history of societyrdquo ldquoan interpretation of how the relations and processes

of the whole society operates especially as they affect onersquos own positionrdquo and finally ldquoa

position-specific experience and point of view on the natural and physical environmentrdquo

(Young 200429)

20

Applying these ideas in a context of practical politics for example in a social movement can

include such inclusion of different perspectives and emphasizing how group difference matters

in terms of knowledge but without claiming the existence of epistemic privilege Often this

practical application is based on including people with lived experience into different contexts

of power or knowledge production (Voronka 2016189)

However the strategy of using lived experience as a criterion for epistemic legitimacy can also

be problematized Voronka (2016192) argued that inclusion and representation of different

groups in decision making as a criterion for legitimate knowledge production can be seen as

resting on essentialist assumptions and stable identity categories The categories themselves are

left unaccounted for meaning the boundaries between and content of different identity groups

are seen as natural entities (ibid194) The concept of lived experience fails to answer questions

of who we are and why while the existence of these categories should be questioned in

themselves Thus acting based on ideas of lived experience and ldquoepistemic privilegerdquo (Young

200427) risks both treating identity as essentialist and constructing group attributes as

embodied truths and ignore difference in lived experience within groups (Voronka 2016196)

Thus Voronka (ibid197) argued

we need to mark how rsquopeople with lived experiencersquo [as a concept my note] risks

reproducing and replicating systems of domination that privileges subjects and

subjectivities that fit closely within the White heteropatriarchal matrix of ruling

Voronkarsquos experiences come from academia but the ideas can be applied to other contexts as

well Theories of situated knowledge can be extracted from the abstract epistemological level

and transformed into a concept more suitable and applicable for everyday situations and as will

be seen in the analysis this theme is highly present in the statements by the study participants

in the form of interpretation privilege (See section 5 Results and analysis)

4 Methodology

The study builds on phenomenological approach and aims to understand a social phenomenon

by interpreting the different meanings ascribed to it by the participant whose lived experience

is in focus for the analysis (Creswell amp Poth 2018150) Thus the focus of the study is not the

BLM movement itself but to understand the experience of the allies The study is abductive

21

meaning the research process was iterative - going back and forth between empirical findings

and theoretical background The aim of abductive analysis is often to generate theory by

cultivating already existing theories together with the surprising results found in the data

collection that are in turn reinterpreted through the revisited theoretical insights (Timmermans

amp Tavory 2012169 173-6) One important aspect of abduction is to revisit the phenomenon

as it can lead to new insights For example when the first couple of interviews were done the

lack of response to one specific question was interpreted as missing data But when the

transcripts were revisited after some additional previous research had been read I realized the

unanswered question was not missing data ndash it was data in itself This realization affected how

the data collection moved forward as the focus narrowed down on the ally role and its

limitations

41 Data collection

The data collection was done by conducting qualitative interviews with 11 self-identified White

allies to understand their perspective experiences and thoughts about their participation The

interviews were in average 010245 in length and they were conducted during a five-week

period The interviews were semi-structured guided by an interview guide without following

it in detail which creates room for flexibility This ensured both consistency between the

interviews and individual variations depending on the interviewee (Turner 2010755) The

interview guide had open-ended questions and covered three main themes (political

background identity emotions) Some questions related to relevant concepts for example they

were asked ldquoIn your perspective what is an allyrdquo The purpose was not to evaluate the

participants academic understanding of the term but to have them reflect upon their own

perceptions and thereby gain insight into their political thinking and its effect on their ally role

Other questions were about experiences such as ldquoCould you tell me about your participation in

the BLM movementrdquo and ldquoWhat emotional responses did you have when this happenedrdquo

Some parts of the interview focused on the BLM movement specifically but since the antiracist

ally identity was often developed before BLM started it also included more general experiences

of antiracist allyship At the end of each interview the participants were given a chance discuss

things important to them The limitation of interview data is that it is not a representation of the

world lsquoout therersquo but only a representation of how the interviewees describe their experiences

and these can be shaped by indefinite number of things beyond the scope of this thesis

22

All interviews were digitally conducted Although digital interviewing is often presented as a

second choice there are benefits to it For example Howlett (20217-8) noticed how the safe

environment of the home made the participants more relaxed and that the interviews also tended

to be both longer and richer in detail than offline interviews One could however imagine how

the opposite effect could occur if the home environment is unsafe or unfit for long

conversations The interviews took place more than a year into the pandemic and people were

thus more familiar with digital communication technologies than they were in the beginning

(ibid10) The pandemic was topic for small talk before the interviews started and our shared

experience with it created some sense of commonality and a relaxed atmosphere where potential

technical issues or disturbances were met with recognition from the other party Despite the

surprisingly positive experience with digital interviewing and as well as the rich data gathered

it is still important to recognize how the quality could have been even better with physical

interviews

The interviews were all conducted on Zoom and recorded in the software The interviews were

transcribed in full verbatim meaning that false starters stutters laughter and pauses were

included Such utterances are clues to how the participants feel about what they are telling and

should be treated as data

42 Sample

The sampling for this study is based on one inclusion criterion motivated by the purpose of the

study the criterion being White ally identification (Creswell amp Poth 201881 157) To base

the inclusion criterion on self-identification could potentially lead to low validity in terms of

not achieving a sample that represents the group one wishes to study by excluding those who

engage in ally work without identifying as such To ensure that the people included in the study

were lsquorealrsquo allies the criterion could have been having a certain amount of experience from ally

work or similar However this was a methodological choice motivated by reflections by

Craddock (2019) who studied activism Craddock learned that including the term activist in

her participant letter excluded people who - despite being very active - did not dare to call

themselves activists due to the high standard of what lsquorealrsquo activism is Especially women feel

that they cannot live up to the ideal and therefore they do not recognize their own activist

identity (Craddock 2019138-42) Therefore anyone who identified as an ally was allowed to

participate without evaluating or judging their level of participants

23

The sampling method was mixed consisting of convenience sampling and snowball sampling

(Creswell amp Poth 2018159) First an email was sent to the Swedish BLM organizationrsquos

official email telling them about the study and asking if they had any recommendations of

where participants could be found This email got no response Different Facebook groups were

chosen as lsquofieldsrsquo to sample in Personal acquaintances were also asked to participate The

choice of Facebook groups related to both convenience and lack of access to physical fields to

sample in and because much of the activism related to BLM took place online The Facebook

groups were all limited demographically (open only for women and non-binary people) and

they all had explicit value-systems with feminist anti-racist intersectional orientations Some

groups were simple support-and-chat groups some had a more political purpose (without party

connections) One participant was found in the comments section on a Facebook page that

relates to antiracism and contacted from there and a few were snowball sampled Recruiting

participants in online forums creates a problematic balance between transparency and

anonymity if too detailed information about the specific sampling sites is revealed the

participants identities can be spoiled due to traceability Thus the names of these Facebook

groups or pages cannot be revealed The groups were known to me beforehand as I am myself

a member in them and therefore had access to the lsquofieldrsquo which reduced the time and effort

spent on sampling If this study were a netnography with digital data to analyze it would be

problematic because my interpretation would be tainted by my personal experiences in the

groups but since the data itself was not related to the specific groups or the participants activity

in these groups it is less problematic

This digital convenience sampling limits the groups included in the sampling frame which

creates a skewed sample in terms of for example gender The complementary snowball

sampling creates a similar problem with homogeneity because of the tendency of participants

to recommend people who are like themselves As a result people with academic backgrounds

in social sciences and humanities are overrepresented in this sample The first interviewee Lisa

works in the international aid sector and she put me in touch with some old classmates and

colleagues which contributed to the skewed sample However the sampling method does not

aim to reach a randomized sample that is representative of the Swedish population in general

but instead a purposeful selection of people with certain experiences (Creswell amp Poth

2018272)

The final sample included people of different genders (9 female 1 male and 1 non-binary)

ages (22-36) education (from high school diploma to MA-degrees) and occupation (traditional

24

working-class occupations or white-collar jobs) They lived in or originated from different parts

of Sweden with one currently living in South Africa They also had very different backgrounds

in regards of political engagement some of them had been organized voluntarily or

professionally in multiple movements and civil society organizations some are or have been

active in party politics and some had their political experience mainly in online discussions

43 Coding and analysis

After all interviews were transcribed the data was coded in Excel using the guidelines for

phenomenological analysis presented called horizonalization (Creswell amp Poth 2018201

Moustakas 1994118) Horizonalization means creating a broad base or platform of equally

important statements to capture the experiences of the participants In phenomenological

studies coding and analysis should preferably be inductive highlighting ldquosignificant

statements sentences and quotesrdquo (Creswell amp Poth 201879) instead of deductively trying to

apply hypotheses or theories onto the data

The coding followed the subsequent steps First each transcript was read one at a time and

important statements were added in a quote-column in Excel (see Image 1) Following the

quote-column were categorical columns based on different themes from the interviews The 12

categories were Background Activity in BLM Identity Role Pandemic Emotion Motivation

Introspection BLM organization Balance Problems and Other There was also a column for

especially good quotes which were marked with an lsquoxrsquo In each column (for example ldquoRolerdquo)

inductively created codes were entered An example can be seen in Image 1

The coding was kept close to the data and focus was to create codes that described the specifics

of each statement instead of keeping the number of codes down which created some overlap

Image 1 Visual representation of the coding strategy

After the 11 interviews were coded the data included 243 quotes in 12 categories In order to

structure the analysis according to relevant topics themes were created out of the codes based

on representativeness and uniqueness These themes provided the basis for the interpretation

25

and analysis For example the previously mentioned code ldquoNot surerdquo was grouped together

with the code ldquoDecided by othersrdquo (in the column ldquoRolerdquo) and analyzed together because they

were interpreted as expressions of the same phenomenon eg insecurity regarding what the

role should contain (Moustakas 1994118)

After the coding which is a big part of the analysis itself the most relevant and interesting

themes were further analyzed This was related to observed regularities in statements being

repeated among several participants and novelty or lsquosurprise factorrsquo Whereas the coding was

unrelated to any specific theory the deeper analysis of the different themes was done parallel

to exploring theory The theories came into the process at different stages Giddensrsquo theory of

modernity and ontological security was explored after the initial coding before starting the

writing process of the analysis based on the pattern of insecurity and reflexivity among the

participantsrsquo descriptions of how they make decisions on how to act as an ally Thereafter the

concept of situated knowledge was introduced after all material had initially been analyzed and

written down in a first draft and the recurring use of the term interpretation privilege

(tolkningsfoumlretraumlde) caught my interest The focus was therefore the themes related to

interpretation privilege and how the participants made sense of the term as well as the different

aspects they had to balance because of their emphasis on interpretation privilege in the final

analysis

44 Ethical considerations

Research should be guided by ethical principles to ensure the safety of the participants and the

quality of the research The most important aspects include consent confidentiality and

anonymity Informed consent means that the participant must be given full information about

what participation means and they must be given the chance to both give and withdraw their

consent during or after the interview The researcher must tell the truth about the purpose of the

study and the participant can choose to leave any unwanted questions unanswered

(Vetenskapsraringdet 201710 16) All participants were given a letter with information about the

study which was again repeated verbally right before the interview The second important

aspect confidentiality means that all information and data must be handled safely and not be

shared with unauthorized people (ibid40) The data was stored on a password protected

computer and no personal information was saved along with the transcripts And finally

anonymity means that the identity of the participants must be concealed for example by giving

26

them new names or changing identifying details in their statements (ibid13) Both of my

sampling methods (digital convenience and snowball) can threaten the anonymity of the

participants because they become traceable either to those who were lsquosnowballedrsquo into the study

or those who were found online (see chapter 42 Sample)

In more qualitative terms the researcher must make fair interpretations of the statements made

by participants and be transparent with how conclusions were made This ensures both

transparency in a scientific standpoint and the well-being of the participants (Vetenskapsraringdet

201710) Related to this it is important to recognize how the analysis may affect the

participants for example Creswell and Poth (2018228) argue that there is always a risk that

participants feel bothered by the way their statements have been interpreted in relation to theory

and previous research and especially in a sensitive topic such as politics identity and emotions

In order to minimize this risk the interpretations will both be rooted in theory and previous

research and include alternative evidence and interpretations

45 Methodological reflexivity

Reflexivity requires researchers to be aware of and transparent about their own biases in their

interpretations as well as scrutinizing their power in relation to the research participants

(Creswell amp Poth 2018201 228) Besides the inherent power in the relation between

researcher and participants no specific power dynamics existed in this study The researcher

must reflect upon their own position (gender class race and similar) and how it affects the

way the research is conducted and how the results are interpreted (ibid228) Being reflexive

thus becomes a way to increase validity by clarifying where researcher bias may have affected

the results (ibid261) Evidence that contradicts the arguments made in the analysis has been

included to avoid bias The idea of researcher reflexivity builds on the epistemological approach

of social constructivism where knowledge is not seen as a neutral or objective but a subjective

socially embedded practice shaped by the lived experience of the author and the participants It

also means that self-criticism and self-consciousness is crucial aspects of qualitative

interpretive research (Lynch 200029-36)

According to Moustakas (1994103-4) reflexivity should guide every step in the

phenomenological research project including choice of topic it must have autobiographical

relevance to the researcher who must be genuinely curious and passionate about the

phenomenon ndash and of course be transparent about these motives The choice of BLM as an

27

empirical example in this study was based on my own experiences from the spring of 2020 I

was just as my respondents and many others very moved by the events that transpired and I

did too participate in some online actions such as checking myself into the US Ambassy on

Facebook to show my support of the movement I followed the news and read everything I

found on social media out of both political sympathy and sociological fascination I wanted to

know more about why the activism looked like it did and how others felt about being part of

it Being able to be fascinated in times of collective grief and trauma for Black people is of

course a privilege that I am aware of I can afford to be distanced towards and critical of the

antiracist movement and how it does or does not invite people to engage themselves in it

because my survival or well-being does not depend on it I aim to be respectful in my

interpretations and descriptions of the movement and its participants

46 Limitations

Instead of aiming to evaluate qualitative research by the same criteria as quantitative studies

there are adjusted validation practices for the specific approach of the study To assure good

quality for qualitative phenomenological studies phenomenological concepts should be used

properly understood and recommended methods should be followed Besides from engaging

in reflexive analysis it is also important to offer descriptive richness and interpretive depth

(Creswell amp Poth 2018272-82) There are also different validation strategies for qualitative

research The researcher can use triangulation to strengthen the stability of the results identify

disconfirming cases and clarify researcher reflexivity (ibid260-1) Member checking and

collaborating with participants can also strengthen the validity (ibid162 Arribas Lozano

2018455-6) All participants were informed of their right to see the transcripts and the analysis

if they wished but they were not contacted with the explicit purpose of checking the finished

results due to time Another aspect is reliability meaning how robust the results of the study

would be if someone else replicated the study (Creswell amp Poth 2018164-5) In the case of

qualitative studies where the researcher is intertwined with the interpretations the probability

of someone else reaching the exact same result is small but thick descriptions of methodology

and the data increases reliability somewhat The generalizability of qualitative studies is often

low and especially so when the sample is skewed The results of this study should be considered

valid only for the group studied since the results could have been different with different

28

representations of gender or class for example However with a purposeful sample of people

with a certain experience the goal is not generalizability beyond the group

Another potential issue is the fact that the quotes from the interviews included in this thesis

have been translated from Swedish to English which means that there is a risk that some of the

core meanings of the quotes may have been spoiled or changed However the analysis was

done on the Swedish transcripts making sure the interpretations were made on the original

material Thus the problem of translating quotes is mainly a problem of communicating the

results to the reader in the same form they appeared in the analysis process of the original

material

5 Results and analysis

As explained in the methods section (43 Coding and analysis) the analysis was gradually

turning toward the themes of a) interpretation privilege and b) how the notion of interpretation

privilege affects the leeway for action These themes will be the focus of the analysis which

will show that although the allies experience their allyship as important and meaningful they

sometimes struggle to find a path for themselves in their attempt to be lsquogoodrsquo allies Their

commitment to respecting interpretation privilege helps them live up the to the ally role as

supporters of Black people in general but it limits the leeway in which they are able to act

independently as political agents But first some general findings on how the allies think about

their role will be presented which primarily relates to the first research question about the

experiences of ally work

The overall experience of allyship is that the ally identity is surrounded by purpose community

and positive experiences They are all highly committed to and well-educated about the cause

Being part of the movement feels meaningful and even like rdquoa privilege to be able to be a part

of it and listen and learnrdquo as Lisa says She describes her emotional experiences

First there was a lot of frustration I think And then there was this powerfulhellip

some kind of like rsquowowrsquo there were a lot of chills there for a while [laughs]

because people really came together

29

Sam shares the experience of initial frustration and pain They describe the feeling when their

frustration and anger transformed into hope like ldquofree fallingrdquo ndash the realization that they were a

part of a group with so many sympathizers made it feel like change was possible

Most ally work was performed online and consisted of acts such as sharing information

knowledge and opinions participating in online seminars and meetings signing petitions and

lsquochecking inrsquo at the US Embassy in Stockholm on Facebook as part of a global protest act To

signal their support for the movement they occasionally used hashtags such as

blacklivesmatter and blackouttuesday All participants got most of their information from

social media in line with the general trend in contemporary activism (Ahmed et al 2017447

Heldman 201788) Previous research emphasizes the important role of emotions in social

movement mobilization and all participants in this study recognized how constant access to

heartbreaking stories virtual proof of mistreatment and a global sense of community provided

by social media motivated them to act (see for example Russo 2014)

Some interviewees also participated outside of social media by attending physical

demonstrations (Sam Sara and Emma) It is impossible to say how many of the interviewees

would have attended had there not been a global pandemic However as digital activism has

become dominating in contemporary social movements (Jaumlmte et al 2020371-2) the low rate

of physical protest among the participants in this study should not be attributed to the pandemic

alone For example Lucas says he has not been to as many demonstrations over the last years

as he would have wanted because of work and other circumstances Amanda says she has

always seen herself as an activist as someone who does what otherrsquos lacks the energy or

resources to do but that she is ldquonot the person who attends demos you knowrdquo And Caroline

who is involved in several organizations besides her antiracist engagement even experiences

that the pandemic has made participation easier for her since it can now be done from home ndash

a point Alva agrees with as she experiences difficulties joining offline protests due to physical

illness Thus the effects of the Covid pandemic are not exclusively negative and limiting Apart

from the different demonstrations the allies also emphasized how implementing antiracist ideas

into their everyday behavior and their professional lives is crucial to be a good ally

The main motivator for their allyship is the notion of privilege All interviewees refer to

themselves as White and relate it to privilege an increasingly common tendency and a

prerequisite for antiracist commitment among Whites (Cole 20201627 Spanierman amp Smith

2017608-9) Lisa describes herself as a ldquoprivileged White woman raised in a middle-class

homerdquo and she says that she faced few obstacles growing up and Sam argues that their White

30

identity gives them platforms and privileges many Black people lack Therefore they use their

social media to amplify the voices of Black people sharing their voices stories and

perspectives Amplifying voices of marginalized groups has been recognized in research as one

of the main tasks for allies (Arora amp Stout 2019390 Bhattacharyya et al 202012 Clark

2019528-31)

The argument of amplifying Black voices as a way to utilize onersquos privilege is twofold First

the participants see their privilege as an opportunity to reach out to fellow Whites who they

expect will listen more to their White counterparts than they would to a Black person which is

confirmed in previous research (see for example Arora amp Stout 2019 Linder amp Johnson 2015)

For example Lucas says

Us Whites who are not affected by racism we have to stand up and show that itrsquos

not OK to spread racism If we donrsquot therersquoll never be any change because

sometimes it feels like people listen more to [hellip] a White person confirming that

what a Black person says is true

Sam shares this reasoning and they actively try to reach people with ldquodeeply racist prejudicerdquo

who would ldquonever listen to a Black personrdquo According to Haraway (1988577) subjugated

groups are deprived the privilege of assumed objectivity and reduced to their position as

inherently linked to and epistemologically limited by their social position in a way the dominant

groups are not Subjugated knowledge must always be fought for in terms of recognition

(Collins 1990414) and the allies in this study is dedicated to doing so in order to reduce the

impact of their own privilege and increase the outreach of Black people Katrin recognizes how

this process of validation of knowledge based on power is an unequal process where Black

people are seen as unreliable because they are ldquoacting out of self-interestrdquo whereas White

people are assigned more credibility Recognizing these mechanisms does not mean that the

interviewees accept them they use words such as ldquoterriblerdquo and ldquodisgustingrdquo to describe the

phenomenon and they feel both guilty about having these privileges and motivated to use them

for good which has been recognized as a potential effect of guilt in previous research (Dull et

al 20211081-84) However acknowledging this epistemic hierarchy is not an automatic

renouncing of privilege but can instead reinforce racist structures by assuming the assigned

value of White knowledge is higher and thus seeing the role of White allies as more important

than that of Black people in fighting racism (see Collins 1009)

31

The second aspect of White privilege in antiracist activism is as recognized by the interviewees

the fact that the costs of engaging are much lower for White people than they are for Black

simply because one does not risk facing racism as a response to speaking up (Drury amp Kaiser

2014642) For example Sam says they saw their ability to participate in the demonstration as

a privilege ndash not everyone can be sure to get home safe if they choose to attend a demo due to

the potential threat of police harassment or counter-protestors These costs are further lowered

by the fact that most ally work is done online Sara for example says that it enables her to

ldquotake the fightrdquo without ending up in situations too uncomfortable or even dangerous

Essentially the privilege of being listened to and the lower cost of speaking up for White allies

motivates specific responsibilities assigned to ally work but it also risks reproducing racist

hierarchies by assigning White knowledge higher value The remainder of the analysis will

focus on how these responsibilities are put into practice and what may limit the allies in their

attempts to do ally work

51 Balancing ally work

Related to the second research question is to what extent the allies feel like they are entitled to

act in the movement and this following section aims to show what different aspects affect this

perception Based on the ideas about privilege and responsibility the difficulties in balancing

different strategies of ally work will now be analyzed Although it may seem self-explanatory

what allies should do based on the previous section ndash use their privilege to raise their voices

against racist discrimination ndash the experiences of the interviewed allies shows that it is more

complicated than at first glance They must balance different strategies which can be defined

as following

A Listen but do not exploit

B Help but do not hijack

C Step down but do not become paralyzed

These three points represent how different ally assignments presented by the interviewees are

at some point met with objections or disclaimers There are a multitude of examples in the

interviews but the above-mentioned strategies are the most representative and common For

analytical and stylistic purposes they will be presented in a step-by-step form but they should

not be understood as linear or causal The relationship between these aspects is much more

32

complicated which the analysis aims to demonstrate Before analyzing these three strategies

the concept that serves as an implicit (sometimes explicit) point of departure for most decisions

by the allies should be accounted for namely the concept of interpretation privilege

511 Interpretation privilege

In all interviews there is an assumption about what kind of knowledge is legitimate knowledge

and interpretations based on interpretation privilege (tolkningsfoumlretraumlde in Swedish) 9 of the

11 interviewees explicitly mention the term but the theme is discussed in all interviews This

means that despite their academic degrees years of professional experience in human rights

work or their genuine interest for social justice issues the interviewees recognize how their

lack of lived experience reduces their ability to fully understand the issue of racism The idea

of interpretation privilege is interpreted here as a translation of ideas about situated knowledge

(Collins 1990408) lived experience (Voronka 2016194) and power into everyday political

lingo This idea is expressed continuously throughout the interviews as a part of their political

reasoning and it guides how they relate to their role as allies Katrin explains

It is not the same thing to understand racism by reading about it or by seeing or

hearing about othersrsquo experiences as it is to carry it in the body It will never be

possible for me to understand that

Interpretation privilege then helps allies understand and accept their own inability to fully

comprehend racism and it creates respect towards the testimonies made by people who

experiences racism However knowing that one lacks access to a full understanding also

contributes to self-doubt about the ally role and the work associated with it Caroline who

studies to become a psychologist tells me she has some concerns about being a White

psychologist treating Black patients Her professors claim psychologists do not need to share

the patientsrsquo experiences but Caroline is doubtful

ldquoI as a White person will never be able to fully understand being constantly

vigilant as a Black person in Sweden not knowing what the day will be like to

constantly be exposed to microaggressions and discrimination and even worse

abuse every dayhelliprdquo

Accepting interpretation privilege as the fact that if one is not exposed to racism one will never

know exactly what it feels like is empathetic and sensitive to the lived experience of Black

33

people It means respecting the ways Black people make sense of and deal with their own

experiences of oppression without claiming to know better However for the participants in

this study it often leads them to disregard all kinds of personal opinions thoughts or ideas

about what racism is and what should be done about it simply because they lack lived

experience of racism The participants sometimes struggle to balance their own knowledge

against the opinions and experiences of Black people Caroline again

Itrsquos this thing about interpreting different actions ndash is this a racist action or not

Well thatrsquos not up to me [hellip] And I think that interpretation privilege in general

in social media too that you just donrsquot go in and interpret what is right and wrong

Here the lack of interpretation privilege disqualifies Caroline from even deciding whether she

finds something right or wrong although such judgements are foundational in political thinking

Interpretation privilege also decides the legitimacy of actions according to Sara she argues

that whereas it is the job of White allies to speak up against other Whites the meaning of the

action is not the same as if a Black person would do it Essentially if a White ally wants to

stand up against racism it should be with a disclaimer

I think it is important to be like lsquothis is my understanding of it but I donrsquot have

interpretation privilegersquo just to create some awareness that I donrsquot have any

right to think anything - Emma

Some participants strip themselves of their agency by retreating to the idea that their

perspectives thoughts and ideas do not matter Lisa tells me that she sometimes censors herself

by not posting or sharing certain things because she feels like she has too little knowledge She

also stays out of debates she is interested in because she ldquodoes not feel [she] has the right to say

something or make a statement in these issuesrdquo Another example of how allies renounce their

political agency can be represented by Sara who tells me that when she saw my participant

message she was concerned that I searched for lsquoself-identified alliesrsquo In her perspective the

label lsquoallyrsquo is not something that one can claim independently one must earn it by being

recognized as such by a Black person Zhelnina (2020361) points to the importance of activists

growing independence emotional confidence and autonomy in their political interpretations

for a movement to successfully mobilize and in a discourse where one does not even possess

the right to claim allyship to a political movement this type of independence and confidence

may be difficult to develop

34

Another important aspect is the conflict that arises when people with interpretation privilege

disagree within the group Lucas says he has met Black people who defend the right to use

racial slurs That does not mean he accept this as true and uses these words himself but he

acknowledges that these situations could be problematic The multitude of perspectives to

consider especially considering the global character of the movement and its social media

presence it becomes difficult to decide what to believe in And when those who have been

assigned authority in this case Black people with interpretation privilege it becomes even

harder The reflexive globalized world with endless sources of information with sometimes

contradictory messages makes it hard to navigate (Giddens 1991138) This problem also

relates to what Voronka (2016196) described as essentialist tendencies when using the concept

of lived experience as a criterion for inclusion With social media where almost unlimited

information is always accessible to the individual the effort to develop independent

interpretations becomes unnecessary and in the case of the White allies insensitive

However it should be noted that although the idea of interpretation privilege is present in all

interviews the participants are also aware that other types of knowledge such as skills from

previous experience in social movements or academic judicial or general professional

knowledge is important Many of them say that they do feel confident of the practical abilities

they have built up over many years of activism and civil society work and Alva among others

points to how she would like to take on the role of fixing practical organizational tasks for the

BLM movement if she were to become more involved in the future Thus there is no validity

in claiming that the interviewees lack all sorts of self-esteem in their ally identity and that they

completely disregard other types of knowledge as Lucas says ldquointerpretation privilege is not

everythingrdquo Still statements such as ldquoI donrsquot have any right to think anythingrdquo or rdquoItrsquos this

thing about interpreting actions ndash is this racist or not Well thatrsquos not up to merdquo are common

in the interviews Although many of the participants can be interpreted as having ontological

security in terms of knowing what they are good at they cannot translate this into a practical

consciousness that guides their actions in a natural manner which creates ontological insecurity

and passivity (Giddens 199144) This relates to findings about lack of lived experience as

leading to potential insensitivity to discrimination which the interviewees recognize in

themselves (Drury amp Kaiser 2014369-42) In theories of situated knowledge it is emphasized

how a multitude of perspectives is needed and that subjugated groups do not have natural access

to hidden truths (Haraway 1988583-6 Young 199027) The disregarding of White ally

perspectives due to lack of lived experience is thus not inherent in the theories themselves but

35

rather something that seems to occur along the popularized interpretation of the term as it is

translated into everyday political lingo as interpretation privilege

So in navigating what to do as an ally while being committed to the idea of interpretation

privilege the first strategy for good ally work is formulated listening

512 Listen but do not exploit

So drawing upon the notion of interpretation privilege the appropriate way to consume

information about racial issues and determining what to do is by listening to Black people

Listening itself becomes not only a way to retrieve information and insight but a political

practice that reflects power structures and identity It becomes a way to renounce onersquos owns

privilege and instead assigning the power of being heard to others (see Collins 1990 Haraway

1988 Young 2004) Sam explains

I as a White person will never be able to sit there and decide what is right and

wrong when it comes to Black experiences or just non-White experiences Irsquove got

nothing to say about that I know nothing about it I just donrsquot What I can do is

listen and learn and I need to take the initiative as a student in this subject

Listening and taking a step back represents successful allyship according to Lucas because it

means both getting access to the right information and showing emotional support and respect

for people exposed to racism Listening is a powerful way to use onersquos White privilege

respecting the interpretation privilege of Black people and redirecting some of the privilege

and power associated to onersquos whiteness to Black people which is one of the main assignments

of allies (Brown amp Ostrove 20132211) But apart from being a virtuous alternative strategy

for allies it is also a relatively effortless option compared to other types of activism such as

participating in demonstrations Effective unproblematic and ideologically right a seemingly

perfect strategy to apply as a White ally

However it is not that simple listening is not only an act of rejecting the power associated to

onersquos racial identity but also hauntingly close to exploitation of Black experience according

to the interviewees The problem of freeriding and exploiting or capitalizing on the stories of

subjugated groups has been acknowledged in previous research on allyship (Clark 2019530

Linder amp Johnson 20159) For example Lisa argues that White people should be careful

36

talking about racism as if they could understand it and instead listen to what Black people say

- but at the same time she says it quickly becomes counterproductive

Black Swedes are not supposed to have to educate me about the racism they

experience because in that case what do I really demand from a Black person

Lou has the same idea and she tells me about how she used to ask her Black partner many

lsquodumbrsquo questions but that she realized that this means that she puts the burden of educating her

on him Sara avoids asking her Black friends about how she as a White ally can help because

that puts too much responsibility on those Black friends Amanda tells me she is after having

listened to one of the biggest antiracist podcasts Raseriet afraid of being one of lsquothose White

peoplersquo who demand to be taught about racism from Black people After all they all agree that

racism is a problem White people created and a problem for White people to solve ndash the

responsibility should not land on Black people As Emma says

Itrsquos essentially White peoplersquos problem itrsquos White people who built the structures

we are protesting [hellip] Itrsquos not Black people who are supposed to stand there and

scream their lungs out about Black Lives Matter but itrsquos about White people

needing to get together and saying like lsquonow we have to fix this because we

created itrsquo

So while trying to balance interpretation privilege the participants easily stumble into another

pitfall Listening as ally work increases the risk of becoming a burden on Black people by

depending on them for education explanations and guidance and exploiting their knowledge

and lived experience for self-improvement which also reinforces racist structures Black people

are implicitly seen as political objects rather than subjects inevitably crushed under the pressure

of White questions and demands and in need of White protection The point of allyship is to

make life and activism easier for Black people not the other way around which brings us to

another strategy of allyship to balance helping

513 Help but do not hijack

Based on the idea that listening as political practice can become exploitative and freeriding the

allies land in the conclusion that helping is the main assignment for allies They motivate this

by referring to their own privileges However as this section will show helping as a political

practice is also surrounded by potential problems

37

The idea of helping as ally work relates again to the idea that the costs of confronting racism is

lower for White people than for Black people (Drury amp Kaiser 2014642) as well as the

realization that White people are granted more respect and legitimacy when advocating for

antiracist causes (Arora amp Stout 2019390) Helping consists of claiming co-responsibility of

changing society protecting Black people from painful experiences and deal with the racism

of White people For example if an ally hears someone being racist they must speak up Sara

tries to do so because she does not want to add to any Black personrsquos burden of having to take

every fight themselves Emma argues that it is not Black peoplersquos responsibility to keep the

movement alive and therefore it is important that White people speak up She thinks ldquoit feels

stupid if White people would just sit around and wait for initiatives cause then you donrsquot do

anything goodrdquo If Black people are left alone with total responsibility of changing institutions

and organizations in Loursquos experience that usually puts Black people in situations where the

risk of being exposed to racism is high and without the support system of allies to help

Although all interviewees describe different ways of helping and supporting Black people and

the BLM movement as a main task for allies such statements are often followed by a disclaimer

For example they say ldquoitrsquos this balance that you being White shouldnrsquot go in and take overrdquo

(Emma) and ldquoWe should support we should be there we should recognize and lift the issues

But we should not be the main actorsrdquo (Alva) One of the most common phrases in the

interviews were lsquothat is not my placersquo This reasoning is present regardless of what types of

actions the interviewees talk about both high-level activism in formal organizations or

representing the movement in media and everyday civil courage such as speaking up against

racist comments in the workplace Sara adds to her statement about wanting to speak up to help

Black people saying that she ldquoalso has to leave room for Black people to act and not trying to

be like lsquoI know best now so let me explain racismrsquordquo Amanda shares similar thoughts saying

Itrsquos important that this can be a movement that Black people own themselves and

that itrsquos not something us White people can just barge into and take over Itrsquos a

balancing between goodwill and wanting to help and to not barge in and be like

lsquoThis is what racism isrsquo

Amanda has worked in organizations who educate people in moral courage and antiracism for

a few years and she has much experience in this type of political work But when she is

contacted in her role as an antiracist educator and asked to hold a course in a workplace she

doubts herself She feels that she must lsquowarnrsquo them about her whiteness ldquoI have to start by

38

saying that Irsquom White Irsquoll never be able to talk about racism like a Black person couldrdquo During

spring of 2020 she started to think about her role again she tells me She concluded that ldquothis

is not my place this organization is not my place but I could do activism in other waysrdquo In

most interviews there are similar reasonings for example Bea explains how she is not against

White people organizing against racism but that she

would not be very comfortable doing it or starting an appeal or initiative like

lsquoWhites in support for Black Lives Matterrsquo because thatrsquos nothellip thatrsquos claiming

space and attention

Katrin said that she in her work at an equality foundation had to weigh her wish to do

something against the risk of ldquotaking over a voice that was just starting to build uprdquo and Lou

who works in HR criticizes her own attempts to implement antiracist ideas at her workplace

because she doubts if she has any right to ldquoclaim that we have to work with so-called diversity

issuesrdquo or ldquobe that voice in a White roomrdquo Emma mentions ldquosupporting without taking overrdquo

as the most important aspect of ally work This is an important part of allyship being

supportive standing by Black peoplersquos side acknowledging oppression raising the issues but

without being the protagonists of the movement as Alva explains Lisa agrees she asks herself

rdquoIs this my space to claim I donrsquot know am I supposed to march in the frontline when it comes

to this issue like Irsquom not so sure about thatrdquo In these statements it is implicitly assumed that

if Whites wanted to take over from Black people they easily could (even unconsciously) and

this implies Black people are less resilient as political actors

These arguments are often motivated by their own experiences with men taking space in

feminist movements They think about the way they want men to act and applies the same

reasoning to their own allyship

If this was about feminism and there was a dude telling me this or doing this that

Irsquom talking about now [taking over authorrsquos note] how would I react then [hellip]

I find it odd when female feminists feel like they have to pay tribute to and psyche

up male feminists I donrsquot think male feminists should need that And I feel the

same way about like Black people shouldnrsquot have to care about me at all it may

sound weird but I donrsquot do it for them itrsquos other Whites I want to affect ndash Katrin

Allies often use their own identities and social positions to understand other types of oppression

and although it seems to function as a source of empathy and compassion for the other group

as well as regulating ones ally behavior it is important to acknowledge that lived experience of

39

sexism does not mean inevitable understanding of experiences of racism (Spanierman amp Smith

2017608-10) which the allies mention themselves

This section shows that the strategy of helping is not as straight-forward and easily managed as

first described but instead associated with a big risk lsquoWhat if I take over What does it say

about me if I dordquo They engage in reflexive identity construction without being ontologically

secure eg without having a ldquopractical consciousnessrdquo or ldquonatural attituderdquo that guides how to

act This creates anxiety and fear of doing and thus being wrong (Giddens 199136) All

participants agree that although allies are important in creating change the movement is and

should be a Black space Although they are confident in these believes and dedicated to living

up to these ideals they are still afraid of unintentionally taking over or hijacking the movement

despite their wish to simply help and support the movement from the background To minimize

the risk of being one of those White allies who barges in and takes over the allies make sure to

balance this by taking a step back and leaving room for Black people to lead the way

514 Take a step back but do not become paralyzed

The choice to take a step back following the alliesrsquo reasoning about claiming space and taking

over means that they are more and more evolving toward a state of allyship where few actions

are legitimate and unproblematic This can be interpreted as a sign that the strategies described

previously (listening and helping) are not part of the alliesrsquo practical consciousness and that

engaging in such ally work is experienced as difficult and frightening due to ontological

insecurity This often leads to passivity (Giddens 199144) Taking a step back is described as

lsquoleaving room forrsquo Black people and it consists of listening (which as previous sections of the

analysis show is not seen as entirely unproblematic) and sharing the perspectives of Black

people for example in social media but without claiming a frontline position in the movement

These are two strategies that reduces the influence of White voices on the antiracist discourse

Taking a step back and leaving room for Black people is a way to denounce the privilege of

being listened to (Arora amp Stout 2019294-5) and reducing the power gap between dominant

and subjugated groups in terms of knowledge production (Collins 1990408)

However the interviewees testify to how the strategy to take a step back is often (but not

always) a shortcut to passivity Katrin who works in an equality foundation dealing with issues

of sexism and racism tells me what happened in her organization when choosing the take-a-

step-back approach by sharing articles Instagram posts and other materials created by Black

40

people and thus engaging in amplification of Black voices (Clark 2019528-31) They were

later criticized for ldquonot doing more not talking about it more screaming more sharing

morehelliprdquo They tried to do the right thing but failed Katrin wonders if they should have done

something of their own something bigger while also acknowledging how it would be

problematic of them to claim the spotlight

The allies worry about their own tendencies to become passive because of trying to navigate

among the different strategies Katrin explains this mechanism as a process where learning

about privilege and power creates an insight of onersquos own role in this power structure

ldquoYou realize that lsquoI have power I have responsibility and I do not have

interpretation privilegersquo and that makes you so scared to do anything wrong that

you end up doing nothing at allrdquo

She describes the insights as ldquoparalyzingrdquo and this experience is shared by more of the

interviewees and found in previous research (Brown amp Ostrove 20132220) Emma says that

it is a complex question that she thinks about a lot and that she has not yet landed in any

conclusions about what she should be doing as an ally but she knows that she must avoid

becoming paralyzed However it could be reflexivity itself that leads to such passivity

(Giddens 199144) Political background does not affect this mechanism as it is observed in

those with no prior experience as well as those with years of activism In some ways having

more prior experience can even make it harder to navigate the ally role because the roles

previously taken are no longer open to you as White Alva explains

Irsquom so used to being in the front and in the middle and being in the back is not

really like how I have been engaged before Irsquom not really used to it and to have

my role defined as being in the backseat in the back of the bus as Whitehellip [hellip] I

havenrsquot done that before And Irsquove struggled to find my role ndash what can I do

Cause I feel my hands are tied behind my back a little I would love to do more but

at the same time my interest cannot decide what the main issue should be Itrsquos all

about knowing your role and your place and being very sensitive to when people

tell you to back away or step up

At the end of each interview they were asked What would you like to see for the movement in

the future I got many analytical answers but some responded by saying like Alva ldquoItrsquos hard

for me to answer because Irsquom White I donrsquot know what needs to be focused on right now and

Irsquom not the right person to askrdquo Lisa says rdquoI donrsquot feel I have the right to speak on this or like

41

debate this issuerdquo Amanda does not answer the question either and refers to how it would be

inappropriate for her to try to decide what the movement should be about Interestingly she

notices how this perspective is only present in her relation to antiracism as she has worked for

LGBTQ-rights for years despite identifying as straight She cannot point out what is different

when it comes to antiracism but she feels there is a difference The uncertainty of knowing

what to do risks leading to passivity

ldquoItrsquos like Irsquove come tohellip Not a stop but a landmark and itrsquos like I canrsquot get

further than that because I donrsquot know what to do Irsquom sure there are things I

could do and a role for me to take on but I canrsquot find it right nowrdquo - Alva

Again the interviewees are aware of the paralyzing effect of their strategies and Lou claims

that she knows that she is overthinking it

When I discuss this with people who are exposed to racism I sometimes get the

feeling that theyrsquore like lsquowe donrsquot care who does it somebody just do itrsquo There

is a need for antiracist work to be done [hellip] So I think that itrsquos easy to fall into

some kind of paralyzed state that doesnrsquot help anybody

The assumption of passivity among contemporary activists can be considered mainstream in

the social movement field Youths of Western democracies are less engaged in any kind of

traditional political involvement such as voting political party membership or other

associational activities (Amnaring amp Ekman 20136) Often this decline in political activity is

attributed to the growing prevalence of digital methods instead of more traditional physical

methods because it gives people an undeserved sense of accomplishment (Skoric 201277) and

a false idea of what activism is efficient (Morozov 200913) Although the majority of the

intervieweesrsquo activism consisted of digital participation and digital participation only it would

be unfair to claim that it is out of a sense of undeserving feeling of accomplishment that they

stopped at digital methods Quite opposite to the conclusions made by Skoric and Morozov of

the self-absorbed slacktivist the interviewees are far from happy with their contributions to the

movement Digital activism is associated with laziness slack and performative allyship by the

interviewees and they usually do not value digital activism as high as physical engagement

For example Lisa says she feels a bit ashamed of being more of a ldquokeyboard activist than a real

activistrdquo and Amanda shares similar thoughts about her own participation

42

When I posted the image I felt like lsquoIrsquom so fucking lame for doing only thisrsquo

[laughs] I didnrsquot really think of it as an activist action because it was so easy

Thus the emotional experience relates to feeling ashamed which under specific circumstances

and motivate action ndash but often it leads to passivity (Dull et al 20211081-84 Zhelnina

2020361) When Emma describes how accessible online activism is she presents a scenario

where someone can ldquosit at home in the couch and watch a movie and at the same time just log

into social media and protestrdquo Bea even laughs while telling me that she ldquothinks she shared a

black square on Instagram like everyone elserdquo Accessibility is not an indicator of democratic

or inclusive value but quality and it seems like the easier it is the lower it is valued by the

allies Comparing to the study by Russo (2014) where the allies put themselves through

physical challenges to demonstrate their allyship the digital form of ally work is interpreted as

a lower form of activism and is surrounded by feelings of inadequacy and shame Although the

reasons for why many of them stopped at digital activism varies none of them did it out of

satisfaction or laziness In the cases where physical limitations the pandemic or lack of protests

in onersquos hometown was not the reason it was rooted in an insecurity about what to do as an

ally Digital methods were perceived as a safer option in a context where almost all other types

of White participation are criticized and the potential pain of being called out as a bad ally is

perceived to be lower in the digital realm than it would be in other contexts

As this section shows the allies handle the potential risk of hijacking the movement by taking

a step back to leave room for Black people to define shape and ultimately run the movement

themselves However this strategy creates its own problems there is an imminent risk of

becoming passive So when listening does not work because of the risk of freeriding and

exploiting Black experiences and actively helping to relieve Black people of the burden to

overthrow systemic racism is deemed inappropriate because it includes a risk of hijacking the

movement and stepping back is ruled out because it leads to passivity ndash what remains

515 Do good but not for the wrong reasons Introspection

In line with previous research and theory introspection of different kinds is often discussed as

an important ally assignment (Drury amp Kaiser 2014638 Kauffman 200124 29-32) Without

introspection the quality of allyship risks becoming deficient because without being aware of

onersquos privilege as well as guilt allyship easily slips into paternalistic behavior (Cole

20201267 Spanierman amp Smith 609-10) Introspection is described in terms of ldquochecking

43

myselfrdquo (Sam) ldquotake a step back and acknowledge that I am part of a racist systemrdquo (Lisa) and

being ldquohumble to the fact that you are part the structurerdquo (Caroline) All interviewees express

the idea that one cannot be a good ally or contribute to positive change without first having

engaged in introspection in different ways

I think one of the most important things is to understand your own whiteness It

sounds kind of ego and self-centered but I think that you canrsquot be an ally

otherwise ever if you donrsquot see your own privilege [hellip] Otherwise you end up

balancing the line between racism and antiracism and that line is thinner than

you think - Lou

This imagined thin line between antiracism and racism concerns many interviewees Lisa

Lucas and Emma also see the risk of falling into racist behavior as big and that they must start

by recognizing this risk to avoid it Amanda says that she knows that she eventually will do

something racist but that she tries not to fear it because ldquoself-criticism can create fear often

therersquos a fear of saying or doing the wrong thing which makes people afraid to be alliedrdquo which

creates passivity Sam calls self-reflection and rdquochecking themselvesrdquo their most important job

and claims that if their aim was to destroy racism that would indicate that they thought of

themselves as bias-free which they are not Lucas also recognizes his own prejudice and says

it is part of his ally work to try to diminish these biases The potential for racist behavior is both

ascribed to being raised in a racist system and to White identity Amanda attributes her future

racist actions to her whiteness explicitly and Caroline argues that all White people are capable

of racist actions regardless of intent lsquowokenessrsquo and knowledge and she knows that she will

at some point act racist despite her devotion to antiracism and her love for her Black partner

All these considerations are part of the reflexive process that is self-identity constantly

scrutinizing oneself and navigating around different actions to act in line with self-identity

(Giddens 199175) When the stakes are as high as they are for White allies ndash they risk acting

and thus being racist if they do not engage in enough introspection The room for action

becomes further limited

In relation to the digital realm where most ally work took place introspection also becomes

about motivations The main concern for the interviewees was whether or not they should use

their social media platforms for ally work at all since digital methods are sometimes frowned

upon for being shallow and too simple Despite this all of them did some type of digital ally

work When I asked those who shared the black square on Instagram why some of them

44

laughed and said that they did not know or could not explain it They mention motivations such

as fitting in

In a way it was like everyone on my Instagram did it and it became like a peer

pressure thing like rsquowhy didnrsquot she share itrsquo or rsquowhy didnrsquot he hare itrsquo you

know ndash Emma

Besides peer pressure the desire to lsquofeel goodrsquo was also reflected upon Many acknowledge

that this desire existed but they did not approve of it as a motive for action Caroline explains

that although it is good to show others where you stand it does not say much about who you

are in the everyday life and the act of posting on social media instead become about seeming

or feeling good The thing they worry about is whether them showing support for the BLM

movement was intended to help the movement or to make themselves look better ndash sometimes

called cosmetic activism (Spanierman amp Smith 2017609-10) or more often among the

participants performative allyship Lou who regularly shares information opinions petitions

and hashtags in her social media says that she worries about her allyship being performative

because she knows most of her followers already shares her opinions Thus her sharing yet

another Instagram post about how racism is wrong could possibly be to ldquoshow off and make

myself feel a little betterrdquo She is careful to stop and reflect upon her actions and intentions and

ask herself lsquowhy did I do this What was my purposersquo Bea shares the same concerns

describing online activism as potentially about ldquostrengthening your personal brandrdquo and

ldquomarketing yourselfrdquo ndash although she does not identify with these motives she feels like there

is always a risk of falling into performative allyship in social media Posting on social media is

also described as a way to claim an antiracist alibi as Bea explains

One way to avoid this is to actively choose not to share with others the activism they engage in

like Sam who calls it unlearning performative allyship Instead of risking acting in the wrong

way and for the wrong reasons they turn to strategic passivism However the unintended result

of this is that one of the main advantages of allies in social movements (that they can use their

voices and platforms to amplify Black voices) goes missing if social media posts are no longer

considered legitimate allyship (Arora amp Stout 2019390 Bhattacharyya et al 202012 Clark

2019528-31)

Introspection is not only a way to secure high-quality allyship but to reduce the risk of doing

something racist and thus being racist Identity is constructed biographically through action

and if the actions does not align with the sense of self-identity this incoherence leads to

45

ontological insecurity in terms of the self meaning one starts to doubt onersquos own motives

(Giddens 199152-54) Seeing onersquos own whiteness as a guarantee of future racist behavior

and knowing how such behavior would clash with the sense of self allies do best in trying to

avoid racist action by all means available Thus acting becomes a risk in itself and this could

be interpreted as ally work becoming unintuitive and unnatural to the allies both at a practical

level determining what to do and at a more discursive level shaping who to be Although

ontological security is defined as practical consciousness it applies to less hands-on orientation

in the world too for example finding onersquos role and identity in a social movement The way to

move forward after recognizing all possible ways one may act wrong is to engage in strategic

passivism apolitical introspection as a political strategy (Kauffman 200124 29-32 Giddens

199144) It is not equivalent to passivity because it includes a strategic choice and it is built

on ally work but ally work that is aimed inwards It becomes a way to be active without acting

in a context where other people may get hurt or judge you

Allies must also make sure not only to act coherently and right but to have pure intentions

being an ally for the sake of recognition or personal gratification is not accepted However

research shows that such extrinsic motivations are especially important in motivating digital

participation (Lilleker amp Koc-Michalska 201725 34-25) and that feelings of shame and guilt

can lead to passivity (Dull et al 20211081-84 Zhelnina 2020361) These two conditions

(ideas of inherent racism and requirements of pure motives) related to introspection does not

create an environment where being active is very appealing Lou admits how acknowledging

the thin line between antiracism and racism leaves her paralyzed instead of motivated

Introspection on the other hand requires no interaction with other people and thus no risk of

being evaluated judged or called out as a bad ally

As the analysis demonstrates the allies recognize there are many different ways they could

engage ndash but all of them are eventually met with disclaimers of how that specific strategy is

inappropriate They try to navigate their own identity and privilege in relation to interpretation

privilege based on theories of situated knowledge but because they lack ontological security

in their ally role they struggle to find a path that is neither inappropriate nor associated with

too much risk Eventually they land in what could be referred to as passivism strategic

passivity as a form of activism

46

6 Discussion and conclusion

The purpose of this study was to better understand how the ally role and participation is

experienced by White allies participating in the Swedish BLM movement and to investigate to

what extent they felt that they had legitimacy as political agents in the movement As the results

show the allies felt strongly for the cause and had many positive experiences of community

and purpose However emotions related to shame guilt and insecurity were also an integral

part of their ally experience and it limited them in their ally work The analysis also shows that

while they are willing and motivated to act as allies the strategies available to them are

surrounded by disclaimers doubt and criticism Few potential actions or approaches are left

unproblematized and the allies often struggle to find their specific path The analysis

emphasizes the link between academic theories of situated knowledge and what can be seen as

a translated popularized version of the term formulated in the political discourse as

interpretation privilege The contribution of Giddensrsquo theories is that the concepts of reflexivity

and ontological security describes the reason for the hesitation the allies engage in whereas the

concept of situated knowledge describes on what basis they hesitate modernity explains why

they worry and situated knowledge what they worry about

Although the analysis shows a pattern that seems to link ideas of interpretation privilege with

passivism among allies the conclusion should not be that acknowledging the importance of

situated knowledge and recognizing the power intertwined with the knowledge creation and

validation process is unnecessary or harmful The theories of situated knowledge standpoint

theory and Black feminist epistemology are important contributions to the sociology of

knowledge and crucial reminders of the power embedded in knowledge However of interest

to political sociology scholars could be the translation of academic concepts into everyday

political lingo and what effects it may have on how people think about politics agency and

identity It is also important to point out that the statements by the interviewees do not reflect

the concept of interpretation privilege in itself but only their interpretation of it Therefore one

could never claim that the concept in itself limits or motivates anything only the way it is

interpreted

Many parts of the results need further investigation One is the implication of guilt if allies are

so limited in this movement whose fault is it It is easy to jump to the conclusion that the fault

belongs to the movement itself and its participants that activists and allies specifically create

47

an environment where action is limited and surrounded by doubt and insecurity This is not the

conclusion of the study Black people or specifically Black movement participants are not to

blame for a culture created by all participants of the movement and this culture or discourse

should be treated as such a larger collective process or frame that is affected by and affecting

all movement participants and the social context it is constructed in It is power on the discursive

level and beyond the reach of any specific grouprsquos aims to control it The experiences and

emotions of the allies should be treated as manifestations of a larger socio-political context

(Buechler 1995458) which could be the focus of future research

Another important aspect to discuss is the implications of quality of the participants allyship

Much research on the passivity of modern activists for example texts on slacktivism (see

Skoric 2012) have a contemptuous tone while discussing how little activists do and how good

they feel about themselves I refrain from evaluating the quality of the actual activism

performed by the allies and from explaining their digitally dominated activism with slacktivism

Instead of seeing contemporary passivism as a potential problem of bad activists one must

focus on the cultural structural and discursive processes enabling this specific kind of activism

instead of other more traditional and acknowledged types of activism Something in the

political climate digital activism identity political social movements or something completely

different limits those who wish to support the movement as allies in their action repertoires

One interesting finding is the consistency in the way the participants describe their involvement

and the issues they thought about Looking at prior experience and their doubts and concerns

about current and future activism there seems to be no link between being unexperienced or

so to say a lsquorookiersquo activist and feeling insecure about what to do as an ally The same problem

was present for people working with equality issues for a living having academic degrees in

the field and well as those without similar professional and academic competences Thus it is

unlikely to be out of inexperience or lack of knowledge that allies sometimes turn to passivism

It is also important to note that while this analysis turned out to be about tendencies of

passivism the interviewed allies were in fact not passive They all engaged in different ally

work digitally and physically sharing information online participating in demonstrations and

trying to incorporate antiracism in their everyday lives and encounters The idea of passivism

applies to their own reasoning and thinking about their allyship more than it does to their

performed ally work Passivism describes their strategic use of introspection which resembles

being passive from out outside perspective but includes much effort in scrutinizing oneself and

trying to become a better ally something that the interviewees are very focused on

48

The main contribution of this study is its representation of the ally perspective something that

is not well researched in the Swedish context It contributes with an insight into the political

arguments of a contemporary social movement characterized by identity-focus and digital

methods Potential contributions could also relate to the questions what would be needed for

allyship to become effective motivating and less associated with introspection and passivism

questions to which the answers must be found in larger contexts than that of these 11 alliesrsquo

testimonies In order to say more about how contemporary allyship is constructed experienced

and given meaning a triangulation of different methods and data sources would be required

along with a bigger sample

The study raised more questioned than it answered which indicates the importance and

relevance of further studies For example the theoretical coherence between the academic

concept of situated knowledge and the more casual term interpretation privilege would need to

be further explored as this study is only a rather shallow review of the concepts Studying the

larger political development and the discourse on activism or racism could also help

constructing a more developed understanding of what it really means to be an ally in the local

context of 21st century Sweden while simultaneously being part of a global network of activists

The implications of these results could be that while allyship is considered important both for

social movements at large (see Brown amp Ostrove 2013 Arora amp Stout 2019 Clark 2019) and

for the individual allies themselves it is also problematized by the interviewees in line with the

problems presented in previous research Applying these results to White allyship there are

things that would need to change in order for the allies to feel secure enough to find the

motivation to participate in the way they all claim they would want to but have not found the

time motivation or feeling of legitimacy to do For ally work to be a force to be reckoned with

in the antiracist struggle preconditions for action beyond introspection and strategic passivism

must be further developed Relating back to Butler the risk is otherwise that

If white people become exclusively preoccupied with our own privilege we risk

becoming self-absorbed We definitely donrsquot need more white people making

everything about themselves that just re-centralizes whiteness and refuses to do

the work of anti-racism (Gleeson 2021)

49

7 References Ahmed S Jaidka K amp Cho J (2017) Tweeting Indiarsquos Nirbhaya protest a study of emotional dynamics in an online social

movement Social Movement Studies 16(4) 227-465 httpsdoi1010801474283720161192457

American Psychological Association (2019) Racial and ethnic identity httpapastyleapaorgstyle-grammar-

guidelinesbias-free-languageracial-ethnic-minorities

Amnaring E amp Ekman J (2013) Standby citizens diverse faces of political passivity European Political Science 1-21

httpsdoi101017S175577391300009X

Andersson P (2021) Bokrecension Vit skoumlrhet vaumllbehoumlvlig i svensk rasismdebatt SVT Nyheter Downloaded 2021-09-29

from httpswwwsvtsekulturbokrecension-vit-skorhet-skickar-meningsfulla-impulser-in-i-den-svenska-debatten

Arora M amp Stout CT (2018) Letters for Black Lives Co-ethnic Mobilization and Support for the Black Lives Matter

Movement Political Research Quarterly 72(2) 389-402 httpsdoiorg1011772F1065912918793222

Arribas Lozano A (2018) Knowledge co-production with social movement networks Redefining grassroots politics

rethinking research Social Movement Studies 17(4) 451-463 httpsdoiorg1010801474283720181457521

Barassi V amp Zamponi L (2020) Social media time identity narratives and the construction of political biographies Social

Movement Studies 195-6 592-608 httpsdoiorg1010801474283720201718489

Bauman Z (2001) Liquid Modernity Cambridge Polity Press

Bhattacharyya G Virdee S amp Winter A (2020) Revisiting histories of anti-racist thought and activism Identities 27(1)

1-19 httpsdoiorg1010801070289X20191647686

Belam M (2021) Black Lives Matter movement nominated for Nobel peace prize The Guardian 2021-01-29

httpswwwtheguardiancomworld2021jan29Black-lives-matter-nobel-peace-prize-petter-eide-norweigan-mp

(Downloaded 2021-06-16)

Bernstein M (2005) Identity Politics Annual Review of Sociology 31(1) 47-74

httpsdoiorg101146annurevsoc29010202100054

Brown K T amp Ostrove J M (2013) What does it mean to be an ally The perception of allies from the perspective of

people of color Journal of Applied Social Psychology 43(11) 2211ndash2222 httpsdoiorg101111jasp12172

Braring (2018) Sjaumllvrapporterad utsatthet foumlr hatbrott Analys utifraringn Nationella trygghetsundersoumlkningen 2006ndash2017 Rapport

201810 Downloaded 2021-03-05 at

httpswwwbrasedownload187f57ba351641b9cdc3d1e0b515344265455312018_10_Sjalvrapporterad_utsatthet_for_

hatbrottpdf

Buechler SM (1995) NEW SOCIAL MOVEMENT THEORIES Sociological Quarterly 36 441-464

httpsdoiorg101111j1533-85251995tb00447x

Bursell M (2014) The Multiple Burdens of Foreign-Named MenmdashEvidence from a Field Experiment on Gendered Ethnic

Hiring Discrimination in Sweden European Sociological Review 30(3) 399ndash409 httpsdoiorg101093esrjcu047

Carnegie Endowment for International Peace 2020 Global Protest Tracker Downloaded 2020-12-16 at

httpscarnegieendowmentorgpublicationsinteractiveprotest-trackergclid=CjwKCAiA_eb-

BRB2EiwAGBnXXve4_M0rNWlgU0_MmYUuIg6ThabxkIbk_kQhlB7O_542emIVDHX1HRoCCFsQAvD_BwE

Clark M (2019) White folksrsquo work digital allyship praxis in the BlackLivesMatter movement Social Movement Studies

18(5) 519-534 httpsdoiorg1010801474283720191603104

Clayton DM (2018) Black Lives Matter and the Civil Rights Movement A Comparative Analysis of Two Social

Movements in the United States Journal of Black Studies 40(5)448-480

httpsdoiorg1011772F0021934718764099

Cole G (2020) Types of White Identification and Attitudes About Black Lives Matter Social Science Quarterly

101(4)1627-1633) httpsdoiorg101111ssqu12837

Collins PH (1990) Black Feminist Epistemology In Calhoun C J Gerteis J Moody S Pfaff amp I Virk (Ed) (2012)

Contemporary Sociological Theory 3rd Ed Chichester Wiley-Blackwell

Craddock E (2019) Doing rsquoenoughrsquo of the lsquorightrsquo thing the gendered dimension of the lsquoideal activistrsquo and its negative

emotional consequencesrdquo Social Movement Studies 18(2)137-153) httpsdoiorg1010801474283720181555457

Creswell JW amp Poth CN (2017) Qualitative inquiry and research design choosing among five approaches (Fourth

edition) Los Angeles Sage Publications

Diani M (1992) The Concept of Social Movement The Sociological Review 40(1)1-25 httpsdoiorg1011112Fj1467-

954X1992tb02943x

Drury B amp C Kaiser (2014) Allies against Sexism The Role of Men in Confronting Sexism Journal of Social Issues

70(4)637-652 httpsdoiorg101111josi12083

Dull BD Hoyt LT Grzanka PR amp Zeider KH (2021) Can White Guilt Motivate Action The Role of Civic Beliefs

Journal of Youth and Adolescence 50 1081ndash1097 (2021) httpsdoiorg101007s10964-021-01401-7

Earl J (2014) The Future of Social Movement Organizations The Waning Dominance of SMOs Online American

Behavioral Scientist 5935-52 httpsdoiorg1011772F0002764214540507

Garrett RK (2006) Protest in an Information Society a review of literature on social movements and new ICTs

Information Communication amp Society 9(2) 202-224 httpsdoiorg10108013691180600630773

Giddens A (1991) Modernity and self-identity Self and society in the late modern age Stanford University Press

Gleeson J (2021) Judith Butler lsquoWe need to rethink the category of womanrsquo The Guardian 2021-09-07 (Accessed 20201-

09-14 at httpswwwtheguardiancomlifeandstyle2021sep07judith-butler-interview-gender)

6

The movement was quickly recognized by different social institutions for example BLM was

nominated for the Nobel peace prize (Belam 2021) and the Palme Prize (Palmefonden 2021)

and over the world millions of people showed their support of the movement digitally by

posting a Black square on Instagram using the hashtag blackouttuesday (Monckton 2020)

Not only Black and other POC2 joined the movement but also White allies activists working

politically for another grouprsquos benefit (Russo 201467) Allies of different ethnicities have been

recognized as important actors in the antiracist struggle by many researchers (see for example

Arora amp Stout 2019 Brown amp Ostrove 2013 Clark 2019) as well as male allies in feminist

movements (Drury amp Kaiser 2014642) The role of White people as both perpetuators and

challengers of racism has been highly debated in the public discourse and in academia Books

such as Why Irsquom No Longer Talking to White People About Race by Reni Eddo-Lodge and

White Fragility Why Itrsquos So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism by Robin DiAngelo

have been introduced to the Swedish market after the birth of the BLM movement (Andersson

2021 Hibomo 2019) The role of White allies is thus surrounded by both appraisal and

suspicion and they must navigate their own role in the movement taking both positive and

negative views into account while finding a pathway into activism that suits them This

navigation is challenging and when Judith Butler talks on the subject in an interview in The

Guardian (Gleeson 2021) she summarizes the problems of allyship

Yes it is important to acknowledge that while a white person cannot claim to represent

Black experience that is no reason for white people to be paralyzed on matters on race

refusing to intervene at all No one needs to represent all Black experience in order to

track expose and oppose systemic racism ndash and to call upon others to do the same If

white people become exclusively preoccupied with our own privilege we risk becoming

self-absorbed We definitely donrsquot need more white people making everything about

themselves that just re-centralizes whiteness and refuses to do the work of anti-racism

This balancing between activism and passivism constitutes the focus of this thesis and the

sociological relevance lies in understanding what allies themselves experience beyond the

public perceptions of White allies Their experiences and emotions matter insofar as they are

likely to affect the way the allies choose to act and this motivates the sociological relevance of

studying ally experience Although allyship is relatively well-studied there is less research on

the emotional experiences of allyship especially in the Swedish context

2 POC stands for people of color and describes people of non-White race or ethnicity (American Psychological

Association 2019)

7

12 Aim and research question

The purpose of this paper is to study White alliesrsquo experiences of participating in and supporting

antiracist causes and movements using the Swedish BLM movement as an illustrative case due

to its high topicality The aim is to better understand the role of emotions identity (defined as

ldquothe self as reflexively understood by the person in terms of her or his biographyrdquo [Giddens

199153]) and ideas about power and responsibility shaping ally work departing from the

Swedish context in order to evaluate what the circumstances of ally work are and how the

experience of ally work and identity is lived and understood by White allies themselves The

sociological relevance of the study consists of linking the macro-level political discourse on

responsibility and identity with lived experience agency and sense of self at the individual

micro-level reality of allies Previous research focuses on the emotions and experiences in itself

whereas this paper aims to link these experiences and emotions to action and agencyThe

research questions are

A What emotional experiences do participants have and how can these be related to

identity power and responsibility

B To what extent do White allies feel entitled to act and speak in the name of the

movement

2 Previous research

The field of social movement studies is a well-established field with a long history and there

is a variety of sub-fields with different focuses ranging from resource mobilization (McCarthy

amp Zald 1977) to political processes that enable or hinder social movement activity (McAdam

1983) to the collective interpretations of a movement that is created by framing processes

(Snow 1986) and much more There are many different definitions of the social movement

concept This paper will build upon the definition presented by Diani (19923) describing social

movements as ldquonetworks of informal interaction between a plurality of individuals groups

andor organizations engaged in a political andor cultural conflict on the basis of a shared

collective identityrdquo which describes the informal non-hierarchal form of BLM (Jaumlmte et al

2020370)

8

Social movements as a phenomenon have changed through history shifting from mostly class-

based collective action to movements built on multiple identity categories (Buechler

1995548) This assumption is foundational in new social movement theory (NSMT)

represented by for example Alain Touraine (1987) NSMT concludes that non-material values

replaced class interests as the main motivator for collective action if the goal for social

movements used to be to expropriate the power from the dominant class and thus empower

the working class it has now shifted to deconstructing and reframing power itself (Buechler

1995442 Touraine 1987218-20) New social movements deal specifically with ldquothe social

control of production and diffusion of symbolic goodsrdquo (Touraine 1987218) which means

focusing on for example domains of culture and language Research based on NSMT often

focus on the roles of emotions identities and lifestyles as central themes in modern social

movements which are seen as manifestations of the implicit economic and political structures

they appear within (Buechler 1995485) The centrality of identity is often referred to as

identity politics (Bernstein 200547) Kauffman (200124 29-32) argued that identity politics

implicates a shift from working for equality and redistribution to apolitical introspection and

lifestyle politics resonant with the market ideology Others recognized how identity politics

give previously unrecognized groups recognition and space to develop policy that favors their

specific interests instead of only serving those at top of the in-group hierarchy of the workersrsquo

movements (Bernstein 200564-6) Regardless of whether one associates identity politics with

something good or something bad it can be concluded that antiracist movements have some

basis in identity categories rather than class despite the historical link between antiracism and

socialist ideas (Bhattacharyya et al 20203) Identity as a political concept is also central to the

experiences thoughts and interpretations of the White allies participating in this study as their

recognition of their White identity is what their allyship departs from

When it comes to antiracist thought and practice similar tendencies as those described in

NSMT can be seen Bhattacharyya Virdee and Winter (20203) lined out the development of

antiracist academic thought showing how it has developed from anti-capitalist and anti-slavery

to a micro perspective seeing racism as everyday microaggressions and dehumanization

(ibid11-12) Recently antiracist thought has been more concerned with intersectionality

developing sub-theories of Black feminism and Black queer theory to emphasize how different

identities have different lived experiences of oppression The focus of antiracist thought and

practice today according to the authors is to amplify certain voices and perspectives to ensure

representation and diversity of different identities (ibid12)

9

Looking at the Swedish context Jaumlmte and colleagues (2020) discuss how the Swedish BLM

movement represents a structuralist turn in Swedish anti-racism which has historically been

focusing on extremities such as Apartheid or Nazism and less on discrimination in the labor

market housing and media (ibid369 375) Historically the antiracist movement in Sweden

been occupied by a large proportion of allies from the majority population but during the 2020

BLM wave this changed and more POC participated for their cause Because ally activism is

often more volatile the increased share of people with lived experience of racism contributes

to a more stable foundation for sustainable activism (ibid371-2) Digital methods also

dominated the Swedish case which can be compared to the MeToo movement rather than the

US-based BLM movement which focused much more on physical protest and resistance

(ibid369)

Based on the different important conclusions in previous research (the turn towards non-

material values antiracist tendencies to emphasize lived experience the overrepresentation of

White allies in the Swedish anti-racist movement historically and the dominance of digital

methods) the remainder of the previous research presented will focus on allyship and white

identity and digital methods in contemporary movements

21 Allies

In a movement where much emphasis is put on identities it is of interest to examine the role of

those who are part of the movement activity without belong to that specific identity group In

this case White allies The definition of an ally varies between different scholars Brown and

Ostrove (20132211) described an ally as a dominant group member who ldquowork to end

prejudice in their personal and professional lives and relinquish social privileges conferred by

their group status through their support of nondominant groupsrdquo Spanierman and Smith

(2017608-9) argued that an ally is someone who understands their privilege as well as their

own role in oppression through introspection and self-reflection and who use their privilege

in responsible ways to end oppression despite facing opposition from other dominant group

members For Drury and Kaiser (2014637) an ally is someone who ldquoaligns with a

disadvantaged group by recognizing the need for further progress in the fight for equal rights

and Russo (201467) simply defined allies as activists who are politically engaged to benefit a

group to which they are outsiders These definitions include both introspective aspects of

allyship and more action-oriented aspects and they are all relatively open regarding what

10

exactly an ally can be expected to do in support for the movement What almost all these

definitions have in common is the baseline assumption that allies recognize their own

privileges and in antiracist movements that they embrace their White identity whiteness is not

only a description of skin color or ethnicity but also a culturally and politically influenced

identity A White ally cannot only be White they must also recognize their whiteness as

culturally significant recognizing privilege and becoming aware of both oppression as such

and onersquos own role in it is the first step to become an ally (Drury amp Kaiser 2014638) Although

lsquoWhitersquo has not always been treated as a social identity in the same way as other ethnic

identities there has been a recent resurge of White identification in the US (Cole 20201627)

Cole identified three main types of White identity type 1 includes no recognition of whiteness

type 2 recognizes whiteness but sees it as a liability and type 3 recognizes whiteness as a

privilege Among these types of White identification type 3 is most likely to support the BLM

means and goals whereas type 2 is least likely to support the movement at all

White identity development is also closely linked to the idea of White guilt which is seen as a

normative response to realizing onersquos own whiteness and the privilege attached to it Individuals

who acknowledge recognize and understand racism have higher degrees of White guilt and

this can either motivate action or create passivity (Dull et al 20211081-84) Dull and

colleagues found that White guilt can motivate civic action under certain circumstances there

must also be individual beliefs of social responsibility and efficacy (ibid1089) If the individual

neither believes in their social responsibility nor their own efficacy as political actors they will

struggle to find motivation to act Efficacy was measured by asking the participants whether

they felt they had the knowledge capacity and opportunity to affect social change (ibid1086)

Feelings of shame and despair among other have demobilizing effects on political mobilization

(Zhelnina 2020361) and it is therefore highly relevant to explore what emotions are

experienced by the allies in this study and to what degree they motivate or hinder action

211 Why are allies important

The role of allies in social movements is considered important in creating both social change

and in improving the everyday conditions of marginalized groups Brown and Ostrove (2013)

argued that White allies have two main assignments in antiracist movements supporting

individual people from the nondominant group and engaging in informed political action After

realizing onersquos whiteness and privilege allies must actively work to dismantle the system of

11

oppression by for example willingly share power with the subordinated group (Clark

2019523)

One of the most valuable aspects of ally work in social movements is the fact that the costs of

confronting sexism racism or any other discriminatory behavior is much lower for allies

without personal interest in the issue than it is for marginalized group members Men

confronting sexist behavior are seen as more rational and credible and less hostile than their

female counterparts which can strengthen the receiverrsquos sympathy for the sentiment of the

movement (Drury amp Kaiser 2014642) Male allies speaking up can also normalize rejecting

sexist ideas for women too and thus create a more open climate for such confrontations

(ibid644) The cost of ally work is further lowered when utilizing digital methods Clark (2019)

found that when White allies use their digital platforms to amplify the voices of Black people

the personal costs are low while the effects are positive The narratives of Black activists often

marginalized in their outreach in other ethnic or cultural groups are spread and legitimized by

White allies and it may ultimately strengthen the movement at large (Clark 2019528-31)

The idea that White allies should help the movement by amplifying the voices of Black people

can be further validated by the results of a study conducted by Arora and Stout (2019) on co-

ethnic mobilization and support for BLM They conducted an experimental study on the support

for the movement and the effect of messages from co-ethnic versus non-co-ethnic messengers

In general people tend to accept and embrace a political message more easily if they find the

messenger trustworthy and likeable which is an increasingly rational mechanism in times of

excessive access to information (Arora amp Stout 2019390) In their study they had people read

letters in favor for supporting the BLM movement written by authors of different ethnicities

Their results showed that White people did not change their opinion on BLM unless the author

was also White (ibid394-5) The implications of these results are that ldquoif whitesrsquo attitudes about

Black Lives Matter are to change appeals are much more effective coming from co-racial

individualsrdquo (ibid396) This implies that the role of White allies in amplifying the message of

Black activists and spreading the message especially within their own racial group is a very

powerful and important way for White allies to support the movement

212 What is problematic with allies

Although the role of allies in social movements are important there are also problems Some

research indicates that without lived experience of for example sexism or racism it is harder

12

to detect when such discrimination occurs For example men are less likely to interpret subtle

sexism as sexism and they are less likely to sympathize with someone confronting sexism if

that someone is female (Drury amp Kaiser 2014639 642) Thus much time and effort may have

to be put into educating out-group allies Allies are also less likely to be emotionally receptive

towards grasping the magnitude of oppression which again comes from lack of lived

experience (Russo 201480) It is also important to recognize uniqueness in group experiences

instead of assuming that experience of one type of oppression automatically leads to insights

about other oppressions (Spanierman amp Smith 2017608-10)

Besides the problem of potential insensibility on behalf of the ally another issue is low

engagement (Jaumlmte et al 2020370) Brown and Ostrove (20132220) argued that although

some inactivity of allies could be attributed to general passivity of contemporary activists or

lack of emotional engagement it could also come out of fear of doing anything considered

wrong White allies they argued tend to be more cautious in their actions because of this and

instead of acting on their own they leave space for Black people to take the lead However in

the attempt to leave room for and amplify for example Black narratives there is a significant

risk that allies freeride on the political labor of Black people (Clark 2019530) This problem

is also present in feminist movements where male allies often engage in low risk high reward

activism and often take credit for work dependent on the efforts of female feminists (Linder amp

Johnson 20155 17-18) This is made possible Linder and Johnson argued by the master

narrative saying male allies should be recognized validated and granted credibility regardless

of their actual contributions to the movementndash even though there is an overwhelming risk with

male feminist ally work being directly counterproductive due to lack of sympathy for the

female perspective and expertise (ibid4-5) In adverse cases male allies have been known to

not only capitalize on womenrsquos pain ignore their perspective and steal their hard work but to

actually commit sexual assault in feminist organizations (ibid9)

There are many other risks associated with ally work Mostly it originates in the fact that many

have good intentions but lack in self-reflection or knowledge about real political work

Spanierman and Smith (2017) pointed to how such discrepancies between intention capacity

and self-awareness can lead to paternalistic behavior towards marginalized people and that this

can strengthen the unconscious sense of superiority and legitimize status quo instead of

challenging it Another mistake especially important in digital activism is the tendency to

engage in optics instead of politics and to treat members of the disenfranchised group as objects

13

to be used for personal virtue signaling Such cosmetic activism rarely leads to any structural

criticism or challenging (Spanierman amp Smith 2017609-10)

22 Digital activism

As can be seen in the previous research on the positive opportunities with allies digital methods

are important for allies to engage for example in amplifying voices of minorities (Clark

2019528-31) This is perhaps even more true in the 2020 BLM-wave when many were limited

in their capacity to participate physically due to the pandemic All participants in this study

participated in digital activism (most of them exclusively so) and it is therefore important to

account for some research on the role digitalism plays in contemporary movements The

introduction of new technologies into political activism has been studied for many years even

before the social medias we use today Information and Communication technologies (ICTrsquos)

such as mobile phones or the internet had many effects on political activism as they became

available for more people for example it contributed with increased sense of community

strengthened political participation facilitated movement organization and increased

independence from elite representations of movements (Garrett 2006205-14)

Modern social medias have the same effects to some extent The internet and social media are

acknowledged to affect how social movements come into being and how they operate (Barassi

amp Zamponi 2020 Earl 2014) Social media platforms are used as tools for organizing raising

awareness and spreading information (Ahmed et al 2017447) and was for example one of

the success factors of the MeToo movement (Li et al 2020 Lin amp Yang 2019) Social media

also played a major role in the BLM protests without social media the protests of 2020 would

perhaps not have been as widespread The fact that the video picturing Floydrsquos murder spread

so rapidly led to massive emotional involvement and increased motivation for participation

according to research on the efficiency of emotions in digital activism (Clark 2019 Heldman

201788) Facilitating the growth of collective emotion and identity is one of the main

contributions of social media because emotions are crucial in motivating political action

(Ahmed et al 201746 Zhelnina 2020361) Studying the emotional expressions before during

and after a social protest on Twitter Ahmed and colleagues concluded that emotions affect

involvement online similarly to their effect offline ndash they channel participation and create

community and identification (Ahmed et al 2017459-61) Besides this social media functions

as a megaphone for individuals without having to be represented by any formal leader (Earl

14

201537) Earl argued that some of the functions centralized and formal social movement

organizations used to fill can in many cases be substituted with online communities lowering

the costs of organizers and participants (ibid39)

221 Critical perspectives on digital activism

Social media as site and tool for social activism is also criticized based on ideas about how it

leads to passivity and how motives for online activism differs from those in offline or lsquorealrsquo

activism Online activism is sometimes called slacktivism referencing the lower degrees of

effort and risk required to engage in online activism (Skoric 201277) The slacktivist narrative

is often used to explain the decline in youth political engagement (Amnaring amp Ekman 20136)

although the link between digital activism and low degrees of participation have not been

determined Online activism is usually less valued than more traditional types of activism which

requires more from the individual activist (Craddock 2019148-9 Heldman 2017207) despite

the lack of consensus between researchers on whether online activism is effective or not

(Lilleker amp Koc-Michalska 201725) Skoric (201277) argued that the Internet promotes a

superficial mode of political activism where liking commenting and sharing are the main tools

for participating in political activism and that the focus often is aimed at the individual and her

capacity of introspection lifestyle politics or mere expression of opinions without further

actions Such positionings rarely challenges structures of power and dominance Slacktivism

feels good without actually doing any good and it distracts people from engaging in meaningful

activism (ibid78)

lsquoFeeling goodrsquo as a motive for political mobilization is further explored by Lilleker and Koc-

Michalska (201723) who argued that there is a strong link between both intrinsic and extrinsic

emotional motivations and political mobilization both self-fulfillment and recognition are

strong motivators for both online and offline activism Extrinsic motivations eg external

approval recognition and being perceived as lsquogoodrsquo has the strongest effect on motivating

participation (ibid34 25) The difference they found between online and offline participation

was that online activism is less self-fulfilling and more driven by ldquoconforming and earning

rewardsrdquo which they interpret as online participation potentially being mere clicktivism and

less personally meaningful to the people engaging in it (ibid35)

Although slacktivism is not necessarily a phenomenon limited to the digital sphere but includes

all performative positioning online activism arguably breeds slacktivism because of how easy

15

and available it is The motivation to engage in high-risk high-effort activism decreases if there

are always lower effort- and risk options available that gives the same recognition and

satisfaction (Skoric 201279) Morozov (2009) also has criticized the naiumlve faith in the potential

of Internet activism and argued that poorly planned online slacktivism is not only ineffective

and toothless but also holds potential for backfiring and causing devastating consequences For

example when Western activists attempted to attack Iranian government sources online they

accidentally slowed down the whole Iranian internet making the activism of local protestors

difficult (Morozov 200913)

As this section shows the relationship between social media and the general level of activism

among people is far from determined However the participants of this study all relied on digital

methods in their ally work and their experiences of digital methods are explored in the analysis

3 Theory

In this section the two theories used to analyze the data will be presented and discussed starting

with Giddensrsquo theories on modernity which are used to contextualize ally work as a 21st century

phenomenon shaped by the preconditions of modernity such as increased reflexivity and

ontological insecurity Thereafter theories of situated knowledge will be used to describe how

the allies relate to their own whiteness in relation to the concept of interpretation privilege

sometimes limiting the allies in their leeway of action Essentially Giddensrsquo theories will be

used to understand why allies hesitate about their role and theories of situated knowledge will

be used to understand what they base these hesitations on

31 Giddens

Giddensrsquo theory of modernity focuses on the circumstances of human activity and identity in

what he referred to as (late) modernity The theory will be used to contextualize ally work as

something that exists within a larger social cultural and economic structure that shapes the

way identity politics and human activity are formed with special focus on self-identity and

ontological security

16

Worth mentioning when using the term modernity is that there are scholarly disagreements on

whether the current era should be interpreted as modernity late (or liquid see Bauman 2001)

modernity or postmodernity However Giddens belongs to the group of theorists who see

contemporary society as still existing within the theoretical frames of late modernity where the

tendencies of modernity has been further stretched and strengthened (Giddens 199127) This

assumption will be present throughout this paper while also acknowledging this is only one

interpretation

311 Life in modernity reflexivity and ontological insecurity

Modernity is an era characterized by post-traditional orders institutionalized radical doubt

detachment of time and space risk-cultures and abstract systems (Giddens 19912-5)

Following these changes in increased emphasis on reflexivity the continuous revisiting of

previously taken-for-granted concepts truths and ideas This applies to the institutional and

individual level and the latter will be of focus in this paper Without the guiding hand of

tradition or custom as in premodern society people must navigate in the world without being

firmly grounded in pregiven sets of beliefs on what should be done in each situation and with

the constant flow of information in modernity the horizon of possible actions are constantly

broadened (ibid20)

The increased emphasis on reflexivity means for the individual that ldquoself-identity becomes a

reflexively organised endeavorrdquo (Giddens 19915) Giddensrsquo described self-identity as a

project based on coherent and ldquocontinuously revised biographical narrativesrdquo which ldquotakes

place in the context of multiple choices as filtered through abstract systemsrdquo (ibid5) This

means that self-identity is closely linked to actions and is ldquoroutinely created and sustainedrdquo in

the actions of the individual (ibid52) This includes making constant decisions while having

endless choices ndash on what to do how to act and ultimately who to be in late modernity ldquowe

are not what we are but what we make of ourselvesrdquo (ibid54 75) If the individual fails to

perform in coherence with their sense of self-identity the individual may start to doubt their

own biographical narrative and ultimately themselves (ibid58) In the context of social

movements the ally identity is thus constantly reshaped by each choice of action and it

becomes important to act in accordance with the ideal-typical ally role Allyship is also a

globalized phenomenon which increases the number of aspects to take into consideration while

reflexively making choices

17

As reflexivity become more and more significant in guiding human action people in late

modernity experience loss of ontological security which is a ldquorsquonatural attitudersquo in everyday

liferdquo in relation to how to act and orient oneself in the world (Giddens 199136) Being

ontologically secure is ldquoto possess on the level of the unconscious and practical consciousness

lsquoanswersrsquo to fundamental existential questions which all human life in some way addressesrdquo

(ibid47) and was previously guided by tradition custom rules and norms of premodern society

Ontological security thus secures the individualsrsquo smooth navigation through life without them

hesitating on their role in the world too much However as society developed into modernity

and late modernity the conditions for ontological security changed ndash the traditions of

premodern society that used to give ontological security by offering a sense of structure

firmness and purpose are now exchanged for reflexivity (ibid48) making each single decision

dependent on an almost infinite number of possible options (ibid36) Without ontological

security the individual experiences existential anxiety caused by uncertainty ndash and such anxiety

itself ldquotends to paralyse relevant actions rather than generate themrdquo (ibid44) This passivity can

occur in relation to specific actions or to the sense of self in general for example failing to

perform in line with onersquos perceived self-identity can create ontological insecurity and it opens

for questioning onersquos entire role in a specific context for example a social movement For allies

ontological insecurity could arise in relation to them trying to navigate what actions are

appropriate for them to engage in based on the reflexive project of self-identity However

inactivism or passivity cannot only be seen in the individualrsquos relation to action but in politics

in general Giddens argued that politics in premodern times were emancipatory and aiming to

end oppression but that politics in modernity has been transformed into life politics a shift in

ideology and activity towards emphasizing lifestyle and self-actualization (ibid210-14)

The purpose of including Giddensrsquo theory of modernity is to provide a potential context in

which the allies of this study act and shape their own ally identities and how their occasionally

self-restricting introspection may be understood

32 Situated knowledge

To complement the theory of Giddens theories on situated knowledge will be included in the

analysis to point to specific ways in which the allies engage in reflexive decision-making eg

on what basis they make decisions about ally strategies The included theories are feminist

theories but their implications are not limited to gender relations

18

Theories of situated knowledge (also referred to as standpoint theory or feminist epistemology)

is an epistemological attempt to challenge the way knowledge is produced validated and

valued Epistemology is an ldquooverarching theory of knowledgerdquo (Collins 1990408) and theories

of epistemology focuses on how truth and knowledge is shaped by power relations between

social positions and how this could change Easily put social position of the knowledge

producer shapes the kind of knowledge that can be produced (Young 200425) In this thesis

the theoretical works of Haraway Young and Collins will be included although there are more

contributors to the thoughts about situated knowledge

Relating knowledge to power feminist theorists have pointed to how knowledge production

has been dominated by men and postcolonial thinkers have questioned dominant knowledge

for its sometimes exploitative and colonializing tendencies (in for example Western thought

and anthropology) Part of this critique has included a call for recognition privilege of lived

experience and reflexivity in research (Voronka 2016191) Donna Haraway (1988) presented

a feminist epistemology (or feminist objectivism) that recognized how women have historically

seen as immanent beings unable to transcend the body and escape its ldquofinite point of viewrdquo

whereas men have been seen as able to attain lsquoobjectiversquo perspectives and knowledges

(Haraway 1988575) The (imagined) male capacity to transcend ldquoparticular social location

and adopt a lsquoview from nowherersquordquo gives men higher status epistemologically (Young 200424)

Thus the gaze of the White male has been favored in sociology as it represents the unmarked

and objective perspective (Haraway 1988581)

The problem with the idea of objectivity and the lsquoview from nowherersquo according to feminist

and postcolonial critics is that knowledge is a power process and only taking one groups

knowledge into account reinforces these power processes Patricia Hill Collins argued that

power over the production and validation of knowledge is an issue of group interest where the

dominant group preserves their own interests by invalidating knowledge that either challenges

their hegemonic ideas or follows alternative practices in their creation of alternative knowledges

(Collins 1990409-10) Black womenrsquos knowledge is subjugated knowledge and it must fight

for recognition in an anti-Black and anti-female world (ibid414) The Black feminist

epistemology she advocated for includes sensitivity to the combination of female and Black

experiences unique for Black women and it recognized alternative ways to create knowledge

specific to Black womenrsquos knowledge production (ibid407-8)

19

321 Situated knowledge as political strategy

If knowledge is then produced under circumstances of domination power structures and

hegemony ndash what would an alternative look like and what could these alternatives lead to

From a quality standpoint Haraway (1988583) argued that including several perspectives in

knowledge production leads to better conclusions Even though she dismissed the idea that

subjugated people have a purer vision on truth and objectivity an idea she claimed is often

rooted in a fetishized idea of the Third World woman she argued that subjugated groups are

less likely to ldquoallow denial of the critical and interpretive core of all knowledgerdquo than are

dominant groups (ibid583-586) She wrote that the only standpoint from which no objectivity

can ever be reached is ldquothe standpoint of the master the Man the One God whose Eye

produces appropriates and orders differencerdquo (ibid587) Thus to aim for objectivity depends

on including perspectives otherwise ignored by structures of power and dominance (ibid590)

Delegitimizing the idea of a lsquoGodrsquos eyersquo from where true knowledge can be observed and

mediated means including other perspectives and knowledges (Young 200420) This is not

only just and right it also contributes to wiser decision making in a context of democratic

processes including perspectives from all social standpoints maximizes knowledge which

should be treated as a democratic resource when fully utilized (ibid25-9) Thus the idea of

situated knowledges includes a normative assumption of inclusion and diversity in decision

making and knowledge production and social difference should be treated as a resource for

democratic societies (ibid29)

The standpoint theorists emphasize how recognizing specificity in knowledge claims for

different groups does not include the idea that subjugated groups are naturally epistemically

privileged eg that their perspective on every issue should be treated as automatically lsquotruersquo

(Haraway 1988583-4 Young 200427-29) Neither the position of these groups or any

imagined inherent attributes give subjugated groups automatic access to the truth but the

position opens up doors to new perspectives impossible to imagine from above (Haraway

1988584) The specific knowledge unique for the dominated social positions include different

understandings of their own position and others and the relation between them as well as ldquoa

point of view on the history of societyrdquo ldquoan interpretation of how the relations and processes

of the whole society operates especially as they affect onersquos own positionrdquo and finally ldquoa

position-specific experience and point of view on the natural and physical environmentrdquo

(Young 200429)

20

Applying these ideas in a context of practical politics for example in a social movement can

include such inclusion of different perspectives and emphasizing how group difference matters

in terms of knowledge but without claiming the existence of epistemic privilege Often this

practical application is based on including people with lived experience into different contexts

of power or knowledge production (Voronka 2016189)

However the strategy of using lived experience as a criterion for epistemic legitimacy can also

be problematized Voronka (2016192) argued that inclusion and representation of different

groups in decision making as a criterion for legitimate knowledge production can be seen as

resting on essentialist assumptions and stable identity categories The categories themselves are

left unaccounted for meaning the boundaries between and content of different identity groups

are seen as natural entities (ibid194) The concept of lived experience fails to answer questions

of who we are and why while the existence of these categories should be questioned in

themselves Thus acting based on ideas of lived experience and ldquoepistemic privilegerdquo (Young

200427) risks both treating identity as essentialist and constructing group attributes as

embodied truths and ignore difference in lived experience within groups (Voronka 2016196)

Thus Voronka (ibid197) argued

we need to mark how rsquopeople with lived experiencersquo [as a concept my note] risks

reproducing and replicating systems of domination that privileges subjects and

subjectivities that fit closely within the White heteropatriarchal matrix of ruling

Voronkarsquos experiences come from academia but the ideas can be applied to other contexts as

well Theories of situated knowledge can be extracted from the abstract epistemological level

and transformed into a concept more suitable and applicable for everyday situations and as will

be seen in the analysis this theme is highly present in the statements by the study participants

in the form of interpretation privilege (See section 5 Results and analysis)

4 Methodology

The study builds on phenomenological approach and aims to understand a social phenomenon

by interpreting the different meanings ascribed to it by the participant whose lived experience

is in focus for the analysis (Creswell amp Poth 2018150) Thus the focus of the study is not the

BLM movement itself but to understand the experience of the allies The study is abductive

21

meaning the research process was iterative - going back and forth between empirical findings

and theoretical background The aim of abductive analysis is often to generate theory by

cultivating already existing theories together with the surprising results found in the data

collection that are in turn reinterpreted through the revisited theoretical insights (Timmermans

amp Tavory 2012169 173-6) One important aspect of abduction is to revisit the phenomenon

as it can lead to new insights For example when the first couple of interviews were done the

lack of response to one specific question was interpreted as missing data But when the

transcripts were revisited after some additional previous research had been read I realized the

unanswered question was not missing data ndash it was data in itself This realization affected how

the data collection moved forward as the focus narrowed down on the ally role and its

limitations

41 Data collection

The data collection was done by conducting qualitative interviews with 11 self-identified White

allies to understand their perspective experiences and thoughts about their participation The

interviews were in average 010245 in length and they were conducted during a five-week

period The interviews were semi-structured guided by an interview guide without following

it in detail which creates room for flexibility This ensured both consistency between the

interviews and individual variations depending on the interviewee (Turner 2010755) The

interview guide had open-ended questions and covered three main themes (political

background identity emotions) Some questions related to relevant concepts for example they

were asked ldquoIn your perspective what is an allyrdquo The purpose was not to evaluate the

participants academic understanding of the term but to have them reflect upon their own

perceptions and thereby gain insight into their political thinking and its effect on their ally role

Other questions were about experiences such as ldquoCould you tell me about your participation in

the BLM movementrdquo and ldquoWhat emotional responses did you have when this happenedrdquo

Some parts of the interview focused on the BLM movement specifically but since the antiracist

ally identity was often developed before BLM started it also included more general experiences

of antiracist allyship At the end of each interview the participants were given a chance discuss

things important to them The limitation of interview data is that it is not a representation of the

world lsquoout therersquo but only a representation of how the interviewees describe their experiences

and these can be shaped by indefinite number of things beyond the scope of this thesis

22

All interviews were digitally conducted Although digital interviewing is often presented as a

second choice there are benefits to it For example Howlett (20217-8) noticed how the safe

environment of the home made the participants more relaxed and that the interviews also tended

to be both longer and richer in detail than offline interviews One could however imagine how

the opposite effect could occur if the home environment is unsafe or unfit for long

conversations The interviews took place more than a year into the pandemic and people were

thus more familiar with digital communication technologies than they were in the beginning

(ibid10) The pandemic was topic for small talk before the interviews started and our shared

experience with it created some sense of commonality and a relaxed atmosphere where potential

technical issues or disturbances were met with recognition from the other party Despite the

surprisingly positive experience with digital interviewing and as well as the rich data gathered

it is still important to recognize how the quality could have been even better with physical

interviews

The interviews were all conducted on Zoom and recorded in the software The interviews were

transcribed in full verbatim meaning that false starters stutters laughter and pauses were

included Such utterances are clues to how the participants feel about what they are telling and

should be treated as data

42 Sample

The sampling for this study is based on one inclusion criterion motivated by the purpose of the

study the criterion being White ally identification (Creswell amp Poth 201881 157) To base

the inclusion criterion on self-identification could potentially lead to low validity in terms of

not achieving a sample that represents the group one wishes to study by excluding those who

engage in ally work without identifying as such To ensure that the people included in the study

were lsquorealrsquo allies the criterion could have been having a certain amount of experience from ally

work or similar However this was a methodological choice motivated by reflections by

Craddock (2019) who studied activism Craddock learned that including the term activist in

her participant letter excluded people who - despite being very active - did not dare to call

themselves activists due to the high standard of what lsquorealrsquo activism is Especially women feel

that they cannot live up to the ideal and therefore they do not recognize their own activist

identity (Craddock 2019138-42) Therefore anyone who identified as an ally was allowed to

participate without evaluating or judging their level of participants

23

The sampling method was mixed consisting of convenience sampling and snowball sampling

(Creswell amp Poth 2018159) First an email was sent to the Swedish BLM organizationrsquos

official email telling them about the study and asking if they had any recommendations of

where participants could be found This email got no response Different Facebook groups were

chosen as lsquofieldsrsquo to sample in Personal acquaintances were also asked to participate The

choice of Facebook groups related to both convenience and lack of access to physical fields to

sample in and because much of the activism related to BLM took place online The Facebook

groups were all limited demographically (open only for women and non-binary people) and

they all had explicit value-systems with feminist anti-racist intersectional orientations Some

groups were simple support-and-chat groups some had a more political purpose (without party

connections) One participant was found in the comments section on a Facebook page that

relates to antiracism and contacted from there and a few were snowball sampled Recruiting

participants in online forums creates a problematic balance between transparency and

anonymity if too detailed information about the specific sampling sites is revealed the

participants identities can be spoiled due to traceability Thus the names of these Facebook

groups or pages cannot be revealed The groups were known to me beforehand as I am myself

a member in them and therefore had access to the lsquofieldrsquo which reduced the time and effort

spent on sampling If this study were a netnography with digital data to analyze it would be

problematic because my interpretation would be tainted by my personal experiences in the

groups but since the data itself was not related to the specific groups or the participants activity

in these groups it is less problematic

This digital convenience sampling limits the groups included in the sampling frame which

creates a skewed sample in terms of for example gender The complementary snowball

sampling creates a similar problem with homogeneity because of the tendency of participants

to recommend people who are like themselves As a result people with academic backgrounds

in social sciences and humanities are overrepresented in this sample The first interviewee Lisa

works in the international aid sector and she put me in touch with some old classmates and

colleagues which contributed to the skewed sample However the sampling method does not

aim to reach a randomized sample that is representative of the Swedish population in general

but instead a purposeful selection of people with certain experiences (Creswell amp Poth

2018272)

The final sample included people of different genders (9 female 1 male and 1 non-binary)

ages (22-36) education (from high school diploma to MA-degrees) and occupation (traditional

24

working-class occupations or white-collar jobs) They lived in or originated from different parts

of Sweden with one currently living in South Africa They also had very different backgrounds

in regards of political engagement some of them had been organized voluntarily or

professionally in multiple movements and civil society organizations some are or have been

active in party politics and some had their political experience mainly in online discussions

43 Coding and analysis

After all interviews were transcribed the data was coded in Excel using the guidelines for

phenomenological analysis presented called horizonalization (Creswell amp Poth 2018201

Moustakas 1994118) Horizonalization means creating a broad base or platform of equally

important statements to capture the experiences of the participants In phenomenological

studies coding and analysis should preferably be inductive highlighting ldquosignificant

statements sentences and quotesrdquo (Creswell amp Poth 201879) instead of deductively trying to

apply hypotheses or theories onto the data

The coding followed the subsequent steps First each transcript was read one at a time and

important statements were added in a quote-column in Excel (see Image 1) Following the

quote-column were categorical columns based on different themes from the interviews The 12

categories were Background Activity in BLM Identity Role Pandemic Emotion Motivation

Introspection BLM organization Balance Problems and Other There was also a column for

especially good quotes which were marked with an lsquoxrsquo In each column (for example ldquoRolerdquo)

inductively created codes were entered An example can be seen in Image 1

The coding was kept close to the data and focus was to create codes that described the specifics

of each statement instead of keeping the number of codes down which created some overlap

Image 1 Visual representation of the coding strategy

After the 11 interviews were coded the data included 243 quotes in 12 categories In order to

structure the analysis according to relevant topics themes were created out of the codes based

on representativeness and uniqueness These themes provided the basis for the interpretation

25

and analysis For example the previously mentioned code ldquoNot surerdquo was grouped together

with the code ldquoDecided by othersrdquo (in the column ldquoRolerdquo) and analyzed together because they

were interpreted as expressions of the same phenomenon eg insecurity regarding what the

role should contain (Moustakas 1994118)

After the coding which is a big part of the analysis itself the most relevant and interesting

themes were further analyzed This was related to observed regularities in statements being

repeated among several participants and novelty or lsquosurprise factorrsquo Whereas the coding was

unrelated to any specific theory the deeper analysis of the different themes was done parallel

to exploring theory The theories came into the process at different stages Giddensrsquo theory of

modernity and ontological security was explored after the initial coding before starting the

writing process of the analysis based on the pattern of insecurity and reflexivity among the

participantsrsquo descriptions of how they make decisions on how to act as an ally Thereafter the

concept of situated knowledge was introduced after all material had initially been analyzed and

written down in a first draft and the recurring use of the term interpretation privilege

(tolkningsfoumlretraumlde) caught my interest The focus was therefore the themes related to

interpretation privilege and how the participants made sense of the term as well as the different

aspects they had to balance because of their emphasis on interpretation privilege in the final

analysis

44 Ethical considerations

Research should be guided by ethical principles to ensure the safety of the participants and the

quality of the research The most important aspects include consent confidentiality and

anonymity Informed consent means that the participant must be given full information about

what participation means and they must be given the chance to both give and withdraw their

consent during or after the interview The researcher must tell the truth about the purpose of the

study and the participant can choose to leave any unwanted questions unanswered

(Vetenskapsraringdet 201710 16) All participants were given a letter with information about the

study which was again repeated verbally right before the interview The second important

aspect confidentiality means that all information and data must be handled safely and not be

shared with unauthorized people (ibid40) The data was stored on a password protected

computer and no personal information was saved along with the transcripts And finally

anonymity means that the identity of the participants must be concealed for example by giving

26

them new names or changing identifying details in their statements (ibid13) Both of my

sampling methods (digital convenience and snowball) can threaten the anonymity of the

participants because they become traceable either to those who were lsquosnowballedrsquo into the study

or those who were found online (see chapter 42 Sample)

In more qualitative terms the researcher must make fair interpretations of the statements made

by participants and be transparent with how conclusions were made This ensures both

transparency in a scientific standpoint and the well-being of the participants (Vetenskapsraringdet

201710) Related to this it is important to recognize how the analysis may affect the

participants for example Creswell and Poth (2018228) argue that there is always a risk that

participants feel bothered by the way their statements have been interpreted in relation to theory

and previous research and especially in a sensitive topic such as politics identity and emotions

In order to minimize this risk the interpretations will both be rooted in theory and previous

research and include alternative evidence and interpretations

45 Methodological reflexivity

Reflexivity requires researchers to be aware of and transparent about their own biases in their

interpretations as well as scrutinizing their power in relation to the research participants

(Creswell amp Poth 2018201 228) Besides the inherent power in the relation between

researcher and participants no specific power dynamics existed in this study The researcher

must reflect upon their own position (gender class race and similar) and how it affects the

way the research is conducted and how the results are interpreted (ibid228) Being reflexive

thus becomes a way to increase validity by clarifying where researcher bias may have affected

the results (ibid261) Evidence that contradicts the arguments made in the analysis has been

included to avoid bias The idea of researcher reflexivity builds on the epistemological approach

of social constructivism where knowledge is not seen as a neutral or objective but a subjective

socially embedded practice shaped by the lived experience of the author and the participants It

also means that self-criticism and self-consciousness is crucial aspects of qualitative

interpretive research (Lynch 200029-36)

According to Moustakas (1994103-4) reflexivity should guide every step in the

phenomenological research project including choice of topic it must have autobiographical

relevance to the researcher who must be genuinely curious and passionate about the

phenomenon ndash and of course be transparent about these motives The choice of BLM as an

27

empirical example in this study was based on my own experiences from the spring of 2020 I

was just as my respondents and many others very moved by the events that transpired and I

did too participate in some online actions such as checking myself into the US Ambassy on

Facebook to show my support of the movement I followed the news and read everything I

found on social media out of both political sympathy and sociological fascination I wanted to

know more about why the activism looked like it did and how others felt about being part of

it Being able to be fascinated in times of collective grief and trauma for Black people is of

course a privilege that I am aware of I can afford to be distanced towards and critical of the

antiracist movement and how it does or does not invite people to engage themselves in it

because my survival or well-being does not depend on it I aim to be respectful in my

interpretations and descriptions of the movement and its participants

46 Limitations

Instead of aiming to evaluate qualitative research by the same criteria as quantitative studies

there are adjusted validation practices for the specific approach of the study To assure good

quality for qualitative phenomenological studies phenomenological concepts should be used

properly understood and recommended methods should be followed Besides from engaging

in reflexive analysis it is also important to offer descriptive richness and interpretive depth

(Creswell amp Poth 2018272-82) There are also different validation strategies for qualitative

research The researcher can use triangulation to strengthen the stability of the results identify

disconfirming cases and clarify researcher reflexivity (ibid260-1) Member checking and

collaborating with participants can also strengthen the validity (ibid162 Arribas Lozano

2018455-6) All participants were informed of their right to see the transcripts and the analysis

if they wished but they were not contacted with the explicit purpose of checking the finished

results due to time Another aspect is reliability meaning how robust the results of the study

would be if someone else replicated the study (Creswell amp Poth 2018164-5) In the case of

qualitative studies where the researcher is intertwined with the interpretations the probability

of someone else reaching the exact same result is small but thick descriptions of methodology

and the data increases reliability somewhat The generalizability of qualitative studies is often

low and especially so when the sample is skewed The results of this study should be considered

valid only for the group studied since the results could have been different with different

28

representations of gender or class for example However with a purposeful sample of people

with a certain experience the goal is not generalizability beyond the group

Another potential issue is the fact that the quotes from the interviews included in this thesis

have been translated from Swedish to English which means that there is a risk that some of the

core meanings of the quotes may have been spoiled or changed However the analysis was

done on the Swedish transcripts making sure the interpretations were made on the original

material Thus the problem of translating quotes is mainly a problem of communicating the

results to the reader in the same form they appeared in the analysis process of the original

material

5 Results and analysis

As explained in the methods section (43 Coding and analysis) the analysis was gradually

turning toward the themes of a) interpretation privilege and b) how the notion of interpretation

privilege affects the leeway for action These themes will be the focus of the analysis which

will show that although the allies experience their allyship as important and meaningful they

sometimes struggle to find a path for themselves in their attempt to be lsquogoodrsquo allies Their

commitment to respecting interpretation privilege helps them live up the to the ally role as

supporters of Black people in general but it limits the leeway in which they are able to act

independently as political agents But first some general findings on how the allies think about

their role will be presented which primarily relates to the first research question about the

experiences of ally work

The overall experience of allyship is that the ally identity is surrounded by purpose community

and positive experiences They are all highly committed to and well-educated about the cause

Being part of the movement feels meaningful and even like rdquoa privilege to be able to be a part

of it and listen and learnrdquo as Lisa says She describes her emotional experiences

First there was a lot of frustration I think And then there was this powerfulhellip

some kind of like rsquowowrsquo there were a lot of chills there for a while [laughs]

because people really came together

29

Sam shares the experience of initial frustration and pain They describe the feeling when their

frustration and anger transformed into hope like ldquofree fallingrdquo ndash the realization that they were a

part of a group with so many sympathizers made it feel like change was possible

Most ally work was performed online and consisted of acts such as sharing information

knowledge and opinions participating in online seminars and meetings signing petitions and

lsquochecking inrsquo at the US Embassy in Stockholm on Facebook as part of a global protest act To

signal their support for the movement they occasionally used hashtags such as

blacklivesmatter and blackouttuesday All participants got most of their information from

social media in line with the general trend in contemporary activism (Ahmed et al 2017447

Heldman 201788) Previous research emphasizes the important role of emotions in social

movement mobilization and all participants in this study recognized how constant access to

heartbreaking stories virtual proof of mistreatment and a global sense of community provided

by social media motivated them to act (see for example Russo 2014)

Some interviewees also participated outside of social media by attending physical

demonstrations (Sam Sara and Emma) It is impossible to say how many of the interviewees

would have attended had there not been a global pandemic However as digital activism has

become dominating in contemporary social movements (Jaumlmte et al 2020371-2) the low rate

of physical protest among the participants in this study should not be attributed to the pandemic

alone For example Lucas says he has not been to as many demonstrations over the last years

as he would have wanted because of work and other circumstances Amanda says she has

always seen herself as an activist as someone who does what otherrsquos lacks the energy or

resources to do but that she is ldquonot the person who attends demos you knowrdquo And Caroline

who is involved in several organizations besides her antiracist engagement even experiences

that the pandemic has made participation easier for her since it can now be done from home ndash

a point Alva agrees with as she experiences difficulties joining offline protests due to physical

illness Thus the effects of the Covid pandemic are not exclusively negative and limiting Apart

from the different demonstrations the allies also emphasized how implementing antiracist ideas

into their everyday behavior and their professional lives is crucial to be a good ally

The main motivator for their allyship is the notion of privilege All interviewees refer to

themselves as White and relate it to privilege an increasingly common tendency and a

prerequisite for antiracist commitment among Whites (Cole 20201627 Spanierman amp Smith

2017608-9) Lisa describes herself as a ldquoprivileged White woman raised in a middle-class

homerdquo and she says that she faced few obstacles growing up and Sam argues that their White

30

identity gives them platforms and privileges many Black people lack Therefore they use their

social media to amplify the voices of Black people sharing their voices stories and

perspectives Amplifying voices of marginalized groups has been recognized in research as one

of the main tasks for allies (Arora amp Stout 2019390 Bhattacharyya et al 202012 Clark

2019528-31)

The argument of amplifying Black voices as a way to utilize onersquos privilege is twofold First

the participants see their privilege as an opportunity to reach out to fellow Whites who they

expect will listen more to their White counterparts than they would to a Black person which is

confirmed in previous research (see for example Arora amp Stout 2019 Linder amp Johnson 2015)

For example Lucas says

Us Whites who are not affected by racism we have to stand up and show that itrsquos

not OK to spread racism If we donrsquot therersquoll never be any change because

sometimes it feels like people listen more to [hellip] a White person confirming that

what a Black person says is true

Sam shares this reasoning and they actively try to reach people with ldquodeeply racist prejudicerdquo

who would ldquonever listen to a Black personrdquo According to Haraway (1988577) subjugated

groups are deprived the privilege of assumed objectivity and reduced to their position as

inherently linked to and epistemologically limited by their social position in a way the dominant

groups are not Subjugated knowledge must always be fought for in terms of recognition

(Collins 1990414) and the allies in this study is dedicated to doing so in order to reduce the

impact of their own privilege and increase the outreach of Black people Katrin recognizes how

this process of validation of knowledge based on power is an unequal process where Black

people are seen as unreliable because they are ldquoacting out of self-interestrdquo whereas White

people are assigned more credibility Recognizing these mechanisms does not mean that the

interviewees accept them they use words such as ldquoterriblerdquo and ldquodisgustingrdquo to describe the

phenomenon and they feel both guilty about having these privileges and motivated to use them

for good which has been recognized as a potential effect of guilt in previous research (Dull et

al 20211081-84) However acknowledging this epistemic hierarchy is not an automatic

renouncing of privilege but can instead reinforce racist structures by assuming the assigned

value of White knowledge is higher and thus seeing the role of White allies as more important

than that of Black people in fighting racism (see Collins 1009)

31

The second aspect of White privilege in antiracist activism is as recognized by the interviewees

the fact that the costs of engaging are much lower for White people than they are for Black

simply because one does not risk facing racism as a response to speaking up (Drury amp Kaiser

2014642) For example Sam says they saw their ability to participate in the demonstration as

a privilege ndash not everyone can be sure to get home safe if they choose to attend a demo due to

the potential threat of police harassment or counter-protestors These costs are further lowered

by the fact that most ally work is done online Sara for example says that it enables her to

ldquotake the fightrdquo without ending up in situations too uncomfortable or even dangerous

Essentially the privilege of being listened to and the lower cost of speaking up for White allies

motivates specific responsibilities assigned to ally work but it also risks reproducing racist

hierarchies by assigning White knowledge higher value The remainder of the analysis will

focus on how these responsibilities are put into practice and what may limit the allies in their

attempts to do ally work

51 Balancing ally work

Related to the second research question is to what extent the allies feel like they are entitled to

act in the movement and this following section aims to show what different aspects affect this

perception Based on the ideas about privilege and responsibility the difficulties in balancing

different strategies of ally work will now be analyzed Although it may seem self-explanatory

what allies should do based on the previous section ndash use their privilege to raise their voices

against racist discrimination ndash the experiences of the interviewed allies shows that it is more

complicated than at first glance They must balance different strategies which can be defined

as following

A Listen but do not exploit

B Help but do not hijack

C Step down but do not become paralyzed

These three points represent how different ally assignments presented by the interviewees are

at some point met with objections or disclaimers There are a multitude of examples in the

interviews but the above-mentioned strategies are the most representative and common For

analytical and stylistic purposes they will be presented in a step-by-step form but they should

not be understood as linear or causal The relationship between these aspects is much more

32

complicated which the analysis aims to demonstrate Before analyzing these three strategies

the concept that serves as an implicit (sometimes explicit) point of departure for most decisions

by the allies should be accounted for namely the concept of interpretation privilege

511 Interpretation privilege

In all interviews there is an assumption about what kind of knowledge is legitimate knowledge

and interpretations based on interpretation privilege (tolkningsfoumlretraumlde in Swedish) 9 of the

11 interviewees explicitly mention the term but the theme is discussed in all interviews This

means that despite their academic degrees years of professional experience in human rights

work or their genuine interest for social justice issues the interviewees recognize how their

lack of lived experience reduces their ability to fully understand the issue of racism The idea

of interpretation privilege is interpreted here as a translation of ideas about situated knowledge

(Collins 1990408) lived experience (Voronka 2016194) and power into everyday political

lingo This idea is expressed continuously throughout the interviews as a part of their political

reasoning and it guides how they relate to their role as allies Katrin explains

It is not the same thing to understand racism by reading about it or by seeing or

hearing about othersrsquo experiences as it is to carry it in the body It will never be

possible for me to understand that

Interpretation privilege then helps allies understand and accept their own inability to fully

comprehend racism and it creates respect towards the testimonies made by people who

experiences racism However knowing that one lacks access to a full understanding also

contributes to self-doubt about the ally role and the work associated with it Caroline who

studies to become a psychologist tells me she has some concerns about being a White

psychologist treating Black patients Her professors claim psychologists do not need to share

the patientsrsquo experiences but Caroline is doubtful

ldquoI as a White person will never be able to fully understand being constantly

vigilant as a Black person in Sweden not knowing what the day will be like to

constantly be exposed to microaggressions and discrimination and even worse

abuse every dayhelliprdquo

Accepting interpretation privilege as the fact that if one is not exposed to racism one will never

know exactly what it feels like is empathetic and sensitive to the lived experience of Black

33

people It means respecting the ways Black people make sense of and deal with their own

experiences of oppression without claiming to know better However for the participants in

this study it often leads them to disregard all kinds of personal opinions thoughts or ideas

about what racism is and what should be done about it simply because they lack lived

experience of racism The participants sometimes struggle to balance their own knowledge

against the opinions and experiences of Black people Caroline again

Itrsquos this thing about interpreting different actions ndash is this a racist action or not

Well thatrsquos not up to me [hellip] And I think that interpretation privilege in general

in social media too that you just donrsquot go in and interpret what is right and wrong

Here the lack of interpretation privilege disqualifies Caroline from even deciding whether she

finds something right or wrong although such judgements are foundational in political thinking

Interpretation privilege also decides the legitimacy of actions according to Sara she argues

that whereas it is the job of White allies to speak up against other Whites the meaning of the

action is not the same as if a Black person would do it Essentially if a White ally wants to

stand up against racism it should be with a disclaimer

I think it is important to be like lsquothis is my understanding of it but I donrsquot have

interpretation privilegersquo just to create some awareness that I donrsquot have any

right to think anything - Emma

Some participants strip themselves of their agency by retreating to the idea that their

perspectives thoughts and ideas do not matter Lisa tells me that she sometimes censors herself

by not posting or sharing certain things because she feels like she has too little knowledge She

also stays out of debates she is interested in because she ldquodoes not feel [she] has the right to say

something or make a statement in these issuesrdquo Another example of how allies renounce their

political agency can be represented by Sara who tells me that when she saw my participant

message she was concerned that I searched for lsquoself-identified alliesrsquo In her perspective the

label lsquoallyrsquo is not something that one can claim independently one must earn it by being

recognized as such by a Black person Zhelnina (2020361) points to the importance of activists

growing independence emotional confidence and autonomy in their political interpretations

for a movement to successfully mobilize and in a discourse where one does not even possess

the right to claim allyship to a political movement this type of independence and confidence

may be difficult to develop

34

Another important aspect is the conflict that arises when people with interpretation privilege

disagree within the group Lucas says he has met Black people who defend the right to use

racial slurs That does not mean he accept this as true and uses these words himself but he

acknowledges that these situations could be problematic The multitude of perspectives to

consider especially considering the global character of the movement and its social media

presence it becomes difficult to decide what to believe in And when those who have been

assigned authority in this case Black people with interpretation privilege it becomes even

harder The reflexive globalized world with endless sources of information with sometimes

contradictory messages makes it hard to navigate (Giddens 1991138) This problem also

relates to what Voronka (2016196) described as essentialist tendencies when using the concept

of lived experience as a criterion for inclusion With social media where almost unlimited

information is always accessible to the individual the effort to develop independent

interpretations becomes unnecessary and in the case of the White allies insensitive

However it should be noted that although the idea of interpretation privilege is present in all

interviews the participants are also aware that other types of knowledge such as skills from

previous experience in social movements or academic judicial or general professional

knowledge is important Many of them say that they do feel confident of the practical abilities

they have built up over many years of activism and civil society work and Alva among others

points to how she would like to take on the role of fixing practical organizational tasks for the

BLM movement if she were to become more involved in the future Thus there is no validity

in claiming that the interviewees lack all sorts of self-esteem in their ally identity and that they

completely disregard other types of knowledge as Lucas says ldquointerpretation privilege is not

everythingrdquo Still statements such as ldquoI donrsquot have any right to think anythingrdquo or rdquoItrsquos this

thing about interpreting actions ndash is this racist or not Well thatrsquos not up to merdquo are common

in the interviews Although many of the participants can be interpreted as having ontological

security in terms of knowing what they are good at they cannot translate this into a practical

consciousness that guides their actions in a natural manner which creates ontological insecurity

and passivity (Giddens 199144) This relates to findings about lack of lived experience as

leading to potential insensitivity to discrimination which the interviewees recognize in

themselves (Drury amp Kaiser 2014369-42) In theories of situated knowledge it is emphasized

how a multitude of perspectives is needed and that subjugated groups do not have natural access

to hidden truths (Haraway 1988583-6 Young 199027) The disregarding of White ally

perspectives due to lack of lived experience is thus not inherent in the theories themselves but

35

rather something that seems to occur along the popularized interpretation of the term as it is

translated into everyday political lingo as interpretation privilege

So in navigating what to do as an ally while being committed to the idea of interpretation

privilege the first strategy for good ally work is formulated listening

512 Listen but do not exploit

So drawing upon the notion of interpretation privilege the appropriate way to consume

information about racial issues and determining what to do is by listening to Black people

Listening itself becomes not only a way to retrieve information and insight but a political

practice that reflects power structures and identity It becomes a way to renounce onersquos owns

privilege and instead assigning the power of being heard to others (see Collins 1990 Haraway

1988 Young 2004) Sam explains

I as a White person will never be able to sit there and decide what is right and

wrong when it comes to Black experiences or just non-White experiences Irsquove got

nothing to say about that I know nothing about it I just donrsquot What I can do is

listen and learn and I need to take the initiative as a student in this subject

Listening and taking a step back represents successful allyship according to Lucas because it

means both getting access to the right information and showing emotional support and respect

for people exposed to racism Listening is a powerful way to use onersquos White privilege

respecting the interpretation privilege of Black people and redirecting some of the privilege

and power associated to onersquos whiteness to Black people which is one of the main assignments

of allies (Brown amp Ostrove 20132211) But apart from being a virtuous alternative strategy

for allies it is also a relatively effortless option compared to other types of activism such as

participating in demonstrations Effective unproblematic and ideologically right a seemingly

perfect strategy to apply as a White ally

However it is not that simple listening is not only an act of rejecting the power associated to

onersquos racial identity but also hauntingly close to exploitation of Black experience according

to the interviewees The problem of freeriding and exploiting or capitalizing on the stories of

subjugated groups has been acknowledged in previous research on allyship (Clark 2019530

Linder amp Johnson 20159) For example Lisa argues that White people should be careful

36

talking about racism as if they could understand it and instead listen to what Black people say

- but at the same time she says it quickly becomes counterproductive

Black Swedes are not supposed to have to educate me about the racism they

experience because in that case what do I really demand from a Black person

Lou has the same idea and she tells me about how she used to ask her Black partner many

lsquodumbrsquo questions but that she realized that this means that she puts the burden of educating her

on him Sara avoids asking her Black friends about how she as a White ally can help because

that puts too much responsibility on those Black friends Amanda tells me she is after having

listened to one of the biggest antiracist podcasts Raseriet afraid of being one of lsquothose White

peoplersquo who demand to be taught about racism from Black people After all they all agree that

racism is a problem White people created and a problem for White people to solve ndash the

responsibility should not land on Black people As Emma says

Itrsquos essentially White peoplersquos problem itrsquos White people who built the structures

we are protesting [hellip] Itrsquos not Black people who are supposed to stand there and

scream their lungs out about Black Lives Matter but itrsquos about White people

needing to get together and saying like lsquonow we have to fix this because we

created itrsquo

So while trying to balance interpretation privilege the participants easily stumble into another

pitfall Listening as ally work increases the risk of becoming a burden on Black people by

depending on them for education explanations and guidance and exploiting their knowledge

and lived experience for self-improvement which also reinforces racist structures Black people

are implicitly seen as political objects rather than subjects inevitably crushed under the pressure

of White questions and demands and in need of White protection The point of allyship is to

make life and activism easier for Black people not the other way around which brings us to

another strategy of allyship to balance helping

513 Help but do not hijack

Based on the idea that listening as political practice can become exploitative and freeriding the

allies land in the conclusion that helping is the main assignment for allies They motivate this

by referring to their own privileges However as this section will show helping as a political

practice is also surrounded by potential problems

37

The idea of helping as ally work relates again to the idea that the costs of confronting racism is

lower for White people than for Black people (Drury amp Kaiser 2014642) as well as the

realization that White people are granted more respect and legitimacy when advocating for

antiracist causes (Arora amp Stout 2019390) Helping consists of claiming co-responsibility of

changing society protecting Black people from painful experiences and deal with the racism

of White people For example if an ally hears someone being racist they must speak up Sara

tries to do so because she does not want to add to any Black personrsquos burden of having to take

every fight themselves Emma argues that it is not Black peoplersquos responsibility to keep the

movement alive and therefore it is important that White people speak up She thinks ldquoit feels

stupid if White people would just sit around and wait for initiatives cause then you donrsquot do

anything goodrdquo If Black people are left alone with total responsibility of changing institutions

and organizations in Loursquos experience that usually puts Black people in situations where the

risk of being exposed to racism is high and without the support system of allies to help

Although all interviewees describe different ways of helping and supporting Black people and

the BLM movement as a main task for allies such statements are often followed by a disclaimer

For example they say ldquoitrsquos this balance that you being White shouldnrsquot go in and take overrdquo

(Emma) and ldquoWe should support we should be there we should recognize and lift the issues

But we should not be the main actorsrdquo (Alva) One of the most common phrases in the

interviews were lsquothat is not my placersquo This reasoning is present regardless of what types of

actions the interviewees talk about both high-level activism in formal organizations or

representing the movement in media and everyday civil courage such as speaking up against

racist comments in the workplace Sara adds to her statement about wanting to speak up to help

Black people saying that she ldquoalso has to leave room for Black people to act and not trying to

be like lsquoI know best now so let me explain racismrsquordquo Amanda shares similar thoughts saying

Itrsquos important that this can be a movement that Black people own themselves and

that itrsquos not something us White people can just barge into and take over Itrsquos a

balancing between goodwill and wanting to help and to not barge in and be like

lsquoThis is what racism isrsquo

Amanda has worked in organizations who educate people in moral courage and antiracism for

a few years and she has much experience in this type of political work But when she is

contacted in her role as an antiracist educator and asked to hold a course in a workplace she

doubts herself She feels that she must lsquowarnrsquo them about her whiteness ldquoI have to start by

38

saying that Irsquom White Irsquoll never be able to talk about racism like a Black person couldrdquo During

spring of 2020 she started to think about her role again she tells me She concluded that ldquothis

is not my place this organization is not my place but I could do activism in other waysrdquo In

most interviews there are similar reasonings for example Bea explains how she is not against

White people organizing against racism but that she

would not be very comfortable doing it or starting an appeal or initiative like

lsquoWhites in support for Black Lives Matterrsquo because thatrsquos nothellip thatrsquos claiming

space and attention

Katrin said that she in her work at an equality foundation had to weigh her wish to do

something against the risk of ldquotaking over a voice that was just starting to build uprdquo and Lou

who works in HR criticizes her own attempts to implement antiracist ideas at her workplace

because she doubts if she has any right to ldquoclaim that we have to work with so-called diversity

issuesrdquo or ldquobe that voice in a White roomrdquo Emma mentions ldquosupporting without taking overrdquo

as the most important aspect of ally work This is an important part of allyship being

supportive standing by Black peoplersquos side acknowledging oppression raising the issues but

without being the protagonists of the movement as Alva explains Lisa agrees she asks herself

rdquoIs this my space to claim I donrsquot know am I supposed to march in the frontline when it comes

to this issue like Irsquom not so sure about thatrdquo In these statements it is implicitly assumed that

if Whites wanted to take over from Black people they easily could (even unconsciously) and

this implies Black people are less resilient as political actors

These arguments are often motivated by their own experiences with men taking space in

feminist movements They think about the way they want men to act and applies the same

reasoning to their own allyship

If this was about feminism and there was a dude telling me this or doing this that

Irsquom talking about now [taking over authorrsquos note] how would I react then [hellip]

I find it odd when female feminists feel like they have to pay tribute to and psyche

up male feminists I donrsquot think male feminists should need that And I feel the

same way about like Black people shouldnrsquot have to care about me at all it may

sound weird but I donrsquot do it for them itrsquos other Whites I want to affect ndash Katrin

Allies often use their own identities and social positions to understand other types of oppression

and although it seems to function as a source of empathy and compassion for the other group

as well as regulating ones ally behavior it is important to acknowledge that lived experience of

39

sexism does not mean inevitable understanding of experiences of racism (Spanierman amp Smith

2017608-10) which the allies mention themselves

This section shows that the strategy of helping is not as straight-forward and easily managed as

first described but instead associated with a big risk lsquoWhat if I take over What does it say

about me if I dordquo They engage in reflexive identity construction without being ontologically

secure eg without having a ldquopractical consciousnessrdquo or ldquonatural attituderdquo that guides how to

act This creates anxiety and fear of doing and thus being wrong (Giddens 199136) All

participants agree that although allies are important in creating change the movement is and

should be a Black space Although they are confident in these believes and dedicated to living

up to these ideals they are still afraid of unintentionally taking over or hijacking the movement

despite their wish to simply help and support the movement from the background To minimize

the risk of being one of those White allies who barges in and takes over the allies make sure to

balance this by taking a step back and leaving room for Black people to lead the way

514 Take a step back but do not become paralyzed

The choice to take a step back following the alliesrsquo reasoning about claiming space and taking

over means that they are more and more evolving toward a state of allyship where few actions

are legitimate and unproblematic This can be interpreted as a sign that the strategies described

previously (listening and helping) are not part of the alliesrsquo practical consciousness and that

engaging in such ally work is experienced as difficult and frightening due to ontological

insecurity This often leads to passivity (Giddens 199144) Taking a step back is described as

lsquoleaving room forrsquo Black people and it consists of listening (which as previous sections of the

analysis show is not seen as entirely unproblematic) and sharing the perspectives of Black

people for example in social media but without claiming a frontline position in the movement

These are two strategies that reduces the influence of White voices on the antiracist discourse

Taking a step back and leaving room for Black people is a way to denounce the privilege of

being listened to (Arora amp Stout 2019294-5) and reducing the power gap between dominant

and subjugated groups in terms of knowledge production (Collins 1990408)

However the interviewees testify to how the strategy to take a step back is often (but not

always) a shortcut to passivity Katrin who works in an equality foundation dealing with issues

of sexism and racism tells me what happened in her organization when choosing the take-a-

step-back approach by sharing articles Instagram posts and other materials created by Black

40

people and thus engaging in amplification of Black voices (Clark 2019528-31) They were

later criticized for ldquonot doing more not talking about it more screaming more sharing

morehelliprdquo They tried to do the right thing but failed Katrin wonders if they should have done

something of their own something bigger while also acknowledging how it would be

problematic of them to claim the spotlight

The allies worry about their own tendencies to become passive because of trying to navigate

among the different strategies Katrin explains this mechanism as a process where learning

about privilege and power creates an insight of onersquos own role in this power structure

ldquoYou realize that lsquoI have power I have responsibility and I do not have

interpretation privilegersquo and that makes you so scared to do anything wrong that

you end up doing nothing at allrdquo

She describes the insights as ldquoparalyzingrdquo and this experience is shared by more of the

interviewees and found in previous research (Brown amp Ostrove 20132220) Emma says that

it is a complex question that she thinks about a lot and that she has not yet landed in any

conclusions about what she should be doing as an ally but she knows that she must avoid

becoming paralyzed However it could be reflexivity itself that leads to such passivity

(Giddens 199144) Political background does not affect this mechanism as it is observed in

those with no prior experience as well as those with years of activism In some ways having

more prior experience can even make it harder to navigate the ally role because the roles

previously taken are no longer open to you as White Alva explains

Irsquom so used to being in the front and in the middle and being in the back is not

really like how I have been engaged before Irsquom not really used to it and to have

my role defined as being in the backseat in the back of the bus as Whitehellip [hellip] I

havenrsquot done that before And Irsquove struggled to find my role ndash what can I do

Cause I feel my hands are tied behind my back a little I would love to do more but

at the same time my interest cannot decide what the main issue should be Itrsquos all

about knowing your role and your place and being very sensitive to when people

tell you to back away or step up

At the end of each interview they were asked What would you like to see for the movement in

the future I got many analytical answers but some responded by saying like Alva ldquoItrsquos hard

for me to answer because Irsquom White I donrsquot know what needs to be focused on right now and

Irsquom not the right person to askrdquo Lisa says rdquoI donrsquot feel I have the right to speak on this or like

41

debate this issuerdquo Amanda does not answer the question either and refers to how it would be

inappropriate for her to try to decide what the movement should be about Interestingly she

notices how this perspective is only present in her relation to antiracism as she has worked for

LGBTQ-rights for years despite identifying as straight She cannot point out what is different

when it comes to antiracism but she feels there is a difference The uncertainty of knowing

what to do risks leading to passivity

ldquoItrsquos like Irsquove come tohellip Not a stop but a landmark and itrsquos like I canrsquot get

further than that because I donrsquot know what to do Irsquom sure there are things I

could do and a role for me to take on but I canrsquot find it right nowrdquo - Alva

Again the interviewees are aware of the paralyzing effect of their strategies and Lou claims

that she knows that she is overthinking it

When I discuss this with people who are exposed to racism I sometimes get the

feeling that theyrsquore like lsquowe donrsquot care who does it somebody just do itrsquo There

is a need for antiracist work to be done [hellip] So I think that itrsquos easy to fall into

some kind of paralyzed state that doesnrsquot help anybody

The assumption of passivity among contemporary activists can be considered mainstream in

the social movement field Youths of Western democracies are less engaged in any kind of

traditional political involvement such as voting political party membership or other

associational activities (Amnaring amp Ekman 20136) Often this decline in political activity is

attributed to the growing prevalence of digital methods instead of more traditional physical

methods because it gives people an undeserved sense of accomplishment (Skoric 201277) and

a false idea of what activism is efficient (Morozov 200913) Although the majority of the

intervieweesrsquo activism consisted of digital participation and digital participation only it would

be unfair to claim that it is out of a sense of undeserving feeling of accomplishment that they

stopped at digital methods Quite opposite to the conclusions made by Skoric and Morozov of

the self-absorbed slacktivist the interviewees are far from happy with their contributions to the

movement Digital activism is associated with laziness slack and performative allyship by the

interviewees and they usually do not value digital activism as high as physical engagement

For example Lisa says she feels a bit ashamed of being more of a ldquokeyboard activist than a real

activistrdquo and Amanda shares similar thoughts about her own participation

42

When I posted the image I felt like lsquoIrsquom so fucking lame for doing only thisrsquo

[laughs] I didnrsquot really think of it as an activist action because it was so easy

Thus the emotional experience relates to feeling ashamed which under specific circumstances

and motivate action ndash but often it leads to passivity (Dull et al 20211081-84 Zhelnina

2020361) When Emma describes how accessible online activism is she presents a scenario

where someone can ldquosit at home in the couch and watch a movie and at the same time just log

into social media and protestrdquo Bea even laughs while telling me that she ldquothinks she shared a

black square on Instagram like everyone elserdquo Accessibility is not an indicator of democratic

or inclusive value but quality and it seems like the easier it is the lower it is valued by the

allies Comparing to the study by Russo (2014) where the allies put themselves through

physical challenges to demonstrate their allyship the digital form of ally work is interpreted as

a lower form of activism and is surrounded by feelings of inadequacy and shame Although the

reasons for why many of them stopped at digital activism varies none of them did it out of

satisfaction or laziness In the cases where physical limitations the pandemic or lack of protests

in onersquos hometown was not the reason it was rooted in an insecurity about what to do as an

ally Digital methods were perceived as a safer option in a context where almost all other types

of White participation are criticized and the potential pain of being called out as a bad ally is

perceived to be lower in the digital realm than it would be in other contexts

As this section shows the allies handle the potential risk of hijacking the movement by taking

a step back to leave room for Black people to define shape and ultimately run the movement

themselves However this strategy creates its own problems there is an imminent risk of

becoming passive So when listening does not work because of the risk of freeriding and

exploiting Black experiences and actively helping to relieve Black people of the burden to

overthrow systemic racism is deemed inappropriate because it includes a risk of hijacking the

movement and stepping back is ruled out because it leads to passivity ndash what remains

515 Do good but not for the wrong reasons Introspection

In line with previous research and theory introspection of different kinds is often discussed as

an important ally assignment (Drury amp Kaiser 2014638 Kauffman 200124 29-32) Without

introspection the quality of allyship risks becoming deficient because without being aware of

onersquos privilege as well as guilt allyship easily slips into paternalistic behavior (Cole

20201267 Spanierman amp Smith 609-10) Introspection is described in terms of ldquochecking

43

myselfrdquo (Sam) ldquotake a step back and acknowledge that I am part of a racist systemrdquo (Lisa) and

being ldquohumble to the fact that you are part the structurerdquo (Caroline) All interviewees express

the idea that one cannot be a good ally or contribute to positive change without first having

engaged in introspection in different ways

I think one of the most important things is to understand your own whiteness It

sounds kind of ego and self-centered but I think that you canrsquot be an ally

otherwise ever if you donrsquot see your own privilege [hellip] Otherwise you end up

balancing the line between racism and antiracism and that line is thinner than

you think - Lou

This imagined thin line between antiracism and racism concerns many interviewees Lisa

Lucas and Emma also see the risk of falling into racist behavior as big and that they must start

by recognizing this risk to avoid it Amanda says that she knows that she eventually will do

something racist but that she tries not to fear it because ldquoself-criticism can create fear often

therersquos a fear of saying or doing the wrong thing which makes people afraid to be alliedrdquo which

creates passivity Sam calls self-reflection and rdquochecking themselvesrdquo their most important job

and claims that if their aim was to destroy racism that would indicate that they thought of

themselves as bias-free which they are not Lucas also recognizes his own prejudice and says

it is part of his ally work to try to diminish these biases The potential for racist behavior is both

ascribed to being raised in a racist system and to White identity Amanda attributes her future

racist actions to her whiteness explicitly and Caroline argues that all White people are capable

of racist actions regardless of intent lsquowokenessrsquo and knowledge and she knows that she will

at some point act racist despite her devotion to antiracism and her love for her Black partner

All these considerations are part of the reflexive process that is self-identity constantly

scrutinizing oneself and navigating around different actions to act in line with self-identity

(Giddens 199175) When the stakes are as high as they are for White allies ndash they risk acting

and thus being racist if they do not engage in enough introspection The room for action

becomes further limited

In relation to the digital realm where most ally work took place introspection also becomes

about motivations The main concern for the interviewees was whether or not they should use

their social media platforms for ally work at all since digital methods are sometimes frowned

upon for being shallow and too simple Despite this all of them did some type of digital ally

work When I asked those who shared the black square on Instagram why some of them

44

laughed and said that they did not know or could not explain it They mention motivations such

as fitting in

In a way it was like everyone on my Instagram did it and it became like a peer

pressure thing like rsquowhy didnrsquot she share itrsquo or rsquowhy didnrsquot he hare itrsquo you

know ndash Emma

Besides peer pressure the desire to lsquofeel goodrsquo was also reflected upon Many acknowledge

that this desire existed but they did not approve of it as a motive for action Caroline explains

that although it is good to show others where you stand it does not say much about who you

are in the everyday life and the act of posting on social media instead become about seeming

or feeling good The thing they worry about is whether them showing support for the BLM

movement was intended to help the movement or to make themselves look better ndash sometimes

called cosmetic activism (Spanierman amp Smith 2017609-10) or more often among the

participants performative allyship Lou who regularly shares information opinions petitions

and hashtags in her social media says that she worries about her allyship being performative

because she knows most of her followers already shares her opinions Thus her sharing yet

another Instagram post about how racism is wrong could possibly be to ldquoshow off and make

myself feel a little betterrdquo She is careful to stop and reflect upon her actions and intentions and

ask herself lsquowhy did I do this What was my purposersquo Bea shares the same concerns

describing online activism as potentially about ldquostrengthening your personal brandrdquo and

ldquomarketing yourselfrdquo ndash although she does not identify with these motives she feels like there

is always a risk of falling into performative allyship in social media Posting on social media is

also described as a way to claim an antiracist alibi as Bea explains

One way to avoid this is to actively choose not to share with others the activism they engage in

like Sam who calls it unlearning performative allyship Instead of risking acting in the wrong

way and for the wrong reasons they turn to strategic passivism However the unintended result

of this is that one of the main advantages of allies in social movements (that they can use their

voices and platforms to amplify Black voices) goes missing if social media posts are no longer

considered legitimate allyship (Arora amp Stout 2019390 Bhattacharyya et al 202012 Clark

2019528-31)

Introspection is not only a way to secure high-quality allyship but to reduce the risk of doing

something racist and thus being racist Identity is constructed biographically through action

and if the actions does not align with the sense of self-identity this incoherence leads to

45

ontological insecurity in terms of the self meaning one starts to doubt onersquos own motives

(Giddens 199152-54) Seeing onersquos own whiteness as a guarantee of future racist behavior

and knowing how such behavior would clash with the sense of self allies do best in trying to

avoid racist action by all means available Thus acting becomes a risk in itself and this could

be interpreted as ally work becoming unintuitive and unnatural to the allies both at a practical

level determining what to do and at a more discursive level shaping who to be Although

ontological security is defined as practical consciousness it applies to less hands-on orientation

in the world too for example finding onersquos role and identity in a social movement The way to

move forward after recognizing all possible ways one may act wrong is to engage in strategic

passivism apolitical introspection as a political strategy (Kauffman 200124 29-32 Giddens

199144) It is not equivalent to passivity because it includes a strategic choice and it is built

on ally work but ally work that is aimed inwards It becomes a way to be active without acting

in a context where other people may get hurt or judge you

Allies must also make sure not only to act coherently and right but to have pure intentions

being an ally for the sake of recognition or personal gratification is not accepted However

research shows that such extrinsic motivations are especially important in motivating digital

participation (Lilleker amp Koc-Michalska 201725 34-25) and that feelings of shame and guilt

can lead to passivity (Dull et al 20211081-84 Zhelnina 2020361) These two conditions

(ideas of inherent racism and requirements of pure motives) related to introspection does not

create an environment where being active is very appealing Lou admits how acknowledging

the thin line between antiracism and racism leaves her paralyzed instead of motivated

Introspection on the other hand requires no interaction with other people and thus no risk of

being evaluated judged or called out as a bad ally

As the analysis demonstrates the allies recognize there are many different ways they could

engage ndash but all of them are eventually met with disclaimers of how that specific strategy is

inappropriate They try to navigate their own identity and privilege in relation to interpretation

privilege based on theories of situated knowledge but because they lack ontological security

in their ally role they struggle to find a path that is neither inappropriate nor associated with

too much risk Eventually they land in what could be referred to as passivism strategic

passivity as a form of activism

46

6 Discussion and conclusion

The purpose of this study was to better understand how the ally role and participation is

experienced by White allies participating in the Swedish BLM movement and to investigate to

what extent they felt that they had legitimacy as political agents in the movement As the results

show the allies felt strongly for the cause and had many positive experiences of community

and purpose However emotions related to shame guilt and insecurity were also an integral

part of their ally experience and it limited them in their ally work The analysis also shows that

while they are willing and motivated to act as allies the strategies available to them are

surrounded by disclaimers doubt and criticism Few potential actions or approaches are left

unproblematized and the allies often struggle to find their specific path The analysis

emphasizes the link between academic theories of situated knowledge and what can be seen as

a translated popularized version of the term formulated in the political discourse as

interpretation privilege The contribution of Giddensrsquo theories is that the concepts of reflexivity

and ontological security describes the reason for the hesitation the allies engage in whereas the

concept of situated knowledge describes on what basis they hesitate modernity explains why

they worry and situated knowledge what they worry about

Although the analysis shows a pattern that seems to link ideas of interpretation privilege with

passivism among allies the conclusion should not be that acknowledging the importance of

situated knowledge and recognizing the power intertwined with the knowledge creation and

validation process is unnecessary or harmful The theories of situated knowledge standpoint

theory and Black feminist epistemology are important contributions to the sociology of

knowledge and crucial reminders of the power embedded in knowledge However of interest

to political sociology scholars could be the translation of academic concepts into everyday

political lingo and what effects it may have on how people think about politics agency and

identity It is also important to point out that the statements by the interviewees do not reflect

the concept of interpretation privilege in itself but only their interpretation of it Therefore one

could never claim that the concept in itself limits or motivates anything only the way it is

interpreted

Many parts of the results need further investigation One is the implication of guilt if allies are

so limited in this movement whose fault is it It is easy to jump to the conclusion that the fault

belongs to the movement itself and its participants that activists and allies specifically create

47

an environment where action is limited and surrounded by doubt and insecurity This is not the

conclusion of the study Black people or specifically Black movement participants are not to

blame for a culture created by all participants of the movement and this culture or discourse

should be treated as such a larger collective process or frame that is affected by and affecting

all movement participants and the social context it is constructed in It is power on the discursive

level and beyond the reach of any specific grouprsquos aims to control it The experiences and

emotions of the allies should be treated as manifestations of a larger socio-political context

(Buechler 1995458) which could be the focus of future research

Another important aspect to discuss is the implications of quality of the participants allyship

Much research on the passivity of modern activists for example texts on slacktivism (see

Skoric 2012) have a contemptuous tone while discussing how little activists do and how good

they feel about themselves I refrain from evaluating the quality of the actual activism

performed by the allies and from explaining their digitally dominated activism with slacktivism

Instead of seeing contemporary passivism as a potential problem of bad activists one must

focus on the cultural structural and discursive processes enabling this specific kind of activism

instead of other more traditional and acknowledged types of activism Something in the

political climate digital activism identity political social movements or something completely

different limits those who wish to support the movement as allies in their action repertoires

One interesting finding is the consistency in the way the participants describe their involvement

and the issues they thought about Looking at prior experience and their doubts and concerns

about current and future activism there seems to be no link between being unexperienced or

so to say a lsquorookiersquo activist and feeling insecure about what to do as an ally The same problem

was present for people working with equality issues for a living having academic degrees in

the field and well as those without similar professional and academic competences Thus it is

unlikely to be out of inexperience or lack of knowledge that allies sometimes turn to passivism

It is also important to note that while this analysis turned out to be about tendencies of

passivism the interviewed allies were in fact not passive They all engaged in different ally

work digitally and physically sharing information online participating in demonstrations and

trying to incorporate antiracism in their everyday lives and encounters The idea of passivism

applies to their own reasoning and thinking about their allyship more than it does to their

performed ally work Passivism describes their strategic use of introspection which resembles

being passive from out outside perspective but includes much effort in scrutinizing oneself and

trying to become a better ally something that the interviewees are very focused on

48

The main contribution of this study is its representation of the ally perspective something that

is not well researched in the Swedish context It contributes with an insight into the political

arguments of a contemporary social movement characterized by identity-focus and digital

methods Potential contributions could also relate to the questions what would be needed for

allyship to become effective motivating and less associated with introspection and passivism

questions to which the answers must be found in larger contexts than that of these 11 alliesrsquo

testimonies In order to say more about how contemporary allyship is constructed experienced

and given meaning a triangulation of different methods and data sources would be required

along with a bigger sample

The study raised more questioned than it answered which indicates the importance and

relevance of further studies For example the theoretical coherence between the academic

concept of situated knowledge and the more casual term interpretation privilege would need to

be further explored as this study is only a rather shallow review of the concepts Studying the

larger political development and the discourse on activism or racism could also help

constructing a more developed understanding of what it really means to be an ally in the local

context of 21st century Sweden while simultaneously being part of a global network of activists

The implications of these results could be that while allyship is considered important both for

social movements at large (see Brown amp Ostrove 2013 Arora amp Stout 2019 Clark 2019) and

for the individual allies themselves it is also problematized by the interviewees in line with the

problems presented in previous research Applying these results to White allyship there are

things that would need to change in order for the allies to feel secure enough to find the

motivation to participate in the way they all claim they would want to but have not found the

time motivation or feeling of legitimacy to do For ally work to be a force to be reckoned with

in the antiracist struggle preconditions for action beyond introspection and strategic passivism

must be further developed Relating back to Butler the risk is otherwise that

If white people become exclusively preoccupied with our own privilege we risk

becoming self-absorbed We definitely donrsquot need more white people making

everything about themselves that just re-centralizes whiteness and refuses to do

the work of anti-racism (Gleeson 2021)

49

7 References Ahmed S Jaidka K amp Cho J (2017) Tweeting Indiarsquos Nirbhaya protest a study of emotional dynamics in an online social

movement Social Movement Studies 16(4) 227-465 httpsdoi1010801474283720161192457

American Psychological Association (2019) Racial and ethnic identity httpapastyleapaorgstyle-grammar-

guidelinesbias-free-languageracial-ethnic-minorities

Amnaring E amp Ekman J (2013) Standby citizens diverse faces of political passivity European Political Science 1-21

httpsdoi101017S175577391300009X

Andersson P (2021) Bokrecension Vit skoumlrhet vaumllbehoumlvlig i svensk rasismdebatt SVT Nyheter Downloaded 2021-09-29

from httpswwwsvtsekulturbokrecension-vit-skorhet-skickar-meningsfulla-impulser-in-i-den-svenska-debatten

Arora M amp Stout CT (2018) Letters for Black Lives Co-ethnic Mobilization and Support for the Black Lives Matter

Movement Political Research Quarterly 72(2) 389-402 httpsdoiorg1011772F1065912918793222

Arribas Lozano A (2018) Knowledge co-production with social movement networks Redefining grassroots politics

rethinking research Social Movement Studies 17(4) 451-463 httpsdoiorg1010801474283720181457521

Barassi V amp Zamponi L (2020) Social media time identity narratives and the construction of political biographies Social

Movement Studies 195-6 592-608 httpsdoiorg1010801474283720201718489

Bauman Z (2001) Liquid Modernity Cambridge Polity Press

Bhattacharyya G Virdee S amp Winter A (2020) Revisiting histories of anti-racist thought and activism Identities 27(1)

1-19 httpsdoiorg1010801070289X20191647686

Belam M (2021) Black Lives Matter movement nominated for Nobel peace prize The Guardian 2021-01-29

httpswwwtheguardiancomworld2021jan29Black-lives-matter-nobel-peace-prize-petter-eide-norweigan-mp

(Downloaded 2021-06-16)

Bernstein M (2005) Identity Politics Annual Review of Sociology 31(1) 47-74

httpsdoiorg101146annurevsoc29010202100054

Brown K T amp Ostrove J M (2013) What does it mean to be an ally The perception of allies from the perspective of

people of color Journal of Applied Social Psychology 43(11) 2211ndash2222 httpsdoiorg101111jasp12172

Braring (2018) Sjaumllvrapporterad utsatthet foumlr hatbrott Analys utifraringn Nationella trygghetsundersoumlkningen 2006ndash2017 Rapport

201810 Downloaded 2021-03-05 at

httpswwwbrasedownload187f57ba351641b9cdc3d1e0b515344265455312018_10_Sjalvrapporterad_utsatthet_for_

hatbrottpdf

Buechler SM (1995) NEW SOCIAL MOVEMENT THEORIES Sociological Quarterly 36 441-464

httpsdoiorg101111j1533-85251995tb00447x

Bursell M (2014) The Multiple Burdens of Foreign-Named MenmdashEvidence from a Field Experiment on Gendered Ethnic

Hiring Discrimination in Sweden European Sociological Review 30(3) 399ndash409 httpsdoiorg101093esrjcu047

Carnegie Endowment for International Peace 2020 Global Protest Tracker Downloaded 2020-12-16 at

httpscarnegieendowmentorgpublicationsinteractiveprotest-trackergclid=CjwKCAiA_eb-

BRB2EiwAGBnXXve4_M0rNWlgU0_MmYUuIg6ThabxkIbk_kQhlB7O_542emIVDHX1HRoCCFsQAvD_BwE

Clark M (2019) White folksrsquo work digital allyship praxis in the BlackLivesMatter movement Social Movement Studies

18(5) 519-534 httpsdoiorg1010801474283720191603104

Clayton DM (2018) Black Lives Matter and the Civil Rights Movement A Comparative Analysis of Two Social

Movements in the United States Journal of Black Studies 40(5)448-480

httpsdoiorg1011772F0021934718764099

Cole G (2020) Types of White Identification and Attitudes About Black Lives Matter Social Science Quarterly

101(4)1627-1633) httpsdoiorg101111ssqu12837

Collins PH (1990) Black Feminist Epistemology In Calhoun C J Gerteis J Moody S Pfaff amp I Virk (Ed) (2012)

Contemporary Sociological Theory 3rd Ed Chichester Wiley-Blackwell

Craddock E (2019) Doing rsquoenoughrsquo of the lsquorightrsquo thing the gendered dimension of the lsquoideal activistrsquo and its negative

emotional consequencesrdquo Social Movement Studies 18(2)137-153) httpsdoiorg1010801474283720181555457

Creswell JW amp Poth CN (2017) Qualitative inquiry and research design choosing among five approaches (Fourth

edition) Los Angeles Sage Publications

Diani M (1992) The Concept of Social Movement The Sociological Review 40(1)1-25 httpsdoiorg1011112Fj1467-

954X1992tb02943x

Drury B amp C Kaiser (2014) Allies against Sexism The Role of Men in Confronting Sexism Journal of Social Issues

70(4)637-652 httpsdoiorg101111josi12083

Dull BD Hoyt LT Grzanka PR amp Zeider KH (2021) Can White Guilt Motivate Action The Role of Civic Beliefs

Journal of Youth and Adolescence 50 1081ndash1097 (2021) httpsdoiorg101007s10964-021-01401-7

Earl J (2014) The Future of Social Movement Organizations The Waning Dominance of SMOs Online American

Behavioral Scientist 5935-52 httpsdoiorg1011772F0002764214540507

Garrett RK (2006) Protest in an Information Society a review of literature on social movements and new ICTs

Information Communication amp Society 9(2) 202-224 httpsdoiorg10108013691180600630773

Giddens A (1991) Modernity and self-identity Self and society in the late modern age Stanford University Press

Gleeson J (2021) Judith Butler lsquoWe need to rethink the category of womanrsquo The Guardian 2021-09-07 (Accessed 20201-

09-14 at httpswwwtheguardiancomlifeandstyle2021sep07judith-butler-interview-gender)

7

12 Aim and research question

The purpose of this paper is to study White alliesrsquo experiences of participating in and supporting

antiracist causes and movements using the Swedish BLM movement as an illustrative case due

to its high topicality The aim is to better understand the role of emotions identity (defined as

ldquothe self as reflexively understood by the person in terms of her or his biographyrdquo [Giddens

199153]) and ideas about power and responsibility shaping ally work departing from the

Swedish context in order to evaluate what the circumstances of ally work are and how the

experience of ally work and identity is lived and understood by White allies themselves The

sociological relevance of the study consists of linking the macro-level political discourse on

responsibility and identity with lived experience agency and sense of self at the individual

micro-level reality of allies Previous research focuses on the emotions and experiences in itself

whereas this paper aims to link these experiences and emotions to action and agencyThe

research questions are

A What emotional experiences do participants have and how can these be related to

identity power and responsibility

B To what extent do White allies feel entitled to act and speak in the name of the

movement

2 Previous research

The field of social movement studies is a well-established field with a long history and there

is a variety of sub-fields with different focuses ranging from resource mobilization (McCarthy

amp Zald 1977) to political processes that enable or hinder social movement activity (McAdam

1983) to the collective interpretations of a movement that is created by framing processes

(Snow 1986) and much more There are many different definitions of the social movement

concept This paper will build upon the definition presented by Diani (19923) describing social

movements as ldquonetworks of informal interaction between a plurality of individuals groups

andor organizations engaged in a political andor cultural conflict on the basis of a shared

collective identityrdquo which describes the informal non-hierarchal form of BLM (Jaumlmte et al

2020370)

8

Social movements as a phenomenon have changed through history shifting from mostly class-

based collective action to movements built on multiple identity categories (Buechler

1995548) This assumption is foundational in new social movement theory (NSMT)

represented by for example Alain Touraine (1987) NSMT concludes that non-material values

replaced class interests as the main motivator for collective action if the goal for social

movements used to be to expropriate the power from the dominant class and thus empower

the working class it has now shifted to deconstructing and reframing power itself (Buechler

1995442 Touraine 1987218-20) New social movements deal specifically with ldquothe social

control of production and diffusion of symbolic goodsrdquo (Touraine 1987218) which means

focusing on for example domains of culture and language Research based on NSMT often

focus on the roles of emotions identities and lifestyles as central themes in modern social

movements which are seen as manifestations of the implicit economic and political structures

they appear within (Buechler 1995485) The centrality of identity is often referred to as

identity politics (Bernstein 200547) Kauffman (200124 29-32) argued that identity politics

implicates a shift from working for equality and redistribution to apolitical introspection and

lifestyle politics resonant with the market ideology Others recognized how identity politics

give previously unrecognized groups recognition and space to develop policy that favors their

specific interests instead of only serving those at top of the in-group hierarchy of the workersrsquo

movements (Bernstein 200564-6) Regardless of whether one associates identity politics with

something good or something bad it can be concluded that antiracist movements have some

basis in identity categories rather than class despite the historical link between antiracism and

socialist ideas (Bhattacharyya et al 20203) Identity as a political concept is also central to the

experiences thoughts and interpretations of the White allies participating in this study as their

recognition of their White identity is what their allyship departs from

When it comes to antiracist thought and practice similar tendencies as those described in

NSMT can be seen Bhattacharyya Virdee and Winter (20203) lined out the development of

antiracist academic thought showing how it has developed from anti-capitalist and anti-slavery

to a micro perspective seeing racism as everyday microaggressions and dehumanization

(ibid11-12) Recently antiracist thought has been more concerned with intersectionality

developing sub-theories of Black feminism and Black queer theory to emphasize how different

identities have different lived experiences of oppression The focus of antiracist thought and

practice today according to the authors is to amplify certain voices and perspectives to ensure

representation and diversity of different identities (ibid12)

9

Looking at the Swedish context Jaumlmte and colleagues (2020) discuss how the Swedish BLM

movement represents a structuralist turn in Swedish anti-racism which has historically been

focusing on extremities such as Apartheid or Nazism and less on discrimination in the labor

market housing and media (ibid369 375) Historically the antiracist movement in Sweden

been occupied by a large proportion of allies from the majority population but during the 2020

BLM wave this changed and more POC participated for their cause Because ally activism is

often more volatile the increased share of people with lived experience of racism contributes

to a more stable foundation for sustainable activism (ibid371-2) Digital methods also

dominated the Swedish case which can be compared to the MeToo movement rather than the

US-based BLM movement which focused much more on physical protest and resistance

(ibid369)

Based on the different important conclusions in previous research (the turn towards non-

material values antiracist tendencies to emphasize lived experience the overrepresentation of

White allies in the Swedish anti-racist movement historically and the dominance of digital

methods) the remainder of the previous research presented will focus on allyship and white

identity and digital methods in contemporary movements

21 Allies

In a movement where much emphasis is put on identities it is of interest to examine the role of

those who are part of the movement activity without belong to that specific identity group In

this case White allies The definition of an ally varies between different scholars Brown and

Ostrove (20132211) described an ally as a dominant group member who ldquowork to end

prejudice in their personal and professional lives and relinquish social privileges conferred by

their group status through their support of nondominant groupsrdquo Spanierman and Smith

(2017608-9) argued that an ally is someone who understands their privilege as well as their

own role in oppression through introspection and self-reflection and who use their privilege

in responsible ways to end oppression despite facing opposition from other dominant group

members For Drury and Kaiser (2014637) an ally is someone who ldquoaligns with a

disadvantaged group by recognizing the need for further progress in the fight for equal rights

and Russo (201467) simply defined allies as activists who are politically engaged to benefit a

group to which they are outsiders These definitions include both introspective aspects of

allyship and more action-oriented aspects and they are all relatively open regarding what

10

exactly an ally can be expected to do in support for the movement What almost all these

definitions have in common is the baseline assumption that allies recognize their own

privileges and in antiracist movements that they embrace their White identity whiteness is not

only a description of skin color or ethnicity but also a culturally and politically influenced

identity A White ally cannot only be White they must also recognize their whiteness as

culturally significant recognizing privilege and becoming aware of both oppression as such

and onersquos own role in it is the first step to become an ally (Drury amp Kaiser 2014638) Although

lsquoWhitersquo has not always been treated as a social identity in the same way as other ethnic

identities there has been a recent resurge of White identification in the US (Cole 20201627)

Cole identified three main types of White identity type 1 includes no recognition of whiteness

type 2 recognizes whiteness but sees it as a liability and type 3 recognizes whiteness as a

privilege Among these types of White identification type 3 is most likely to support the BLM

means and goals whereas type 2 is least likely to support the movement at all

White identity development is also closely linked to the idea of White guilt which is seen as a

normative response to realizing onersquos own whiteness and the privilege attached to it Individuals

who acknowledge recognize and understand racism have higher degrees of White guilt and

this can either motivate action or create passivity (Dull et al 20211081-84) Dull and

colleagues found that White guilt can motivate civic action under certain circumstances there

must also be individual beliefs of social responsibility and efficacy (ibid1089) If the individual

neither believes in their social responsibility nor their own efficacy as political actors they will

struggle to find motivation to act Efficacy was measured by asking the participants whether

they felt they had the knowledge capacity and opportunity to affect social change (ibid1086)

Feelings of shame and despair among other have demobilizing effects on political mobilization

(Zhelnina 2020361) and it is therefore highly relevant to explore what emotions are

experienced by the allies in this study and to what degree they motivate or hinder action

211 Why are allies important

The role of allies in social movements is considered important in creating both social change

and in improving the everyday conditions of marginalized groups Brown and Ostrove (2013)

argued that White allies have two main assignments in antiracist movements supporting

individual people from the nondominant group and engaging in informed political action After

realizing onersquos whiteness and privilege allies must actively work to dismantle the system of

11

oppression by for example willingly share power with the subordinated group (Clark

2019523)

One of the most valuable aspects of ally work in social movements is the fact that the costs of

confronting sexism racism or any other discriminatory behavior is much lower for allies

without personal interest in the issue than it is for marginalized group members Men

confronting sexist behavior are seen as more rational and credible and less hostile than their

female counterparts which can strengthen the receiverrsquos sympathy for the sentiment of the

movement (Drury amp Kaiser 2014642) Male allies speaking up can also normalize rejecting

sexist ideas for women too and thus create a more open climate for such confrontations

(ibid644) The cost of ally work is further lowered when utilizing digital methods Clark (2019)

found that when White allies use their digital platforms to amplify the voices of Black people

the personal costs are low while the effects are positive The narratives of Black activists often

marginalized in their outreach in other ethnic or cultural groups are spread and legitimized by

White allies and it may ultimately strengthen the movement at large (Clark 2019528-31)

The idea that White allies should help the movement by amplifying the voices of Black people

can be further validated by the results of a study conducted by Arora and Stout (2019) on co-

ethnic mobilization and support for BLM They conducted an experimental study on the support

for the movement and the effect of messages from co-ethnic versus non-co-ethnic messengers

In general people tend to accept and embrace a political message more easily if they find the

messenger trustworthy and likeable which is an increasingly rational mechanism in times of

excessive access to information (Arora amp Stout 2019390) In their study they had people read

letters in favor for supporting the BLM movement written by authors of different ethnicities

Their results showed that White people did not change their opinion on BLM unless the author

was also White (ibid394-5) The implications of these results are that ldquoif whitesrsquo attitudes about

Black Lives Matter are to change appeals are much more effective coming from co-racial

individualsrdquo (ibid396) This implies that the role of White allies in amplifying the message of

Black activists and spreading the message especially within their own racial group is a very

powerful and important way for White allies to support the movement

212 What is problematic with allies

Although the role of allies in social movements are important there are also problems Some

research indicates that without lived experience of for example sexism or racism it is harder

12

to detect when such discrimination occurs For example men are less likely to interpret subtle

sexism as sexism and they are less likely to sympathize with someone confronting sexism if

that someone is female (Drury amp Kaiser 2014639 642) Thus much time and effort may have

to be put into educating out-group allies Allies are also less likely to be emotionally receptive

towards grasping the magnitude of oppression which again comes from lack of lived

experience (Russo 201480) It is also important to recognize uniqueness in group experiences

instead of assuming that experience of one type of oppression automatically leads to insights

about other oppressions (Spanierman amp Smith 2017608-10)

Besides the problem of potential insensibility on behalf of the ally another issue is low

engagement (Jaumlmte et al 2020370) Brown and Ostrove (20132220) argued that although

some inactivity of allies could be attributed to general passivity of contemporary activists or

lack of emotional engagement it could also come out of fear of doing anything considered

wrong White allies they argued tend to be more cautious in their actions because of this and

instead of acting on their own they leave space for Black people to take the lead However in

the attempt to leave room for and amplify for example Black narratives there is a significant

risk that allies freeride on the political labor of Black people (Clark 2019530) This problem

is also present in feminist movements where male allies often engage in low risk high reward

activism and often take credit for work dependent on the efforts of female feminists (Linder amp

Johnson 20155 17-18) This is made possible Linder and Johnson argued by the master

narrative saying male allies should be recognized validated and granted credibility regardless

of their actual contributions to the movementndash even though there is an overwhelming risk with

male feminist ally work being directly counterproductive due to lack of sympathy for the

female perspective and expertise (ibid4-5) In adverse cases male allies have been known to

not only capitalize on womenrsquos pain ignore their perspective and steal their hard work but to

actually commit sexual assault in feminist organizations (ibid9)

There are many other risks associated with ally work Mostly it originates in the fact that many

have good intentions but lack in self-reflection or knowledge about real political work

Spanierman and Smith (2017) pointed to how such discrepancies between intention capacity

and self-awareness can lead to paternalistic behavior towards marginalized people and that this

can strengthen the unconscious sense of superiority and legitimize status quo instead of

challenging it Another mistake especially important in digital activism is the tendency to

engage in optics instead of politics and to treat members of the disenfranchised group as objects

13

to be used for personal virtue signaling Such cosmetic activism rarely leads to any structural

criticism or challenging (Spanierman amp Smith 2017609-10)

22 Digital activism

As can be seen in the previous research on the positive opportunities with allies digital methods

are important for allies to engage for example in amplifying voices of minorities (Clark

2019528-31) This is perhaps even more true in the 2020 BLM-wave when many were limited

in their capacity to participate physically due to the pandemic All participants in this study

participated in digital activism (most of them exclusively so) and it is therefore important to

account for some research on the role digitalism plays in contemporary movements The

introduction of new technologies into political activism has been studied for many years even

before the social medias we use today Information and Communication technologies (ICTrsquos)

such as mobile phones or the internet had many effects on political activism as they became

available for more people for example it contributed with increased sense of community

strengthened political participation facilitated movement organization and increased

independence from elite representations of movements (Garrett 2006205-14)

Modern social medias have the same effects to some extent The internet and social media are

acknowledged to affect how social movements come into being and how they operate (Barassi

amp Zamponi 2020 Earl 2014) Social media platforms are used as tools for organizing raising

awareness and spreading information (Ahmed et al 2017447) and was for example one of

the success factors of the MeToo movement (Li et al 2020 Lin amp Yang 2019) Social media

also played a major role in the BLM protests without social media the protests of 2020 would

perhaps not have been as widespread The fact that the video picturing Floydrsquos murder spread

so rapidly led to massive emotional involvement and increased motivation for participation

according to research on the efficiency of emotions in digital activism (Clark 2019 Heldman

201788) Facilitating the growth of collective emotion and identity is one of the main

contributions of social media because emotions are crucial in motivating political action

(Ahmed et al 201746 Zhelnina 2020361) Studying the emotional expressions before during

and after a social protest on Twitter Ahmed and colleagues concluded that emotions affect

involvement online similarly to their effect offline ndash they channel participation and create

community and identification (Ahmed et al 2017459-61) Besides this social media functions

as a megaphone for individuals without having to be represented by any formal leader (Earl

14

201537) Earl argued that some of the functions centralized and formal social movement

organizations used to fill can in many cases be substituted with online communities lowering

the costs of organizers and participants (ibid39)

221 Critical perspectives on digital activism

Social media as site and tool for social activism is also criticized based on ideas about how it

leads to passivity and how motives for online activism differs from those in offline or lsquorealrsquo

activism Online activism is sometimes called slacktivism referencing the lower degrees of

effort and risk required to engage in online activism (Skoric 201277) The slacktivist narrative

is often used to explain the decline in youth political engagement (Amnaring amp Ekman 20136)

although the link between digital activism and low degrees of participation have not been

determined Online activism is usually less valued than more traditional types of activism which

requires more from the individual activist (Craddock 2019148-9 Heldman 2017207) despite

the lack of consensus between researchers on whether online activism is effective or not

(Lilleker amp Koc-Michalska 201725) Skoric (201277) argued that the Internet promotes a

superficial mode of political activism where liking commenting and sharing are the main tools

for participating in political activism and that the focus often is aimed at the individual and her

capacity of introspection lifestyle politics or mere expression of opinions without further

actions Such positionings rarely challenges structures of power and dominance Slacktivism

feels good without actually doing any good and it distracts people from engaging in meaningful

activism (ibid78)

lsquoFeeling goodrsquo as a motive for political mobilization is further explored by Lilleker and Koc-

Michalska (201723) who argued that there is a strong link between both intrinsic and extrinsic

emotional motivations and political mobilization both self-fulfillment and recognition are

strong motivators for both online and offline activism Extrinsic motivations eg external

approval recognition and being perceived as lsquogoodrsquo has the strongest effect on motivating

participation (ibid34 25) The difference they found between online and offline participation

was that online activism is less self-fulfilling and more driven by ldquoconforming and earning

rewardsrdquo which they interpret as online participation potentially being mere clicktivism and

less personally meaningful to the people engaging in it (ibid35)

Although slacktivism is not necessarily a phenomenon limited to the digital sphere but includes

all performative positioning online activism arguably breeds slacktivism because of how easy

15

and available it is The motivation to engage in high-risk high-effort activism decreases if there

are always lower effort- and risk options available that gives the same recognition and

satisfaction (Skoric 201279) Morozov (2009) also has criticized the naiumlve faith in the potential

of Internet activism and argued that poorly planned online slacktivism is not only ineffective

and toothless but also holds potential for backfiring and causing devastating consequences For

example when Western activists attempted to attack Iranian government sources online they

accidentally slowed down the whole Iranian internet making the activism of local protestors

difficult (Morozov 200913)

As this section shows the relationship between social media and the general level of activism

among people is far from determined However the participants of this study all relied on digital

methods in their ally work and their experiences of digital methods are explored in the analysis

3 Theory

In this section the two theories used to analyze the data will be presented and discussed starting

with Giddensrsquo theories on modernity which are used to contextualize ally work as a 21st century

phenomenon shaped by the preconditions of modernity such as increased reflexivity and

ontological insecurity Thereafter theories of situated knowledge will be used to describe how

the allies relate to their own whiteness in relation to the concept of interpretation privilege

sometimes limiting the allies in their leeway of action Essentially Giddensrsquo theories will be

used to understand why allies hesitate about their role and theories of situated knowledge will

be used to understand what they base these hesitations on

31 Giddens

Giddensrsquo theory of modernity focuses on the circumstances of human activity and identity in

what he referred to as (late) modernity The theory will be used to contextualize ally work as

something that exists within a larger social cultural and economic structure that shapes the

way identity politics and human activity are formed with special focus on self-identity and

ontological security

16

Worth mentioning when using the term modernity is that there are scholarly disagreements on

whether the current era should be interpreted as modernity late (or liquid see Bauman 2001)

modernity or postmodernity However Giddens belongs to the group of theorists who see

contemporary society as still existing within the theoretical frames of late modernity where the

tendencies of modernity has been further stretched and strengthened (Giddens 199127) This

assumption will be present throughout this paper while also acknowledging this is only one

interpretation

311 Life in modernity reflexivity and ontological insecurity

Modernity is an era characterized by post-traditional orders institutionalized radical doubt

detachment of time and space risk-cultures and abstract systems (Giddens 19912-5)

Following these changes in increased emphasis on reflexivity the continuous revisiting of

previously taken-for-granted concepts truths and ideas This applies to the institutional and

individual level and the latter will be of focus in this paper Without the guiding hand of

tradition or custom as in premodern society people must navigate in the world without being

firmly grounded in pregiven sets of beliefs on what should be done in each situation and with

the constant flow of information in modernity the horizon of possible actions are constantly

broadened (ibid20)

The increased emphasis on reflexivity means for the individual that ldquoself-identity becomes a

reflexively organised endeavorrdquo (Giddens 19915) Giddensrsquo described self-identity as a

project based on coherent and ldquocontinuously revised biographical narrativesrdquo which ldquotakes

place in the context of multiple choices as filtered through abstract systemsrdquo (ibid5) This

means that self-identity is closely linked to actions and is ldquoroutinely created and sustainedrdquo in

the actions of the individual (ibid52) This includes making constant decisions while having

endless choices ndash on what to do how to act and ultimately who to be in late modernity ldquowe

are not what we are but what we make of ourselvesrdquo (ibid54 75) If the individual fails to

perform in coherence with their sense of self-identity the individual may start to doubt their

own biographical narrative and ultimately themselves (ibid58) In the context of social

movements the ally identity is thus constantly reshaped by each choice of action and it

becomes important to act in accordance with the ideal-typical ally role Allyship is also a

globalized phenomenon which increases the number of aspects to take into consideration while

reflexively making choices

17

As reflexivity become more and more significant in guiding human action people in late

modernity experience loss of ontological security which is a ldquorsquonatural attitudersquo in everyday

liferdquo in relation to how to act and orient oneself in the world (Giddens 199136) Being

ontologically secure is ldquoto possess on the level of the unconscious and practical consciousness

lsquoanswersrsquo to fundamental existential questions which all human life in some way addressesrdquo

(ibid47) and was previously guided by tradition custom rules and norms of premodern society

Ontological security thus secures the individualsrsquo smooth navigation through life without them

hesitating on their role in the world too much However as society developed into modernity

and late modernity the conditions for ontological security changed ndash the traditions of

premodern society that used to give ontological security by offering a sense of structure

firmness and purpose are now exchanged for reflexivity (ibid48) making each single decision

dependent on an almost infinite number of possible options (ibid36) Without ontological

security the individual experiences existential anxiety caused by uncertainty ndash and such anxiety

itself ldquotends to paralyse relevant actions rather than generate themrdquo (ibid44) This passivity can

occur in relation to specific actions or to the sense of self in general for example failing to

perform in line with onersquos perceived self-identity can create ontological insecurity and it opens

for questioning onersquos entire role in a specific context for example a social movement For allies

ontological insecurity could arise in relation to them trying to navigate what actions are

appropriate for them to engage in based on the reflexive project of self-identity However

inactivism or passivity cannot only be seen in the individualrsquos relation to action but in politics

in general Giddens argued that politics in premodern times were emancipatory and aiming to

end oppression but that politics in modernity has been transformed into life politics a shift in

ideology and activity towards emphasizing lifestyle and self-actualization (ibid210-14)

The purpose of including Giddensrsquo theory of modernity is to provide a potential context in

which the allies of this study act and shape their own ally identities and how their occasionally

self-restricting introspection may be understood

32 Situated knowledge

To complement the theory of Giddens theories on situated knowledge will be included in the

analysis to point to specific ways in which the allies engage in reflexive decision-making eg

on what basis they make decisions about ally strategies The included theories are feminist

theories but their implications are not limited to gender relations

18

Theories of situated knowledge (also referred to as standpoint theory or feminist epistemology)

is an epistemological attempt to challenge the way knowledge is produced validated and

valued Epistemology is an ldquooverarching theory of knowledgerdquo (Collins 1990408) and theories

of epistemology focuses on how truth and knowledge is shaped by power relations between

social positions and how this could change Easily put social position of the knowledge

producer shapes the kind of knowledge that can be produced (Young 200425) In this thesis

the theoretical works of Haraway Young and Collins will be included although there are more

contributors to the thoughts about situated knowledge

Relating knowledge to power feminist theorists have pointed to how knowledge production

has been dominated by men and postcolonial thinkers have questioned dominant knowledge

for its sometimes exploitative and colonializing tendencies (in for example Western thought

and anthropology) Part of this critique has included a call for recognition privilege of lived

experience and reflexivity in research (Voronka 2016191) Donna Haraway (1988) presented

a feminist epistemology (or feminist objectivism) that recognized how women have historically

seen as immanent beings unable to transcend the body and escape its ldquofinite point of viewrdquo

whereas men have been seen as able to attain lsquoobjectiversquo perspectives and knowledges

(Haraway 1988575) The (imagined) male capacity to transcend ldquoparticular social location

and adopt a lsquoview from nowherersquordquo gives men higher status epistemologically (Young 200424)

Thus the gaze of the White male has been favored in sociology as it represents the unmarked

and objective perspective (Haraway 1988581)

The problem with the idea of objectivity and the lsquoview from nowherersquo according to feminist

and postcolonial critics is that knowledge is a power process and only taking one groups

knowledge into account reinforces these power processes Patricia Hill Collins argued that

power over the production and validation of knowledge is an issue of group interest where the

dominant group preserves their own interests by invalidating knowledge that either challenges

their hegemonic ideas or follows alternative practices in their creation of alternative knowledges

(Collins 1990409-10) Black womenrsquos knowledge is subjugated knowledge and it must fight

for recognition in an anti-Black and anti-female world (ibid414) The Black feminist

epistemology she advocated for includes sensitivity to the combination of female and Black

experiences unique for Black women and it recognized alternative ways to create knowledge

specific to Black womenrsquos knowledge production (ibid407-8)

19

321 Situated knowledge as political strategy

If knowledge is then produced under circumstances of domination power structures and

hegemony ndash what would an alternative look like and what could these alternatives lead to

From a quality standpoint Haraway (1988583) argued that including several perspectives in

knowledge production leads to better conclusions Even though she dismissed the idea that

subjugated people have a purer vision on truth and objectivity an idea she claimed is often

rooted in a fetishized idea of the Third World woman she argued that subjugated groups are

less likely to ldquoallow denial of the critical and interpretive core of all knowledgerdquo than are

dominant groups (ibid583-586) She wrote that the only standpoint from which no objectivity

can ever be reached is ldquothe standpoint of the master the Man the One God whose Eye

produces appropriates and orders differencerdquo (ibid587) Thus to aim for objectivity depends

on including perspectives otherwise ignored by structures of power and dominance (ibid590)

Delegitimizing the idea of a lsquoGodrsquos eyersquo from where true knowledge can be observed and

mediated means including other perspectives and knowledges (Young 200420) This is not

only just and right it also contributes to wiser decision making in a context of democratic

processes including perspectives from all social standpoints maximizes knowledge which

should be treated as a democratic resource when fully utilized (ibid25-9) Thus the idea of

situated knowledges includes a normative assumption of inclusion and diversity in decision

making and knowledge production and social difference should be treated as a resource for

democratic societies (ibid29)

The standpoint theorists emphasize how recognizing specificity in knowledge claims for

different groups does not include the idea that subjugated groups are naturally epistemically

privileged eg that their perspective on every issue should be treated as automatically lsquotruersquo

(Haraway 1988583-4 Young 200427-29) Neither the position of these groups or any

imagined inherent attributes give subjugated groups automatic access to the truth but the

position opens up doors to new perspectives impossible to imagine from above (Haraway

1988584) The specific knowledge unique for the dominated social positions include different

understandings of their own position and others and the relation between them as well as ldquoa

point of view on the history of societyrdquo ldquoan interpretation of how the relations and processes

of the whole society operates especially as they affect onersquos own positionrdquo and finally ldquoa

position-specific experience and point of view on the natural and physical environmentrdquo

(Young 200429)

20

Applying these ideas in a context of practical politics for example in a social movement can

include such inclusion of different perspectives and emphasizing how group difference matters

in terms of knowledge but without claiming the existence of epistemic privilege Often this

practical application is based on including people with lived experience into different contexts

of power or knowledge production (Voronka 2016189)

However the strategy of using lived experience as a criterion for epistemic legitimacy can also

be problematized Voronka (2016192) argued that inclusion and representation of different

groups in decision making as a criterion for legitimate knowledge production can be seen as

resting on essentialist assumptions and stable identity categories The categories themselves are

left unaccounted for meaning the boundaries between and content of different identity groups

are seen as natural entities (ibid194) The concept of lived experience fails to answer questions

of who we are and why while the existence of these categories should be questioned in

themselves Thus acting based on ideas of lived experience and ldquoepistemic privilegerdquo (Young

200427) risks both treating identity as essentialist and constructing group attributes as

embodied truths and ignore difference in lived experience within groups (Voronka 2016196)

Thus Voronka (ibid197) argued

we need to mark how rsquopeople with lived experiencersquo [as a concept my note] risks

reproducing and replicating systems of domination that privileges subjects and

subjectivities that fit closely within the White heteropatriarchal matrix of ruling

Voronkarsquos experiences come from academia but the ideas can be applied to other contexts as

well Theories of situated knowledge can be extracted from the abstract epistemological level

and transformed into a concept more suitable and applicable for everyday situations and as will

be seen in the analysis this theme is highly present in the statements by the study participants

in the form of interpretation privilege (See section 5 Results and analysis)

4 Methodology

The study builds on phenomenological approach and aims to understand a social phenomenon

by interpreting the different meanings ascribed to it by the participant whose lived experience

is in focus for the analysis (Creswell amp Poth 2018150) Thus the focus of the study is not the

BLM movement itself but to understand the experience of the allies The study is abductive

21

meaning the research process was iterative - going back and forth between empirical findings

and theoretical background The aim of abductive analysis is often to generate theory by

cultivating already existing theories together with the surprising results found in the data

collection that are in turn reinterpreted through the revisited theoretical insights (Timmermans

amp Tavory 2012169 173-6) One important aspect of abduction is to revisit the phenomenon

as it can lead to new insights For example when the first couple of interviews were done the

lack of response to one specific question was interpreted as missing data But when the

transcripts were revisited after some additional previous research had been read I realized the

unanswered question was not missing data ndash it was data in itself This realization affected how

the data collection moved forward as the focus narrowed down on the ally role and its

limitations

41 Data collection

The data collection was done by conducting qualitative interviews with 11 self-identified White

allies to understand their perspective experiences and thoughts about their participation The

interviews were in average 010245 in length and they were conducted during a five-week

period The interviews were semi-structured guided by an interview guide without following

it in detail which creates room for flexibility This ensured both consistency between the

interviews and individual variations depending on the interviewee (Turner 2010755) The

interview guide had open-ended questions and covered three main themes (political

background identity emotions) Some questions related to relevant concepts for example they

were asked ldquoIn your perspective what is an allyrdquo The purpose was not to evaluate the

participants academic understanding of the term but to have them reflect upon their own

perceptions and thereby gain insight into their political thinking and its effect on their ally role

Other questions were about experiences such as ldquoCould you tell me about your participation in

the BLM movementrdquo and ldquoWhat emotional responses did you have when this happenedrdquo

Some parts of the interview focused on the BLM movement specifically but since the antiracist

ally identity was often developed before BLM started it also included more general experiences

of antiracist allyship At the end of each interview the participants were given a chance discuss

things important to them The limitation of interview data is that it is not a representation of the

world lsquoout therersquo but only a representation of how the interviewees describe their experiences

and these can be shaped by indefinite number of things beyond the scope of this thesis

22

All interviews were digitally conducted Although digital interviewing is often presented as a

second choice there are benefits to it For example Howlett (20217-8) noticed how the safe

environment of the home made the participants more relaxed and that the interviews also tended

to be both longer and richer in detail than offline interviews One could however imagine how

the opposite effect could occur if the home environment is unsafe or unfit for long

conversations The interviews took place more than a year into the pandemic and people were

thus more familiar with digital communication technologies than they were in the beginning

(ibid10) The pandemic was topic for small talk before the interviews started and our shared

experience with it created some sense of commonality and a relaxed atmosphere where potential

technical issues or disturbances were met with recognition from the other party Despite the

surprisingly positive experience with digital interviewing and as well as the rich data gathered

it is still important to recognize how the quality could have been even better with physical

interviews

The interviews were all conducted on Zoom and recorded in the software The interviews were

transcribed in full verbatim meaning that false starters stutters laughter and pauses were

included Such utterances are clues to how the participants feel about what they are telling and

should be treated as data

42 Sample

The sampling for this study is based on one inclusion criterion motivated by the purpose of the

study the criterion being White ally identification (Creswell amp Poth 201881 157) To base

the inclusion criterion on self-identification could potentially lead to low validity in terms of

not achieving a sample that represents the group one wishes to study by excluding those who

engage in ally work without identifying as such To ensure that the people included in the study

were lsquorealrsquo allies the criterion could have been having a certain amount of experience from ally

work or similar However this was a methodological choice motivated by reflections by

Craddock (2019) who studied activism Craddock learned that including the term activist in

her participant letter excluded people who - despite being very active - did not dare to call

themselves activists due to the high standard of what lsquorealrsquo activism is Especially women feel

that they cannot live up to the ideal and therefore they do not recognize their own activist

identity (Craddock 2019138-42) Therefore anyone who identified as an ally was allowed to

participate without evaluating or judging their level of participants

23

The sampling method was mixed consisting of convenience sampling and snowball sampling

(Creswell amp Poth 2018159) First an email was sent to the Swedish BLM organizationrsquos

official email telling them about the study and asking if they had any recommendations of

where participants could be found This email got no response Different Facebook groups were

chosen as lsquofieldsrsquo to sample in Personal acquaintances were also asked to participate The

choice of Facebook groups related to both convenience and lack of access to physical fields to

sample in and because much of the activism related to BLM took place online The Facebook

groups were all limited demographically (open only for women and non-binary people) and

they all had explicit value-systems with feminist anti-racist intersectional orientations Some

groups were simple support-and-chat groups some had a more political purpose (without party

connections) One participant was found in the comments section on a Facebook page that

relates to antiracism and contacted from there and a few were snowball sampled Recruiting

participants in online forums creates a problematic balance between transparency and

anonymity if too detailed information about the specific sampling sites is revealed the

participants identities can be spoiled due to traceability Thus the names of these Facebook

groups or pages cannot be revealed The groups were known to me beforehand as I am myself

a member in them and therefore had access to the lsquofieldrsquo which reduced the time and effort

spent on sampling If this study were a netnography with digital data to analyze it would be

problematic because my interpretation would be tainted by my personal experiences in the

groups but since the data itself was not related to the specific groups or the participants activity

in these groups it is less problematic

This digital convenience sampling limits the groups included in the sampling frame which

creates a skewed sample in terms of for example gender The complementary snowball

sampling creates a similar problem with homogeneity because of the tendency of participants

to recommend people who are like themselves As a result people with academic backgrounds

in social sciences and humanities are overrepresented in this sample The first interviewee Lisa

works in the international aid sector and she put me in touch with some old classmates and

colleagues which contributed to the skewed sample However the sampling method does not

aim to reach a randomized sample that is representative of the Swedish population in general

but instead a purposeful selection of people with certain experiences (Creswell amp Poth

2018272)

The final sample included people of different genders (9 female 1 male and 1 non-binary)

ages (22-36) education (from high school diploma to MA-degrees) and occupation (traditional

24

working-class occupations or white-collar jobs) They lived in or originated from different parts

of Sweden with one currently living in South Africa They also had very different backgrounds

in regards of political engagement some of them had been organized voluntarily or

professionally in multiple movements and civil society organizations some are or have been

active in party politics and some had their political experience mainly in online discussions

43 Coding and analysis

After all interviews were transcribed the data was coded in Excel using the guidelines for

phenomenological analysis presented called horizonalization (Creswell amp Poth 2018201

Moustakas 1994118) Horizonalization means creating a broad base or platform of equally

important statements to capture the experiences of the participants In phenomenological

studies coding and analysis should preferably be inductive highlighting ldquosignificant

statements sentences and quotesrdquo (Creswell amp Poth 201879) instead of deductively trying to

apply hypotheses or theories onto the data

The coding followed the subsequent steps First each transcript was read one at a time and

important statements were added in a quote-column in Excel (see Image 1) Following the

quote-column were categorical columns based on different themes from the interviews The 12

categories were Background Activity in BLM Identity Role Pandemic Emotion Motivation

Introspection BLM organization Balance Problems and Other There was also a column for

especially good quotes which were marked with an lsquoxrsquo In each column (for example ldquoRolerdquo)

inductively created codes were entered An example can be seen in Image 1

The coding was kept close to the data and focus was to create codes that described the specifics

of each statement instead of keeping the number of codes down which created some overlap

Image 1 Visual representation of the coding strategy

After the 11 interviews were coded the data included 243 quotes in 12 categories In order to

structure the analysis according to relevant topics themes were created out of the codes based

on representativeness and uniqueness These themes provided the basis for the interpretation

25

and analysis For example the previously mentioned code ldquoNot surerdquo was grouped together

with the code ldquoDecided by othersrdquo (in the column ldquoRolerdquo) and analyzed together because they

were interpreted as expressions of the same phenomenon eg insecurity regarding what the

role should contain (Moustakas 1994118)

After the coding which is a big part of the analysis itself the most relevant and interesting

themes were further analyzed This was related to observed regularities in statements being

repeated among several participants and novelty or lsquosurprise factorrsquo Whereas the coding was

unrelated to any specific theory the deeper analysis of the different themes was done parallel

to exploring theory The theories came into the process at different stages Giddensrsquo theory of

modernity and ontological security was explored after the initial coding before starting the

writing process of the analysis based on the pattern of insecurity and reflexivity among the

participantsrsquo descriptions of how they make decisions on how to act as an ally Thereafter the

concept of situated knowledge was introduced after all material had initially been analyzed and

written down in a first draft and the recurring use of the term interpretation privilege

(tolkningsfoumlretraumlde) caught my interest The focus was therefore the themes related to

interpretation privilege and how the participants made sense of the term as well as the different

aspects they had to balance because of their emphasis on interpretation privilege in the final

analysis

44 Ethical considerations

Research should be guided by ethical principles to ensure the safety of the participants and the

quality of the research The most important aspects include consent confidentiality and

anonymity Informed consent means that the participant must be given full information about

what participation means and they must be given the chance to both give and withdraw their

consent during or after the interview The researcher must tell the truth about the purpose of the

study and the participant can choose to leave any unwanted questions unanswered

(Vetenskapsraringdet 201710 16) All participants were given a letter with information about the

study which was again repeated verbally right before the interview The second important

aspect confidentiality means that all information and data must be handled safely and not be

shared with unauthorized people (ibid40) The data was stored on a password protected

computer and no personal information was saved along with the transcripts And finally

anonymity means that the identity of the participants must be concealed for example by giving

26

them new names or changing identifying details in their statements (ibid13) Both of my

sampling methods (digital convenience and snowball) can threaten the anonymity of the

participants because they become traceable either to those who were lsquosnowballedrsquo into the study

or those who were found online (see chapter 42 Sample)

In more qualitative terms the researcher must make fair interpretations of the statements made

by participants and be transparent with how conclusions were made This ensures both

transparency in a scientific standpoint and the well-being of the participants (Vetenskapsraringdet

201710) Related to this it is important to recognize how the analysis may affect the

participants for example Creswell and Poth (2018228) argue that there is always a risk that

participants feel bothered by the way their statements have been interpreted in relation to theory

and previous research and especially in a sensitive topic such as politics identity and emotions

In order to minimize this risk the interpretations will both be rooted in theory and previous

research and include alternative evidence and interpretations

45 Methodological reflexivity

Reflexivity requires researchers to be aware of and transparent about their own biases in their

interpretations as well as scrutinizing their power in relation to the research participants

(Creswell amp Poth 2018201 228) Besides the inherent power in the relation between

researcher and participants no specific power dynamics existed in this study The researcher

must reflect upon their own position (gender class race and similar) and how it affects the

way the research is conducted and how the results are interpreted (ibid228) Being reflexive

thus becomes a way to increase validity by clarifying where researcher bias may have affected

the results (ibid261) Evidence that contradicts the arguments made in the analysis has been

included to avoid bias The idea of researcher reflexivity builds on the epistemological approach

of social constructivism where knowledge is not seen as a neutral or objective but a subjective

socially embedded practice shaped by the lived experience of the author and the participants It

also means that self-criticism and self-consciousness is crucial aspects of qualitative

interpretive research (Lynch 200029-36)

According to Moustakas (1994103-4) reflexivity should guide every step in the

phenomenological research project including choice of topic it must have autobiographical

relevance to the researcher who must be genuinely curious and passionate about the

phenomenon ndash and of course be transparent about these motives The choice of BLM as an

27

empirical example in this study was based on my own experiences from the spring of 2020 I

was just as my respondents and many others very moved by the events that transpired and I

did too participate in some online actions such as checking myself into the US Ambassy on

Facebook to show my support of the movement I followed the news and read everything I

found on social media out of both political sympathy and sociological fascination I wanted to

know more about why the activism looked like it did and how others felt about being part of

it Being able to be fascinated in times of collective grief and trauma for Black people is of

course a privilege that I am aware of I can afford to be distanced towards and critical of the

antiracist movement and how it does or does not invite people to engage themselves in it

because my survival or well-being does not depend on it I aim to be respectful in my

interpretations and descriptions of the movement and its participants

46 Limitations

Instead of aiming to evaluate qualitative research by the same criteria as quantitative studies

there are adjusted validation practices for the specific approach of the study To assure good

quality for qualitative phenomenological studies phenomenological concepts should be used

properly understood and recommended methods should be followed Besides from engaging

in reflexive analysis it is also important to offer descriptive richness and interpretive depth

(Creswell amp Poth 2018272-82) There are also different validation strategies for qualitative

research The researcher can use triangulation to strengthen the stability of the results identify

disconfirming cases and clarify researcher reflexivity (ibid260-1) Member checking and

collaborating with participants can also strengthen the validity (ibid162 Arribas Lozano

2018455-6) All participants were informed of their right to see the transcripts and the analysis

if they wished but they were not contacted with the explicit purpose of checking the finished

results due to time Another aspect is reliability meaning how robust the results of the study

would be if someone else replicated the study (Creswell amp Poth 2018164-5) In the case of

qualitative studies where the researcher is intertwined with the interpretations the probability

of someone else reaching the exact same result is small but thick descriptions of methodology

and the data increases reliability somewhat The generalizability of qualitative studies is often

low and especially so when the sample is skewed The results of this study should be considered

valid only for the group studied since the results could have been different with different

28

representations of gender or class for example However with a purposeful sample of people

with a certain experience the goal is not generalizability beyond the group

Another potential issue is the fact that the quotes from the interviews included in this thesis

have been translated from Swedish to English which means that there is a risk that some of the

core meanings of the quotes may have been spoiled or changed However the analysis was

done on the Swedish transcripts making sure the interpretations were made on the original

material Thus the problem of translating quotes is mainly a problem of communicating the

results to the reader in the same form they appeared in the analysis process of the original

material

5 Results and analysis

As explained in the methods section (43 Coding and analysis) the analysis was gradually

turning toward the themes of a) interpretation privilege and b) how the notion of interpretation

privilege affects the leeway for action These themes will be the focus of the analysis which

will show that although the allies experience their allyship as important and meaningful they

sometimes struggle to find a path for themselves in their attempt to be lsquogoodrsquo allies Their

commitment to respecting interpretation privilege helps them live up the to the ally role as

supporters of Black people in general but it limits the leeway in which they are able to act

independently as political agents But first some general findings on how the allies think about

their role will be presented which primarily relates to the first research question about the

experiences of ally work

The overall experience of allyship is that the ally identity is surrounded by purpose community

and positive experiences They are all highly committed to and well-educated about the cause

Being part of the movement feels meaningful and even like rdquoa privilege to be able to be a part

of it and listen and learnrdquo as Lisa says She describes her emotional experiences

First there was a lot of frustration I think And then there was this powerfulhellip

some kind of like rsquowowrsquo there were a lot of chills there for a while [laughs]

because people really came together

29

Sam shares the experience of initial frustration and pain They describe the feeling when their

frustration and anger transformed into hope like ldquofree fallingrdquo ndash the realization that they were a

part of a group with so many sympathizers made it feel like change was possible

Most ally work was performed online and consisted of acts such as sharing information

knowledge and opinions participating in online seminars and meetings signing petitions and

lsquochecking inrsquo at the US Embassy in Stockholm on Facebook as part of a global protest act To

signal their support for the movement they occasionally used hashtags such as

blacklivesmatter and blackouttuesday All participants got most of their information from

social media in line with the general trend in contemporary activism (Ahmed et al 2017447

Heldman 201788) Previous research emphasizes the important role of emotions in social

movement mobilization and all participants in this study recognized how constant access to

heartbreaking stories virtual proof of mistreatment and a global sense of community provided

by social media motivated them to act (see for example Russo 2014)

Some interviewees also participated outside of social media by attending physical

demonstrations (Sam Sara and Emma) It is impossible to say how many of the interviewees

would have attended had there not been a global pandemic However as digital activism has

become dominating in contemporary social movements (Jaumlmte et al 2020371-2) the low rate

of physical protest among the participants in this study should not be attributed to the pandemic

alone For example Lucas says he has not been to as many demonstrations over the last years

as he would have wanted because of work and other circumstances Amanda says she has

always seen herself as an activist as someone who does what otherrsquos lacks the energy or

resources to do but that she is ldquonot the person who attends demos you knowrdquo And Caroline

who is involved in several organizations besides her antiracist engagement even experiences

that the pandemic has made participation easier for her since it can now be done from home ndash

a point Alva agrees with as she experiences difficulties joining offline protests due to physical

illness Thus the effects of the Covid pandemic are not exclusively negative and limiting Apart

from the different demonstrations the allies also emphasized how implementing antiracist ideas

into their everyday behavior and their professional lives is crucial to be a good ally

The main motivator for their allyship is the notion of privilege All interviewees refer to

themselves as White and relate it to privilege an increasingly common tendency and a

prerequisite for antiracist commitment among Whites (Cole 20201627 Spanierman amp Smith

2017608-9) Lisa describes herself as a ldquoprivileged White woman raised in a middle-class

homerdquo and she says that she faced few obstacles growing up and Sam argues that their White

30

identity gives them platforms and privileges many Black people lack Therefore they use their

social media to amplify the voices of Black people sharing their voices stories and

perspectives Amplifying voices of marginalized groups has been recognized in research as one

of the main tasks for allies (Arora amp Stout 2019390 Bhattacharyya et al 202012 Clark

2019528-31)

The argument of amplifying Black voices as a way to utilize onersquos privilege is twofold First

the participants see their privilege as an opportunity to reach out to fellow Whites who they

expect will listen more to their White counterparts than they would to a Black person which is

confirmed in previous research (see for example Arora amp Stout 2019 Linder amp Johnson 2015)

For example Lucas says

Us Whites who are not affected by racism we have to stand up and show that itrsquos

not OK to spread racism If we donrsquot therersquoll never be any change because

sometimes it feels like people listen more to [hellip] a White person confirming that

what a Black person says is true

Sam shares this reasoning and they actively try to reach people with ldquodeeply racist prejudicerdquo

who would ldquonever listen to a Black personrdquo According to Haraway (1988577) subjugated

groups are deprived the privilege of assumed objectivity and reduced to their position as

inherently linked to and epistemologically limited by their social position in a way the dominant

groups are not Subjugated knowledge must always be fought for in terms of recognition

(Collins 1990414) and the allies in this study is dedicated to doing so in order to reduce the

impact of their own privilege and increase the outreach of Black people Katrin recognizes how

this process of validation of knowledge based on power is an unequal process where Black

people are seen as unreliable because they are ldquoacting out of self-interestrdquo whereas White

people are assigned more credibility Recognizing these mechanisms does not mean that the

interviewees accept them they use words such as ldquoterriblerdquo and ldquodisgustingrdquo to describe the

phenomenon and they feel both guilty about having these privileges and motivated to use them

for good which has been recognized as a potential effect of guilt in previous research (Dull et

al 20211081-84) However acknowledging this epistemic hierarchy is not an automatic

renouncing of privilege but can instead reinforce racist structures by assuming the assigned

value of White knowledge is higher and thus seeing the role of White allies as more important

than that of Black people in fighting racism (see Collins 1009)

31

The second aspect of White privilege in antiracist activism is as recognized by the interviewees

the fact that the costs of engaging are much lower for White people than they are for Black

simply because one does not risk facing racism as a response to speaking up (Drury amp Kaiser

2014642) For example Sam says they saw their ability to participate in the demonstration as

a privilege ndash not everyone can be sure to get home safe if they choose to attend a demo due to

the potential threat of police harassment or counter-protestors These costs are further lowered

by the fact that most ally work is done online Sara for example says that it enables her to

ldquotake the fightrdquo without ending up in situations too uncomfortable or even dangerous

Essentially the privilege of being listened to and the lower cost of speaking up for White allies

motivates specific responsibilities assigned to ally work but it also risks reproducing racist

hierarchies by assigning White knowledge higher value The remainder of the analysis will

focus on how these responsibilities are put into practice and what may limit the allies in their

attempts to do ally work

51 Balancing ally work

Related to the second research question is to what extent the allies feel like they are entitled to

act in the movement and this following section aims to show what different aspects affect this

perception Based on the ideas about privilege and responsibility the difficulties in balancing

different strategies of ally work will now be analyzed Although it may seem self-explanatory

what allies should do based on the previous section ndash use their privilege to raise their voices

against racist discrimination ndash the experiences of the interviewed allies shows that it is more

complicated than at first glance They must balance different strategies which can be defined

as following

A Listen but do not exploit

B Help but do not hijack

C Step down but do not become paralyzed

These three points represent how different ally assignments presented by the interviewees are

at some point met with objections or disclaimers There are a multitude of examples in the

interviews but the above-mentioned strategies are the most representative and common For

analytical and stylistic purposes they will be presented in a step-by-step form but they should

not be understood as linear or causal The relationship between these aspects is much more

32

complicated which the analysis aims to demonstrate Before analyzing these three strategies

the concept that serves as an implicit (sometimes explicit) point of departure for most decisions

by the allies should be accounted for namely the concept of interpretation privilege

511 Interpretation privilege

In all interviews there is an assumption about what kind of knowledge is legitimate knowledge

and interpretations based on interpretation privilege (tolkningsfoumlretraumlde in Swedish) 9 of the

11 interviewees explicitly mention the term but the theme is discussed in all interviews This

means that despite their academic degrees years of professional experience in human rights

work or their genuine interest for social justice issues the interviewees recognize how their

lack of lived experience reduces their ability to fully understand the issue of racism The idea

of interpretation privilege is interpreted here as a translation of ideas about situated knowledge

(Collins 1990408) lived experience (Voronka 2016194) and power into everyday political

lingo This idea is expressed continuously throughout the interviews as a part of their political

reasoning and it guides how they relate to their role as allies Katrin explains

It is not the same thing to understand racism by reading about it or by seeing or

hearing about othersrsquo experiences as it is to carry it in the body It will never be

possible for me to understand that

Interpretation privilege then helps allies understand and accept their own inability to fully

comprehend racism and it creates respect towards the testimonies made by people who

experiences racism However knowing that one lacks access to a full understanding also

contributes to self-doubt about the ally role and the work associated with it Caroline who

studies to become a psychologist tells me she has some concerns about being a White

psychologist treating Black patients Her professors claim psychologists do not need to share

the patientsrsquo experiences but Caroline is doubtful

ldquoI as a White person will never be able to fully understand being constantly

vigilant as a Black person in Sweden not knowing what the day will be like to

constantly be exposed to microaggressions and discrimination and even worse

abuse every dayhelliprdquo

Accepting interpretation privilege as the fact that if one is not exposed to racism one will never

know exactly what it feels like is empathetic and sensitive to the lived experience of Black

33

people It means respecting the ways Black people make sense of and deal with their own

experiences of oppression without claiming to know better However for the participants in

this study it often leads them to disregard all kinds of personal opinions thoughts or ideas

about what racism is and what should be done about it simply because they lack lived

experience of racism The participants sometimes struggle to balance their own knowledge

against the opinions and experiences of Black people Caroline again

Itrsquos this thing about interpreting different actions ndash is this a racist action or not

Well thatrsquos not up to me [hellip] And I think that interpretation privilege in general

in social media too that you just donrsquot go in and interpret what is right and wrong

Here the lack of interpretation privilege disqualifies Caroline from even deciding whether she

finds something right or wrong although such judgements are foundational in political thinking

Interpretation privilege also decides the legitimacy of actions according to Sara she argues

that whereas it is the job of White allies to speak up against other Whites the meaning of the

action is not the same as if a Black person would do it Essentially if a White ally wants to

stand up against racism it should be with a disclaimer

I think it is important to be like lsquothis is my understanding of it but I donrsquot have

interpretation privilegersquo just to create some awareness that I donrsquot have any

right to think anything - Emma

Some participants strip themselves of their agency by retreating to the idea that their

perspectives thoughts and ideas do not matter Lisa tells me that she sometimes censors herself

by not posting or sharing certain things because she feels like she has too little knowledge She

also stays out of debates she is interested in because she ldquodoes not feel [she] has the right to say

something or make a statement in these issuesrdquo Another example of how allies renounce their

political agency can be represented by Sara who tells me that when she saw my participant

message she was concerned that I searched for lsquoself-identified alliesrsquo In her perspective the

label lsquoallyrsquo is not something that one can claim independently one must earn it by being

recognized as such by a Black person Zhelnina (2020361) points to the importance of activists

growing independence emotional confidence and autonomy in their political interpretations

for a movement to successfully mobilize and in a discourse where one does not even possess

the right to claim allyship to a political movement this type of independence and confidence

may be difficult to develop

34

Another important aspect is the conflict that arises when people with interpretation privilege

disagree within the group Lucas says he has met Black people who defend the right to use

racial slurs That does not mean he accept this as true and uses these words himself but he

acknowledges that these situations could be problematic The multitude of perspectives to

consider especially considering the global character of the movement and its social media

presence it becomes difficult to decide what to believe in And when those who have been

assigned authority in this case Black people with interpretation privilege it becomes even

harder The reflexive globalized world with endless sources of information with sometimes

contradictory messages makes it hard to navigate (Giddens 1991138) This problem also

relates to what Voronka (2016196) described as essentialist tendencies when using the concept

of lived experience as a criterion for inclusion With social media where almost unlimited

information is always accessible to the individual the effort to develop independent

interpretations becomes unnecessary and in the case of the White allies insensitive

However it should be noted that although the idea of interpretation privilege is present in all

interviews the participants are also aware that other types of knowledge such as skills from

previous experience in social movements or academic judicial or general professional

knowledge is important Many of them say that they do feel confident of the practical abilities

they have built up over many years of activism and civil society work and Alva among others

points to how she would like to take on the role of fixing practical organizational tasks for the

BLM movement if she were to become more involved in the future Thus there is no validity

in claiming that the interviewees lack all sorts of self-esteem in their ally identity and that they

completely disregard other types of knowledge as Lucas says ldquointerpretation privilege is not

everythingrdquo Still statements such as ldquoI donrsquot have any right to think anythingrdquo or rdquoItrsquos this

thing about interpreting actions ndash is this racist or not Well thatrsquos not up to merdquo are common

in the interviews Although many of the participants can be interpreted as having ontological

security in terms of knowing what they are good at they cannot translate this into a practical

consciousness that guides their actions in a natural manner which creates ontological insecurity

and passivity (Giddens 199144) This relates to findings about lack of lived experience as

leading to potential insensitivity to discrimination which the interviewees recognize in

themselves (Drury amp Kaiser 2014369-42) In theories of situated knowledge it is emphasized

how a multitude of perspectives is needed and that subjugated groups do not have natural access

to hidden truths (Haraway 1988583-6 Young 199027) The disregarding of White ally

perspectives due to lack of lived experience is thus not inherent in the theories themselves but

35

rather something that seems to occur along the popularized interpretation of the term as it is

translated into everyday political lingo as interpretation privilege

So in navigating what to do as an ally while being committed to the idea of interpretation

privilege the first strategy for good ally work is formulated listening

512 Listen but do not exploit

So drawing upon the notion of interpretation privilege the appropriate way to consume

information about racial issues and determining what to do is by listening to Black people

Listening itself becomes not only a way to retrieve information and insight but a political

practice that reflects power structures and identity It becomes a way to renounce onersquos owns

privilege and instead assigning the power of being heard to others (see Collins 1990 Haraway

1988 Young 2004) Sam explains

I as a White person will never be able to sit there and decide what is right and

wrong when it comes to Black experiences or just non-White experiences Irsquove got

nothing to say about that I know nothing about it I just donrsquot What I can do is

listen and learn and I need to take the initiative as a student in this subject

Listening and taking a step back represents successful allyship according to Lucas because it

means both getting access to the right information and showing emotional support and respect

for people exposed to racism Listening is a powerful way to use onersquos White privilege

respecting the interpretation privilege of Black people and redirecting some of the privilege

and power associated to onersquos whiteness to Black people which is one of the main assignments

of allies (Brown amp Ostrove 20132211) But apart from being a virtuous alternative strategy

for allies it is also a relatively effortless option compared to other types of activism such as

participating in demonstrations Effective unproblematic and ideologically right a seemingly

perfect strategy to apply as a White ally

However it is not that simple listening is not only an act of rejecting the power associated to

onersquos racial identity but also hauntingly close to exploitation of Black experience according

to the interviewees The problem of freeriding and exploiting or capitalizing on the stories of

subjugated groups has been acknowledged in previous research on allyship (Clark 2019530

Linder amp Johnson 20159) For example Lisa argues that White people should be careful

36

talking about racism as if they could understand it and instead listen to what Black people say

- but at the same time she says it quickly becomes counterproductive

Black Swedes are not supposed to have to educate me about the racism they

experience because in that case what do I really demand from a Black person

Lou has the same idea and she tells me about how she used to ask her Black partner many

lsquodumbrsquo questions but that she realized that this means that she puts the burden of educating her

on him Sara avoids asking her Black friends about how she as a White ally can help because

that puts too much responsibility on those Black friends Amanda tells me she is after having

listened to one of the biggest antiracist podcasts Raseriet afraid of being one of lsquothose White

peoplersquo who demand to be taught about racism from Black people After all they all agree that

racism is a problem White people created and a problem for White people to solve ndash the

responsibility should not land on Black people As Emma says

Itrsquos essentially White peoplersquos problem itrsquos White people who built the structures

we are protesting [hellip] Itrsquos not Black people who are supposed to stand there and

scream their lungs out about Black Lives Matter but itrsquos about White people

needing to get together and saying like lsquonow we have to fix this because we

created itrsquo

So while trying to balance interpretation privilege the participants easily stumble into another

pitfall Listening as ally work increases the risk of becoming a burden on Black people by

depending on them for education explanations and guidance and exploiting their knowledge

and lived experience for self-improvement which also reinforces racist structures Black people

are implicitly seen as political objects rather than subjects inevitably crushed under the pressure

of White questions and demands and in need of White protection The point of allyship is to

make life and activism easier for Black people not the other way around which brings us to

another strategy of allyship to balance helping

513 Help but do not hijack

Based on the idea that listening as political practice can become exploitative and freeriding the

allies land in the conclusion that helping is the main assignment for allies They motivate this

by referring to their own privileges However as this section will show helping as a political

practice is also surrounded by potential problems

37

The idea of helping as ally work relates again to the idea that the costs of confronting racism is

lower for White people than for Black people (Drury amp Kaiser 2014642) as well as the

realization that White people are granted more respect and legitimacy when advocating for

antiracist causes (Arora amp Stout 2019390) Helping consists of claiming co-responsibility of

changing society protecting Black people from painful experiences and deal with the racism

of White people For example if an ally hears someone being racist they must speak up Sara

tries to do so because she does not want to add to any Black personrsquos burden of having to take

every fight themselves Emma argues that it is not Black peoplersquos responsibility to keep the

movement alive and therefore it is important that White people speak up She thinks ldquoit feels

stupid if White people would just sit around and wait for initiatives cause then you donrsquot do

anything goodrdquo If Black people are left alone with total responsibility of changing institutions

and organizations in Loursquos experience that usually puts Black people in situations where the

risk of being exposed to racism is high and without the support system of allies to help

Although all interviewees describe different ways of helping and supporting Black people and

the BLM movement as a main task for allies such statements are often followed by a disclaimer

For example they say ldquoitrsquos this balance that you being White shouldnrsquot go in and take overrdquo

(Emma) and ldquoWe should support we should be there we should recognize and lift the issues

But we should not be the main actorsrdquo (Alva) One of the most common phrases in the

interviews were lsquothat is not my placersquo This reasoning is present regardless of what types of

actions the interviewees talk about both high-level activism in formal organizations or

representing the movement in media and everyday civil courage such as speaking up against

racist comments in the workplace Sara adds to her statement about wanting to speak up to help

Black people saying that she ldquoalso has to leave room for Black people to act and not trying to

be like lsquoI know best now so let me explain racismrsquordquo Amanda shares similar thoughts saying

Itrsquos important that this can be a movement that Black people own themselves and

that itrsquos not something us White people can just barge into and take over Itrsquos a

balancing between goodwill and wanting to help and to not barge in and be like

lsquoThis is what racism isrsquo

Amanda has worked in organizations who educate people in moral courage and antiracism for

a few years and she has much experience in this type of political work But when she is

contacted in her role as an antiracist educator and asked to hold a course in a workplace she

doubts herself She feels that she must lsquowarnrsquo them about her whiteness ldquoI have to start by

38

saying that Irsquom White Irsquoll never be able to talk about racism like a Black person couldrdquo During

spring of 2020 she started to think about her role again she tells me She concluded that ldquothis

is not my place this organization is not my place but I could do activism in other waysrdquo In

most interviews there are similar reasonings for example Bea explains how she is not against

White people organizing against racism but that she

would not be very comfortable doing it or starting an appeal or initiative like

lsquoWhites in support for Black Lives Matterrsquo because thatrsquos nothellip thatrsquos claiming

space and attention

Katrin said that she in her work at an equality foundation had to weigh her wish to do

something against the risk of ldquotaking over a voice that was just starting to build uprdquo and Lou

who works in HR criticizes her own attempts to implement antiracist ideas at her workplace

because she doubts if she has any right to ldquoclaim that we have to work with so-called diversity

issuesrdquo or ldquobe that voice in a White roomrdquo Emma mentions ldquosupporting without taking overrdquo

as the most important aspect of ally work This is an important part of allyship being

supportive standing by Black peoplersquos side acknowledging oppression raising the issues but

without being the protagonists of the movement as Alva explains Lisa agrees she asks herself

rdquoIs this my space to claim I donrsquot know am I supposed to march in the frontline when it comes

to this issue like Irsquom not so sure about thatrdquo In these statements it is implicitly assumed that

if Whites wanted to take over from Black people they easily could (even unconsciously) and

this implies Black people are less resilient as political actors

These arguments are often motivated by their own experiences with men taking space in

feminist movements They think about the way they want men to act and applies the same

reasoning to their own allyship

If this was about feminism and there was a dude telling me this or doing this that

Irsquom talking about now [taking over authorrsquos note] how would I react then [hellip]

I find it odd when female feminists feel like they have to pay tribute to and psyche

up male feminists I donrsquot think male feminists should need that And I feel the

same way about like Black people shouldnrsquot have to care about me at all it may

sound weird but I donrsquot do it for them itrsquos other Whites I want to affect ndash Katrin

Allies often use their own identities and social positions to understand other types of oppression

and although it seems to function as a source of empathy and compassion for the other group

as well as regulating ones ally behavior it is important to acknowledge that lived experience of

39

sexism does not mean inevitable understanding of experiences of racism (Spanierman amp Smith

2017608-10) which the allies mention themselves

This section shows that the strategy of helping is not as straight-forward and easily managed as

first described but instead associated with a big risk lsquoWhat if I take over What does it say

about me if I dordquo They engage in reflexive identity construction without being ontologically

secure eg without having a ldquopractical consciousnessrdquo or ldquonatural attituderdquo that guides how to

act This creates anxiety and fear of doing and thus being wrong (Giddens 199136) All

participants agree that although allies are important in creating change the movement is and

should be a Black space Although they are confident in these believes and dedicated to living

up to these ideals they are still afraid of unintentionally taking over or hijacking the movement

despite their wish to simply help and support the movement from the background To minimize

the risk of being one of those White allies who barges in and takes over the allies make sure to

balance this by taking a step back and leaving room for Black people to lead the way

514 Take a step back but do not become paralyzed

The choice to take a step back following the alliesrsquo reasoning about claiming space and taking

over means that they are more and more evolving toward a state of allyship where few actions

are legitimate and unproblematic This can be interpreted as a sign that the strategies described

previously (listening and helping) are not part of the alliesrsquo practical consciousness and that

engaging in such ally work is experienced as difficult and frightening due to ontological

insecurity This often leads to passivity (Giddens 199144) Taking a step back is described as

lsquoleaving room forrsquo Black people and it consists of listening (which as previous sections of the

analysis show is not seen as entirely unproblematic) and sharing the perspectives of Black

people for example in social media but without claiming a frontline position in the movement

These are two strategies that reduces the influence of White voices on the antiracist discourse

Taking a step back and leaving room for Black people is a way to denounce the privilege of

being listened to (Arora amp Stout 2019294-5) and reducing the power gap between dominant

and subjugated groups in terms of knowledge production (Collins 1990408)

However the interviewees testify to how the strategy to take a step back is often (but not

always) a shortcut to passivity Katrin who works in an equality foundation dealing with issues

of sexism and racism tells me what happened in her organization when choosing the take-a-

step-back approach by sharing articles Instagram posts and other materials created by Black

40

people and thus engaging in amplification of Black voices (Clark 2019528-31) They were

later criticized for ldquonot doing more not talking about it more screaming more sharing

morehelliprdquo They tried to do the right thing but failed Katrin wonders if they should have done

something of their own something bigger while also acknowledging how it would be

problematic of them to claim the spotlight

The allies worry about their own tendencies to become passive because of trying to navigate

among the different strategies Katrin explains this mechanism as a process where learning

about privilege and power creates an insight of onersquos own role in this power structure

ldquoYou realize that lsquoI have power I have responsibility and I do not have

interpretation privilegersquo and that makes you so scared to do anything wrong that

you end up doing nothing at allrdquo

She describes the insights as ldquoparalyzingrdquo and this experience is shared by more of the

interviewees and found in previous research (Brown amp Ostrove 20132220) Emma says that

it is a complex question that she thinks about a lot and that she has not yet landed in any

conclusions about what she should be doing as an ally but she knows that she must avoid

becoming paralyzed However it could be reflexivity itself that leads to such passivity

(Giddens 199144) Political background does not affect this mechanism as it is observed in

those with no prior experience as well as those with years of activism In some ways having

more prior experience can even make it harder to navigate the ally role because the roles

previously taken are no longer open to you as White Alva explains

Irsquom so used to being in the front and in the middle and being in the back is not

really like how I have been engaged before Irsquom not really used to it and to have

my role defined as being in the backseat in the back of the bus as Whitehellip [hellip] I

havenrsquot done that before And Irsquove struggled to find my role ndash what can I do

Cause I feel my hands are tied behind my back a little I would love to do more but

at the same time my interest cannot decide what the main issue should be Itrsquos all

about knowing your role and your place and being very sensitive to when people

tell you to back away or step up

At the end of each interview they were asked What would you like to see for the movement in

the future I got many analytical answers but some responded by saying like Alva ldquoItrsquos hard

for me to answer because Irsquom White I donrsquot know what needs to be focused on right now and

Irsquom not the right person to askrdquo Lisa says rdquoI donrsquot feel I have the right to speak on this or like

41

debate this issuerdquo Amanda does not answer the question either and refers to how it would be

inappropriate for her to try to decide what the movement should be about Interestingly she

notices how this perspective is only present in her relation to antiracism as she has worked for

LGBTQ-rights for years despite identifying as straight She cannot point out what is different

when it comes to antiracism but she feels there is a difference The uncertainty of knowing

what to do risks leading to passivity

ldquoItrsquos like Irsquove come tohellip Not a stop but a landmark and itrsquos like I canrsquot get

further than that because I donrsquot know what to do Irsquom sure there are things I

could do and a role for me to take on but I canrsquot find it right nowrdquo - Alva

Again the interviewees are aware of the paralyzing effect of their strategies and Lou claims

that she knows that she is overthinking it

When I discuss this with people who are exposed to racism I sometimes get the

feeling that theyrsquore like lsquowe donrsquot care who does it somebody just do itrsquo There

is a need for antiracist work to be done [hellip] So I think that itrsquos easy to fall into

some kind of paralyzed state that doesnrsquot help anybody

The assumption of passivity among contemporary activists can be considered mainstream in

the social movement field Youths of Western democracies are less engaged in any kind of

traditional political involvement such as voting political party membership or other

associational activities (Amnaring amp Ekman 20136) Often this decline in political activity is

attributed to the growing prevalence of digital methods instead of more traditional physical

methods because it gives people an undeserved sense of accomplishment (Skoric 201277) and

a false idea of what activism is efficient (Morozov 200913) Although the majority of the

intervieweesrsquo activism consisted of digital participation and digital participation only it would

be unfair to claim that it is out of a sense of undeserving feeling of accomplishment that they

stopped at digital methods Quite opposite to the conclusions made by Skoric and Morozov of

the self-absorbed slacktivist the interviewees are far from happy with their contributions to the

movement Digital activism is associated with laziness slack and performative allyship by the

interviewees and they usually do not value digital activism as high as physical engagement

For example Lisa says she feels a bit ashamed of being more of a ldquokeyboard activist than a real

activistrdquo and Amanda shares similar thoughts about her own participation

42

When I posted the image I felt like lsquoIrsquom so fucking lame for doing only thisrsquo

[laughs] I didnrsquot really think of it as an activist action because it was so easy

Thus the emotional experience relates to feeling ashamed which under specific circumstances

and motivate action ndash but often it leads to passivity (Dull et al 20211081-84 Zhelnina

2020361) When Emma describes how accessible online activism is she presents a scenario

where someone can ldquosit at home in the couch and watch a movie and at the same time just log

into social media and protestrdquo Bea even laughs while telling me that she ldquothinks she shared a

black square on Instagram like everyone elserdquo Accessibility is not an indicator of democratic

or inclusive value but quality and it seems like the easier it is the lower it is valued by the

allies Comparing to the study by Russo (2014) where the allies put themselves through

physical challenges to demonstrate their allyship the digital form of ally work is interpreted as

a lower form of activism and is surrounded by feelings of inadequacy and shame Although the

reasons for why many of them stopped at digital activism varies none of them did it out of

satisfaction or laziness In the cases where physical limitations the pandemic or lack of protests

in onersquos hometown was not the reason it was rooted in an insecurity about what to do as an

ally Digital methods were perceived as a safer option in a context where almost all other types

of White participation are criticized and the potential pain of being called out as a bad ally is

perceived to be lower in the digital realm than it would be in other contexts

As this section shows the allies handle the potential risk of hijacking the movement by taking

a step back to leave room for Black people to define shape and ultimately run the movement

themselves However this strategy creates its own problems there is an imminent risk of

becoming passive So when listening does not work because of the risk of freeriding and

exploiting Black experiences and actively helping to relieve Black people of the burden to

overthrow systemic racism is deemed inappropriate because it includes a risk of hijacking the

movement and stepping back is ruled out because it leads to passivity ndash what remains

515 Do good but not for the wrong reasons Introspection

In line with previous research and theory introspection of different kinds is often discussed as

an important ally assignment (Drury amp Kaiser 2014638 Kauffman 200124 29-32) Without

introspection the quality of allyship risks becoming deficient because without being aware of

onersquos privilege as well as guilt allyship easily slips into paternalistic behavior (Cole

20201267 Spanierman amp Smith 609-10) Introspection is described in terms of ldquochecking

43

myselfrdquo (Sam) ldquotake a step back and acknowledge that I am part of a racist systemrdquo (Lisa) and

being ldquohumble to the fact that you are part the structurerdquo (Caroline) All interviewees express

the idea that one cannot be a good ally or contribute to positive change without first having

engaged in introspection in different ways

I think one of the most important things is to understand your own whiteness It

sounds kind of ego and self-centered but I think that you canrsquot be an ally

otherwise ever if you donrsquot see your own privilege [hellip] Otherwise you end up

balancing the line between racism and antiracism and that line is thinner than

you think - Lou

This imagined thin line between antiracism and racism concerns many interviewees Lisa

Lucas and Emma also see the risk of falling into racist behavior as big and that they must start

by recognizing this risk to avoid it Amanda says that she knows that she eventually will do

something racist but that she tries not to fear it because ldquoself-criticism can create fear often

therersquos a fear of saying or doing the wrong thing which makes people afraid to be alliedrdquo which

creates passivity Sam calls self-reflection and rdquochecking themselvesrdquo their most important job

and claims that if their aim was to destroy racism that would indicate that they thought of

themselves as bias-free which they are not Lucas also recognizes his own prejudice and says

it is part of his ally work to try to diminish these biases The potential for racist behavior is both

ascribed to being raised in a racist system and to White identity Amanda attributes her future

racist actions to her whiteness explicitly and Caroline argues that all White people are capable

of racist actions regardless of intent lsquowokenessrsquo and knowledge and she knows that she will

at some point act racist despite her devotion to antiracism and her love for her Black partner

All these considerations are part of the reflexive process that is self-identity constantly

scrutinizing oneself and navigating around different actions to act in line with self-identity

(Giddens 199175) When the stakes are as high as they are for White allies ndash they risk acting

and thus being racist if they do not engage in enough introspection The room for action

becomes further limited

In relation to the digital realm where most ally work took place introspection also becomes

about motivations The main concern for the interviewees was whether or not they should use

their social media platforms for ally work at all since digital methods are sometimes frowned

upon for being shallow and too simple Despite this all of them did some type of digital ally

work When I asked those who shared the black square on Instagram why some of them

44

laughed and said that they did not know or could not explain it They mention motivations such

as fitting in

In a way it was like everyone on my Instagram did it and it became like a peer

pressure thing like rsquowhy didnrsquot she share itrsquo or rsquowhy didnrsquot he hare itrsquo you

know ndash Emma

Besides peer pressure the desire to lsquofeel goodrsquo was also reflected upon Many acknowledge

that this desire existed but they did not approve of it as a motive for action Caroline explains

that although it is good to show others where you stand it does not say much about who you

are in the everyday life and the act of posting on social media instead become about seeming

or feeling good The thing they worry about is whether them showing support for the BLM

movement was intended to help the movement or to make themselves look better ndash sometimes

called cosmetic activism (Spanierman amp Smith 2017609-10) or more often among the

participants performative allyship Lou who regularly shares information opinions petitions

and hashtags in her social media says that she worries about her allyship being performative

because she knows most of her followers already shares her opinions Thus her sharing yet

another Instagram post about how racism is wrong could possibly be to ldquoshow off and make

myself feel a little betterrdquo She is careful to stop and reflect upon her actions and intentions and

ask herself lsquowhy did I do this What was my purposersquo Bea shares the same concerns

describing online activism as potentially about ldquostrengthening your personal brandrdquo and

ldquomarketing yourselfrdquo ndash although she does not identify with these motives she feels like there

is always a risk of falling into performative allyship in social media Posting on social media is

also described as a way to claim an antiracist alibi as Bea explains

One way to avoid this is to actively choose not to share with others the activism they engage in

like Sam who calls it unlearning performative allyship Instead of risking acting in the wrong

way and for the wrong reasons they turn to strategic passivism However the unintended result

of this is that one of the main advantages of allies in social movements (that they can use their

voices and platforms to amplify Black voices) goes missing if social media posts are no longer

considered legitimate allyship (Arora amp Stout 2019390 Bhattacharyya et al 202012 Clark

2019528-31)

Introspection is not only a way to secure high-quality allyship but to reduce the risk of doing

something racist and thus being racist Identity is constructed biographically through action

and if the actions does not align with the sense of self-identity this incoherence leads to

45

ontological insecurity in terms of the self meaning one starts to doubt onersquos own motives

(Giddens 199152-54) Seeing onersquos own whiteness as a guarantee of future racist behavior

and knowing how such behavior would clash with the sense of self allies do best in trying to

avoid racist action by all means available Thus acting becomes a risk in itself and this could

be interpreted as ally work becoming unintuitive and unnatural to the allies both at a practical

level determining what to do and at a more discursive level shaping who to be Although

ontological security is defined as practical consciousness it applies to less hands-on orientation

in the world too for example finding onersquos role and identity in a social movement The way to

move forward after recognizing all possible ways one may act wrong is to engage in strategic

passivism apolitical introspection as a political strategy (Kauffman 200124 29-32 Giddens

199144) It is not equivalent to passivity because it includes a strategic choice and it is built

on ally work but ally work that is aimed inwards It becomes a way to be active without acting

in a context where other people may get hurt or judge you

Allies must also make sure not only to act coherently and right but to have pure intentions

being an ally for the sake of recognition or personal gratification is not accepted However

research shows that such extrinsic motivations are especially important in motivating digital

participation (Lilleker amp Koc-Michalska 201725 34-25) and that feelings of shame and guilt

can lead to passivity (Dull et al 20211081-84 Zhelnina 2020361) These two conditions

(ideas of inherent racism and requirements of pure motives) related to introspection does not

create an environment where being active is very appealing Lou admits how acknowledging

the thin line between antiracism and racism leaves her paralyzed instead of motivated

Introspection on the other hand requires no interaction with other people and thus no risk of

being evaluated judged or called out as a bad ally

As the analysis demonstrates the allies recognize there are many different ways they could

engage ndash but all of them are eventually met with disclaimers of how that specific strategy is

inappropriate They try to navigate their own identity and privilege in relation to interpretation

privilege based on theories of situated knowledge but because they lack ontological security

in their ally role they struggle to find a path that is neither inappropriate nor associated with

too much risk Eventually they land in what could be referred to as passivism strategic

passivity as a form of activism

46

6 Discussion and conclusion

The purpose of this study was to better understand how the ally role and participation is

experienced by White allies participating in the Swedish BLM movement and to investigate to

what extent they felt that they had legitimacy as political agents in the movement As the results

show the allies felt strongly for the cause and had many positive experiences of community

and purpose However emotions related to shame guilt and insecurity were also an integral

part of their ally experience and it limited them in their ally work The analysis also shows that

while they are willing and motivated to act as allies the strategies available to them are

surrounded by disclaimers doubt and criticism Few potential actions or approaches are left

unproblematized and the allies often struggle to find their specific path The analysis

emphasizes the link between academic theories of situated knowledge and what can be seen as

a translated popularized version of the term formulated in the political discourse as

interpretation privilege The contribution of Giddensrsquo theories is that the concepts of reflexivity

and ontological security describes the reason for the hesitation the allies engage in whereas the

concept of situated knowledge describes on what basis they hesitate modernity explains why

they worry and situated knowledge what they worry about

Although the analysis shows a pattern that seems to link ideas of interpretation privilege with

passivism among allies the conclusion should not be that acknowledging the importance of

situated knowledge and recognizing the power intertwined with the knowledge creation and

validation process is unnecessary or harmful The theories of situated knowledge standpoint

theory and Black feminist epistemology are important contributions to the sociology of

knowledge and crucial reminders of the power embedded in knowledge However of interest

to political sociology scholars could be the translation of academic concepts into everyday

political lingo and what effects it may have on how people think about politics agency and

identity It is also important to point out that the statements by the interviewees do not reflect

the concept of interpretation privilege in itself but only their interpretation of it Therefore one

could never claim that the concept in itself limits or motivates anything only the way it is

interpreted

Many parts of the results need further investigation One is the implication of guilt if allies are

so limited in this movement whose fault is it It is easy to jump to the conclusion that the fault

belongs to the movement itself and its participants that activists and allies specifically create

47

an environment where action is limited and surrounded by doubt and insecurity This is not the

conclusion of the study Black people or specifically Black movement participants are not to

blame for a culture created by all participants of the movement and this culture or discourse

should be treated as such a larger collective process or frame that is affected by and affecting

all movement participants and the social context it is constructed in It is power on the discursive

level and beyond the reach of any specific grouprsquos aims to control it The experiences and

emotions of the allies should be treated as manifestations of a larger socio-political context

(Buechler 1995458) which could be the focus of future research

Another important aspect to discuss is the implications of quality of the participants allyship

Much research on the passivity of modern activists for example texts on slacktivism (see

Skoric 2012) have a contemptuous tone while discussing how little activists do and how good

they feel about themselves I refrain from evaluating the quality of the actual activism

performed by the allies and from explaining their digitally dominated activism with slacktivism

Instead of seeing contemporary passivism as a potential problem of bad activists one must

focus on the cultural structural and discursive processes enabling this specific kind of activism

instead of other more traditional and acknowledged types of activism Something in the

political climate digital activism identity political social movements or something completely

different limits those who wish to support the movement as allies in their action repertoires

One interesting finding is the consistency in the way the participants describe their involvement

and the issues they thought about Looking at prior experience and their doubts and concerns

about current and future activism there seems to be no link between being unexperienced or

so to say a lsquorookiersquo activist and feeling insecure about what to do as an ally The same problem

was present for people working with equality issues for a living having academic degrees in

the field and well as those without similar professional and academic competences Thus it is

unlikely to be out of inexperience or lack of knowledge that allies sometimes turn to passivism

It is also important to note that while this analysis turned out to be about tendencies of

passivism the interviewed allies were in fact not passive They all engaged in different ally

work digitally and physically sharing information online participating in demonstrations and

trying to incorporate antiracism in their everyday lives and encounters The idea of passivism

applies to their own reasoning and thinking about their allyship more than it does to their

performed ally work Passivism describes their strategic use of introspection which resembles

being passive from out outside perspective but includes much effort in scrutinizing oneself and

trying to become a better ally something that the interviewees are very focused on

48

The main contribution of this study is its representation of the ally perspective something that

is not well researched in the Swedish context It contributes with an insight into the political

arguments of a contemporary social movement characterized by identity-focus and digital

methods Potential contributions could also relate to the questions what would be needed for

allyship to become effective motivating and less associated with introspection and passivism

questions to which the answers must be found in larger contexts than that of these 11 alliesrsquo

testimonies In order to say more about how contemporary allyship is constructed experienced

and given meaning a triangulation of different methods and data sources would be required

along with a bigger sample

The study raised more questioned than it answered which indicates the importance and

relevance of further studies For example the theoretical coherence between the academic

concept of situated knowledge and the more casual term interpretation privilege would need to

be further explored as this study is only a rather shallow review of the concepts Studying the

larger political development and the discourse on activism or racism could also help

constructing a more developed understanding of what it really means to be an ally in the local

context of 21st century Sweden while simultaneously being part of a global network of activists

The implications of these results could be that while allyship is considered important both for

social movements at large (see Brown amp Ostrove 2013 Arora amp Stout 2019 Clark 2019) and

for the individual allies themselves it is also problematized by the interviewees in line with the

problems presented in previous research Applying these results to White allyship there are

things that would need to change in order for the allies to feel secure enough to find the

motivation to participate in the way they all claim they would want to but have not found the

time motivation or feeling of legitimacy to do For ally work to be a force to be reckoned with

in the antiracist struggle preconditions for action beyond introspection and strategic passivism

must be further developed Relating back to Butler the risk is otherwise that

If white people become exclusively preoccupied with our own privilege we risk

becoming self-absorbed We definitely donrsquot need more white people making

everything about themselves that just re-centralizes whiteness and refuses to do

the work of anti-racism (Gleeson 2021)

49

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movement Social Movement Studies 16(4) 227-465 httpsdoi1010801474283720161192457

American Psychological Association (2019) Racial and ethnic identity httpapastyleapaorgstyle-grammar-

guidelinesbias-free-languageracial-ethnic-minorities

Amnaring E amp Ekman J (2013) Standby citizens diverse faces of political passivity European Political Science 1-21

httpsdoi101017S175577391300009X

Andersson P (2021) Bokrecension Vit skoumlrhet vaumllbehoumlvlig i svensk rasismdebatt SVT Nyheter Downloaded 2021-09-29

from httpswwwsvtsekulturbokrecension-vit-skorhet-skickar-meningsfulla-impulser-in-i-den-svenska-debatten

Arora M amp Stout CT (2018) Letters for Black Lives Co-ethnic Mobilization and Support for the Black Lives Matter

Movement Political Research Quarterly 72(2) 389-402 httpsdoiorg1011772F1065912918793222

Arribas Lozano A (2018) Knowledge co-production with social movement networks Redefining grassroots politics

rethinking research Social Movement Studies 17(4) 451-463 httpsdoiorg1010801474283720181457521

Barassi V amp Zamponi L (2020) Social media time identity narratives and the construction of political biographies Social

Movement Studies 195-6 592-608 httpsdoiorg1010801474283720201718489

Bauman Z (2001) Liquid Modernity Cambridge Polity Press

Bhattacharyya G Virdee S amp Winter A (2020) Revisiting histories of anti-racist thought and activism Identities 27(1)

1-19 httpsdoiorg1010801070289X20191647686

Belam M (2021) Black Lives Matter movement nominated for Nobel peace prize The Guardian 2021-01-29

httpswwwtheguardiancomworld2021jan29Black-lives-matter-nobel-peace-prize-petter-eide-norweigan-mp

(Downloaded 2021-06-16)

Bernstein M (2005) Identity Politics Annual Review of Sociology 31(1) 47-74

httpsdoiorg101146annurevsoc29010202100054

Brown K T amp Ostrove J M (2013) What does it mean to be an ally The perception of allies from the perspective of

people of color Journal of Applied Social Psychology 43(11) 2211ndash2222 httpsdoiorg101111jasp12172

Braring (2018) Sjaumllvrapporterad utsatthet foumlr hatbrott Analys utifraringn Nationella trygghetsundersoumlkningen 2006ndash2017 Rapport

201810 Downloaded 2021-03-05 at

httpswwwbrasedownload187f57ba351641b9cdc3d1e0b515344265455312018_10_Sjalvrapporterad_utsatthet_for_

hatbrottpdf

Buechler SM (1995) NEW SOCIAL MOVEMENT THEORIES Sociological Quarterly 36 441-464

httpsdoiorg101111j1533-85251995tb00447x

Bursell M (2014) The Multiple Burdens of Foreign-Named MenmdashEvidence from a Field Experiment on Gendered Ethnic

Hiring Discrimination in Sweden European Sociological Review 30(3) 399ndash409 httpsdoiorg101093esrjcu047

Carnegie Endowment for International Peace 2020 Global Protest Tracker Downloaded 2020-12-16 at

httpscarnegieendowmentorgpublicationsinteractiveprotest-trackergclid=CjwKCAiA_eb-

BRB2EiwAGBnXXve4_M0rNWlgU0_MmYUuIg6ThabxkIbk_kQhlB7O_542emIVDHX1HRoCCFsQAvD_BwE

Clark M (2019) White folksrsquo work digital allyship praxis in the BlackLivesMatter movement Social Movement Studies

18(5) 519-534 httpsdoiorg1010801474283720191603104

Clayton DM (2018) Black Lives Matter and the Civil Rights Movement A Comparative Analysis of Two Social

Movements in the United States Journal of Black Studies 40(5)448-480

httpsdoiorg1011772F0021934718764099

Cole G (2020) Types of White Identification and Attitudes About Black Lives Matter Social Science Quarterly

101(4)1627-1633) httpsdoiorg101111ssqu12837

Collins PH (1990) Black Feminist Epistemology In Calhoun C J Gerteis J Moody S Pfaff amp I Virk (Ed) (2012)

Contemporary Sociological Theory 3rd Ed Chichester Wiley-Blackwell

Craddock E (2019) Doing rsquoenoughrsquo of the lsquorightrsquo thing the gendered dimension of the lsquoideal activistrsquo and its negative

emotional consequencesrdquo Social Movement Studies 18(2)137-153) httpsdoiorg1010801474283720181555457

Creswell JW amp Poth CN (2017) Qualitative inquiry and research design choosing among five approaches (Fourth

edition) Los Angeles Sage Publications

Diani M (1992) The Concept of Social Movement The Sociological Review 40(1)1-25 httpsdoiorg1011112Fj1467-

954X1992tb02943x

Drury B amp C Kaiser (2014) Allies against Sexism The Role of Men in Confronting Sexism Journal of Social Issues

70(4)637-652 httpsdoiorg101111josi12083

Dull BD Hoyt LT Grzanka PR amp Zeider KH (2021) Can White Guilt Motivate Action The Role of Civic Beliefs

Journal of Youth and Adolescence 50 1081ndash1097 (2021) httpsdoiorg101007s10964-021-01401-7

Earl J (2014) The Future of Social Movement Organizations The Waning Dominance of SMOs Online American

Behavioral Scientist 5935-52 httpsdoiorg1011772F0002764214540507

Garrett RK (2006) Protest in an Information Society a review of literature on social movements and new ICTs

Information Communication amp Society 9(2) 202-224 httpsdoiorg10108013691180600630773

Giddens A (1991) Modernity and self-identity Self and society in the late modern age Stanford University Press

Gleeson J (2021) Judith Butler lsquoWe need to rethink the category of womanrsquo The Guardian 2021-09-07 (Accessed 20201-

09-14 at httpswwwtheguardiancomlifeandstyle2021sep07judith-butler-interview-gender)

8

Social movements as a phenomenon have changed through history shifting from mostly class-

based collective action to movements built on multiple identity categories (Buechler

1995548) This assumption is foundational in new social movement theory (NSMT)

represented by for example Alain Touraine (1987) NSMT concludes that non-material values

replaced class interests as the main motivator for collective action if the goal for social

movements used to be to expropriate the power from the dominant class and thus empower

the working class it has now shifted to deconstructing and reframing power itself (Buechler

1995442 Touraine 1987218-20) New social movements deal specifically with ldquothe social

control of production and diffusion of symbolic goodsrdquo (Touraine 1987218) which means

focusing on for example domains of culture and language Research based on NSMT often

focus on the roles of emotions identities and lifestyles as central themes in modern social

movements which are seen as manifestations of the implicit economic and political structures

they appear within (Buechler 1995485) The centrality of identity is often referred to as

identity politics (Bernstein 200547) Kauffman (200124 29-32) argued that identity politics

implicates a shift from working for equality and redistribution to apolitical introspection and

lifestyle politics resonant with the market ideology Others recognized how identity politics

give previously unrecognized groups recognition and space to develop policy that favors their

specific interests instead of only serving those at top of the in-group hierarchy of the workersrsquo

movements (Bernstein 200564-6) Regardless of whether one associates identity politics with

something good or something bad it can be concluded that antiracist movements have some

basis in identity categories rather than class despite the historical link between antiracism and

socialist ideas (Bhattacharyya et al 20203) Identity as a political concept is also central to the

experiences thoughts and interpretations of the White allies participating in this study as their

recognition of their White identity is what their allyship departs from

When it comes to antiracist thought and practice similar tendencies as those described in

NSMT can be seen Bhattacharyya Virdee and Winter (20203) lined out the development of

antiracist academic thought showing how it has developed from anti-capitalist and anti-slavery

to a micro perspective seeing racism as everyday microaggressions and dehumanization

(ibid11-12) Recently antiracist thought has been more concerned with intersectionality

developing sub-theories of Black feminism and Black queer theory to emphasize how different

identities have different lived experiences of oppression The focus of antiracist thought and

practice today according to the authors is to amplify certain voices and perspectives to ensure

representation and diversity of different identities (ibid12)

9

Looking at the Swedish context Jaumlmte and colleagues (2020) discuss how the Swedish BLM

movement represents a structuralist turn in Swedish anti-racism which has historically been

focusing on extremities such as Apartheid or Nazism and less on discrimination in the labor

market housing and media (ibid369 375) Historically the antiracist movement in Sweden

been occupied by a large proportion of allies from the majority population but during the 2020

BLM wave this changed and more POC participated for their cause Because ally activism is

often more volatile the increased share of people with lived experience of racism contributes

to a more stable foundation for sustainable activism (ibid371-2) Digital methods also

dominated the Swedish case which can be compared to the MeToo movement rather than the

US-based BLM movement which focused much more on physical protest and resistance

(ibid369)

Based on the different important conclusions in previous research (the turn towards non-

material values antiracist tendencies to emphasize lived experience the overrepresentation of

White allies in the Swedish anti-racist movement historically and the dominance of digital

methods) the remainder of the previous research presented will focus on allyship and white

identity and digital methods in contemporary movements

21 Allies

In a movement where much emphasis is put on identities it is of interest to examine the role of

those who are part of the movement activity without belong to that specific identity group In

this case White allies The definition of an ally varies between different scholars Brown and

Ostrove (20132211) described an ally as a dominant group member who ldquowork to end

prejudice in their personal and professional lives and relinquish social privileges conferred by

their group status through their support of nondominant groupsrdquo Spanierman and Smith

(2017608-9) argued that an ally is someone who understands their privilege as well as their

own role in oppression through introspection and self-reflection and who use their privilege

in responsible ways to end oppression despite facing opposition from other dominant group

members For Drury and Kaiser (2014637) an ally is someone who ldquoaligns with a

disadvantaged group by recognizing the need for further progress in the fight for equal rights

and Russo (201467) simply defined allies as activists who are politically engaged to benefit a

group to which they are outsiders These definitions include both introspective aspects of

allyship and more action-oriented aspects and they are all relatively open regarding what

10

exactly an ally can be expected to do in support for the movement What almost all these

definitions have in common is the baseline assumption that allies recognize their own

privileges and in antiracist movements that they embrace their White identity whiteness is not

only a description of skin color or ethnicity but also a culturally and politically influenced

identity A White ally cannot only be White they must also recognize their whiteness as

culturally significant recognizing privilege and becoming aware of both oppression as such

and onersquos own role in it is the first step to become an ally (Drury amp Kaiser 2014638) Although

lsquoWhitersquo has not always been treated as a social identity in the same way as other ethnic

identities there has been a recent resurge of White identification in the US (Cole 20201627)

Cole identified three main types of White identity type 1 includes no recognition of whiteness

type 2 recognizes whiteness but sees it as a liability and type 3 recognizes whiteness as a

privilege Among these types of White identification type 3 is most likely to support the BLM

means and goals whereas type 2 is least likely to support the movement at all

White identity development is also closely linked to the idea of White guilt which is seen as a

normative response to realizing onersquos own whiteness and the privilege attached to it Individuals

who acknowledge recognize and understand racism have higher degrees of White guilt and

this can either motivate action or create passivity (Dull et al 20211081-84) Dull and

colleagues found that White guilt can motivate civic action under certain circumstances there

must also be individual beliefs of social responsibility and efficacy (ibid1089) If the individual

neither believes in their social responsibility nor their own efficacy as political actors they will

struggle to find motivation to act Efficacy was measured by asking the participants whether

they felt they had the knowledge capacity and opportunity to affect social change (ibid1086)

Feelings of shame and despair among other have demobilizing effects on political mobilization

(Zhelnina 2020361) and it is therefore highly relevant to explore what emotions are

experienced by the allies in this study and to what degree they motivate or hinder action

211 Why are allies important

The role of allies in social movements is considered important in creating both social change

and in improving the everyday conditions of marginalized groups Brown and Ostrove (2013)

argued that White allies have two main assignments in antiracist movements supporting

individual people from the nondominant group and engaging in informed political action After

realizing onersquos whiteness and privilege allies must actively work to dismantle the system of

11

oppression by for example willingly share power with the subordinated group (Clark

2019523)

One of the most valuable aspects of ally work in social movements is the fact that the costs of

confronting sexism racism or any other discriminatory behavior is much lower for allies

without personal interest in the issue than it is for marginalized group members Men

confronting sexist behavior are seen as more rational and credible and less hostile than their

female counterparts which can strengthen the receiverrsquos sympathy for the sentiment of the

movement (Drury amp Kaiser 2014642) Male allies speaking up can also normalize rejecting

sexist ideas for women too and thus create a more open climate for such confrontations

(ibid644) The cost of ally work is further lowered when utilizing digital methods Clark (2019)

found that when White allies use their digital platforms to amplify the voices of Black people

the personal costs are low while the effects are positive The narratives of Black activists often

marginalized in their outreach in other ethnic or cultural groups are spread and legitimized by

White allies and it may ultimately strengthen the movement at large (Clark 2019528-31)

The idea that White allies should help the movement by amplifying the voices of Black people

can be further validated by the results of a study conducted by Arora and Stout (2019) on co-

ethnic mobilization and support for BLM They conducted an experimental study on the support

for the movement and the effect of messages from co-ethnic versus non-co-ethnic messengers

In general people tend to accept and embrace a political message more easily if they find the

messenger trustworthy and likeable which is an increasingly rational mechanism in times of

excessive access to information (Arora amp Stout 2019390) In their study they had people read

letters in favor for supporting the BLM movement written by authors of different ethnicities

Their results showed that White people did not change their opinion on BLM unless the author

was also White (ibid394-5) The implications of these results are that ldquoif whitesrsquo attitudes about

Black Lives Matter are to change appeals are much more effective coming from co-racial

individualsrdquo (ibid396) This implies that the role of White allies in amplifying the message of

Black activists and spreading the message especially within their own racial group is a very

powerful and important way for White allies to support the movement

212 What is problematic with allies

Although the role of allies in social movements are important there are also problems Some

research indicates that without lived experience of for example sexism or racism it is harder

12

to detect when such discrimination occurs For example men are less likely to interpret subtle

sexism as sexism and they are less likely to sympathize with someone confronting sexism if

that someone is female (Drury amp Kaiser 2014639 642) Thus much time and effort may have

to be put into educating out-group allies Allies are also less likely to be emotionally receptive

towards grasping the magnitude of oppression which again comes from lack of lived

experience (Russo 201480) It is also important to recognize uniqueness in group experiences

instead of assuming that experience of one type of oppression automatically leads to insights

about other oppressions (Spanierman amp Smith 2017608-10)

Besides the problem of potential insensibility on behalf of the ally another issue is low

engagement (Jaumlmte et al 2020370) Brown and Ostrove (20132220) argued that although

some inactivity of allies could be attributed to general passivity of contemporary activists or

lack of emotional engagement it could also come out of fear of doing anything considered

wrong White allies they argued tend to be more cautious in their actions because of this and

instead of acting on their own they leave space for Black people to take the lead However in

the attempt to leave room for and amplify for example Black narratives there is a significant

risk that allies freeride on the political labor of Black people (Clark 2019530) This problem

is also present in feminist movements where male allies often engage in low risk high reward

activism and often take credit for work dependent on the efforts of female feminists (Linder amp

Johnson 20155 17-18) This is made possible Linder and Johnson argued by the master

narrative saying male allies should be recognized validated and granted credibility regardless

of their actual contributions to the movementndash even though there is an overwhelming risk with

male feminist ally work being directly counterproductive due to lack of sympathy for the

female perspective and expertise (ibid4-5) In adverse cases male allies have been known to

not only capitalize on womenrsquos pain ignore their perspective and steal their hard work but to

actually commit sexual assault in feminist organizations (ibid9)

There are many other risks associated with ally work Mostly it originates in the fact that many

have good intentions but lack in self-reflection or knowledge about real political work

Spanierman and Smith (2017) pointed to how such discrepancies between intention capacity

and self-awareness can lead to paternalistic behavior towards marginalized people and that this

can strengthen the unconscious sense of superiority and legitimize status quo instead of

challenging it Another mistake especially important in digital activism is the tendency to

engage in optics instead of politics and to treat members of the disenfranchised group as objects

13

to be used for personal virtue signaling Such cosmetic activism rarely leads to any structural

criticism or challenging (Spanierman amp Smith 2017609-10)

22 Digital activism

As can be seen in the previous research on the positive opportunities with allies digital methods

are important for allies to engage for example in amplifying voices of minorities (Clark

2019528-31) This is perhaps even more true in the 2020 BLM-wave when many were limited

in their capacity to participate physically due to the pandemic All participants in this study

participated in digital activism (most of them exclusively so) and it is therefore important to

account for some research on the role digitalism plays in contemporary movements The

introduction of new technologies into political activism has been studied for many years even

before the social medias we use today Information and Communication technologies (ICTrsquos)

such as mobile phones or the internet had many effects on political activism as they became

available for more people for example it contributed with increased sense of community

strengthened political participation facilitated movement organization and increased

independence from elite representations of movements (Garrett 2006205-14)

Modern social medias have the same effects to some extent The internet and social media are

acknowledged to affect how social movements come into being and how they operate (Barassi

amp Zamponi 2020 Earl 2014) Social media platforms are used as tools for organizing raising

awareness and spreading information (Ahmed et al 2017447) and was for example one of

the success factors of the MeToo movement (Li et al 2020 Lin amp Yang 2019) Social media

also played a major role in the BLM protests without social media the protests of 2020 would

perhaps not have been as widespread The fact that the video picturing Floydrsquos murder spread

so rapidly led to massive emotional involvement and increased motivation for participation

according to research on the efficiency of emotions in digital activism (Clark 2019 Heldman

201788) Facilitating the growth of collective emotion and identity is one of the main

contributions of social media because emotions are crucial in motivating political action

(Ahmed et al 201746 Zhelnina 2020361) Studying the emotional expressions before during

and after a social protest on Twitter Ahmed and colleagues concluded that emotions affect

involvement online similarly to their effect offline ndash they channel participation and create

community and identification (Ahmed et al 2017459-61) Besides this social media functions

as a megaphone for individuals without having to be represented by any formal leader (Earl

14

201537) Earl argued that some of the functions centralized and formal social movement

organizations used to fill can in many cases be substituted with online communities lowering

the costs of organizers and participants (ibid39)

221 Critical perspectives on digital activism

Social media as site and tool for social activism is also criticized based on ideas about how it

leads to passivity and how motives for online activism differs from those in offline or lsquorealrsquo

activism Online activism is sometimes called slacktivism referencing the lower degrees of

effort and risk required to engage in online activism (Skoric 201277) The slacktivist narrative

is often used to explain the decline in youth political engagement (Amnaring amp Ekman 20136)

although the link between digital activism and low degrees of participation have not been

determined Online activism is usually less valued than more traditional types of activism which

requires more from the individual activist (Craddock 2019148-9 Heldman 2017207) despite

the lack of consensus between researchers on whether online activism is effective or not

(Lilleker amp Koc-Michalska 201725) Skoric (201277) argued that the Internet promotes a

superficial mode of political activism where liking commenting and sharing are the main tools

for participating in political activism and that the focus often is aimed at the individual and her

capacity of introspection lifestyle politics or mere expression of opinions without further

actions Such positionings rarely challenges structures of power and dominance Slacktivism

feels good without actually doing any good and it distracts people from engaging in meaningful

activism (ibid78)

lsquoFeeling goodrsquo as a motive for political mobilization is further explored by Lilleker and Koc-

Michalska (201723) who argued that there is a strong link between both intrinsic and extrinsic

emotional motivations and political mobilization both self-fulfillment and recognition are

strong motivators for both online and offline activism Extrinsic motivations eg external

approval recognition and being perceived as lsquogoodrsquo has the strongest effect on motivating

participation (ibid34 25) The difference they found between online and offline participation

was that online activism is less self-fulfilling and more driven by ldquoconforming and earning

rewardsrdquo which they interpret as online participation potentially being mere clicktivism and

less personally meaningful to the people engaging in it (ibid35)

Although slacktivism is not necessarily a phenomenon limited to the digital sphere but includes

all performative positioning online activism arguably breeds slacktivism because of how easy

15

and available it is The motivation to engage in high-risk high-effort activism decreases if there

are always lower effort- and risk options available that gives the same recognition and

satisfaction (Skoric 201279) Morozov (2009) also has criticized the naiumlve faith in the potential

of Internet activism and argued that poorly planned online slacktivism is not only ineffective

and toothless but also holds potential for backfiring and causing devastating consequences For

example when Western activists attempted to attack Iranian government sources online they

accidentally slowed down the whole Iranian internet making the activism of local protestors

difficult (Morozov 200913)

As this section shows the relationship between social media and the general level of activism

among people is far from determined However the participants of this study all relied on digital

methods in their ally work and their experiences of digital methods are explored in the analysis

3 Theory

In this section the two theories used to analyze the data will be presented and discussed starting

with Giddensrsquo theories on modernity which are used to contextualize ally work as a 21st century

phenomenon shaped by the preconditions of modernity such as increased reflexivity and

ontological insecurity Thereafter theories of situated knowledge will be used to describe how

the allies relate to their own whiteness in relation to the concept of interpretation privilege

sometimes limiting the allies in their leeway of action Essentially Giddensrsquo theories will be

used to understand why allies hesitate about their role and theories of situated knowledge will

be used to understand what they base these hesitations on

31 Giddens

Giddensrsquo theory of modernity focuses on the circumstances of human activity and identity in

what he referred to as (late) modernity The theory will be used to contextualize ally work as

something that exists within a larger social cultural and economic structure that shapes the

way identity politics and human activity are formed with special focus on self-identity and

ontological security

16

Worth mentioning when using the term modernity is that there are scholarly disagreements on

whether the current era should be interpreted as modernity late (or liquid see Bauman 2001)

modernity or postmodernity However Giddens belongs to the group of theorists who see

contemporary society as still existing within the theoretical frames of late modernity where the

tendencies of modernity has been further stretched and strengthened (Giddens 199127) This

assumption will be present throughout this paper while also acknowledging this is only one

interpretation

311 Life in modernity reflexivity and ontological insecurity

Modernity is an era characterized by post-traditional orders institutionalized radical doubt

detachment of time and space risk-cultures and abstract systems (Giddens 19912-5)

Following these changes in increased emphasis on reflexivity the continuous revisiting of

previously taken-for-granted concepts truths and ideas This applies to the institutional and

individual level and the latter will be of focus in this paper Without the guiding hand of

tradition or custom as in premodern society people must navigate in the world without being

firmly grounded in pregiven sets of beliefs on what should be done in each situation and with

the constant flow of information in modernity the horizon of possible actions are constantly

broadened (ibid20)

The increased emphasis on reflexivity means for the individual that ldquoself-identity becomes a

reflexively organised endeavorrdquo (Giddens 19915) Giddensrsquo described self-identity as a

project based on coherent and ldquocontinuously revised biographical narrativesrdquo which ldquotakes

place in the context of multiple choices as filtered through abstract systemsrdquo (ibid5) This

means that self-identity is closely linked to actions and is ldquoroutinely created and sustainedrdquo in

the actions of the individual (ibid52) This includes making constant decisions while having

endless choices ndash on what to do how to act and ultimately who to be in late modernity ldquowe

are not what we are but what we make of ourselvesrdquo (ibid54 75) If the individual fails to

perform in coherence with their sense of self-identity the individual may start to doubt their

own biographical narrative and ultimately themselves (ibid58) In the context of social

movements the ally identity is thus constantly reshaped by each choice of action and it

becomes important to act in accordance with the ideal-typical ally role Allyship is also a

globalized phenomenon which increases the number of aspects to take into consideration while

reflexively making choices

17

As reflexivity become more and more significant in guiding human action people in late

modernity experience loss of ontological security which is a ldquorsquonatural attitudersquo in everyday

liferdquo in relation to how to act and orient oneself in the world (Giddens 199136) Being

ontologically secure is ldquoto possess on the level of the unconscious and practical consciousness

lsquoanswersrsquo to fundamental existential questions which all human life in some way addressesrdquo

(ibid47) and was previously guided by tradition custom rules and norms of premodern society

Ontological security thus secures the individualsrsquo smooth navigation through life without them

hesitating on their role in the world too much However as society developed into modernity

and late modernity the conditions for ontological security changed ndash the traditions of

premodern society that used to give ontological security by offering a sense of structure

firmness and purpose are now exchanged for reflexivity (ibid48) making each single decision

dependent on an almost infinite number of possible options (ibid36) Without ontological

security the individual experiences existential anxiety caused by uncertainty ndash and such anxiety

itself ldquotends to paralyse relevant actions rather than generate themrdquo (ibid44) This passivity can

occur in relation to specific actions or to the sense of self in general for example failing to

perform in line with onersquos perceived self-identity can create ontological insecurity and it opens

for questioning onersquos entire role in a specific context for example a social movement For allies

ontological insecurity could arise in relation to them trying to navigate what actions are

appropriate for them to engage in based on the reflexive project of self-identity However

inactivism or passivity cannot only be seen in the individualrsquos relation to action but in politics

in general Giddens argued that politics in premodern times were emancipatory and aiming to

end oppression but that politics in modernity has been transformed into life politics a shift in

ideology and activity towards emphasizing lifestyle and self-actualization (ibid210-14)

The purpose of including Giddensrsquo theory of modernity is to provide a potential context in

which the allies of this study act and shape their own ally identities and how their occasionally

self-restricting introspection may be understood

32 Situated knowledge

To complement the theory of Giddens theories on situated knowledge will be included in the

analysis to point to specific ways in which the allies engage in reflexive decision-making eg

on what basis they make decisions about ally strategies The included theories are feminist

theories but their implications are not limited to gender relations

18

Theories of situated knowledge (also referred to as standpoint theory or feminist epistemology)

is an epistemological attempt to challenge the way knowledge is produced validated and

valued Epistemology is an ldquooverarching theory of knowledgerdquo (Collins 1990408) and theories

of epistemology focuses on how truth and knowledge is shaped by power relations between

social positions and how this could change Easily put social position of the knowledge

producer shapes the kind of knowledge that can be produced (Young 200425) In this thesis

the theoretical works of Haraway Young and Collins will be included although there are more

contributors to the thoughts about situated knowledge

Relating knowledge to power feminist theorists have pointed to how knowledge production

has been dominated by men and postcolonial thinkers have questioned dominant knowledge

for its sometimes exploitative and colonializing tendencies (in for example Western thought

and anthropology) Part of this critique has included a call for recognition privilege of lived

experience and reflexivity in research (Voronka 2016191) Donna Haraway (1988) presented

a feminist epistemology (or feminist objectivism) that recognized how women have historically

seen as immanent beings unable to transcend the body and escape its ldquofinite point of viewrdquo

whereas men have been seen as able to attain lsquoobjectiversquo perspectives and knowledges

(Haraway 1988575) The (imagined) male capacity to transcend ldquoparticular social location

and adopt a lsquoview from nowherersquordquo gives men higher status epistemologically (Young 200424)

Thus the gaze of the White male has been favored in sociology as it represents the unmarked

and objective perspective (Haraway 1988581)

The problem with the idea of objectivity and the lsquoview from nowherersquo according to feminist

and postcolonial critics is that knowledge is a power process and only taking one groups

knowledge into account reinforces these power processes Patricia Hill Collins argued that

power over the production and validation of knowledge is an issue of group interest where the

dominant group preserves their own interests by invalidating knowledge that either challenges

their hegemonic ideas or follows alternative practices in their creation of alternative knowledges

(Collins 1990409-10) Black womenrsquos knowledge is subjugated knowledge and it must fight

for recognition in an anti-Black and anti-female world (ibid414) The Black feminist

epistemology she advocated for includes sensitivity to the combination of female and Black

experiences unique for Black women and it recognized alternative ways to create knowledge

specific to Black womenrsquos knowledge production (ibid407-8)

19

321 Situated knowledge as political strategy

If knowledge is then produced under circumstances of domination power structures and

hegemony ndash what would an alternative look like and what could these alternatives lead to

From a quality standpoint Haraway (1988583) argued that including several perspectives in

knowledge production leads to better conclusions Even though she dismissed the idea that

subjugated people have a purer vision on truth and objectivity an idea she claimed is often

rooted in a fetishized idea of the Third World woman she argued that subjugated groups are

less likely to ldquoallow denial of the critical and interpretive core of all knowledgerdquo than are

dominant groups (ibid583-586) She wrote that the only standpoint from which no objectivity

can ever be reached is ldquothe standpoint of the master the Man the One God whose Eye

produces appropriates and orders differencerdquo (ibid587) Thus to aim for objectivity depends

on including perspectives otherwise ignored by structures of power and dominance (ibid590)

Delegitimizing the idea of a lsquoGodrsquos eyersquo from where true knowledge can be observed and

mediated means including other perspectives and knowledges (Young 200420) This is not

only just and right it also contributes to wiser decision making in a context of democratic

processes including perspectives from all social standpoints maximizes knowledge which

should be treated as a democratic resource when fully utilized (ibid25-9) Thus the idea of

situated knowledges includes a normative assumption of inclusion and diversity in decision

making and knowledge production and social difference should be treated as a resource for

democratic societies (ibid29)

The standpoint theorists emphasize how recognizing specificity in knowledge claims for

different groups does not include the idea that subjugated groups are naturally epistemically

privileged eg that their perspective on every issue should be treated as automatically lsquotruersquo

(Haraway 1988583-4 Young 200427-29) Neither the position of these groups or any

imagined inherent attributes give subjugated groups automatic access to the truth but the

position opens up doors to new perspectives impossible to imagine from above (Haraway

1988584) The specific knowledge unique for the dominated social positions include different

understandings of their own position and others and the relation between them as well as ldquoa

point of view on the history of societyrdquo ldquoan interpretation of how the relations and processes

of the whole society operates especially as they affect onersquos own positionrdquo and finally ldquoa

position-specific experience and point of view on the natural and physical environmentrdquo

(Young 200429)

20

Applying these ideas in a context of practical politics for example in a social movement can

include such inclusion of different perspectives and emphasizing how group difference matters

in terms of knowledge but without claiming the existence of epistemic privilege Often this

practical application is based on including people with lived experience into different contexts

of power or knowledge production (Voronka 2016189)

However the strategy of using lived experience as a criterion for epistemic legitimacy can also

be problematized Voronka (2016192) argued that inclusion and representation of different

groups in decision making as a criterion for legitimate knowledge production can be seen as

resting on essentialist assumptions and stable identity categories The categories themselves are

left unaccounted for meaning the boundaries between and content of different identity groups

are seen as natural entities (ibid194) The concept of lived experience fails to answer questions

of who we are and why while the existence of these categories should be questioned in

themselves Thus acting based on ideas of lived experience and ldquoepistemic privilegerdquo (Young

200427) risks both treating identity as essentialist and constructing group attributes as

embodied truths and ignore difference in lived experience within groups (Voronka 2016196)

Thus Voronka (ibid197) argued

we need to mark how rsquopeople with lived experiencersquo [as a concept my note] risks

reproducing and replicating systems of domination that privileges subjects and

subjectivities that fit closely within the White heteropatriarchal matrix of ruling

Voronkarsquos experiences come from academia but the ideas can be applied to other contexts as

well Theories of situated knowledge can be extracted from the abstract epistemological level

and transformed into a concept more suitable and applicable for everyday situations and as will

be seen in the analysis this theme is highly present in the statements by the study participants

in the form of interpretation privilege (See section 5 Results and analysis)

4 Methodology

The study builds on phenomenological approach and aims to understand a social phenomenon

by interpreting the different meanings ascribed to it by the participant whose lived experience

is in focus for the analysis (Creswell amp Poth 2018150) Thus the focus of the study is not the

BLM movement itself but to understand the experience of the allies The study is abductive

21

meaning the research process was iterative - going back and forth between empirical findings

and theoretical background The aim of abductive analysis is often to generate theory by

cultivating already existing theories together with the surprising results found in the data

collection that are in turn reinterpreted through the revisited theoretical insights (Timmermans

amp Tavory 2012169 173-6) One important aspect of abduction is to revisit the phenomenon

as it can lead to new insights For example when the first couple of interviews were done the

lack of response to one specific question was interpreted as missing data But when the

transcripts were revisited after some additional previous research had been read I realized the

unanswered question was not missing data ndash it was data in itself This realization affected how

the data collection moved forward as the focus narrowed down on the ally role and its

limitations

41 Data collection

The data collection was done by conducting qualitative interviews with 11 self-identified White

allies to understand their perspective experiences and thoughts about their participation The

interviews were in average 010245 in length and they were conducted during a five-week

period The interviews were semi-structured guided by an interview guide without following

it in detail which creates room for flexibility This ensured both consistency between the

interviews and individual variations depending on the interviewee (Turner 2010755) The

interview guide had open-ended questions and covered three main themes (political

background identity emotions) Some questions related to relevant concepts for example they

were asked ldquoIn your perspective what is an allyrdquo The purpose was not to evaluate the

participants academic understanding of the term but to have them reflect upon their own

perceptions and thereby gain insight into their political thinking and its effect on their ally role

Other questions were about experiences such as ldquoCould you tell me about your participation in

the BLM movementrdquo and ldquoWhat emotional responses did you have when this happenedrdquo

Some parts of the interview focused on the BLM movement specifically but since the antiracist

ally identity was often developed before BLM started it also included more general experiences

of antiracist allyship At the end of each interview the participants were given a chance discuss

things important to them The limitation of interview data is that it is not a representation of the

world lsquoout therersquo but only a representation of how the interviewees describe their experiences

and these can be shaped by indefinite number of things beyond the scope of this thesis

22

All interviews were digitally conducted Although digital interviewing is often presented as a

second choice there are benefits to it For example Howlett (20217-8) noticed how the safe

environment of the home made the participants more relaxed and that the interviews also tended

to be both longer and richer in detail than offline interviews One could however imagine how

the opposite effect could occur if the home environment is unsafe or unfit for long

conversations The interviews took place more than a year into the pandemic and people were

thus more familiar with digital communication technologies than they were in the beginning

(ibid10) The pandemic was topic for small talk before the interviews started and our shared

experience with it created some sense of commonality and a relaxed atmosphere where potential

technical issues or disturbances were met with recognition from the other party Despite the

surprisingly positive experience with digital interviewing and as well as the rich data gathered

it is still important to recognize how the quality could have been even better with physical

interviews

The interviews were all conducted on Zoom and recorded in the software The interviews were

transcribed in full verbatim meaning that false starters stutters laughter and pauses were

included Such utterances are clues to how the participants feel about what they are telling and

should be treated as data

42 Sample

The sampling for this study is based on one inclusion criterion motivated by the purpose of the

study the criterion being White ally identification (Creswell amp Poth 201881 157) To base

the inclusion criterion on self-identification could potentially lead to low validity in terms of

not achieving a sample that represents the group one wishes to study by excluding those who

engage in ally work without identifying as such To ensure that the people included in the study

were lsquorealrsquo allies the criterion could have been having a certain amount of experience from ally

work or similar However this was a methodological choice motivated by reflections by

Craddock (2019) who studied activism Craddock learned that including the term activist in

her participant letter excluded people who - despite being very active - did not dare to call

themselves activists due to the high standard of what lsquorealrsquo activism is Especially women feel

that they cannot live up to the ideal and therefore they do not recognize their own activist

identity (Craddock 2019138-42) Therefore anyone who identified as an ally was allowed to

participate without evaluating or judging their level of participants

23

The sampling method was mixed consisting of convenience sampling and snowball sampling

(Creswell amp Poth 2018159) First an email was sent to the Swedish BLM organizationrsquos

official email telling them about the study and asking if they had any recommendations of

where participants could be found This email got no response Different Facebook groups were

chosen as lsquofieldsrsquo to sample in Personal acquaintances were also asked to participate The

choice of Facebook groups related to both convenience and lack of access to physical fields to

sample in and because much of the activism related to BLM took place online The Facebook

groups were all limited demographically (open only for women and non-binary people) and

they all had explicit value-systems with feminist anti-racist intersectional orientations Some

groups were simple support-and-chat groups some had a more political purpose (without party

connections) One participant was found in the comments section on a Facebook page that

relates to antiracism and contacted from there and a few were snowball sampled Recruiting

participants in online forums creates a problematic balance between transparency and

anonymity if too detailed information about the specific sampling sites is revealed the

participants identities can be spoiled due to traceability Thus the names of these Facebook

groups or pages cannot be revealed The groups were known to me beforehand as I am myself

a member in them and therefore had access to the lsquofieldrsquo which reduced the time and effort

spent on sampling If this study were a netnography with digital data to analyze it would be

problematic because my interpretation would be tainted by my personal experiences in the

groups but since the data itself was not related to the specific groups or the participants activity

in these groups it is less problematic

This digital convenience sampling limits the groups included in the sampling frame which

creates a skewed sample in terms of for example gender The complementary snowball

sampling creates a similar problem with homogeneity because of the tendency of participants

to recommend people who are like themselves As a result people with academic backgrounds

in social sciences and humanities are overrepresented in this sample The first interviewee Lisa

works in the international aid sector and she put me in touch with some old classmates and

colleagues which contributed to the skewed sample However the sampling method does not

aim to reach a randomized sample that is representative of the Swedish population in general

but instead a purposeful selection of people with certain experiences (Creswell amp Poth

2018272)

The final sample included people of different genders (9 female 1 male and 1 non-binary)

ages (22-36) education (from high school diploma to MA-degrees) and occupation (traditional

24

working-class occupations or white-collar jobs) They lived in or originated from different parts

of Sweden with one currently living in South Africa They also had very different backgrounds

in regards of political engagement some of them had been organized voluntarily or

professionally in multiple movements and civil society organizations some are or have been

active in party politics and some had their political experience mainly in online discussions

43 Coding and analysis

After all interviews were transcribed the data was coded in Excel using the guidelines for

phenomenological analysis presented called horizonalization (Creswell amp Poth 2018201

Moustakas 1994118) Horizonalization means creating a broad base or platform of equally

important statements to capture the experiences of the participants In phenomenological

studies coding and analysis should preferably be inductive highlighting ldquosignificant

statements sentences and quotesrdquo (Creswell amp Poth 201879) instead of deductively trying to

apply hypotheses or theories onto the data

The coding followed the subsequent steps First each transcript was read one at a time and

important statements were added in a quote-column in Excel (see Image 1) Following the

quote-column were categorical columns based on different themes from the interviews The 12

categories were Background Activity in BLM Identity Role Pandemic Emotion Motivation

Introspection BLM organization Balance Problems and Other There was also a column for

especially good quotes which were marked with an lsquoxrsquo In each column (for example ldquoRolerdquo)

inductively created codes were entered An example can be seen in Image 1

The coding was kept close to the data and focus was to create codes that described the specifics

of each statement instead of keeping the number of codes down which created some overlap

Image 1 Visual representation of the coding strategy

After the 11 interviews were coded the data included 243 quotes in 12 categories In order to

structure the analysis according to relevant topics themes were created out of the codes based

on representativeness and uniqueness These themes provided the basis for the interpretation

25

and analysis For example the previously mentioned code ldquoNot surerdquo was grouped together

with the code ldquoDecided by othersrdquo (in the column ldquoRolerdquo) and analyzed together because they

were interpreted as expressions of the same phenomenon eg insecurity regarding what the

role should contain (Moustakas 1994118)

After the coding which is a big part of the analysis itself the most relevant and interesting

themes were further analyzed This was related to observed regularities in statements being

repeated among several participants and novelty or lsquosurprise factorrsquo Whereas the coding was

unrelated to any specific theory the deeper analysis of the different themes was done parallel

to exploring theory The theories came into the process at different stages Giddensrsquo theory of

modernity and ontological security was explored after the initial coding before starting the

writing process of the analysis based on the pattern of insecurity and reflexivity among the

participantsrsquo descriptions of how they make decisions on how to act as an ally Thereafter the

concept of situated knowledge was introduced after all material had initially been analyzed and

written down in a first draft and the recurring use of the term interpretation privilege

(tolkningsfoumlretraumlde) caught my interest The focus was therefore the themes related to

interpretation privilege and how the participants made sense of the term as well as the different

aspects they had to balance because of their emphasis on interpretation privilege in the final

analysis

44 Ethical considerations

Research should be guided by ethical principles to ensure the safety of the participants and the

quality of the research The most important aspects include consent confidentiality and

anonymity Informed consent means that the participant must be given full information about

what participation means and they must be given the chance to both give and withdraw their

consent during or after the interview The researcher must tell the truth about the purpose of the

study and the participant can choose to leave any unwanted questions unanswered

(Vetenskapsraringdet 201710 16) All participants were given a letter with information about the

study which was again repeated verbally right before the interview The second important

aspect confidentiality means that all information and data must be handled safely and not be

shared with unauthorized people (ibid40) The data was stored on a password protected

computer and no personal information was saved along with the transcripts And finally

anonymity means that the identity of the participants must be concealed for example by giving

26

them new names or changing identifying details in their statements (ibid13) Both of my

sampling methods (digital convenience and snowball) can threaten the anonymity of the

participants because they become traceable either to those who were lsquosnowballedrsquo into the study

or those who were found online (see chapter 42 Sample)

In more qualitative terms the researcher must make fair interpretations of the statements made

by participants and be transparent with how conclusions were made This ensures both

transparency in a scientific standpoint and the well-being of the participants (Vetenskapsraringdet

201710) Related to this it is important to recognize how the analysis may affect the

participants for example Creswell and Poth (2018228) argue that there is always a risk that

participants feel bothered by the way their statements have been interpreted in relation to theory

and previous research and especially in a sensitive topic such as politics identity and emotions

In order to minimize this risk the interpretations will both be rooted in theory and previous

research and include alternative evidence and interpretations

45 Methodological reflexivity

Reflexivity requires researchers to be aware of and transparent about their own biases in their

interpretations as well as scrutinizing their power in relation to the research participants

(Creswell amp Poth 2018201 228) Besides the inherent power in the relation between

researcher and participants no specific power dynamics existed in this study The researcher

must reflect upon their own position (gender class race and similar) and how it affects the

way the research is conducted and how the results are interpreted (ibid228) Being reflexive

thus becomes a way to increase validity by clarifying where researcher bias may have affected

the results (ibid261) Evidence that contradicts the arguments made in the analysis has been

included to avoid bias The idea of researcher reflexivity builds on the epistemological approach

of social constructivism where knowledge is not seen as a neutral or objective but a subjective

socially embedded practice shaped by the lived experience of the author and the participants It

also means that self-criticism and self-consciousness is crucial aspects of qualitative

interpretive research (Lynch 200029-36)

According to Moustakas (1994103-4) reflexivity should guide every step in the

phenomenological research project including choice of topic it must have autobiographical

relevance to the researcher who must be genuinely curious and passionate about the

phenomenon ndash and of course be transparent about these motives The choice of BLM as an

27

empirical example in this study was based on my own experiences from the spring of 2020 I

was just as my respondents and many others very moved by the events that transpired and I

did too participate in some online actions such as checking myself into the US Ambassy on

Facebook to show my support of the movement I followed the news and read everything I

found on social media out of both political sympathy and sociological fascination I wanted to

know more about why the activism looked like it did and how others felt about being part of

it Being able to be fascinated in times of collective grief and trauma for Black people is of

course a privilege that I am aware of I can afford to be distanced towards and critical of the

antiracist movement and how it does or does not invite people to engage themselves in it

because my survival or well-being does not depend on it I aim to be respectful in my

interpretations and descriptions of the movement and its participants

46 Limitations

Instead of aiming to evaluate qualitative research by the same criteria as quantitative studies

there are adjusted validation practices for the specific approach of the study To assure good

quality for qualitative phenomenological studies phenomenological concepts should be used

properly understood and recommended methods should be followed Besides from engaging

in reflexive analysis it is also important to offer descriptive richness and interpretive depth

(Creswell amp Poth 2018272-82) There are also different validation strategies for qualitative

research The researcher can use triangulation to strengthen the stability of the results identify

disconfirming cases and clarify researcher reflexivity (ibid260-1) Member checking and

collaborating with participants can also strengthen the validity (ibid162 Arribas Lozano

2018455-6) All participants were informed of their right to see the transcripts and the analysis

if they wished but they were not contacted with the explicit purpose of checking the finished

results due to time Another aspect is reliability meaning how robust the results of the study

would be if someone else replicated the study (Creswell amp Poth 2018164-5) In the case of

qualitative studies where the researcher is intertwined with the interpretations the probability

of someone else reaching the exact same result is small but thick descriptions of methodology

and the data increases reliability somewhat The generalizability of qualitative studies is often

low and especially so when the sample is skewed The results of this study should be considered

valid only for the group studied since the results could have been different with different

28

representations of gender or class for example However with a purposeful sample of people

with a certain experience the goal is not generalizability beyond the group

Another potential issue is the fact that the quotes from the interviews included in this thesis

have been translated from Swedish to English which means that there is a risk that some of the

core meanings of the quotes may have been spoiled or changed However the analysis was

done on the Swedish transcripts making sure the interpretations were made on the original

material Thus the problem of translating quotes is mainly a problem of communicating the

results to the reader in the same form they appeared in the analysis process of the original

material

5 Results and analysis

As explained in the methods section (43 Coding and analysis) the analysis was gradually

turning toward the themes of a) interpretation privilege and b) how the notion of interpretation

privilege affects the leeway for action These themes will be the focus of the analysis which

will show that although the allies experience their allyship as important and meaningful they

sometimes struggle to find a path for themselves in their attempt to be lsquogoodrsquo allies Their

commitment to respecting interpretation privilege helps them live up the to the ally role as

supporters of Black people in general but it limits the leeway in which they are able to act

independently as political agents But first some general findings on how the allies think about

their role will be presented which primarily relates to the first research question about the

experiences of ally work

The overall experience of allyship is that the ally identity is surrounded by purpose community

and positive experiences They are all highly committed to and well-educated about the cause

Being part of the movement feels meaningful and even like rdquoa privilege to be able to be a part

of it and listen and learnrdquo as Lisa says She describes her emotional experiences

First there was a lot of frustration I think And then there was this powerfulhellip

some kind of like rsquowowrsquo there were a lot of chills there for a while [laughs]

because people really came together

29

Sam shares the experience of initial frustration and pain They describe the feeling when their

frustration and anger transformed into hope like ldquofree fallingrdquo ndash the realization that they were a

part of a group with so many sympathizers made it feel like change was possible

Most ally work was performed online and consisted of acts such as sharing information

knowledge and opinions participating in online seminars and meetings signing petitions and

lsquochecking inrsquo at the US Embassy in Stockholm on Facebook as part of a global protest act To

signal their support for the movement they occasionally used hashtags such as

blacklivesmatter and blackouttuesday All participants got most of their information from

social media in line with the general trend in contemporary activism (Ahmed et al 2017447

Heldman 201788) Previous research emphasizes the important role of emotions in social

movement mobilization and all participants in this study recognized how constant access to

heartbreaking stories virtual proof of mistreatment and a global sense of community provided

by social media motivated them to act (see for example Russo 2014)

Some interviewees also participated outside of social media by attending physical

demonstrations (Sam Sara and Emma) It is impossible to say how many of the interviewees

would have attended had there not been a global pandemic However as digital activism has

become dominating in contemporary social movements (Jaumlmte et al 2020371-2) the low rate

of physical protest among the participants in this study should not be attributed to the pandemic

alone For example Lucas says he has not been to as many demonstrations over the last years

as he would have wanted because of work and other circumstances Amanda says she has

always seen herself as an activist as someone who does what otherrsquos lacks the energy or

resources to do but that she is ldquonot the person who attends demos you knowrdquo And Caroline

who is involved in several organizations besides her antiracist engagement even experiences

that the pandemic has made participation easier for her since it can now be done from home ndash

a point Alva agrees with as she experiences difficulties joining offline protests due to physical

illness Thus the effects of the Covid pandemic are not exclusively negative and limiting Apart

from the different demonstrations the allies also emphasized how implementing antiracist ideas

into their everyday behavior and their professional lives is crucial to be a good ally

The main motivator for their allyship is the notion of privilege All interviewees refer to

themselves as White and relate it to privilege an increasingly common tendency and a

prerequisite for antiracist commitment among Whites (Cole 20201627 Spanierman amp Smith

2017608-9) Lisa describes herself as a ldquoprivileged White woman raised in a middle-class

homerdquo and she says that she faced few obstacles growing up and Sam argues that their White

30

identity gives them platforms and privileges many Black people lack Therefore they use their

social media to amplify the voices of Black people sharing their voices stories and

perspectives Amplifying voices of marginalized groups has been recognized in research as one

of the main tasks for allies (Arora amp Stout 2019390 Bhattacharyya et al 202012 Clark

2019528-31)

The argument of amplifying Black voices as a way to utilize onersquos privilege is twofold First

the participants see their privilege as an opportunity to reach out to fellow Whites who they

expect will listen more to their White counterparts than they would to a Black person which is

confirmed in previous research (see for example Arora amp Stout 2019 Linder amp Johnson 2015)

For example Lucas says

Us Whites who are not affected by racism we have to stand up and show that itrsquos

not OK to spread racism If we donrsquot therersquoll never be any change because

sometimes it feels like people listen more to [hellip] a White person confirming that

what a Black person says is true

Sam shares this reasoning and they actively try to reach people with ldquodeeply racist prejudicerdquo

who would ldquonever listen to a Black personrdquo According to Haraway (1988577) subjugated

groups are deprived the privilege of assumed objectivity and reduced to their position as

inherently linked to and epistemologically limited by their social position in a way the dominant

groups are not Subjugated knowledge must always be fought for in terms of recognition

(Collins 1990414) and the allies in this study is dedicated to doing so in order to reduce the

impact of their own privilege and increase the outreach of Black people Katrin recognizes how

this process of validation of knowledge based on power is an unequal process where Black

people are seen as unreliable because they are ldquoacting out of self-interestrdquo whereas White

people are assigned more credibility Recognizing these mechanisms does not mean that the

interviewees accept them they use words such as ldquoterriblerdquo and ldquodisgustingrdquo to describe the

phenomenon and they feel both guilty about having these privileges and motivated to use them

for good which has been recognized as a potential effect of guilt in previous research (Dull et

al 20211081-84) However acknowledging this epistemic hierarchy is not an automatic

renouncing of privilege but can instead reinforce racist structures by assuming the assigned

value of White knowledge is higher and thus seeing the role of White allies as more important

than that of Black people in fighting racism (see Collins 1009)

31

The second aspect of White privilege in antiracist activism is as recognized by the interviewees

the fact that the costs of engaging are much lower for White people than they are for Black

simply because one does not risk facing racism as a response to speaking up (Drury amp Kaiser

2014642) For example Sam says they saw their ability to participate in the demonstration as

a privilege ndash not everyone can be sure to get home safe if they choose to attend a demo due to

the potential threat of police harassment or counter-protestors These costs are further lowered

by the fact that most ally work is done online Sara for example says that it enables her to

ldquotake the fightrdquo without ending up in situations too uncomfortable or even dangerous

Essentially the privilege of being listened to and the lower cost of speaking up for White allies

motivates specific responsibilities assigned to ally work but it also risks reproducing racist

hierarchies by assigning White knowledge higher value The remainder of the analysis will

focus on how these responsibilities are put into practice and what may limit the allies in their

attempts to do ally work

51 Balancing ally work

Related to the second research question is to what extent the allies feel like they are entitled to

act in the movement and this following section aims to show what different aspects affect this

perception Based on the ideas about privilege and responsibility the difficulties in balancing

different strategies of ally work will now be analyzed Although it may seem self-explanatory

what allies should do based on the previous section ndash use their privilege to raise their voices

against racist discrimination ndash the experiences of the interviewed allies shows that it is more

complicated than at first glance They must balance different strategies which can be defined

as following

A Listen but do not exploit

B Help but do not hijack

C Step down but do not become paralyzed

These three points represent how different ally assignments presented by the interviewees are

at some point met with objections or disclaimers There are a multitude of examples in the

interviews but the above-mentioned strategies are the most representative and common For

analytical and stylistic purposes they will be presented in a step-by-step form but they should

not be understood as linear or causal The relationship between these aspects is much more

32

complicated which the analysis aims to demonstrate Before analyzing these three strategies

the concept that serves as an implicit (sometimes explicit) point of departure for most decisions

by the allies should be accounted for namely the concept of interpretation privilege

511 Interpretation privilege

In all interviews there is an assumption about what kind of knowledge is legitimate knowledge

and interpretations based on interpretation privilege (tolkningsfoumlretraumlde in Swedish) 9 of the

11 interviewees explicitly mention the term but the theme is discussed in all interviews This

means that despite their academic degrees years of professional experience in human rights

work or their genuine interest for social justice issues the interviewees recognize how their

lack of lived experience reduces their ability to fully understand the issue of racism The idea

of interpretation privilege is interpreted here as a translation of ideas about situated knowledge

(Collins 1990408) lived experience (Voronka 2016194) and power into everyday political

lingo This idea is expressed continuously throughout the interviews as a part of their political

reasoning and it guides how they relate to their role as allies Katrin explains

It is not the same thing to understand racism by reading about it or by seeing or

hearing about othersrsquo experiences as it is to carry it in the body It will never be

possible for me to understand that

Interpretation privilege then helps allies understand and accept their own inability to fully

comprehend racism and it creates respect towards the testimonies made by people who

experiences racism However knowing that one lacks access to a full understanding also

contributes to self-doubt about the ally role and the work associated with it Caroline who

studies to become a psychologist tells me she has some concerns about being a White

psychologist treating Black patients Her professors claim psychologists do not need to share

the patientsrsquo experiences but Caroline is doubtful

ldquoI as a White person will never be able to fully understand being constantly

vigilant as a Black person in Sweden not knowing what the day will be like to

constantly be exposed to microaggressions and discrimination and even worse

abuse every dayhelliprdquo

Accepting interpretation privilege as the fact that if one is not exposed to racism one will never

know exactly what it feels like is empathetic and sensitive to the lived experience of Black

33

people It means respecting the ways Black people make sense of and deal with their own

experiences of oppression without claiming to know better However for the participants in

this study it often leads them to disregard all kinds of personal opinions thoughts or ideas

about what racism is and what should be done about it simply because they lack lived

experience of racism The participants sometimes struggle to balance their own knowledge

against the opinions and experiences of Black people Caroline again

Itrsquos this thing about interpreting different actions ndash is this a racist action or not

Well thatrsquos not up to me [hellip] And I think that interpretation privilege in general

in social media too that you just donrsquot go in and interpret what is right and wrong

Here the lack of interpretation privilege disqualifies Caroline from even deciding whether she

finds something right or wrong although such judgements are foundational in political thinking

Interpretation privilege also decides the legitimacy of actions according to Sara she argues

that whereas it is the job of White allies to speak up against other Whites the meaning of the

action is not the same as if a Black person would do it Essentially if a White ally wants to

stand up against racism it should be with a disclaimer

I think it is important to be like lsquothis is my understanding of it but I donrsquot have

interpretation privilegersquo just to create some awareness that I donrsquot have any

right to think anything - Emma

Some participants strip themselves of their agency by retreating to the idea that their

perspectives thoughts and ideas do not matter Lisa tells me that she sometimes censors herself

by not posting or sharing certain things because she feels like she has too little knowledge She

also stays out of debates she is interested in because she ldquodoes not feel [she] has the right to say

something or make a statement in these issuesrdquo Another example of how allies renounce their

political agency can be represented by Sara who tells me that when she saw my participant

message she was concerned that I searched for lsquoself-identified alliesrsquo In her perspective the

label lsquoallyrsquo is not something that one can claim independently one must earn it by being

recognized as such by a Black person Zhelnina (2020361) points to the importance of activists

growing independence emotional confidence and autonomy in their political interpretations

for a movement to successfully mobilize and in a discourse where one does not even possess

the right to claim allyship to a political movement this type of independence and confidence

may be difficult to develop

34

Another important aspect is the conflict that arises when people with interpretation privilege

disagree within the group Lucas says he has met Black people who defend the right to use

racial slurs That does not mean he accept this as true and uses these words himself but he

acknowledges that these situations could be problematic The multitude of perspectives to

consider especially considering the global character of the movement and its social media

presence it becomes difficult to decide what to believe in And when those who have been

assigned authority in this case Black people with interpretation privilege it becomes even

harder The reflexive globalized world with endless sources of information with sometimes

contradictory messages makes it hard to navigate (Giddens 1991138) This problem also

relates to what Voronka (2016196) described as essentialist tendencies when using the concept

of lived experience as a criterion for inclusion With social media where almost unlimited

information is always accessible to the individual the effort to develop independent

interpretations becomes unnecessary and in the case of the White allies insensitive

However it should be noted that although the idea of interpretation privilege is present in all

interviews the participants are also aware that other types of knowledge such as skills from

previous experience in social movements or academic judicial or general professional

knowledge is important Many of them say that they do feel confident of the practical abilities

they have built up over many years of activism and civil society work and Alva among others

points to how she would like to take on the role of fixing practical organizational tasks for the

BLM movement if she were to become more involved in the future Thus there is no validity

in claiming that the interviewees lack all sorts of self-esteem in their ally identity and that they

completely disregard other types of knowledge as Lucas says ldquointerpretation privilege is not

everythingrdquo Still statements such as ldquoI donrsquot have any right to think anythingrdquo or rdquoItrsquos this

thing about interpreting actions ndash is this racist or not Well thatrsquos not up to merdquo are common

in the interviews Although many of the participants can be interpreted as having ontological

security in terms of knowing what they are good at they cannot translate this into a practical

consciousness that guides their actions in a natural manner which creates ontological insecurity

and passivity (Giddens 199144) This relates to findings about lack of lived experience as

leading to potential insensitivity to discrimination which the interviewees recognize in

themselves (Drury amp Kaiser 2014369-42) In theories of situated knowledge it is emphasized

how a multitude of perspectives is needed and that subjugated groups do not have natural access

to hidden truths (Haraway 1988583-6 Young 199027) The disregarding of White ally

perspectives due to lack of lived experience is thus not inherent in the theories themselves but

35

rather something that seems to occur along the popularized interpretation of the term as it is

translated into everyday political lingo as interpretation privilege

So in navigating what to do as an ally while being committed to the idea of interpretation

privilege the first strategy for good ally work is formulated listening

512 Listen but do not exploit

So drawing upon the notion of interpretation privilege the appropriate way to consume

information about racial issues and determining what to do is by listening to Black people

Listening itself becomes not only a way to retrieve information and insight but a political

practice that reflects power structures and identity It becomes a way to renounce onersquos owns

privilege and instead assigning the power of being heard to others (see Collins 1990 Haraway

1988 Young 2004) Sam explains

I as a White person will never be able to sit there and decide what is right and

wrong when it comes to Black experiences or just non-White experiences Irsquove got

nothing to say about that I know nothing about it I just donrsquot What I can do is

listen and learn and I need to take the initiative as a student in this subject

Listening and taking a step back represents successful allyship according to Lucas because it

means both getting access to the right information and showing emotional support and respect

for people exposed to racism Listening is a powerful way to use onersquos White privilege

respecting the interpretation privilege of Black people and redirecting some of the privilege

and power associated to onersquos whiteness to Black people which is one of the main assignments

of allies (Brown amp Ostrove 20132211) But apart from being a virtuous alternative strategy

for allies it is also a relatively effortless option compared to other types of activism such as

participating in demonstrations Effective unproblematic and ideologically right a seemingly

perfect strategy to apply as a White ally

However it is not that simple listening is not only an act of rejecting the power associated to

onersquos racial identity but also hauntingly close to exploitation of Black experience according

to the interviewees The problem of freeriding and exploiting or capitalizing on the stories of

subjugated groups has been acknowledged in previous research on allyship (Clark 2019530

Linder amp Johnson 20159) For example Lisa argues that White people should be careful

36

talking about racism as if they could understand it and instead listen to what Black people say

- but at the same time she says it quickly becomes counterproductive

Black Swedes are not supposed to have to educate me about the racism they

experience because in that case what do I really demand from a Black person

Lou has the same idea and she tells me about how she used to ask her Black partner many

lsquodumbrsquo questions but that she realized that this means that she puts the burden of educating her

on him Sara avoids asking her Black friends about how she as a White ally can help because

that puts too much responsibility on those Black friends Amanda tells me she is after having

listened to one of the biggest antiracist podcasts Raseriet afraid of being one of lsquothose White

peoplersquo who demand to be taught about racism from Black people After all they all agree that

racism is a problem White people created and a problem for White people to solve ndash the

responsibility should not land on Black people As Emma says

Itrsquos essentially White peoplersquos problem itrsquos White people who built the structures

we are protesting [hellip] Itrsquos not Black people who are supposed to stand there and

scream their lungs out about Black Lives Matter but itrsquos about White people

needing to get together and saying like lsquonow we have to fix this because we

created itrsquo

So while trying to balance interpretation privilege the participants easily stumble into another

pitfall Listening as ally work increases the risk of becoming a burden on Black people by

depending on them for education explanations and guidance and exploiting their knowledge

and lived experience for self-improvement which also reinforces racist structures Black people

are implicitly seen as political objects rather than subjects inevitably crushed under the pressure

of White questions and demands and in need of White protection The point of allyship is to

make life and activism easier for Black people not the other way around which brings us to

another strategy of allyship to balance helping

513 Help but do not hijack

Based on the idea that listening as political practice can become exploitative and freeriding the

allies land in the conclusion that helping is the main assignment for allies They motivate this

by referring to their own privileges However as this section will show helping as a political

practice is also surrounded by potential problems

37

The idea of helping as ally work relates again to the idea that the costs of confronting racism is

lower for White people than for Black people (Drury amp Kaiser 2014642) as well as the

realization that White people are granted more respect and legitimacy when advocating for

antiracist causes (Arora amp Stout 2019390) Helping consists of claiming co-responsibility of

changing society protecting Black people from painful experiences and deal with the racism

of White people For example if an ally hears someone being racist they must speak up Sara

tries to do so because she does not want to add to any Black personrsquos burden of having to take

every fight themselves Emma argues that it is not Black peoplersquos responsibility to keep the

movement alive and therefore it is important that White people speak up She thinks ldquoit feels

stupid if White people would just sit around and wait for initiatives cause then you donrsquot do

anything goodrdquo If Black people are left alone with total responsibility of changing institutions

and organizations in Loursquos experience that usually puts Black people in situations where the

risk of being exposed to racism is high and without the support system of allies to help

Although all interviewees describe different ways of helping and supporting Black people and

the BLM movement as a main task for allies such statements are often followed by a disclaimer

For example they say ldquoitrsquos this balance that you being White shouldnrsquot go in and take overrdquo

(Emma) and ldquoWe should support we should be there we should recognize and lift the issues

But we should not be the main actorsrdquo (Alva) One of the most common phrases in the

interviews were lsquothat is not my placersquo This reasoning is present regardless of what types of

actions the interviewees talk about both high-level activism in formal organizations or

representing the movement in media and everyday civil courage such as speaking up against

racist comments in the workplace Sara adds to her statement about wanting to speak up to help

Black people saying that she ldquoalso has to leave room for Black people to act and not trying to

be like lsquoI know best now so let me explain racismrsquordquo Amanda shares similar thoughts saying

Itrsquos important that this can be a movement that Black people own themselves and

that itrsquos not something us White people can just barge into and take over Itrsquos a

balancing between goodwill and wanting to help and to not barge in and be like

lsquoThis is what racism isrsquo

Amanda has worked in organizations who educate people in moral courage and antiracism for

a few years and she has much experience in this type of political work But when she is

contacted in her role as an antiracist educator and asked to hold a course in a workplace she

doubts herself She feels that she must lsquowarnrsquo them about her whiteness ldquoI have to start by

38

saying that Irsquom White Irsquoll never be able to talk about racism like a Black person couldrdquo During

spring of 2020 she started to think about her role again she tells me She concluded that ldquothis

is not my place this organization is not my place but I could do activism in other waysrdquo In

most interviews there are similar reasonings for example Bea explains how she is not against

White people organizing against racism but that she

would not be very comfortable doing it or starting an appeal or initiative like

lsquoWhites in support for Black Lives Matterrsquo because thatrsquos nothellip thatrsquos claiming

space and attention

Katrin said that she in her work at an equality foundation had to weigh her wish to do

something against the risk of ldquotaking over a voice that was just starting to build uprdquo and Lou

who works in HR criticizes her own attempts to implement antiracist ideas at her workplace

because she doubts if she has any right to ldquoclaim that we have to work with so-called diversity

issuesrdquo or ldquobe that voice in a White roomrdquo Emma mentions ldquosupporting without taking overrdquo

as the most important aspect of ally work This is an important part of allyship being

supportive standing by Black peoplersquos side acknowledging oppression raising the issues but

without being the protagonists of the movement as Alva explains Lisa agrees she asks herself

rdquoIs this my space to claim I donrsquot know am I supposed to march in the frontline when it comes

to this issue like Irsquom not so sure about thatrdquo In these statements it is implicitly assumed that

if Whites wanted to take over from Black people they easily could (even unconsciously) and

this implies Black people are less resilient as political actors

These arguments are often motivated by their own experiences with men taking space in

feminist movements They think about the way they want men to act and applies the same

reasoning to their own allyship

If this was about feminism and there was a dude telling me this or doing this that

Irsquom talking about now [taking over authorrsquos note] how would I react then [hellip]

I find it odd when female feminists feel like they have to pay tribute to and psyche

up male feminists I donrsquot think male feminists should need that And I feel the

same way about like Black people shouldnrsquot have to care about me at all it may

sound weird but I donrsquot do it for them itrsquos other Whites I want to affect ndash Katrin

Allies often use their own identities and social positions to understand other types of oppression

and although it seems to function as a source of empathy and compassion for the other group

as well as regulating ones ally behavior it is important to acknowledge that lived experience of

39

sexism does not mean inevitable understanding of experiences of racism (Spanierman amp Smith

2017608-10) which the allies mention themselves

This section shows that the strategy of helping is not as straight-forward and easily managed as

first described but instead associated with a big risk lsquoWhat if I take over What does it say

about me if I dordquo They engage in reflexive identity construction without being ontologically

secure eg without having a ldquopractical consciousnessrdquo or ldquonatural attituderdquo that guides how to

act This creates anxiety and fear of doing and thus being wrong (Giddens 199136) All

participants agree that although allies are important in creating change the movement is and

should be a Black space Although they are confident in these believes and dedicated to living

up to these ideals they are still afraid of unintentionally taking over or hijacking the movement

despite their wish to simply help and support the movement from the background To minimize

the risk of being one of those White allies who barges in and takes over the allies make sure to

balance this by taking a step back and leaving room for Black people to lead the way

514 Take a step back but do not become paralyzed

The choice to take a step back following the alliesrsquo reasoning about claiming space and taking

over means that they are more and more evolving toward a state of allyship where few actions

are legitimate and unproblematic This can be interpreted as a sign that the strategies described

previously (listening and helping) are not part of the alliesrsquo practical consciousness and that

engaging in such ally work is experienced as difficult and frightening due to ontological

insecurity This often leads to passivity (Giddens 199144) Taking a step back is described as

lsquoleaving room forrsquo Black people and it consists of listening (which as previous sections of the

analysis show is not seen as entirely unproblematic) and sharing the perspectives of Black

people for example in social media but without claiming a frontline position in the movement

These are two strategies that reduces the influence of White voices on the antiracist discourse

Taking a step back and leaving room for Black people is a way to denounce the privilege of

being listened to (Arora amp Stout 2019294-5) and reducing the power gap between dominant

and subjugated groups in terms of knowledge production (Collins 1990408)

However the interviewees testify to how the strategy to take a step back is often (but not

always) a shortcut to passivity Katrin who works in an equality foundation dealing with issues

of sexism and racism tells me what happened in her organization when choosing the take-a-

step-back approach by sharing articles Instagram posts and other materials created by Black

40

people and thus engaging in amplification of Black voices (Clark 2019528-31) They were

later criticized for ldquonot doing more not talking about it more screaming more sharing

morehelliprdquo They tried to do the right thing but failed Katrin wonders if they should have done

something of their own something bigger while also acknowledging how it would be

problematic of them to claim the spotlight

The allies worry about their own tendencies to become passive because of trying to navigate

among the different strategies Katrin explains this mechanism as a process where learning

about privilege and power creates an insight of onersquos own role in this power structure

ldquoYou realize that lsquoI have power I have responsibility and I do not have

interpretation privilegersquo and that makes you so scared to do anything wrong that

you end up doing nothing at allrdquo

She describes the insights as ldquoparalyzingrdquo and this experience is shared by more of the

interviewees and found in previous research (Brown amp Ostrove 20132220) Emma says that

it is a complex question that she thinks about a lot and that she has not yet landed in any

conclusions about what she should be doing as an ally but she knows that she must avoid

becoming paralyzed However it could be reflexivity itself that leads to such passivity

(Giddens 199144) Political background does not affect this mechanism as it is observed in

those with no prior experience as well as those with years of activism In some ways having

more prior experience can even make it harder to navigate the ally role because the roles

previously taken are no longer open to you as White Alva explains

Irsquom so used to being in the front and in the middle and being in the back is not

really like how I have been engaged before Irsquom not really used to it and to have

my role defined as being in the backseat in the back of the bus as Whitehellip [hellip] I

havenrsquot done that before And Irsquove struggled to find my role ndash what can I do

Cause I feel my hands are tied behind my back a little I would love to do more but

at the same time my interest cannot decide what the main issue should be Itrsquos all

about knowing your role and your place and being very sensitive to when people

tell you to back away or step up

At the end of each interview they were asked What would you like to see for the movement in

the future I got many analytical answers but some responded by saying like Alva ldquoItrsquos hard

for me to answer because Irsquom White I donrsquot know what needs to be focused on right now and

Irsquom not the right person to askrdquo Lisa says rdquoI donrsquot feel I have the right to speak on this or like

41

debate this issuerdquo Amanda does not answer the question either and refers to how it would be

inappropriate for her to try to decide what the movement should be about Interestingly she

notices how this perspective is only present in her relation to antiracism as she has worked for

LGBTQ-rights for years despite identifying as straight She cannot point out what is different

when it comes to antiracism but she feels there is a difference The uncertainty of knowing

what to do risks leading to passivity

ldquoItrsquos like Irsquove come tohellip Not a stop but a landmark and itrsquos like I canrsquot get

further than that because I donrsquot know what to do Irsquom sure there are things I

could do and a role for me to take on but I canrsquot find it right nowrdquo - Alva

Again the interviewees are aware of the paralyzing effect of their strategies and Lou claims

that she knows that she is overthinking it

When I discuss this with people who are exposed to racism I sometimes get the

feeling that theyrsquore like lsquowe donrsquot care who does it somebody just do itrsquo There

is a need for antiracist work to be done [hellip] So I think that itrsquos easy to fall into

some kind of paralyzed state that doesnrsquot help anybody

The assumption of passivity among contemporary activists can be considered mainstream in

the social movement field Youths of Western democracies are less engaged in any kind of

traditional political involvement such as voting political party membership or other

associational activities (Amnaring amp Ekman 20136) Often this decline in political activity is

attributed to the growing prevalence of digital methods instead of more traditional physical

methods because it gives people an undeserved sense of accomplishment (Skoric 201277) and

a false idea of what activism is efficient (Morozov 200913) Although the majority of the

intervieweesrsquo activism consisted of digital participation and digital participation only it would

be unfair to claim that it is out of a sense of undeserving feeling of accomplishment that they

stopped at digital methods Quite opposite to the conclusions made by Skoric and Morozov of

the self-absorbed slacktivist the interviewees are far from happy with their contributions to the

movement Digital activism is associated with laziness slack and performative allyship by the

interviewees and they usually do not value digital activism as high as physical engagement

For example Lisa says she feels a bit ashamed of being more of a ldquokeyboard activist than a real

activistrdquo and Amanda shares similar thoughts about her own participation

42

When I posted the image I felt like lsquoIrsquom so fucking lame for doing only thisrsquo

[laughs] I didnrsquot really think of it as an activist action because it was so easy

Thus the emotional experience relates to feeling ashamed which under specific circumstances

and motivate action ndash but often it leads to passivity (Dull et al 20211081-84 Zhelnina

2020361) When Emma describes how accessible online activism is she presents a scenario

where someone can ldquosit at home in the couch and watch a movie and at the same time just log

into social media and protestrdquo Bea even laughs while telling me that she ldquothinks she shared a

black square on Instagram like everyone elserdquo Accessibility is not an indicator of democratic

or inclusive value but quality and it seems like the easier it is the lower it is valued by the

allies Comparing to the study by Russo (2014) where the allies put themselves through

physical challenges to demonstrate their allyship the digital form of ally work is interpreted as

a lower form of activism and is surrounded by feelings of inadequacy and shame Although the

reasons for why many of them stopped at digital activism varies none of them did it out of

satisfaction or laziness In the cases where physical limitations the pandemic or lack of protests

in onersquos hometown was not the reason it was rooted in an insecurity about what to do as an

ally Digital methods were perceived as a safer option in a context where almost all other types

of White participation are criticized and the potential pain of being called out as a bad ally is

perceived to be lower in the digital realm than it would be in other contexts

As this section shows the allies handle the potential risk of hijacking the movement by taking

a step back to leave room for Black people to define shape and ultimately run the movement

themselves However this strategy creates its own problems there is an imminent risk of

becoming passive So when listening does not work because of the risk of freeriding and

exploiting Black experiences and actively helping to relieve Black people of the burden to

overthrow systemic racism is deemed inappropriate because it includes a risk of hijacking the

movement and stepping back is ruled out because it leads to passivity ndash what remains

515 Do good but not for the wrong reasons Introspection

In line with previous research and theory introspection of different kinds is often discussed as

an important ally assignment (Drury amp Kaiser 2014638 Kauffman 200124 29-32) Without

introspection the quality of allyship risks becoming deficient because without being aware of

onersquos privilege as well as guilt allyship easily slips into paternalistic behavior (Cole

20201267 Spanierman amp Smith 609-10) Introspection is described in terms of ldquochecking

43

myselfrdquo (Sam) ldquotake a step back and acknowledge that I am part of a racist systemrdquo (Lisa) and

being ldquohumble to the fact that you are part the structurerdquo (Caroline) All interviewees express

the idea that one cannot be a good ally or contribute to positive change without first having

engaged in introspection in different ways

I think one of the most important things is to understand your own whiteness It

sounds kind of ego and self-centered but I think that you canrsquot be an ally

otherwise ever if you donrsquot see your own privilege [hellip] Otherwise you end up

balancing the line between racism and antiracism and that line is thinner than

you think - Lou

This imagined thin line between antiracism and racism concerns many interviewees Lisa

Lucas and Emma also see the risk of falling into racist behavior as big and that they must start

by recognizing this risk to avoid it Amanda says that she knows that she eventually will do

something racist but that she tries not to fear it because ldquoself-criticism can create fear often

therersquos a fear of saying or doing the wrong thing which makes people afraid to be alliedrdquo which

creates passivity Sam calls self-reflection and rdquochecking themselvesrdquo their most important job

and claims that if their aim was to destroy racism that would indicate that they thought of

themselves as bias-free which they are not Lucas also recognizes his own prejudice and says

it is part of his ally work to try to diminish these biases The potential for racist behavior is both

ascribed to being raised in a racist system and to White identity Amanda attributes her future

racist actions to her whiteness explicitly and Caroline argues that all White people are capable

of racist actions regardless of intent lsquowokenessrsquo and knowledge and she knows that she will

at some point act racist despite her devotion to antiracism and her love for her Black partner

All these considerations are part of the reflexive process that is self-identity constantly

scrutinizing oneself and navigating around different actions to act in line with self-identity

(Giddens 199175) When the stakes are as high as they are for White allies ndash they risk acting

and thus being racist if they do not engage in enough introspection The room for action

becomes further limited

In relation to the digital realm where most ally work took place introspection also becomes

about motivations The main concern for the interviewees was whether or not they should use

their social media platforms for ally work at all since digital methods are sometimes frowned

upon for being shallow and too simple Despite this all of them did some type of digital ally

work When I asked those who shared the black square on Instagram why some of them

44

laughed and said that they did not know or could not explain it They mention motivations such

as fitting in

In a way it was like everyone on my Instagram did it and it became like a peer

pressure thing like rsquowhy didnrsquot she share itrsquo or rsquowhy didnrsquot he hare itrsquo you

know ndash Emma

Besides peer pressure the desire to lsquofeel goodrsquo was also reflected upon Many acknowledge

that this desire existed but they did not approve of it as a motive for action Caroline explains

that although it is good to show others where you stand it does not say much about who you

are in the everyday life and the act of posting on social media instead become about seeming

or feeling good The thing they worry about is whether them showing support for the BLM

movement was intended to help the movement or to make themselves look better ndash sometimes

called cosmetic activism (Spanierman amp Smith 2017609-10) or more often among the

participants performative allyship Lou who regularly shares information opinions petitions

and hashtags in her social media says that she worries about her allyship being performative

because she knows most of her followers already shares her opinions Thus her sharing yet

another Instagram post about how racism is wrong could possibly be to ldquoshow off and make

myself feel a little betterrdquo She is careful to stop and reflect upon her actions and intentions and

ask herself lsquowhy did I do this What was my purposersquo Bea shares the same concerns

describing online activism as potentially about ldquostrengthening your personal brandrdquo and

ldquomarketing yourselfrdquo ndash although she does not identify with these motives she feels like there

is always a risk of falling into performative allyship in social media Posting on social media is

also described as a way to claim an antiracist alibi as Bea explains

One way to avoid this is to actively choose not to share with others the activism they engage in

like Sam who calls it unlearning performative allyship Instead of risking acting in the wrong

way and for the wrong reasons they turn to strategic passivism However the unintended result

of this is that one of the main advantages of allies in social movements (that they can use their

voices and platforms to amplify Black voices) goes missing if social media posts are no longer

considered legitimate allyship (Arora amp Stout 2019390 Bhattacharyya et al 202012 Clark

2019528-31)

Introspection is not only a way to secure high-quality allyship but to reduce the risk of doing

something racist and thus being racist Identity is constructed biographically through action

and if the actions does not align with the sense of self-identity this incoherence leads to

45

ontological insecurity in terms of the self meaning one starts to doubt onersquos own motives

(Giddens 199152-54) Seeing onersquos own whiteness as a guarantee of future racist behavior

and knowing how such behavior would clash with the sense of self allies do best in trying to

avoid racist action by all means available Thus acting becomes a risk in itself and this could

be interpreted as ally work becoming unintuitive and unnatural to the allies both at a practical

level determining what to do and at a more discursive level shaping who to be Although

ontological security is defined as practical consciousness it applies to less hands-on orientation

in the world too for example finding onersquos role and identity in a social movement The way to

move forward after recognizing all possible ways one may act wrong is to engage in strategic

passivism apolitical introspection as a political strategy (Kauffman 200124 29-32 Giddens

199144) It is not equivalent to passivity because it includes a strategic choice and it is built

on ally work but ally work that is aimed inwards It becomes a way to be active without acting

in a context where other people may get hurt or judge you

Allies must also make sure not only to act coherently and right but to have pure intentions

being an ally for the sake of recognition or personal gratification is not accepted However

research shows that such extrinsic motivations are especially important in motivating digital

participation (Lilleker amp Koc-Michalska 201725 34-25) and that feelings of shame and guilt

can lead to passivity (Dull et al 20211081-84 Zhelnina 2020361) These two conditions

(ideas of inherent racism and requirements of pure motives) related to introspection does not

create an environment where being active is very appealing Lou admits how acknowledging

the thin line between antiracism and racism leaves her paralyzed instead of motivated

Introspection on the other hand requires no interaction with other people and thus no risk of

being evaluated judged or called out as a bad ally

As the analysis demonstrates the allies recognize there are many different ways they could

engage ndash but all of them are eventually met with disclaimers of how that specific strategy is

inappropriate They try to navigate their own identity and privilege in relation to interpretation

privilege based on theories of situated knowledge but because they lack ontological security

in their ally role they struggle to find a path that is neither inappropriate nor associated with

too much risk Eventually they land in what could be referred to as passivism strategic

passivity as a form of activism

46

6 Discussion and conclusion

The purpose of this study was to better understand how the ally role and participation is

experienced by White allies participating in the Swedish BLM movement and to investigate to

what extent they felt that they had legitimacy as political agents in the movement As the results

show the allies felt strongly for the cause and had many positive experiences of community

and purpose However emotions related to shame guilt and insecurity were also an integral

part of their ally experience and it limited them in their ally work The analysis also shows that

while they are willing and motivated to act as allies the strategies available to them are

surrounded by disclaimers doubt and criticism Few potential actions or approaches are left

unproblematized and the allies often struggle to find their specific path The analysis

emphasizes the link between academic theories of situated knowledge and what can be seen as

a translated popularized version of the term formulated in the political discourse as

interpretation privilege The contribution of Giddensrsquo theories is that the concepts of reflexivity

and ontological security describes the reason for the hesitation the allies engage in whereas the

concept of situated knowledge describes on what basis they hesitate modernity explains why

they worry and situated knowledge what they worry about

Although the analysis shows a pattern that seems to link ideas of interpretation privilege with

passivism among allies the conclusion should not be that acknowledging the importance of

situated knowledge and recognizing the power intertwined with the knowledge creation and

validation process is unnecessary or harmful The theories of situated knowledge standpoint

theory and Black feminist epistemology are important contributions to the sociology of

knowledge and crucial reminders of the power embedded in knowledge However of interest

to political sociology scholars could be the translation of academic concepts into everyday

political lingo and what effects it may have on how people think about politics agency and

identity It is also important to point out that the statements by the interviewees do not reflect

the concept of interpretation privilege in itself but only their interpretation of it Therefore one

could never claim that the concept in itself limits or motivates anything only the way it is

interpreted

Many parts of the results need further investigation One is the implication of guilt if allies are

so limited in this movement whose fault is it It is easy to jump to the conclusion that the fault

belongs to the movement itself and its participants that activists and allies specifically create

47

an environment where action is limited and surrounded by doubt and insecurity This is not the

conclusion of the study Black people or specifically Black movement participants are not to

blame for a culture created by all participants of the movement and this culture or discourse

should be treated as such a larger collective process or frame that is affected by and affecting

all movement participants and the social context it is constructed in It is power on the discursive

level and beyond the reach of any specific grouprsquos aims to control it The experiences and

emotions of the allies should be treated as manifestations of a larger socio-political context

(Buechler 1995458) which could be the focus of future research

Another important aspect to discuss is the implications of quality of the participants allyship

Much research on the passivity of modern activists for example texts on slacktivism (see

Skoric 2012) have a contemptuous tone while discussing how little activists do and how good

they feel about themselves I refrain from evaluating the quality of the actual activism

performed by the allies and from explaining their digitally dominated activism with slacktivism

Instead of seeing contemporary passivism as a potential problem of bad activists one must

focus on the cultural structural and discursive processes enabling this specific kind of activism

instead of other more traditional and acknowledged types of activism Something in the

political climate digital activism identity political social movements or something completely

different limits those who wish to support the movement as allies in their action repertoires

One interesting finding is the consistency in the way the participants describe their involvement

and the issues they thought about Looking at prior experience and their doubts and concerns

about current and future activism there seems to be no link between being unexperienced or

so to say a lsquorookiersquo activist and feeling insecure about what to do as an ally The same problem

was present for people working with equality issues for a living having academic degrees in

the field and well as those without similar professional and academic competences Thus it is

unlikely to be out of inexperience or lack of knowledge that allies sometimes turn to passivism

It is also important to note that while this analysis turned out to be about tendencies of

passivism the interviewed allies were in fact not passive They all engaged in different ally

work digitally and physically sharing information online participating in demonstrations and

trying to incorporate antiracism in their everyday lives and encounters The idea of passivism

applies to their own reasoning and thinking about their allyship more than it does to their

performed ally work Passivism describes their strategic use of introspection which resembles

being passive from out outside perspective but includes much effort in scrutinizing oneself and

trying to become a better ally something that the interviewees are very focused on

48

The main contribution of this study is its representation of the ally perspective something that

is not well researched in the Swedish context It contributes with an insight into the political

arguments of a contemporary social movement characterized by identity-focus and digital

methods Potential contributions could also relate to the questions what would be needed for

allyship to become effective motivating and less associated with introspection and passivism

questions to which the answers must be found in larger contexts than that of these 11 alliesrsquo

testimonies In order to say more about how contemporary allyship is constructed experienced

and given meaning a triangulation of different methods and data sources would be required

along with a bigger sample

The study raised more questioned than it answered which indicates the importance and

relevance of further studies For example the theoretical coherence between the academic

concept of situated knowledge and the more casual term interpretation privilege would need to

be further explored as this study is only a rather shallow review of the concepts Studying the

larger political development and the discourse on activism or racism could also help

constructing a more developed understanding of what it really means to be an ally in the local

context of 21st century Sweden while simultaneously being part of a global network of activists

The implications of these results could be that while allyship is considered important both for

social movements at large (see Brown amp Ostrove 2013 Arora amp Stout 2019 Clark 2019) and

for the individual allies themselves it is also problematized by the interviewees in line with the

problems presented in previous research Applying these results to White allyship there are

things that would need to change in order for the allies to feel secure enough to find the

motivation to participate in the way they all claim they would want to but have not found the

time motivation or feeling of legitimacy to do For ally work to be a force to be reckoned with

in the antiracist struggle preconditions for action beyond introspection and strategic passivism

must be further developed Relating back to Butler the risk is otherwise that

If white people become exclusively preoccupied with our own privilege we risk

becoming self-absorbed We definitely donrsquot need more white people making

everything about themselves that just re-centralizes whiteness and refuses to do

the work of anti-racism (Gleeson 2021)

49

7 References Ahmed S Jaidka K amp Cho J (2017) Tweeting Indiarsquos Nirbhaya protest a study of emotional dynamics in an online social

movement Social Movement Studies 16(4) 227-465 httpsdoi1010801474283720161192457

American Psychological Association (2019) Racial and ethnic identity httpapastyleapaorgstyle-grammar-

guidelinesbias-free-languageracial-ethnic-minorities

Amnaring E amp Ekman J (2013) Standby citizens diverse faces of political passivity European Political Science 1-21

httpsdoi101017S175577391300009X

Andersson P (2021) Bokrecension Vit skoumlrhet vaumllbehoumlvlig i svensk rasismdebatt SVT Nyheter Downloaded 2021-09-29

from httpswwwsvtsekulturbokrecension-vit-skorhet-skickar-meningsfulla-impulser-in-i-den-svenska-debatten

Arora M amp Stout CT (2018) Letters for Black Lives Co-ethnic Mobilization and Support for the Black Lives Matter

Movement Political Research Quarterly 72(2) 389-402 httpsdoiorg1011772F1065912918793222

Arribas Lozano A (2018) Knowledge co-production with social movement networks Redefining grassroots politics

rethinking research Social Movement Studies 17(4) 451-463 httpsdoiorg1010801474283720181457521

Barassi V amp Zamponi L (2020) Social media time identity narratives and the construction of political biographies Social

Movement Studies 195-6 592-608 httpsdoiorg1010801474283720201718489

Bauman Z (2001) Liquid Modernity Cambridge Polity Press

Bhattacharyya G Virdee S amp Winter A (2020) Revisiting histories of anti-racist thought and activism Identities 27(1)

1-19 httpsdoiorg1010801070289X20191647686

Belam M (2021) Black Lives Matter movement nominated for Nobel peace prize The Guardian 2021-01-29

httpswwwtheguardiancomworld2021jan29Black-lives-matter-nobel-peace-prize-petter-eide-norweigan-mp

(Downloaded 2021-06-16)

Bernstein M (2005) Identity Politics Annual Review of Sociology 31(1) 47-74

httpsdoiorg101146annurevsoc29010202100054

Brown K T amp Ostrove J M (2013) What does it mean to be an ally The perception of allies from the perspective of

people of color Journal of Applied Social Psychology 43(11) 2211ndash2222 httpsdoiorg101111jasp12172

Braring (2018) Sjaumllvrapporterad utsatthet foumlr hatbrott Analys utifraringn Nationella trygghetsundersoumlkningen 2006ndash2017 Rapport

201810 Downloaded 2021-03-05 at

httpswwwbrasedownload187f57ba351641b9cdc3d1e0b515344265455312018_10_Sjalvrapporterad_utsatthet_for_

hatbrottpdf

Buechler SM (1995) NEW SOCIAL MOVEMENT THEORIES Sociological Quarterly 36 441-464

httpsdoiorg101111j1533-85251995tb00447x

Bursell M (2014) The Multiple Burdens of Foreign-Named MenmdashEvidence from a Field Experiment on Gendered Ethnic

Hiring Discrimination in Sweden European Sociological Review 30(3) 399ndash409 httpsdoiorg101093esrjcu047

Carnegie Endowment for International Peace 2020 Global Protest Tracker Downloaded 2020-12-16 at

httpscarnegieendowmentorgpublicationsinteractiveprotest-trackergclid=CjwKCAiA_eb-

BRB2EiwAGBnXXve4_M0rNWlgU0_MmYUuIg6ThabxkIbk_kQhlB7O_542emIVDHX1HRoCCFsQAvD_BwE

Clark M (2019) White folksrsquo work digital allyship praxis in the BlackLivesMatter movement Social Movement Studies

18(5) 519-534 httpsdoiorg1010801474283720191603104

Clayton DM (2018) Black Lives Matter and the Civil Rights Movement A Comparative Analysis of Two Social

Movements in the United States Journal of Black Studies 40(5)448-480

httpsdoiorg1011772F0021934718764099

Cole G (2020) Types of White Identification and Attitudes About Black Lives Matter Social Science Quarterly

101(4)1627-1633) httpsdoiorg101111ssqu12837

Collins PH (1990) Black Feminist Epistemology In Calhoun C J Gerteis J Moody S Pfaff amp I Virk (Ed) (2012)

Contemporary Sociological Theory 3rd Ed Chichester Wiley-Blackwell

Craddock E (2019) Doing rsquoenoughrsquo of the lsquorightrsquo thing the gendered dimension of the lsquoideal activistrsquo and its negative

emotional consequencesrdquo Social Movement Studies 18(2)137-153) httpsdoiorg1010801474283720181555457

Creswell JW amp Poth CN (2017) Qualitative inquiry and research design choosing among five approaches (Fourth

edition) Los Angeles Sage Publications

Diani M (1992) The Concept of Social Movement The Sociological Review 40(1)1-25 httpsdoiorg1011112Fj1467-

954X1992tb02943x

Drury B amp C Kaiser (2014) Allies against Sexism The Role of Men in Confronting Sexism Journal of Social Issues

70(4)637-652 httpsdoiorg101111josi12083

Dull BD Hoyt LT Grzanka PR amp Zeider KH (2021) Can White Guilt Motivate Action The Role of Civic Beliefs

Journal of Youth and Adolescence 50 1081ndash1097 (2021) httpsdoiorg101007s10964-021-01401-7

Earl J (2014) The Future of Social Movement Organizations The Waning Dominance of SMOs Online American

Behavioral Scientist 5935-52 httpsdoiorg1011772F0002764214540507

Garrett RK (2006) Protest in an Information Society a review of literature on social movements and new ICTs

Information Communication amp Society 9(2) 202-224 httpsdoiorg10108013691180600630773

Giddens A (1991) Modernity and self-identity Self and society in the late modern age Stanford University Press

Gleeson J (2021) Judith Butler lsquoWe need to rethink the category of womanrsquo The Guardian 2021-09-07 (Accessed 20201-

09-14 at httpswwwtheguardiancomlifeandstyle2021sep07judith-butler-interview-gender)

9

Looking at the Swedish context Jaumlmte and colleagues (2020) discuss how the Swedish BLM

movement represents a structuralist turn in Swedish anti-racism which has historically been

focusing on extremities such as Apartheid or Nazism and less on discrimination in the labor

market housing and media (ibid369 375) Historically the antiracist movement in Sweden

been occupied by a large proportion of allies from the majority population but during the 2020

BLM wave this changed and more POC participated for their cause Because ally activism is

often more volatile the increased share of people with lived experience of racism contributes

to a more stable foundation for sustainable activism (ibid371-2) Digital methods also

dominated the Swedish case which can be compared to the MeToo movement rather than the

US-based BLM movement which focused much more on physical protest and resistance

(ibid369)

Based on the different important conclusions in previous research (the turn towards non-

material values antiracist tendencies to emphasize lived experience the overrepresentation of

White allies in the Swedish anti-racist movement historically and the dominance of digital

methods) the remainder of the previous research presented will focus on allyship and white

identity and digital methods in contemporary movements

21 Allies

In a movement where much emphasis is put on identities it is of interest to examine the role of

those who are part of the movement activity without belong to that specific identity group In

this case White allies The definition of an ally varies between different scholars Brown and

Ostrove (20132211) described an ally as a dominant group member who ldquowork to end

prejudice in their personal and professional lives and relinquish social privileges conferred by

their group status through their support of nondominant groupsrdquo Spanierman and Smith

(2017608-9) argued that an ally is someone who understands their privilege as well as their

own role in oppression through introspection and self-reflection and who use their privilege

in responsible ways to end oppression despite facing opposition from other dominant group

members For Drury and Kaiser (2014637) an ally is someone who ldquoaligns with a

disadvantaged group by recognizing the need for further progress in the fight for equal rights

and Russo (201467) simply defined allies as activists who are politically engaged to benefit a

group to which they are outsiders These definitions include both introspective aspects of

allyship and more action-oriented aspects and they are all relatively open regarding what

10

exactly an ally can be expected to do in support for the movement What almost all these

definitions have in common is the baseline assumption that allies recognize their own

privileges and in antiracist movements that they embrace their White identity whiteness is not

only a description of skin color or ethnicity but also a culturally and politically influenced

identity A White ally cannot only be White they must also recognize their whiteness as

culturally significant recognizing privilege and becoming aware of both oppression as such

and onersquos own role in it is the first step to become an ally (Drury amp Kaiser 2014638) Although

lsquoWhitersquo has not always been treated as a social identity in the same way as other ethnic

identities there has been a recent resurge of White identification in the US (Cole 20201627)

Cole identified three main types of White identity type 1 includes no recognition of whiteness

type 2 recognizes whiteness but sees it as a liability and type 3 recognizes whiteness as a

privilege Among these types of White identification type 3 is most likely to support the BLM

means and goals whereas type 2 is least likely to support the movement at all

White identity development is also closely linked to the idea of White guilt which is seen as a

normative response to realizing onersquos own whiteness and the privilege attached to it Individuals

who acknowledge recognize and understand racism have higher degrees of White guilt and

this can either motivate action or create passivity (Dull et al 20211081-84) Dull and

colleagues found that White guilt can motivate civic action under certain circumstances there

must also be individual beliefs of social responsibility and efficacy (ibid1089) If the individual

neither believes in their social responsibility nor their own efficacy as political actors they will

struggle to find motivation to act Efficacy was measured by asking the participants whether

they felt they had the knowledge capacity and opportunity to affect social change (ibid1086)

Feelings of shame and despair among other have demobilizing effects on political mobilization

(Zhelnina 2020361) and it is therefore highly relevant to explore what emotions are

experienced by the allies in this study and to what degree they motivate or hinder action

211 Why are allies important

The role of allies in social movements is considered important in creating both social change

and in improving the everyday conditions of marginalized groups Brown and Ostrove (2013)

argued that White allies have two main assignments in antiracist movements supporting

individual people from the nondominant group and engaging in informed political action After

realizing onersquos whiteness and privilege allies must actively work to dismantle the system of

11

oppression by for example willingly share power with the subordinated group (Clark

2019523)

One of the most valuable aspects of ally work in social movements is the fact that the costs of

confronting sexism racism or any other discriminatory behavior is much lower for allies

without personal interest in the issue than it is for marginalized group members Men

confronting sexist behavior are seen as more rational and credible and less hostile than their

female counterparts which can strengthen the receiverrsquos sympathy for the sentiment of the

movement (Drury amp Kaiser 2014642) Male allies speaking up can also normalize rejecting

sexist ideas for women too and thus create a more open climate for such confrontations

(ibid644) The cost of ally work is further lowered when utilizing digital methods Clark (2019)

found that when White allies use their digital platforms to amplify the voices of Black people

the personal costs are low while the effects are positive The narratives of Black activists often

marginalized in their outreach in other ethnic or cultural groups are spread and legitimized by

White allies and it may ultimately strengthen the movement at large (Clark 2019528-31)

The idea that White allies should help the movement by amplifying the voices of Black people

can be further validated by the results of a study conducted by Arora and Stout (2019) on co-

ethnic mobilization and support for BLM They conducted an experimental study on the support

for the movement and the effect of messages from co-ethnic versus non-co-ethnic messengers

In general people tend to accept and embrace a political message more easily if they find the

messenger trustworthy and likeable which is an increasingly rational mechanism in times of

excessive access to information (Arora amp Stout 2019390) In their study they had people read

letters in favor for supporting the BLM movement written by authors of different ethnicities

Their results showed that White people did not change their opinion on BLM unless the author

was also White (ibid394-5) The implications of these results are that ldquoif whitesrsquo attitudes about

Black Lives Matter are to change appeals are much more effective coming from co-racial

individualsrdquo (ibid396) This implies that the role of White allies in amplifying the message of

Black activists and spreading the message especially within their own racial group is a very

powerful and important way for White allies to support the movement

212 What is problematic with allies

Although the role of allies in social movements are important there are also problems Some

research indicates that without lived experience of for example sexism or racism it is harder

12

to detect when such discrimination occurs For example men are less likely to interpret subtle

sexism as sexism and they are less likely to sympathize with someone confronting sexism if

that someone is female (Drury amp Kaiser 2014639 642) Thus much time and effort may have

to be put into educating out-group allies Allies are also less likely to be emotionally receptive

towards grasping the magnitude of oppression which again comes from lack of lived

experience (Russo 201480) It is also important to recognize uniqueness in group experiences

instead of assuming that experience of one type of oppression automatically leads to insights

about other oppressions (Spanierman amp Smith 2017608-10)

Besides the problem of potential insensibility on behalf of the ally another issue is low

engagement (Jaumlmte et al 2020370) Brown and Ostrove (20132220) argued that although

some inactivity of allies could be attributed to general passivity of contemporary activists or

lack of emotional engagement it could also come out of fear of doing anything considered

wrong White allies they argued tend to be more cautious in their actions because of this and

instead of acting on their own they leave space for Black people to take the lead However in

the attempt to leave room for and amplify for example Black narratives there is a significant

risk that allies freeride on the political labor of Black people (Clark 2019530) This problem

is also present in feminist movements where male allies often engage in low risk high reward

activism and often take credit for work dependent on the efforts of female feminists (Linder amp

Johnson 20155 17-18) This is made possible Linder and Johnson argued by the master

narrative saying male allies should be recognized validated and granted credibility regardless

of their actual contributions to the movementndash even though there is an overwhelming risk with

male feminist ally work being directly counterproductive due to lack of sympathy for the

female perspective and expertise (ibid4-5) In adverse cases male allies have been known to

not only capitalize on womenrsquos pain ignore their perspective and steal their hard work but to

actually commit sexual assault in feminist organizations (ibid9)

There are many other risks associated with ally work Mostly it originates in the fact that many

have good intentions but lack in self-reflection or knowledge about real political work

Spanierman and Smith (2017) pointed to how such discrepancies between intention capacity

and self-awareness can lead to paternalistic behavior towards marginalized people and that this

can strengthen the unconscious sense of superiority and legitimize status quo instead of

challenging it Another mistake especially important in digital activism is the tendency to

engage in optics instead of politics and to treat members of the disenfranchised group as objects

13

to be used for personal virtue signaling Such cosmetic activism rarely leads to any structural

criticism or challenging (Spanierman amp Smith 2017609-10)

22 Digital activism

As can be seen in the previous research on the positive opportunities with allies digital methods

are important for allies to engage for example in amplifying voices of minorities (Clark

2019528-31) This is perhaps even more true in the 2020 BLM-wave when many were limited

in their capacity to participate physically due to the pandemic All participants in this study

participated in digital activism (most of them exclusively so) and it is therefore important to

account for some research on the role digitalism plays in contemporary movements The

introduction of new technologies into political activism has been studied for many years even

before the social medias we use today Information and Communication technologies (ICTrsquos)

such as mobile phones or the internet had many effects on political activism as they became

available for more people for example it contributed with increased sense of community

strengthened political participation facilitated movement organization and increased

independence from elite representations of movements (Garrett 2006205-14)

Modern social medias have the same effects to some extent The internet and social media are

acknowledged to affect how social movements come into being and how they operate (Barassi

amp Zamponi 2020 Earl 2014) Social media platforms are used as tools for organizing raising

awareness and spreading information (Ahmed et al 2017447) and was for example one of

the success factors of the MeToo movement (Li et al 2020 Lin amp Yang 2019) Social media

also played a major role in the BLM protests without social media the protests of 2020 would

perhaps not have been as widespread The fact that the video picturing Floydrsquos murder spread

so rapidly led to massive emotional involvement and increased motivation for participation

according to research on the efficiency of emotions in digital activism (Clark 2019 Heldman

201788) Facilitating the growth of collective emotion and identity is one of the main

contributions of social media because emotions are crucial in motivating political action

(Ahmed et al 201746 Zhelnina 2020361) Studying the emotional expressions before during

and after a social protest on Twitter Ahmed and colleagues concluded that emotions affect

involvement online similarly to their effect offline ndash they channel participation and create

community and identification (Ahmed et al 2017459-61) Besides this social media functions

as a megaphone for individuals without having to be represented by any formal leader (Earl

14

201537) Earl argued that some of the functions centralized and formal social movement

organizations used to fill can in many cases be substituted with online communities lowering

the costs of organizers and participants (ibid39)

221 Critical perspectives on digital activism

Social media as site and tool for social activism is also criticized based on ideas about how it

leads to passivity and how motives for online activism differs from those in offline or lsquorealrsquo

activism Online activism is sometimes called slacktivism referencing the lower degrees of

effort and risk required to engage in online activism (Skoric 201277) The slacktivist narrative

is often used to explain the decline in youth political engagement (Amnaring amp Ekman 20136)

although the link between digital activism and low degrees of participation have not been

determined Online activism is usually less valued than more traditional types of activism which

requires more from the individual activist (Craddock 2019148-9 Heldman 2017207) despite

the lack of consensus between researchers on whether online activism is effective or not

(Lilleker amp Koc-Michalska 201725) Skoric (201277) argued that the Internet promotes a

superficial mode of political activism where liking commenting and sharing are the main tools

for participating in political activism and that the focus often is aimed at the individual and her

capacity of introspection lifestyle politics or mere expression of opinions without further

actions Such positionings rarely challenges structures of power and dominance Slacktivism

feels good without actually doing any good and it distracts people from engaging in meaningful

activism (ibid78)

lsquoFeeling goodrsquo as a motive for political mobilization is further explored by Lilleker and Koc-

Michalska (201723) who argued that there is a strong link between both intrinsic and extrinsic

emotional motivations and political mobilization both self-fulfillment and recognition are

strong motivators for both online and offline activism Extrinsic motivations eg external

approval recognition and being perceived as lsquogoodrsquo has the strongest effect on motivating

participation (ibid34 25) The difference they found between online and offline participation

was that online activism is less self-fulfilling and more driven by ldquoconforming and earning

rewardsrdquo which they interpret as online participation potentially being mere clicktivism and

less personally meaningful to the people engaging in it (ibid35)

Although slacktivism is not necessarily a phenomenon limited to the digital sphere but includes

all performative positioning online activism arguably breeds slacktivism because of how easy

15

and available it is The motivation to engage in high-risk high-effort activism decreases if there

are always lower effort- and risk options available that gives the same recognition and

satisfaction (Skoric 201279) Morozov (2009) also has criticized the naiumlve faith in the potential

of Internet activism and argued that poorly planned online slacktivism is not only ineffective

and toothless but also holds potential for backfiring and causing devastating consequences For

example when Western activists attempted to attack Iranian government sources online they

accidentally slowed down the whole Iranian internet making the activism of local protestors

difficult (Morozov 200913)

As this section shows the relationship between social media and the general level of activism

among people is far from determined However the participants of this study all relied on digital

methods in their ally work and their experiences of digital methods are explored in the analysis

3 Theory

In this section the two theories used to analyze the data will be presented and discussed starting

with Giddensrsquo theories on modernity which are used to contextualize ally work as a 21st century

phenomenon shaped by the preconditions of modernity such as increased reflexivity and

ontological insecurity Thereafter theories of situated knowledge will be used to describe how

the allies relate to their own whiteness in relation to the concept of interpretation privilege

sometimes limiting the allies in their leeway of action Essentially Giddensrsquo theories will be

used to understand why allies hesitate about their role and theories of situated knowledge will

be used to understand what they base these hesitations on

31 Giddens

Giddensrsquo theory of modernity focuses on the circumstances of human activity and identity in

what he referred to as (late) modernity The theory will be used to contextualize ally work as

something that exists within a larger social cultural and economic structure that shapes the

way identity politics and human activity are formed with special focus on self-identity and

ontological security

16

Worth mentioning when using the term modernity is that there are scholarly disagreements on

whether the current era should be interpreted as modernity late (or liquid see Bauman 2001)

modernity or postmodernity However Giddens belongs to the group of theorists who see

contemporary society as still existing within the theoretical frames of late modernity where the

tendencies of modernity has been further stretched and strengthened (Giddens 199127) This

assumption will be present throughout this paper while also acknowledging this is only one

interpretation

311 Life in modernity reflexivity and ontological insecurity

Modernity is an era characterized by post-traditional orders institutionalized radical doubt

detachment of time and space risk-cultures and abstract systems (Giddens 19912-5)

Following these changes in increased emphasis on reflexivity the continuous revisiting of

previously taken-for-granted concepts truths and ideas This applies to the institutional and

individual level and the latter will be of focus in this paper Without the guiding hand of

tradition or custom as in premodern society people must navigate in the world without being

firmly grounded in pregiven sets of beliefs on what should be done in each situation and with

the constant flow of information in modernity the horizon of possible actions are constantly

broadened (ibid20)

The increased emphasis on reflexivity means for the individual that ldquoself-identity becomes a

reflexively organised endeavorrdquo (Giddens 19915) Giddensrsquo described self-identity as a

project based on coherent and ldquocontinuously revised biographical narrativesrdquo which ldquotakes

place in the context of multiple choices as filtered through abstract systemsrdquo (ibid5) This

means that self-identity is closely linked to actions and is ldquoroutinely created and sustainedrdquo in

the actions of the individual (ibid52) This includes making constant decisions while having

endless choices ndash on what to do how to act and ultimately who to be in late modernity ldquowe

are not what we are but what we make of ourselvesrdquo (ibid54 75) If the individual fails to

perform in coherence with their sense of self-identity the individual may start to doubt their

own biographical narrative and ultimately themselves (ibid58) In the context of social

movements the ally identity is thus constantly reshaped by each choice of action and it

becomes important to act in accordance with the ideal-typical ally role Allyship is also a

globalized phenomenon which increases the number of aspects to take into consideration while

reflexively making choices

17

As reflexivity become more and more significant in guiding human action people in late

modernity experience loss of ontological security which is a ldquorsquonatural attitudersquo in everyday

liferdquo in relation to how to act and orient oneself in the world (Giddens 199136) Being

ontologically secure is ldquoto possess on the level of the unconscious and practical consciousness

lsquoanswersrsquo to fundamental existential questions which all human life in some way addressesrdquo

(ibid47) and was previously guided by tradition custom rules and norms of premodern society

Ontological security thus secures the individualsrsquo smooth navigation through life without them

hesitating on their role in the world too much However as society developed into modernity

and late modernity the conditions for ontological security changed ndash the traditions of

premodern society that used to give ontological security by offering a sense of structure

firmness and purpose are now exchanged for reflexivity (ibid48) making each single decision

dependent on an almost infinite number of possible options (ibid36) Without ontological

security the individual experiences existential anxiety caused by uncertainty ndash and such anxiety

itself ldquotends to paralyse relevant actions rather than generate themrdquo (ibid44) This passivity can

occur in relation to specific actions or to the sense of self in general for example failing to

perform in line with onersquos perceived self-identity can create ontological insecurity and it opens

for questioning onersquos entire role in a specific context for example a social movement For allies

ontological insecurity could arise in relation to them trying to navigate what actions are

appropriate for them to engage in based on the reflexive project of self-identity However

inactivism or passivity cannot only be seen in the individualrsquos relation to action but in politics

in general Giddens argued that politics in premodern times were emancipatory and aiming to

end oppression but that politics in modernity has been transformed into life politics a shift in

ideology and activity towards emphasizing lifestyle and self-actualization (ibid210-14)

The purpose of including Giddensrsquo theory of modernity is to provide a potential context in

which the allies of this study act and shape their own ally identities and how their occasionally

self-restricting introspection may be understood

32 Situated knowledge

To complement the theory of Giddens theories on situated knowledge will be included in the

analysis to point to specific ways in which the allies engage in reflexive decision-making eg

on what basis they make decisions about ally strategies The included theories are feminist

theories but their implications are not limited to gender relations

18

Theories of situated knowledge (also referred to as standpoint theory or feminist epistemology)

is an epistemological attempt to challenge the way knowledge is produced validated and

valued Epistemology is an ldquooverarching theory of knowledgerdquo (Collins 1990408) and theories

of epistemology focuses on how truth and knowledge is shaped by power relations between

social positions and how this could change Easily put social position of the knowledge

producer shapes the kind of knowledge that can be produced (Young 200425) In this thesis

the theoretical works of Haraway Young and Collins will be included although there are more

contributors to the thoughts about situated knowledge

Relating knowledge to power feminist theorists have pointed to how knowledge production

has been dominated by men and postcolonial thinkers have questioned dominant knowledge

for its sometimes exploitative and colonializing tendencies (in for example Western thought

and anthropology) Part of this critique has included a call for recognition privilege of lived

experience and reflexivity in research (Voronka 2016191) Donna Haraway (1988) presented

a feminist epistemology (or feminist objectivism) that recognized how women have historically

seen as immanent beings unable to transcend the body and escape its ldquofinite point of viewrdquo

whereas men have been seen as able to attain lsquoobjectiversquo perspectives and knowledges

(Haraway 1988575) The (imagined) male capacity to transcend ldquoparticular social location

and adopt a lsquoview from nowherersquordquo gives men higher status epistemologically (Young 200424)

Thus the gaze of the White male has been favored in sociology as it represents the unmarked

and objective perspective (Haraway 1988581)

The problem with the idea of objectivity and the lsquoview from nowherersquo according to feminist

and postcolonial critics is that knowledge is a power process and only taking one groups

knowledge into account reinforces these power processes Patricia Hill Collins argued that

power over the production and validation of knowledge is an issue of group interest where the

dominant group preserves their own interests by invalidating knowledge that either challenges

their hegemonic ideas or follows alternative practices in their creation of alternative knowledges

(Collins 1990409-10) Black womenrsquos knowledge is subjugated knowledge and it must fight

for recognition in an anti-Black and anti-female world (ibid414) The Black feminist

epistemology she advocated for includes sensitivity to the combination of female and Black

experiences unique for Black women and it recognized alternative ways to create knowledge

specific to Black womenrsquos knowledge production (ibid407-8)

19

321 Situated knowledge as political strategy

If knowledge is then produced under circumstances of domination power structures and

hegemony ndash what would an alternative look like and what could these alternatives lead to

From a quality standpoint Haraway (1988583) argued that including several perspectives in

knowledge production leads to better conclusions Even though she dismissed the idea that

subjugated people have a purer vision on truth and objectivity an idea she claimed is often

rooted in a fetishized idea of the Third World woman she argued that subjugated groups are

less likely to ldquoallow denial of the critical and interpretive core of all knowledgerdquo than are

dominant groups (ibid583-586) She wrote that the only standpoint from which no objectivity

can ever be reached is ldquothe standpoint of the master the Man the One God whose Eye

produces appropriates and orders differencerdquo (ibid587) Thus to aim for objectivity depends

on including perspectives otherwise ignored by structures of power and dominance (ibid590)

Delegitimizing the idea of a lsquoGodrsquos eyersquo from where true knowledge can be observed and

mediated means including other perspectives and knowledges (Young 200420) This is not

only just and right it also contributes to wiser decision making in a context of democratic

processes including perspectives from all social standpoints maximizes knowledge which

should be treated as a democratic resource when fully utilized (ibid25-9) Thus the idea of

situated knowledges includes a normative assumption of inclusion and diversity in decision

making and knowledge production and social difference should be treated as a resource for

democratic societies (ibid29)

The standpoint theorists emphasize how recognizing specificity in knowledge claims for

different groups does not include the idea that subjugated groups are naturally epistemically

privileged eg that their perspective on every issue should be treated as automatically lsquotruersquo

(Haraway 1988583-4 Young 200427-29) Neither the position of these groups or any

imagined inherent attributes give subjugated groups automatic access to the truth but the

position opens up doors to new perspectives impossible to imagine from above (Haraway

1988584) The specific knowledge unique for the dominated social positions include different

understandings of their own position and others and the relation between them as well as ldquoa

point of view on the history of societyrdquo ldquoan interpretation of how the relations and processes

of the whole society operates especially as they affect onersquos own positionrdquo and finally ldquoa

position-specific experience and point of view on the natural and physical environmentrdquo

(Young 200429)

20

Applying these ideas in a context of practical politics for example in a social movement can

include such inclusion of different perspectives and emphasizing how group difference matters

in terms of knowledge but without claiming the existence of epistemic privilege Often this

practical application is based on including people with lived experience into different contexts

of power or knowledge production (Voronka 2016189)

However the strategy of using lived experience as a criterion for epistemic legitimacy can also

be problematized Voronka (2016192) argued that inclusion and representation of different

groups in decision making as a criterion for legitimate knowledge production can be seen as

resting on essentialist assumptions and stable identity categories The categories themselves are

left unaccounted for meaning the boundaries between and content of different identity groups

are seen as natural entities (ibid194) The concept of lived experience fails to answer questions

of who we are and why while the existence of these categories should be questioned in

themselves Thus acting based on ideas of lived experience and ldquoepistemic privilegerdquo (Young

200427) risks both treating identity as essentialist and constructing group attributes as

embodied truths and ignore difference in lived experience within groups (Voronka 2016196)

Thus Voronka (ibid197) argued

we need to mark how rsquopeople with lived experiencersquo [as a concept my note] risks

reproducing and replicating systems of domination that privileges subjects and

subjectivities that fit closely within the White heteropatriarchal matrix of ruling

Voronkarsquos experiences come from academia but the ideas can be applied to other contexts as

well Theories of situated knowledge can be extracted from the abstract epistemological level

and transformed into a concept more suitable and applicable for everyday situations and as will

be seen in the analysis this theme is highly present in the statements by the study participants

in the form of interpretation privilege (See section 5 Results and analysis)

4 Methodology

The study builds on phenomenological approach and aims to understand a social phenomenon

by interpreting the different meanings ascribed to it by the participant whose lived experience

is in focus for the analysis (Creswell amp Poth 2018150) Thus the focus of the study is not the

BLM movement itself but to understand the experience of the allies The study is abductive

21

meaning the research process was iterative - going back and forth between empirical findings

and theoretical background The aim of abductive analysis is often to generate theory by

cultivating already existing theories together with the surprising results found in the data

collection that are in turn reinterpreted through the revisited theoretical insights (Timmermans

amp Tavory 2012169 173-6) One important aspect of abduction is to revisit the phenomenon

as it can lead to new insights For example when the first couple of interviews were done the

lack of response to one specific question was interpreted as missing data But when the

transcripts were revisited after some additional previous research had been read I realized the

unanswered question was not missing data ndash it was data in itself This realization affected how

the data collection moved forward as the focus narrowed down on the ally role and its

limitations

41 Data collection

The data collection was done by conducting qualitative interviews with 11 self-identified White

allies to understand their perspective experiences and thoughts about their participation The

interviews were in average 010245 in length and they were conducted during a five-week

period The interviews were semi-structured guided by an interview guide without following

it in detail which creates room for flexibility This ensured both consistency between the

interviews and individual variations depending on the interviewee (Turner 2010755) The

interview guide had open-ended questions and covered three main themes (political

background identity emotions) Some questions related to relevant concepts for example they

were asked ldquoIn your perspective what is an allyrdquo The purpose was not to evaluate the

participants academic understanding of the term but to have them reflect upon their own

perceptions and thereby gain insight into their political thinking and its effect on their ally role

Other questions were about experiences such as ldquoCould you tell me about your participation in

the BLM movementrdquo and ldquoWhat emotional responses did you have when this happenedrdquo

Some parts of the interview focused on the BLM movement specifically but since the antiracist

ally identity was often developed before BLM started it also included more general experiences

of antiracist allyship At the end of each interview the participants were given a chance discuss

things important to them The limitation of interview data is that it is not a representation of the

world lsquoout therersquo but only a representation of how the interviewees describe their experiences

and these can be shaped by indefinite number of things beyond the scope of this thesis

22

All interviews were digitally conducted Although digital interviewing is often presented as a

second choice there are benefits to it For example Howlett (20217-8) noticed how the safe

environment of the home made the participants more relaxed and that the interviews also tended

to be both longer and richer in detail than offline interviews One could however imagine how

the opposite effect could occur if the home environment is unsafe or unfit for long

conversations The interviews took place more than a year into the pandemic and people were

thus more familiar with digital communication technologies than they were in the beginning

(ibid10) The pandemic was topic for small talk before the interviews started and our shared

experience with it created some sense of commonality and a relaxed atmosphere where potential

technical issues or disturbances were met with recognition from the other party Despite the

surprisingly positive experience with digital interviewing and as well as the rich data gathered

it is still important to recognize how the quality could have been even better with physical

interviews

The interviews were all conducted on Zoom and recorded in the software The interviews were

transcribed in full verbatim meaning that false starters stutters laughter and pauses were

included Such utterances are clues to how the participants feel about what they are telling and

should be treated as data

42 Sample

The sampling for this study is based on one inclusion criterion motivated by the purpose of the

study the criterion being White ally identification (Creswell amp Poth 201881 157) To base

the inclusion criterion on self-identification could potentially lead to low validity in terms of

not achieving a sample that represents the group one wishes to study by excluding those who

engage in ally work without identifying as such To ensure that the people included in the study

were lsquorealrsquo allies the criterion could have been having a certain amount of experience from ally

work or similar However this was a methodological choice motivated by reflections by

Craddock (2019) who studied activism Craddock learned that including the term activist in

her participant letter excluded people who - despite being very active - did not dare to call

themselves activists due to the high standard of what lsquorealrsquo activism is Especially women feel

that they cannot live up to the ideal and therefore they do not recognize their own activist

identity (Craddock 2019138-42) Therefore anyone who identified as an ally was allowed to

participate without evaluating or judging their level of participants

23

The sampling method was mixed consisting of convenience sampling and snowball sampling

(Creswell amp Poth 2018159) First an email was sent to the Swedish BLM organizationrsquos

official email telling them about the study and asking if they had any recommendations of

where participants could be found This email got no response Different Facebook groups were

chosen as lsquofieldsrsquo to sample in Personal acquaintances were also asked to participate The

choice of Facebook groups related to both convenience and lack of access to physical fields to

sample in and because much of the activism related to BLM took place online The Facebook

groups were all limited demographically (open only for women and non-binary people) and

they all had explicit value-systems with feminist anti-racist intersectional orientations Some

groups were simple support-and-chat groups some had a more political purpose (without party

connections) One participant was found in the comments section on a Facebook page that

relates to antiracism and contacted from there and a few were snowball sampled Recruiting

participants in online forums creates a problematic balance between transparency and

anonymity if too detailed information about the specific sampling sites is revealed the

participants identities can be spoiled due to traceability Thus the names of these Facebook

groups or pages cannot be revealed The groups were known to me beforehand as I am myself

a member in them and therefore had access to the lsquofieldrsquo which reduced the time and effort

spent on sampling If this study were a netnography with digital data to analyze it would be

problematic because my interpretation would be tainted by my personal experiences in the

groups but since the data itself was not related to the specific groups or the participants activity

in these groups it is less problematic

This digital convenience sampling limits the groups included in the sampling frame which

creates a skewed sample in terms of for example gender The complementary snowball

sampling creates a similar problem with homogeneity because of the tendency of participants

to recommend people who are like themselves As a result people with academic backgrounds

in social sciences and humanities are overrepresented in this sample The first interviewee Lisa

works in the international aid sector and she put me in touch with some old classmates and

colleagues which contributed to the skewed sample However the sampling method does not

aim to reach a randomized sample that is representative of the Swedish population in general

but instead a purposeful selection of people with certain experiences (Creswell amp Poth

2018272)

The final sample included people of different genders (9 female 1 male and 1 non-binary)

ages (22-36) education (from high school diploma to MA-degrees) and occupation (traditional

24

working-class occupations or white-collar jobs) They lived in or originated from different parts

of Sweden with one currently living in South Africa They also had very different backgrounds

in regards of political engagement some of them had been organized voluntarily or

professionally in multiple movements and civil society organizations some are or have been

active in party politics and some had their political experience mainly in online discussions

43 Coding and analysis

After all interviews were transcribed the data was coded in Excel using the guidelines for

phenomenological analysis presented called horizonalization (Creswell amp Poth 2018201

Moustakas 1994118) Horizonalization means creating a broad base or platform of equally

important statements to capture the experiences of the participants In phenomenological

studies coding and analysis should preferably be inductive highlighting ldquosignificant

statements sentences and quotesrdquo (Creswell amp Poth 201879) instead of deductively trying to

apply hypotheses or theories onto the data

The coding followed the subsequent steps First each transcript was read one at a time and

important statements were added in a quote-column in Excel (see Image 1) Following the

quote-column were categorical columns based on different themes from the interviews The 12

categories were Background Activity in BLM Identity Role Pandemic Emotion Motivation

Introspection BLM organization Balance Problems and Other There was also a column for

especially good quotes which were marked with an lsquoxrsquo In each column (for example ldquoRolerdquo)

inductively created codes were entered An example can be seen in Image 1

The coding was kept close to the data and focus was to create codes that described the specifics

of each statement instead of keeping the number of codes down which created some overlap

Image 1 Visual representation of the coding strategy

After the 11 interviews were coded the data included 243 quotes in 12 categories In order to

structure the analysis according to relevant topics themes were created out of the codes based

on representativeness and uniqueness These themes provided the basis for the interpretation

25

and analysis For example the previously mentioned code ldquoNot surerdquo was grouped together

with the code ldquoDecided by othersrdquo (in the column ldquoRolerdquo) and analyzed together because they

were interpreted as expressions of the same phenomenon eg insecurity regarding what the

role should contain (Moustakas 1994118)

After the coding which is a big part of the analysis itself the most relevant and interesting

themes were further analyzed This was related to observed regularities in statements being

repeated among several participants and novelty or lsquosurprise factorrsquo Whereas the coding was

unrelated to any specific theory the deeper analysis of the different themes was done parallel

to exploring theory The theories came into the process at different stages Giddensrsquo theory of

modernity and ontological security was explored after the initial coding before starting the

writing process of the analysis based on the pattern of insecurity and reflexivity among the

participantsrsquo descriptions of how they make decisions on how to act as an ally Thereafter the

concept of situated knowledge was introduced after all material had initially been analyzed and

written down in a first draft and the recurring use of the term interpretation privilege

(tolkningsfoumlretraumlde) caught my interest The focus was therefore the themes related to

interpretation privilege and how the participants made sense of the term as well as the different

aspects they had to balance because of their emphasis on interpretation privilege in the final

analysis

44 Ethical considerations

Research should be guided by ethical principles to ensure the safety of the participants and the

quality of the research The most important aspects include consent confidentiality and

anonymity Informed consent means that the participant must be given full information about

what participation means and they must be given the chance to both give and withdraw their

consent during or after the interview The researcher must tell the truth about the purpose of the

study and the participant can choose to leave any unwanted questions unanswered

(Vetenskapsraringdet 201710 16) All participants were given a letter with information about the

study which was again repeated verbally right before the interview The second important

aspect confidentiality means that all information and data must be handled safely and not be

shared with unauthorized people (ibid40) The data was stored on a password protected

computer and no personal information was saved along with the transcripts And finally

anonymity means that the identity of the participants must be concealed for example by giving

26

them new names or changing identifying details in their statements (ibid13) Both of my

sampling methods (digital convenience and snowball) can threaten the anonymity of the

participants because they become traceable either to those who were lsquosnowballedrsquo into the study

or those who were found online (see chapter 42 Sample)

In more qualitative terms the researcher must make fair interpretations of the statements made

by participants and be transparent with how conclusions were made This ensures both

transparency in a scientific standpoint and the well-being of the participants (Vetenskapsraringdet

201710) Related to this it is important to recognize how the analysis may affect the

participants for example Creswell and Poth (2018228) argue that there is always a risk that

participants feel bothered by the way their statements have been interpreted in relation to theory

and previous research and especially in a sensitive topic such as politics identity and emotions

In order to minimize this risk the interpretations will both be rooted in theory and previous

research and include alternative evidence and interpretations

45 Methodological reflexivity

Reflexivity requires researchers to be aware of and transparent about their own biases in their

interpretations as well as scrutinizing their power in relation to the research participants

(Creswell amp Poth 2018201 228) Besides the inherent power in the relation between

researcher and participants no specific power dynamics existed in this study The researcher

must reflect upon their own position (gender class race and similar) and how it affects the

way the research is conducted and how the results are interpreted (ibid228) Being reflexive

thus becomes a way to increase validity by clarifying where researcher bias may have affected

the results (ibid261) Evidence that contradicts the arguments made in the analysis has been

included to avoid bias The idea of researcher reflexivity builds on the epistemological approach

of social constructivism where knowledge is not seen as a neutral or objective but a subjective

socially embedded practice shaped by the lived experience of the author and the participants It

also means that self-criticism and self-consciousness is crucial aspects of qualitative

interpretive research (Lynch 200029-36)

According to Moustakas (1994103-4) reflexivity should guide every step in the

phenomenological research project including choice of topic it must have autobiographical

relevance to the researcher who must be genuinely curious and passionate about the

phenomenon ndash and of course be transparent about these motives The choice of BLM as an

27

empirical example in this study was based on my own experiences from the spring of 2020 I

was just as my respondents and many others very moved by the events that transpired and I

did too participate in some online actions such as checking myself into the US Ambassy on

Facebook to show my support of the movement I followed the news and read everything I

found on social media out of both political sympathy and sociological fascination I wanted to

know more about why the activism looked like it did and how others felt about being part of

it Being able to be fascinated in times of collective grief and trauma for Black people is of

course a privilege that I am aware of I can afford to be distanced towards and critical of the

antiracist movement and how it does or does not invite people to engage themselves in it

because my survival or well-being does not depend on it I aim to be respectful in my

interpretations and descriptions of the movement and its participants

46 Limitations

Instead of aiming to evaluate qualitative research by the same criteria as quantitative studies

there are adjusted validation practices for the specific approach of the study To assure good

quality for qualitative phenomenological studies phenomenological concepts should be used

properly understood and recommended methods should be followed Besides from engaging

in reflexive analysis it is also important to offer descriptive richness and interpretive depth

(Creswell amp Poth 2018272-82) There are also different validation strategies for qualitative

research The researcher can use triangulation to strengthen the stability of the results identify

disconfirming cases and clarify researcher reflexivity (ibid260-1) Member checking and

collaborating with participants can also strengthen the validity (ibid162 Arribas Lozano

2018455-6) All participants were informed of their right to see the transcripts and the analysis

if they wished but they were not contacted with the explicit purpose of checking the finished

results due to time Another aspect is reliability meaning how robust the results of the study

would be if someone else replicated the study (Creswell amp Poth 2018164-5) In the case of

qualitative studies where the researcher is intertwined with the interpretations the probability

of someone else reaching the exact same result is small but thick descriptions of methodology

and the data increases reliability somewhat The generalizability of qualitative studies is often

low and especially so when the sample is skewed The results of this study should be considered

valid only for the group studied since the results could have been different with different

28

representations of gender or class for example However with a purposeful sample of people

with a certain experience the goal is not generalizability beyond the group

Another potential issue is the fact that the quotes from the interviews included in this thesis

have been translated from Swedish to English which means that there is a risk that some of the

core meanings of the quotes may have been spoiled or changed However the analysis was

done on the Swedish transcripts making sure the interpretations were made on the original

material Thus the problem of translating quotes is mainly a problem of communicating the

results to the reader in the same form they appeared in the analysis process of the original

material

5 Results and analysis

As explained in the methods section (43 Coding and analysis) the analysis was gradually

turning toward the themes of a) interpretation privilege and b) how the notion of interpretation

privilege affects the leeway for action These themes will be the focus of the analysis which

will show that although the allies experience their allyship as important and meaningful they

sometimes struggle to find a path for themselves in their attempt to be lsquogoodrsquo allies Their

commitment to respecting interpretation privilege helps them live up the to the ally role as

supporters of Black people in general but it limits the leeway in which they are able to act

independently as political agents But first some general findings on how the allies think about

their role will be presented which primarily relates to the first research question about the

experiences of ally work

The overall experience of allyship is that the ally identity is surrounded by purpose community

and positive experiences They are all highly committed to and well-educated about the cause

Being part of the movement feels meaningful and even like rdquoa privilege to be able to be a part

of it and listen and learnrdquo as Lisa says She describes her emotional experiences

First there was a lot of frustration I think And then there was this powerfulhellip

some kind of like rsquowowrsquo there were a lot of chills there for a while [laughs]

because people really came together

29

Sam shares the experience of initial frustration and pain They describe the feeling when their

frustration and anger transformed into hope like ldquofree fallingrdquo ndash the realization that they were a

part of a group with so many sympathizers made it feel like change was possible

Most ally work was performed online and consisted of acts such as sharing information

knowledge and opinions participating in online seminars and meetings signing petitions and

lsquochecking inrsquo at the US Embassy in Stockholm on Facebook as part of a global protest act To

signal their support for the movement they occasionally used hashtags such as

blacklivesmatter and blackouttuesday All participants got most of their information from

social media in line with the general trend in contemporary activism (Ahmed et al 2017447

Heldman 201788) Previous research emphasizes the important role of emotions in social

movement mobilization and all participants in this study recognized how constant access to

heartbreaking stories virtual proof of mistreatment and a global sense of community provided

by social media motivated them to act (see for example Russo 2014)

Some interviewees also participated outside of social media by attending physical

demonstrations (Sam Sara and Emma) It is impossible to say how many of the interviewees

would have attended had there not been a global pandemic However as digital activism has

become dominating in contemporary social movements (Jaumlmte et al 2020371-2) the low rate

of physical protest among the participants in this study should not be attributed to the pandemic

alone For example Lucas says he has not been to as many demonstrations over the last years

as he would have wanted because of work and other circumstances Amanda says she has

always seen herself as an activist as someone who does what otherrsquos lacks the energy or

resources to do but that she is ldquonot the person who attends demos you knowrdquo And Caroline

who is involved in several organizations besides her antiracist engagement even experiences

that the pandemic has made participation easier for her since it can now be done from home ndash

a point Alva agrees with as she experiences difficulties joining offline protests due to physical

illness Thus the effects of the Covid pandemic are not exclusively negative and limiting Apart

from the different demonstrations the allies also emphasized how implementing antiracist ideas

into their everyday behavior and their professional lives is crucial to be a good ally

The main motivator for their allyship is the notion of privilege All interviewees refer to

themselves as White and relate it to privilege an increasingly common tendency and a

prerequisite for antiracist commitment among Whites (Cole 20201627 Spanierman amp Smith

2017608-9) Lisa describes herself as a ldquoprivileged White woman raised in a middle-class

homerdquo and she says that she faced few obstacles growing up and Sam argues that their White

30

identity gives them platforms and privileges many Black people lack Therefore they use their

social media to amplify the voices of Black people sharing their voices stories and

perspectives Amplifying voices of marginalized groups has been recognized in research as one

of the main tasks for allies (Arora amp Stout 2019390 Bhattacharyya et al 202012 Clark

2019528-31)

The argument of amplifying Black voices as a way to utilize onersquos privilege is twofold First

the participants see their privilege as an opportunity to reach out to fellow Whites who they

expect will listen more to their White counterparts than they would to a Black person which is

confirmed in previous research (see for example Arora amp Stout 2019 Linder amp Johnson 2015)

For example Lucas says

Us Whites who are not affected by racism we have to stand up and show that itrsquos

not OK to spread racism If we donrsquot therersquoll never be any change because

sometimes it feels like people listen more to [hellip] a White person confirming that

what a Black person says is true

Sam shares this reasoning and they actively try to reach people with ldquodeeply racist prejudicerdquo

who would ldquonever listen to a Black personrdquo According to Haraway (1988577) subjugated

groups are deprived the privilege of assumed objectivity and reduced to their position as

inherently linked to and epistemologically limited by their social position in a way the dominant

groups are not Subjugated knowledge must always be fought for in terms of recognition

(Collins 1990414) and the allies in this study is dedicated to doing so in order to reduce the

impact of their own privilege and increase the outreach of Black people Katrin recognizes how

this process of validation of knowledge based on power is an unequal process where Black

people are seen as unreliable because they are ldquoacting out of self-interestrdquo whereas White

people are assigned more credibility Recognizing these mechanisms does not mean that the

interviewees accept them they use words such as ldquoterriblerdquo and ldquodisgustingrdquo to describe the

phenomenon and they feel both guilty about having these privileges and motivated to use them

for good which has been recognized as a potential effect of guilt in previous research (Dull et

al 20211081-84) However acknowledging this epistemic hierarchy is not an automatic

renouncing of privilege but can instead reinforce racist structures by assuming the assigned

value of White knowledge is higher and thus seeing the role of White allies as more important

than that of Black people in fighting racism (see Collins 1009)

31

The second aspect of White privilege in antiracist activism is as recognized by the interviewees

the fact that the costs of engaging are much lower for White people than they are for Black

simply because one does not risk facing racism as a response to speaking up (Drury amp Kaiser

2014642) For example Sam says they saw their ability to participate in the demonstration as

a privilege ndash not everyone can be sure to get home safe if they choose to attend a demo due to

the potential threat of police harassment or counter-protestors These costs are further lowered

by the fact that most ally work is done online Sara for example says that it enables her to

ldquotake the fightrdquo without ending up in situations too uncomfortable or even dangerous

Essentially the privilege of being listened to and the lower cost of speaking up for White allies

motivates specific responsibilities assigned to ally work but it also risks reproducing racist

hierarchies by assigning White knowledge higher value The remainder of the analysis will

focus on how these responsibilities are put into practice and what may limit the allies in their

attempts to do ally work

51 Balancing ally work

Related to the second research question is to what extent the allies feel like they are entitled to

act in the movement and this following section aims to show what different aspects affect this

perception Based on the ideas about privilege and responsibility the difficulties in balancing

different strategies of ally work will now be analyzed Although it may seem self-explanatory

what allies should do based on the previous section ndash use their privilege to raise their voices

against racist discrimination ndash the experiences of the interviewed allies shows that it is more

complicated than at first glance They must balance different strategies which can be defined

as following

A Listen but do not exploit

B Help but do not hijack

C Step down but do not become paralyzed

These three points represent how different ally assignments presented by the interviewees are

at some point met with objections or disclaimers There are a multitude of examples in the

interviews but the above-mentioned strategies are the most representative and common For

analytical and stylistic purposes they will be presented in a step-by-step form but they should

not be understood as linear or causal The relationship between these aspects is much more

32

complicated which the analysis aims to demonstrate Before analyzing these three strategies

the concept that serves as an implicit (sometimes explicit) point of departure for most decisions

by the allies should be accounted for namely the concept of interpretation privilege

511 Interpretation privilege

In all interviews there is an assumption about what kind of knowledge is legitimate knowledge

and interpretations based on interpretation privilege (tolkningsfoumlretraumlde in Swedish) 9 of the

11 interviewees explicitly mention the term but the theme is discussed in all interviews This

means that despite their academic degrees years of professional experience in human rights

work or their genuine interest for social justice issues the interviewees recognize how their

lack of lived experience reduces their ability to fully understand the issue of racism The idea

of interpretation privilege is interpreted here as a translation of ideas about situated knowledge

(Collins 1990408) lived experience (Voronka 2016194) and power into everyday political

lingo This idea is expressed continuously throughout the interviews as a part of their political

reasoning and it guides how they relate to their role as allies Katrin explains

It is not the same thing to understand racism by reading about it or by seeing or

hearing about othersrsquo experiences as it is to carry it in the body It will never be

possible for me to understand that

Interpretation privilege then helps allies understand and accept their own inability to fully

comprehend racism and it creates respect towards the testimonies made by people who

experiences racism However knowing that one lacks access to a full understanding also

contributes to self-doubt about the ally role and the work associated with it Caroline who

studies to become a psychologist tells me she has some concerns about being a White

psychologist treating Black patients Her professors claim psychologists do not need to share

the patientsrsquo experiences but Caroline is doubtful

ldquoI as a White person will never be able to fully understand being constantly

vigilant as a Black person in Sweden not knowing what the day will be like to

constantly be exposed to microaggressions and discrimination and even worse

abuse every dayhelliprdquo

Accepting interpretation privilege as the fact that if one is not exposed to racism one will never

know exactly what it feels like is empathetic and sensitive to the lived experience of Black

33

people It means respecting the ways Black people make sense of and deal with their own

experiences of oppression without claiming to know better However for the participants in

this study it often leads them to disregard all kinds of personal opinions thoughts or ideas

about what racism is and what should be done about it simply because they lack lived

experience of racism The participants sometimes struggle to balance their own knowledge

against the opinions and experiences of Black people Caroline again

Itrsquos this thing about interpreting different actions ndash is this a racist action or not

Well thatrsquos not up to me [hellip] And I think that interpretation privilege in general

in social media too that you just donrsquot go in and interpret what is right and wrong

Here the lack of interpretation privilege disqualifies Caroline from even deciding whether she

finds something right or wrong although such judgements are foundational in political thinking

Interpretation privilege also decides the legitimacy of actions according to Sara she argues

that whereas it is the job of White allies to speak up against other Whites the meaning of the

action is not the same as if a Black person would do it Essentially if a White ally wants to

stand up against racism it should be with a disclaimer

I think it is important to be like lsquothis is my understanding of it but I donrsquot have

interpretation privilegersquo just to create some awareness that I donrsquot have any

right to think anything - Emma

Some participants strip themselves of their agency by retreating to the idea that their

perspectives thoughts and ideas do not matter Lisa tells me that she sometimes censors herself

by not posting or sharing certain things because she feels like she has too little knowledge She

also stays out of debates she is interested in because she ldquodoes not feel [she] has the right to say

something or make a statement in these issuesrdquo Another example of how allies renounce their

political agency can be represented by Sara who tells me that when she saw my participant

message she was concerned that I searched for lsquoself-identified alliesrsquo In her perspective the

label lsquoallyrsquo is not something that one can claim independently one must earn it by being

recognized as such by a Black person Zhelnina (2020361) points to the importance of activists

growing independence emotional confidence and autonomy in their political interpretations

for a movement to successfully mobilize and in a discourse where one does not even possess

the right to claim allyship to a political movement this type of independence and confidence

may be difficult to develop

34

Another important aspect is the conflict that arises when people with interpretation privilege

disagree within the group Lucas says he has met Black people who defend the right to use

racial slurs That does not mean he accept this as true and uses these words himself but he

acknowledges that these situations could be problematic The multitude of perspectives to

consider especially considering the global character of the movement and its social media

presence it becomes difficult to decide what to believe in And when those who have been

assigned authority in this case Black people with interpretation privilege it becomes even

harder The reflexive globalized world with endless sources of information with sometimes

contradictory messages makes it hard to navigate (Giddens 1991138) This problem also

relates to what Voronka (2016196) described as essentialist tendencies when using the concept

of lived experience as a criterion for inclusion With social media where almost unlimited

information is always accessible to the individual the effort to develop independent

interpretations becomes unnecessary and in the case of the White allies insensitive

However it should be noted that although the idea of interpretation privilege is present in all

interviews the participants are also aware that other types of knowledge such as skills from

previous experience in social movements or academic judicial or general professional

knowledge is important Many of them say that they do feel confident of the practical abilities

they have built up over many years of activism and civil society work and Alva among others

points to how she would like to take on the role of fixing practical organizational tasks for the

BLM movement if she were to become more involved in the future Thus there is no validity

in claiming that the interviewees lack all sorts of self-esteem in their ally identity and that they

completely disregard other types of knowledge as Lucas says ldquointerpretation privilege is not

everythingrdquo Still statements such as ldquoI donrsquot have any right to think anythingrdquo or rdquoItrsquos this

thing about interpreting actions ndash is this racist or not Well thatrsquos not up to merdquo are common

in the interviews Although many of the participants can be interpreted as having ontological

security in terms of knowing what they are good at they cannot translate this into a practical

consciousness that guides their actions in a natural manner which creates ontological insecurity

and passivity (Giddens 199144) This relates to findings about lack of lived experience as

leading to potential insensitivity to discrimination which the interviewees recognize in

themselves (Drury amp Kaiser 2014369-42) In theories of situated knowledge it is emphasized

how a multitude of perspectives is needed and that subjugated groups do not have natural access

to hidden truths (Haraway 1988583-6 Young 199027) The disregarding of White ally

perspectives due to lack of lived experience is thus not inherent in the theories themselves but

35

rather something that seems to occur along the popularized interpretation of the term as it is

translated into everyday political lingo as interpretation privilege

So in navigating what to do as an ally while being committed to the idea of interpretation

privilege the first strategy for good ally work is formulated listening

512 Listen but do not exploit

So drawing upon the notion of interpretation privilege the appropriate way to consume

information about racial issues and determining what to do is by listening to Black people

Listening itself becomes not only a way to retrieve information and insight but a political

practice that reflects power structures and identity It becomes a way to renounce onersquos owns

privilege and instead assigning the power of being heard to others (see Collins 1990 Haraway

1988 Young 2004) Sam explains

I as a White person will never be able to sit there and decide what is right and

wrong when it comes to Black experiences or just non-White experiences Irsquove got

nothing to say about that I know nothing about it I just donrsquot What I can do is

listen and learn and I need to take the initiative as a student in this subject

Listening and taking a step back represents successful allyship according to Lucas because it

means both getting access to the right information and showing emotional support and respect

for people exposed to racism Listening is a powerful way to use onersquos White privilege

respecting the interpretation privilege of Black people and redirecting some of the privilege

and power associated to onersquos whiteness to Black people which is one of the main assignments

of allies (Brown amp Ostrove 20132211) But apart from being a virtuous alternative strategy

for allies it is also a relatively effortless option compared to other types of activism such as

participating in demonstrations Effective unproblematic and ideologically right a seemingly

perfect strategy to apply as a White ally

However it is not that simple listening is not only an act of rejecting the power associated to

onersquos racial identity but also hauntingly close to exploitation of Black experience according

to the interviewees The problem of freeriding and exploiting or capitalizing on the stories of

subjugated groups has been acknowledged in previous research on allyship (Clark 2019530

Linder amp Johnson 20159) For example Lisa argues that White people should be careful

36

talking about racism as if they could understand it and instead listen to what Black people say

- but at the same time she says it quickly becomes counterproductive

Black Swedes are not supposed to have to educate me about the racism they

experience because in that case what do I really demand from a Black person

Lou has the same idea and she tells me about how she used to ask her Black partner many

lsquodumbrsquo questions but that she realized that this means that she puts the burden of educating her

on him Sara avoids asking her Black friends about how she as a White ally can help because

that puts too much responsibility on those Black friends Amanda tells me she is after having

listened to one of the biggest antiracist podcasts Raseriet afraid of being one of lsquothose White

peoplersquo who demand to be taught about racism from Black people After all they all agree that

racism is a problem White people created and a problem for White people to solve ndash the

responsibility should not land on Black people As Emma says

Itrsquos essentially White peoplersquos problem itrsquos White people who built the structures

we are protesting [hellip] Itrsquos not Black people who are supposed to stand there and

scream their lungs out about Black Lives Matter but itrsquos about White people

needing to get together and saying like lsquonow we have to fix this because we

created itrsquo

So while trying to balance interpretation privilege the participants easily stumble into another

pitfall Listening as ally work increases the risk of becoming a burden on Black people by

depending on them for education explanations and guidance and exploiting their knowledge

and lived experience for self-improvement which also reinforces racist structures Black people

are implicitly seen as political objects rather than subjects inevitably crushed under the pressure

of White questions and demands and in need of White protection The point of allyship is to

make life and activism easier for Black people not the other way around which brings us to

another strategy of allyship to balance helping

513 Help but do not hijack

Based on the idea that listening as political practice can become exploitative and freeriding the

allies land in the conclusion that helping is the main assignment for allies They motivate this

by referring to their own privileges However as this section will show helping as a political

practice is also surrounded by potential problems

37

The idea of helping as ally work relates again to the idea that the costs of confronting racism is

lower for White people than for Black people (Drury amp Kaiser 2014642) as well as the

realization that White people are granted more respect and legitimacy when advocating for

antiracist causes (Arora amp Stout 2019390) Helping consists of claiming co-responsibility of

changing society protecting Black people from painful experiences and deal with the racism

of White people For example if an ally hears someone being racist they must speak up Sara

tries to do so because she does not want to add to any Black personrsquos burden of having to take

every fight themselves Emma argues that it is not Black peoplersquos responsibility to keep the

movement alive and therefore it is important that White people speak up She thinks ldquoit feels

stupid if White people would just sit around and wait for initiatives cause then you donrsquot do

anything goodrdquo If Black people are left alone with total responsibility of changing institutions

and organizations in Loursquos experience that usually puts Black people in situations where the

risk of being exposed to racism is high and without the support system of allies to help

Although all interviewees describe different ways of helping and supporting Black people and

the BLM movement as a main task for allies such statements are often followed by a disclaimer

For example they say ldquoitrsquos this balance that you being White shouldnrsquot go in and take overrdquo

(Emma) and ldquoWe should support we should be there we should recognize and lift the issues

But we should not be the main actorsrdquo (Alva) One of the most common phrases in the

interviews were lsquothat is not my placersquo This reasoning is present regardless of what types of

actions the interviewees talk about both high-level activism in formal organizations or

representing the movement in media and everyday civil courage such as speaking up against

racist comments in the workplace Sara adds to her statement about wanting to speak up to help

Black people saying that she ldquoalso has to leave room for Black people to act and not trying to

be like lsquoI know best now so let me explain racismrsquordquo Amanda shares similar thoughts saying

Itrsquos important that this can be a movement that Black people own themselves and

that itrsquos not something us White people can just barge into and take over Itrsquos a

balancing between goodwill and wanting to help and to not barge in and be like

lsquoThis is what racism isrsquo

Amanda has worked in organizations who educate people in moral courage and antiracism for

a few years and she has much experience in this type of political work But when she is

contacted in her role as an antiracist educator and asked to hold a course in a workplace she

doubts herself She feels that she must lsquowarnrsquo them about her whiteness ldquoI have to start by

38

saying that Irsquom White Irsquoll never be able to talk about racism like a Black person couldrdquo During

spring of 2020 she started to think about her role again she tells me She concluded that ldquothis

is not my place this organization is not my place but I could do activism in other waysrdquo In

most interviews there are similar reasonings for example Bea explains how she is not against

White people organizing against racism but that she

would not be very comfortable doing it or starting an appeal or initiative like

lsquoWhites in support for Black Lives Matterrsquo because thatrsquos nothellip thatrsquos claiming

space and attention

Katrin said that she in her work at an equality foundation had to weigh her wish to do

something against the risk of ldquotaking over a voice that was just starting to build uprdquo and Lou

who works in HR criticizes her own attempts to implement antiracist ideas at her workplace

because she doubts if she has any right to ldquoclaim that we have to work with so-called diversity

issuesrdquo or ldquobe that voice in a White roomrdquo Emma mentions ldquosupporting without taking overrdquo

as the most important aspect of ally work This is an important part of allyship being

supportive standing by Black peoplersquos side acknowledging oppression raising the issues but

without being the protagonists of the movement as Alva explains Lisa agrees she asks herself

rdquoIs this my space to claim I donrsquot know am I supposed to march in the frontline when it comes

to this issue like Irsquom not so sure about thatrdquo In these statements it is implicitly assumed that

if Whites wanted to take over from Black people they easily could (even unconsciously) and

this implies Black people are less resilient as political actors

These arguments are often motivated by their own experiences with men taking space in

feminist movements They think about the way they want men to act and applies the same

reasoning to their own allyship

If this was about feminism and there was a dude telling me this or doing this that

Irsquom talking about now [taking over authorrsquos note] how would I react then [hellip]

I find it odd when female feminists feel like they have to pay tribute to and psyche

up male feminists I donrsquot think male feminists should need that And I feel the

same way about like Black people shouldnrsquot have to care about me at all it may

sound weird but I donrsquot do it for them itrsquos other Whites I want to affect ndash Katrin

Allies often use their own identities and social positions to understand other types of oppression

and although it seems to function as a source of empathy and compassion for the other group

as well as regulating ones ally behavior it is important to acknowledge that lived experience of

39

sexism does not mean inevitable understanding of experiences of racism (Spanierman amp Smith

2017608-10) which the allies mention themselves

This section shows that the strategy of helping is not as straight-forward and easily managed as

first described but instead associated with a big risk lsquoWhat if I take over What does it say

about me if I dordquo They engage in reflexive identity construction without being ontologically

secure eg without having a ldquopractical consciousnessrdquo or ldquonatural attituderdquo that guides how to

act This creates anxiety and fear of doing and thus being wrong (Giddens 199136) All

participants agree that although allies are important in creating change the movement is and

should be a Black space Although they are confident in these believes and dedicated to living

up to these ideals they are still afraid of unintentionally taking over or hijacking the movement

despite their wish to simply help and support the movement from the background To minimize

the risk of being one of those White allies who barges in and takes over the allies make sure to

balance this by taking a step back and leaving room for Black people to lead the way

514 Take a step back but do not become paralyzed

The choice to take a step back following the alliesrsquo reasoning about claiming space and taking

over means that they are more and more evolving toward a state of allyship where few actions

are legitimate and unproblematic This can be interpreted as a sign that the strategies described

previously (listening and helping) are not part of the alliesrsquo practical consciousness and that

engaging in such ally work is experienced as difficult and frightening due to ontological

insecurity This often leads to passivity (Giddens 199144) Taking a step back is described as

lsquoleaving room forrsquo Black people and it consists of listening (which as previous sections of the

analysis show is not seen as entirely unproblematic) and sharing the perspectives of Black

people for example in social media but without claiming a frontline position in the movement

These are two strategies that reduces the influence of White voices on the antiracist discourse

Taking a step back and leaving room for Black people is a way to denounce the privilege of

being listened to (Arora amp Stout 2019294-5) and reducing the power gap between dominant

and subjugated groups in terms of knowledge production (Collins 1990408)

However the interviewees testify to how the strategy to take a step back is often (but not

always) a shortcut to passivity Katrin who works in an equality foundation dealing with issues

of sexism and racism tells me what happened in her organization when choosing the take-a-

step-back approach by sharing articles Instagram posts and other materials created by Black

40

people and thus engaging in amplification of Black voices (Clark 2019528-31) They were

later criticized for ldquonot doing more not talking about it more screaming more sharing

morehelliprdquo They tried to do the right thing but failed Katrin wonders if they should have done

something of their own something bigger while also acknowledging how it would be

problematic of them to claim the spotlight

The allies worry about their own tendencies to become passive because of trying to navigate

among the different strategies Katrin explains this mechanism as a process where learning

about privilege and power creates an insight of onersquos own role in this power structure

ldquoYou realize that lsquoI have power I have responsibility and I do not have

interpretation privilegersquo and that makes you so scared to do anything wrong that

you end up doing nothing at allrdquo

She describes the insights as ldquoparalyzingrdquo and this experience is shared by more of the

interviewees and found in previous research (Brown amp Ostrove 20132220) Emma says that

it is a complex question that she thinks about a lot and that she has not yet landed in any

conclusions about what she should be doing as an ally but she knows that she must avoid

becoming paralyzed However it could be reflexivity itself that leads to such passivity

(Giddens 199144) Political background does not affect this mechanism as it is observed in

those with no prior experience as well as those with years of activism In some ways having

more prior experience can even make it harder to navigate the ally role because the roles

previously taken are no longer open to you as White Alva explains

Irsquom so used to being in the front and in the middle and being in the back is not

really like how I have been engaged before Irsquom not really used to it and to have

my role defined as being in the backseat in the back of the bus as Whitehellip [hellip] I

havenrsquot done that before And Irsquove struggled to find my role ndash what can I do

Cause I feel my hands are tied behind my back a little I would love to do more but

at the same time my interest cannot decide what the main issue should be Itrsquos all

about knowing your role and your place and being very sensitive to when people

tell you to back away or step up

At the end of each interview they were asked What would you like to see for the movement in

the future I got many analytical answers but some responded by saying like Alva ldquoItrsquos hard

for me to answer because Irsquom White I donrsquot know what needs to be focused on right now and

Irsquom not the right person to askrdquo Lisa says rdquoI donrsquot feel I have the right to speak on this or like

41

debate this issuerdquo Amanda does not answer the question either and refers to how it would be

inappropriate for her to try to decide what the movement should be about Interestingly she

notices how this perspective is only present in her relation to antiracism as she has worked for

LGBTQ-rights for years despite identifying as straight She cannot point out what is different

when it comes to antiracism but she feels there is a difference The uncertainty of knowing

what to do risks leading to passivity

ldquoItrsquos like Irsquove come tohellip Not a stop but a landmark and itrsquos like I canrsquot get

further than that because I donrsquot know what to do Irsquom sure there are things I

could do and a role for me to take on but I canrsquot find it right nowrdquo - Alva

Again the interviewees are aware of the paralyzing effect of their strategies and Lou claims

that she knows that she is overthinking it

When I discuss this with people who are exposed to racism I sometimes get the

feeling that theyrsquore like lsquowe donrsquot care who does it somebody just do itrsquo There

is a need for antiracist work to be done [hellip] So I think that itrsquos easy to fall into

some kind of paralyzed state that doesnrsquot help anybody

The assumption of passivity among contemporary activists can be considered mainstream in

the social movement field Youths of Western democracies are less engaged in any kind of

traditional political involvement such as voting political party membership or other

associational activities (Amnaring amp Ekman 20136) Often this decline in political activity is

attributed to the growing prevalence of digital methods instead of more traditional physical

methods because it gives people an undeserved sense of accomplishment (Skoric 201277) and

a false idea of what activism is efficient (Morozov 200913) Although the majority of the

intervieweesrsquo activism consisted of digital participation and digital participation only it would

be unfair to claim that it is out of a sense of undeserving feeling of accomplishment that they

stopped at digital methods Quite opposite to the conclusions made by Skoric and Morozov of

the self-absorbed slacktivist the interviewees are far from happy with their contributions to the

movement Digital activism is associated with laziness slack and performative allyship by the

interviewees and they usually do not value digital activism as high as physical engagement

For example Lisa says she feels a bit ashamed of being more of a ldquokeyboard activist than a real

activistrdquo and Amanda shares similar thoughts about her own participation

42

When I posted the image I felt like lsquoIrsquom so fucking lame for doing only thisrsquo

[laughs] I didnrsquot really think of it as an activist action because it was so easy

Thus the emotional experience relates to feeling ashamed which under specific circumstances

and motivate action ndash but often it leads to passivity (Dull et al 20211081-84 Zhelnina

2020361) When Emma describes how accessible online activism is she presents a scenario

where someone can ldquosit at home in the couch and watch a movie and at the same time just log

into social media and protestrdquo Bea even laughs while telling me that she ldquothinks she shared a

black square on Instagram like everyone elserdquo Accessibility is not an indicator of democratic

or inclusive value but quality and it seems like the easier it is the lower it is valued by the

allies Comparing to the study by Russo (2014) where the allies put themselves through

physical challenges to demonstrate their allyship the digital form of ally work is interpreted as

a lower form of activism and is surrounded by feelings of inadequacy and shame Although the

reasons for why many of them stopped at digital activism varies none of them did it out of

satisfaction or laziness In the cases where physical limitations the pandemic or lack of protests

in onersquos hometown was not the reason it was rooted in an insecurity about what to do as an

ally Digital methods were perceived as a safer option in a context where almost all other types

of White participation are criticized and the potential pain of being called out as a bad ally is

perceived to be lower in the digital realm than it would be in other contexts

As this section shows the allies handle the potential risk of hijacking the movement by taking

a step back to leave room for Black people to define shape and ultimately run the movement

themselves However this strategy creates its own problems there is an imminent risk of

becoming passive So when listening does not work because of the risk of freeriding and

exploiting Black experiences and actively helping to relieve Black people of the burden to

overthrow systemic racism is deemed inappropriate because it includes a risk of hijacking the

movement and stepping back is ruled out because it leads to passivity ndash what remains

515 Do good but not for the wrong reasons Introspection

In line with previous research and theory introspection of different kinds is often discussed as

an important ally assignment (Drury amp Kaiser 2014638 Kauffman 200124 29-32) Without

introspection the quality of allyship risks becoming deficient because without being aware of

onersquos privilege as well as guilt allyship easily slips into paternalistic behavior (Cole

20201267 Spanierman amp Smith 609-10) Introspection is described in terms of ldquochecking

43

myselfrdquo (Sam) ldquotake a step back and acknowledge that I am part of a racist systemrdquo (Lisa) and

being ldquohumble to the fact that you are part the structurerdquo (Caroline) All interviewees express

the idea that one cannot be a good ally or contribute to positive change without first having

engaged in introspection in different ways

I think one of the most important things is to understand your own whiteness It

sounds kind of ego and self-centered but I think that you canrsquot be an ally

otherwise ever if you donrsquot see your own privilege [hellip] Otherwise you end up

balancing the line between racism and antiracism and that line is thinner than

you think - Lou

This imagined thin line between antiracism and racism concerns many interviewees Lisa

Lucas and Emma also see the risk of falling into racist behavior as big and that they must start

by recognizing this risk to avoid it Amanda says that she knows that she eventually will do

something racist but that she tries not to fear it because ldquoself-criticism can create fear often

therersquos a fear of saying or doing the wrong thing which makes people afraid to be alliedrdquo which

creates passivity Sam calls self-reflection and rdquochecking themselvesrdquo their most important job

and claims that if their aim was to destroy racism that would indicate that they thought of

themselves as bias-free which they are not Lucas also recognizes his own prejudice and says

it is part of his ally work to try to diminish these biases The potential for racist behavior is both

ascribed to being raised in a racist system and to White identity Amanda attributes her future

racist actions to her whiteness explicitly and Caroline argues that all White people are capable

of racist actions regardless of intent lsquowokenessrsquo and knowledge and she knows that she will

at some point act racist despite her devotion to antiracism and her love for her Black partner

All these considerations are part of the reflexive process that is self-identity constantly

scrutinizing oneself and navigating around different actions to act in line with self-identity

(Giddens 199175) When the stakes are as high as they are for White allies ndash they risk acting

and thus being racist if they do not engage in enough introspection The room for action

becomes further limited

In relation to the digital realm where most ally work took place introspection also becomes

about motivations The main concern for the interviewees was whether or not they should use

their social media platforms for ally work at all since digital methods are sometimes frowned

upon for being shallow and too simple Despite this all of them did some type of digital ally

work When I asked those who shared the black square on Instagram why some of them

44

laughed and said that they did not know or could not explain it They mention motivations such

as fitting in

In a way it was like everyone on my Instagram did it and it became like a peer

pressure thing like rsquowhy didnrsquot she share itrsquo or rsquowhy didnrsquot he hare itrsquo you

know ndash Emma

Besides peer pressure the desire to lsquofeel goodrsquo was also reflected upon Many acknowledge

that this desire existed but they did not approve of it as a motive for action Caroline explains

that although it is good to show others where you stand it does not say much about who you

are in the everyday life and the act of posting on social media instead become about seeming

or feeling good The thing they worry about is whether them showing support for the BLM

movement was intended to help the movement or to make themselves look better ndash sometimes

called cosmetic activism (Spanierman amp Smith 2017609-10) or more often among the

participants performative allyship Lou who regularly shares information opinions petitions

and hashtags in her social media says that she worries about her allyship being performative

because she knows most of her followers already shares her opinions Thus her sharing yet

another Instagram post about how racism is wrong could possibly be to ldquoshow off and make

myself feel a little betterrdquo She is careful to stop and reflect upon her actions and intentions and

ask herself lsquowhy did I do this What was my purposersquo Bea shares the same concerns

describing online activism as potentially about ldquostrengthening your personal brandrdquo and

ldquomarketing yourselfrdquo ndash although she does not identify with these motives she feels like there

is always a risk of falling into performative allyship in social media Posting on social media is

also described as a way to claim an antiracist alibi as Bea explains

One way to avoid this is to actively choose not to share with others the activism they engage in

like Sam who calls it unlearning performative allyship Instead of risking acting in the wrong

way and for the wrong reasons they turn to strategic passivism However the unintended result

of this is that one of the main advantages of allies in social movements (that they can use their

voices and platforms to amplify Black voices) goes missing if social media posts are no longer

considered legitimate allyship (Arora amp Stout 2019390 Bhattacharyya et al 202012 Clark

2019528-31)

Introspection is not only a way to secure high-quality allyship but to reduce the risk of doing

something racist and thus being racist Identity is constructed biographically through action

and if the actions does not align with the sense of self-identity this incoherence leads to

45

ontological insecurity in terms of the self meaning one starts to doubt onersquos own motives

(Giddens 199152-54) Seeing onersquos own whiteness as a guarantee of future racist behavior

and knowing how such behavior would clash with the sense of self allies do best in trying to

avoid racist action by all means available Thus acting becomes a risk in itself and this could

be interpreted as ally work becoming unintuitive and unnatural to the allies both at a practical

level determining what to do and at a more discursive level shaping who to be Although

ontological security is defined as practical consciousness it applies to less hands-on orientation

in the world too for example finding onersquos role and identity in a social movement The way to

move forward after recognizing all possible ways one may act wrong is to engage in strategic

passivism apolitical introspection as a political strategy (Kauffman 200124 29-32 Giddens

199144) It is not equivalent to passivity because it includes a strategic choice and it is built

on ally work but ally work that is aimed inwards It becomes a way to be active without acting

in a context where other people may get hurt or judge you

Allies must also make sure not only to act coherently and right but to have pure intentions

being an ally for the sake of recognition or personal gratification is not accepted However

research shows that such extrinsic motivations are especially important in motivating digital

participation (Lilleker amp Koc-Michalska 201725 34-25) and that feelings of shame and guilt

can lead to passivity (Dull et al 20211081-84 Zhelnina 2020361) These two conditions

(ideas of inherent racism and requirements of pure motives) related to introspection does not

create an environment where being active is very appealing Lou admits how acknowledging

the thin line between antiracism and racism leaves her paralyzed instead of motivated

Introspection on the other hand requires no interaction with other people and thus no risk of

being evaluated judged or called out as a bad ally

As the analysis demonstrates the allies recognize there are many different ways they could

engage ndash but all of them are eventually met with disclaimers of how that specific strategy is

inappropriate They try to navigate their own identity and privilege in relation to interpretation

privilege based on theories of situated knowledge but because they lack ontological security

in their ally role they struggle to find a path that is neither inappropriate nor associated with

too much risk Eventually they land in what could be referred to as passivism strategic

passivity as a form of activism

46

6 Discussion and conclusion

The purpose of this study was to better understand how the ally role and participation is

experienced by White allies participating in the Swedish BLM movement and to investigate to

what extent they felt that they had legitimacy as political agents in the movement As the results

show the allies felt strongly for the cause and had many positive experiences of community

and purpose However emotions related to shame guilt and insecurity were also an integral

part of their ally experience and it limited them in their ally work The analysis also shows that

while they are willing and motivated to act as allies the strategies available to them are

surrounded by disclaimers doubt and criticism Few potential actions or approaches are left

unproblematized and the allies often struggle to find their specific path The analysis

emphasizes the link between academic theories of situated knowledge and what can be seen as

a translated popularized version of the term formulated in the political discourse as

interpretation privilege The contribution of Giddensrsquo theories is that the concepts of reflexivity

and ontological security describes the reason for the hesitation the allies engage in whereas the

concept of situated knowledge describes on what basis they hesitate modernity explains why

they worry and situated knowledge what they worry about

Although the analysis shows a pattern that seems to link ideas of interpretation privilege with

passivism among allies the conclusion should not be that acknowledging the importance of

situated knowledge and recognizing the power intertwined with the knowledge creation and

validation process is unnecessary or harmful The theories of situated knowledge standpoint

theory and Black feminist epistemology are important contributions to the sociology of

knowledge and crucial reminders of the power embedded in knowledge However of interest

to political sociology scholars could be the translation of academic concepts into everyday

political lingo and what effects it may have on how people think about politics agency and

identity It is also important to point out that the statements by the interviewees do not reflect

the concept of interpretation privilege in itself but only their interpretation of it Therefore one

could never claim that the concept in itself limits or motivates anything only the way it is

interpreted

Many parts of the results need further investigation One is the implication of guilt if allies are

so limited in this movement whose fault is it It is easy to jump to the conclusion that the fault

belongs to the movement itself and its participants that activists and allies specifically create

47

an environment where action is limited and surrounded by doubt and insecurity This is not the

conclusion of the study Black people or specifically Black movement participants are not to

blame for a culture created by all participants of the movement and this culture or discourse

should be treated as such a larger collective process or frame that is affected by and affecting

all movement participants and the social context it is constructed in It is power on the discursive

level and beyond the reach of any specific grouprsquos aims to control it The experiences and

emotions of the allies should be treated as manifestations of a larger socio-political context

(Buechler 1995458) which could be the focus of future research

Another important aspect to discuss is the implications of quality of the participants allyship

Much research on the passivity of modern activists for example texts on slacktivism (see

Skoric 2012) have a contemptuous tone while discussing how little activists do and how good

they feel about themselves I refrain from evaluating the quality of the actual activism

performed by the allies and from explaining their digitally dominated activism with slacktivism

Instead of seeing contemporary passivism as a potential problem of bad activists one must

focus on the cultural structural and discursive processes enabling this specific kind of activism

instead of other more traditional and acknowledged types of activism Something in the

political climate digital activism identity political social movements or something completely

different limits those who wish to support the movement as allies in their action repertoires

One interesting finding is the consistency in the way the participants describe their involvement

and the issues they thought about Looking at prior experience and their doubts and concerns

about current and future activism there seems to be no link between being unexperienced or

so to say a lsquorookiersquo activist and feeling insecure about what to do as an ally The same problem

was present for people working with equality issues for a living having academic degrees in

the field and well as those without similar professional and academic competences Thus it is

unlikely to be out of inexperience or lack of knowledge that allies sometimes turn to passivism

It is also important to note that while this analysis turned out to be about tendencies of

passivism the interviewed allies were in fact not passive They all engaged in different ally

work digitally and physically sharing information online participating in demonstrations and

trying to incorporate antiracism in their everyday lives and encounters The idea of passivism

applies to their own reasoning and thinking about their allyship more than it does to their

performed ally work Passivism describes their strategic use of introspection which resembles

being passive from out outside perspective but includes much effort in scrutinizing oneself and

trying to become a better ally something that the interviewees are very focused on

48

The main contribution of this study is its representation of the ally perspective something that

is not well researched in the Swedish context It contributes with an insight into the political

arguments of a contemporary social movement characterized by identity-focus and digital

methods Potential contributions could also relate to the questions what would be needed for

allyship to become effective motivating and less associated with introspection and passivism

questions to which the answers must be found in larger contexts than that of these 11 alliesrsquo

testimonies In order to say more about how contemporary allyship is constructed experienced

and given meaning a triangulation of different methods and data sources would be required

along with a bigger sample

The study raised more questioned than it answered which indicates the importance and

relevance of further studies For example the theoretical coherence between the academic

concept of situated knowledge and the more casual term interpretation privilege would need to

be further explored as this study is only a rather shallow review of the concepts Studying the

larger political development and the discourse on activism or racism could also help

constructing a more developed understanding of what it really means to be an ally in the local

context of 21st century Sweden while simultaneously being part of a global network of activists

The implications of these results could be that while allyship is considered important both for

social movements at large (see Brown amp Ostrove 2013 Arora amp Stout 2019 Clark 2019) and

for the individual allies themselves it is also problematized by the interviewees in line with the

problems presented in previous research Applying these results to White allyship there are

things that would need to change in order for the allies to feel secure enough to find the

motivation to participate in the way they all claim they would want to but have not found the

time motivation or feeling of legitimacy to do For ally work to be a force to be reckoned with

in the antiracist struggle preconditions for action beyond introspection and strategic passivism

must be further developed Relating back to Butler the risk is otherwise that

If white people become exclusively preoccupied with our own privilege we risk

becoming self-absorbed We definitely donrsquot need more white people making

everything about themselves that just re-centralizes whiteness and refuses to do

the work of anti-racism (Gleeson 2021)

49

7 References Ahmed S Jaidka K amp Cho J (2017) Tweeting Indiarsquos Nirbhaya protest a study of emotional dynamics in an online social

movement Social Movement Studies 16(4) 227-465 httpsdoi1010801474283720161192457

American Psychological Association (2019) Racial and ethnic identity httpapastyleapaorgstyle-grammar-

guidelinesbias-free-languageracial-ethnic-minorities

Amnaring E amp Ekman J (2013) Standby citizens diverse faces of political passivity European Political Science 1-21

httpsdoi101017S175577391300009X

Andersson P (2021) Bokrecension Vit skoumlrhet vaumllbehoumlvlig i svensk rasismdebatt SVT Nyheter Downloaded 2021-09-29

from httpswwwsvtsekulturbokrecension-vit-skorhet-skickar-meningsfulla-impulser-in-i-den-svenska-debatten

Arora M amp Stout CT (2018) Letters for Black Lives Co-ethnic Mobilization and Support for the Black Lives Matter

Movement Political Research Quarterly 72(2) 389-402 httpsdoiorg1011772F1065912918793222

Arribas Lozano A (2018) Knowledge co-production with social movement networks Redefining grassroots politics

rethinking research Social Movement Studies 17(4) 451-463 httpsdoiorg1010801474283720181457521

Barassi V amp Zamponi L (2020) Social media time identity narratives and the construction of political biographies Social

Movement Studies 195-6 592-608 httpsdoiorg1010801474283720201718489

Bauman Z (2001) Liquid Modernity Cambridge Polity Press

Bhattacharyya G Virdee S amp Winter A (2020) Revisiting histories of anti-racist thought and activism Identities 27(1)

1-19 httpsdoiorg1010801070289X20191647686

Belam M (2021) Black Lives Matter movement nominated for Nobel peace prize The Guardian 2021-01-29

httpswwwtheguardiancomworld2021jan29Black-lives-matter-nobel-peace-prize-petter-eide-norweigan-mp

(Downloaded 2021-06-16)

Bernstein M (2005) Identity Politics Annual Review of Sociology 31(1) 47-74

httpsdoiorg101146annurevsoc29010202100054

Brown K T amp Ostrove J M (2013) What does it mean to be an ally The perception of allies from the perspective of

people of color Journal of Applied Social Psychology 43(11) 2211ndash2222 httpsdoiorg101111jasp12172

Braring (2018) Sjaumllvrapporterad utsatthet foumlr hatbrott Analys utifraringn Nationella trygghetsundersoumlkningen 2006ndash2017 Rapport

201810 Downloaded 2021-03-05 at

httpswwwbrasedownload187f57ba351641b9cdc3d1e0b515344265455312018_10_Sjalvrapporterad_utsatthet_for_

hatbrottpdf

Buechler SM (1995) NEW SOCIAL MOVEMENT THEORIES Sociological Quarterly 36 441-464

httpsdoiorg101111j1533-85251995tb00447x

Bursell M (2014) The Multiple Burdens of Foreign-Named MenmdashEvidence from a Field Experiment on Gendered Ethnic

Hiring Discrimination in Sweden European Sociological Review 30(3) 399ndash409 httpsdoiorg101093esrjcu047

Carnegie Endowment for International Peace 2020 Global Protest Tracker Downloaded 2020-12-16 at

httpscarnegieendowmentorgpublicationsinteractiveprotest-trackergclid=CjwKCAiA_eb-

BRB2EiwAGBnXXve4_M0rNWlgU0_MmYUuIg6ThabxkIbk_kQhlB7O_542emIVDHX1HRoCCFsQAvD_BwE

Clark M (2019) White folksrsquo work digital allyship praxis in the BlackLivesMatter movement Social Movement Studies

18(5) 519-534 httpsdoiorg1010801474283720191603104

Clayton DM (2018) Black Lives Matter and the Civil Rights Movement A Comparative Analysis of Two Social

Movements in the United States Journal of Black Studies 40(5)448-480

httpsdoiorg1011772F0021934718764099

Cole G (2020) Types of White Identification and Attitudes About Black Lives Matter Social Science Quarterly

101(4)1627-1633) httpsdoiorg101111ssqu12837

Collins PH (1990) Black Feminist Epistemology In Calhoun C J Gerteis J Moody S Pfaff amp I Virk (Ed) (2012)

Contemporary Sociological Theory 3rd Ed Chichester Wiley-Blackwell

Craddock E (2019) Doing rsquoenoughrsquo of the lsquorightrsquo thing the gendered dimension of the lsquoideal activistrsquo and its negative

emotional consequencesrdquo Social Movement Studies 18(2)137-153) httpsdoiorg1010801474283720181555457

Creswell JW amp Poth CN (2017) Qualitative inquiry and research design choosing among five approaches (Fourth

edition) Los Angeles Sage Publications

Diani M (1992) The Concept of Social Movement The Sociological Review 40(1)1-25 httpsdoiorg1011112Fj1467-

954X1992tb02943x

Drury B amp C Kaiser (2014) Allies against Sexism The Role of Men in Confronting Sexism Journal of Social Issues

70(4)637-652 httpsdoiorg101111josi12083

Dull BD Hoyt LT Grzanka PR amp Zeider KH (2021) Can White Guilt Motivate Action The Role of Civic Beliefs

Journal of Youth and Adolescence 50 1081ndash1097 (2021) httpsdoiorg101007s10964-021-01401-7

Earl J (2014) The Future of Social Movement Organizations The Waning Dominance of SMOs Online American

Behavioral Scientist 5935-52 httpsdoiorg1011772F0002764214540507

Garrett RK (2006) Protest in an Information Society a review of literature on social movements and new ICTs

Information Communication amp Society 9(2) 202-224 httpsdoiorg10108013691180600630773

Giddens A (1991) Modernity and self-identity Self and society in the late modern age Stanford University Press

Gleeson J (2021) Judith Butler lsquoWe need to rethink the category of womanrsquo The Guardian 2021-09-07 (Accessed 20201-

09-14 at httpswwwtheguardiancomlifeandstyle2021sep07judith-butler-interview-gender)

10

exactly an ally can be expected to do in support for the movement What almost all these

definitions have in common is the baseline assumption that allies recognize their own

privileges and in antiracist movements that they embrace their White identity whiteness is not

only a description of skin color or ethnicity but also a culturally and politically influenced

identity A White ally cannot only be White they must also recognize their whiteness as

culturally significant recognizing privilege and becoming aware of both oppression as such

and onersquos own role in it is the first step to become an ally (Drury amp Kaiser 2014638) Although

lsquoWhitersquo has not always been treated as a social identity in the same way as other ethnic

identities there has been a recent resurge of White identification in the US (Cole 20201627)

Cole identified three main types of White identity type 1 includes no recognition of whiteness

type 2 recognizes whiteness but sees it as a liability and type 3 recognizes whiteness as a

privilege Among these types of White identification type 3 is most likely to support the BLM

means and goals whereas type 2 is least likely to support the movement at all

White identity development is also closely linked to the idea of White guilt which is seen as a

normative response to realizing onersquos own whiteness and the privilege attached to it Individuals

who acknowledge recognize and understand racism have higher degrees of White guilt and

this can either motivate action or create passivity (Dull et al 20211081-84) Dull and

colleagues found that White guilt can motivate civic action under certain circumstances there

must also be individual beliefs of social responsibility and efficacy (ibid1089) If the individual

neither believes in their social responsibility nor their own efficacy as political actors they will

struggle to find motivation to act Efficacy was measured by asking the participants whether

they felt they had the knowledge capacity and opportunity to affect social change (ibid1086)

Feelings of shame and despair among other have demobilizing effects on political mobilization

(Zhelnina 2020361) and it is therefore highly relevant to explore what emotions are

experienced by the allies in this study and to what degree they motivate or hinder action

211 Why are allies important

The role of allies in social movements is considered important in creating both social change

and in improving the everyday conditions of marginalized groups Brown and Ostrove (2013)

argued that White allies have two main assignments in antiracist movements supporting

individual people from the nondominant group and engaging in informed political action After

realizing onersquos whiteness and privilege allies must actively work to dismantle the system of

11

oppression by for example willingly share power with the subordinated group (Clark

2019523)

One of the most valuable aspects of ally work in social movements is the fact that the costs of

confronting sexism racism or any other discriminatory behavior is much lower for allies

without personal interest in the issue than it is for marginalized group members Men

confronting sexist behavior are seen as more rational and credible and less hostile than their

female counterparts which can strengthen the receiverrsquos sympathy for the sentiment of the

movement (Drury amp Kaiser 2014642) Male allies speaking up can also normalize rejecting

sexist ideas for women too and thus create a more open climate for such confrontations

(ibid644) The cost of ally work is further lowered when utilizing digital methods Clark (2019)

found that when White allies use their digital platforms to amplify the voices of Black people

the personal costs are low while the effects are positive The narratives of Black activists often

marginalized in their outreach in other ethnic or cultural groups are spread and legitimized by

White allies and it may ultimately strengthen the movement at large (Clark 2019528-31)

The idea that White allies should help the movement by amplifying the voices of Black people

can be further validated by the results of a study conducted by Arora and Stout (2019) on co-

ethnic mobilization and support for BLM They conducted an experimental study on the support

for the movement and the effect of messages from co-ethnic versus non-co-ethnic messengers

In general people tend to accept and embrace a political message more easily if they find the

messenger trustworthy and likeable which is an increasingly rational mechanism in times of

excessive access to information (Arora amp Stout 2019390) In their study they had people read

letters in favor for supporting the BLM movement written by authors of different ethnicities

Their results showed that White people did not change their opinion on BLM unless the author

was also White (ibid394-5) The implications of these results are that ldquoif whitesrsquo attitudes about

Black Lives Matter are to change appeals are much more effective coming from co-racial

individualsrdquo (ibid396) This implies that the role of White allies in amplifying the message of

Black activists and spreading the message especially within their own racial group is a very

powerful and important way for White allies to support the movement

212 What is problematic with allies

Although the role of allies in social movements are important there are also problems Some

research indicates that without lived experience of for example sexism or racism it is harder

12

to detect when such discrimination occurs For example men are less likely to interpret subtle

sexism as sexism and they are less likely to sympathize with someone confronting sexism if

that someone is female (Drury amp Kaiser 2014639 642) Thus much time and effort may have

to be put into educating out-group allies Allies are also less likely to be emotionally receptive

towards grasping the magnitude of oppression which again comes from lack of lived

experience (Russo 201480) It is also important to recognize uniqueness in group experiences

instead of assuming that experience of one type of oppression automatically leads to insights

about other oppressions (Spanierman amp Smith 2017608-10)

Besides the problem of potential insensibility on behalf of the ally another issue is low

engagement (Jaumlmte et al 2020370) Brown and Ostrove (20132220) argued that although

some inactivity of allies could be attributed to general passivity of contemporary activists or

lack of emotional engagement it could also come out of fear of doing anything considered

wrong White allies they argued tend to be more cautious in their actions because of this and

instead of acting on their own they leave space for Black people to take the lead However in

the attempt to leave room for and amplify for example Black narratives there is a significant

risk that allies freeride on the political labor of Black people (Clark 2019530) This problem

is also present in feminist movements where male allies often engage in low risk high reward

activism and often take credit for work dependent on the efforts of female feminists (Linder amp

Johnson 20155 17-18) This is made possible Linder and Johnson argued by the master

narrative saying male allies should be recognized validated and granted credibility regardless

of their actual contributions to the movementndash even though there is an overwhelming risk with

male feminist ally work being directly counterproductive due to lack of sympathy for the

female perspective and expertise (ibid4-5) In adverse cases male allies have been known to

not only capitalize on womenrsquos pain ignore their perspective and steal their hard work but to

actually commit sexual assault in feminist organizations (ibid9)

There are many other risks associated with ally work Mostly it originates in the fact that many

have good intentions but lack in self-reflection or knowledge about real political work

Spanierman and Smith (2017) pointed to how such discrepancies between intention capacity

and self-awareness can lead to paternalistic behavior towards marginalized people and that this

can strengthen the unconscious sense of superiority and legitimize status quo instead of

challenging it Another mistake especially important in digital activism is the tendency to

engage in optics instead of politics and to treat members of the disenfranchised group as objects

13

to be used for personal virtue signaling Such cosmetic activism rarely leads to any structural

criticism or challenging (Spanierman amp Smith 2017609-10)

22 Digital activism

As can be seen in the previous research on the positive opportunities with allies digital methods

are important for allies to engage for example in amplifying voices of minorities (Clark

2019528-31) This is perhaps even more true in the 2020 BLM-wave when many were limited

in their capacity to participate physically due to the pandemic All participants in this study

participated in digital activism (most of them exclusively so) and it is therefore important to

account for some research on the role digitalism plays in contemporary movements The

introduction of new technologies into political activism has been studied for many years even

before the social medias we use today Information and Communication technologies (ICTrsquos)

such as mobile phones or the internet had many effects on political activism as they became

available for more people for example it contributed with increased sense of community

strengthened political participation facilitated movement organization and increased

independence from elite representations of movements (Garrett 2006205-14)

Modern social medias have the same effects to some extent The internet and social media are

acknowledged to affect how social movements come into being and how they operate (Barassi

amp Zamponi 2020 Earl 2014) Social media platforms are used as tools for organizing raising

awareness and spreading information (Ahmed et al 2017447) and was for example one of

the success factors of the MeToo movement (Li et al 2020 Lin amp Yang 2019) Social media

also played a major role in the BLM protests without social media the protests of 2020 would

perhaps not have been as widespread The fact that the video picturing Floydrsquos murder spread

so rapidly led to massive emotional involvement and increased motivation for participation

according to research on the efficiency of emotions in digital activism (Clark 2019 Heldman

201788) Facilitating the growth of collective emotion and identity is one of the main

contributions of social media because emotions are crucial in motivating political action

(Ahmed et al 201746 Zhelnina 2020361) Studying the emotional expressions before during

and after a social protest on Twitter Ahmed and colleagues concluded that emotions affect

involvement online similarly to their effect offline ndash they channel participation and create

community and identification (Ahmed et al 2017459-61) Besides this social media functions

as a megaphone for individuals without having to be represented by any formal leader (Earl

14

201537) Earl argued that some of the functions centralized and formal social movement

organizations used to fill can in many cases be substituted with online communities lowering

the costs of organizers and participants (ibid39)

221 Critical perspectives on digital activism

Social media as site and tool for social activism is also criticized based on ideas about how it

leads to passivity and how motives for online activism differs from those in offline or lsquorealrsquo

activism Online activism is sometimes called slacktivism referencing the lower degrees of

effort and risk required to engage in online activism (Skoric 201277) The slacktivist narrative

is often used to explain the decline in youth political engagement (Amnaring amp Ekman 20136)

although the link between digital activism and low degrees of participation have not been

determined Online activism is usually less valued than more traditional types of activism which

requires more from the individual activist (Craddock 2019148-9 Heldman 2017207) despite

the lack of consensus between researchers on whether online activism is effective or not

(Lilleker amp Koc-Michalska 201725) Skoric (201277) argued that the Internet promotes a

superficial mode of political activism where liking commenting and sharing are the main tools

for participating in political activism and that the focus often is aimed at the individual and her

capacity of introspection lifestyle politics or mere expression of opinions without further

actions Such positionings rarely challenges structures of power and dominance Slacktivism

feels good without actually doing any good and it distracts people from engaging in meaningful

activism (ibid78)

lsquoFeeling goodrsquo as a motive for political mobilization is further explored by Lilleker and Koc-

Michalska (201723) who argued that there is a strong link between both intrinsic and extrinsic

emotional motivations and political mobilization both self-fulfillment and recognition are

strong motivators for both online and offline activism Extrinsic motivations eg external

approval recognition and being perceived as lsquogoodrsquo has the strongest effect on motivating

participation (ibid34 25) The difference they found between online and offline participation

was that online activism is less self-fulfilling and more driven by ldquoconforming and earning

rewardsrdquo which they interpret as online participation potentially being mere clicktivism and

less personally meaningful to the people engaging in it (ibid35)

Although slacktivism is not necessarily a phenomenon limited to the digital sphere but includes

all performative positioning online activism arguably breeds slacktivism because of how easy

15

and available it is The motivation to engage in high-risk high-effort activism decreases if there

are always lower effort- and risk options available that gives the same recognition and

satisfaction (Skoric 201279) Morozov (2009) also has criticized the naiumlve faith in the potential

of Internet activism and argued that poorly planned online slacktivism is not only ineffective

and toothless but also holds potential for backfiring and causing devastating consequences For

example when Western activists attempted to attack Iranian government sources online they

accidentally slowed down the whole Iranian internet making the activism of local protestors

difficult (Morozov 200913)

As this section shows the relationship between social media and the general level of activism

among people is far from determined However the participants of this study all relied on digital

methods in their ally work and their experiences of digital methods are explored in the analysis

3 Theory

In this section the two theories used to analyze the data will be presented and discussed starting

with Giddensrsquo theories on modernity which are used to contextualize ally work as a 21st century

phenomenon shaped by the preconditions of modernity such as increased reflexivity and

ontological insecurity Thereafter theories of situated knowledge will be used to describe how

the allies relate to their own whiteness in relation to the concept of interpretation privilege

sometimes limiting the allies in their leeway of action Essentially Giddensrsquo theories will be

used to understand why allies hesitate about their role and theories of situated knowledge will

be used to understand what they base these hesitations on

31 Giddens

Giddensrsquo theory of modernity focuses on the circumstances of human activity and identity in

what he referred to as (late) modernity The theory will be used to contextualize ally work as

something that exists within a larger social cultural and economic structure that shapes the

way identity politics and human activity are formed with special focus on self-identity and

ontological security

16

Worth mentioning when using the term modernity is that there are scholarly disagreements on

whether the current era should be interpreted as modernity late (or liquid see Bauman 2001)

modernity or postmodernity However Giddens belongs to the group of theorists who see

contemporary society as still existing within the theoretical frames of late modernity where the

tendencies of modernity has been further stretched and strengthened (Giddens 199127) This

assumption will be present throughout this paper while also acknowledging this is only one

interpretation

311 Life in modernity reflexivity and ontological insecurity

Modernity is an era characterized by post-traditional orders institutionalized radical doubt

detachment of time and space risk-cultures and abstract systems (Giddens 19912-5)

Following these changes in increased emphasis on reflexivity the continuous revisiting of

previously taken-for-granted concepts truths and ideas This applies to the institutional and

individual level and the latter will be of focus in this paper Without the guiding hand of

tradition or custom as in premodern society people must navigate in the world without being

firmly grounded in pregiven sets of beliefs on what should be done in each situation and with

the constant flow of information in modernity the horizon of possible actions are constantly

broadened (ibid20)

The increased emphasis on reflexivity means for the individual that ldquoself-identity becomes a

reflexively organised endeavorrdquo (Giddens 19915) Giddensrsquo described self-identity as a

project based on coherent and ldquocontinuously revised biographical narrativesrdquo which ldquotakes

place in the context of multiple choices as filtered through abstract systemsrdquo (ibid5) This

means that self-identity is closely linked to actions and is ldquoroutinely created and sustainedrdquo in

the actions of the individual (ibid52) This includes making constant decisions while having

endless choices ndash on what to do how to act and ultimately who to be in late modernity ldquowe

are not what we are but what we make of ourselvesrdquo (ibid54 75) If the individual fails to

perform in coherence with their sense of self-identity the individual may start to doubt their

own biographical narrative and ultimately themselves (ibid58) In the context of social

movements the ally identity is thus constantly reshaped by each choice of action and it

becomes important to act in accordance with the ideal-typical ally role Allyship is also a

globalized phenomenon which increases the number of aspects to take into consideration while

reflexively making choices

17

As reflexivity become more and more significant in guiding human action people in late

modernity experience loss of ontological security which is a ldquorsquonatural attitudersquo in everyday

liferdquo in relation to how to act and orient oneself in the world (Giddens 199136) Being

ontologically secure is ldquoto possess on the level of the unconscious and practical consciousness

lsquoanswersrsquo to fundamental existential questions which all human life in some way addressesrdquo

(ibid47) and was previously guided by tradition custom rules and norms of premodern society

Ontological security thus secures the individualsrsquo smooth navigation through life without them

hesitating on their role in the world too much However as society developed into modernity

and late modernity the conditions for ontological security changed ndash the traditions of

premodern society that used to give ontological security by offering a sense of structure

firmness and purpose are now exchanged for reflexivity (ibid48) making each single decision

dependent on an almost infinite number of possible options (ibid36) Without ontological

security the individual experiences existential anxiety caused by uncertainty ndash and such anxiety

itself ldquotends to paralyse relevant actions rather than generate themrdquo (ibid44) This passivity can

occur in relation to specific actions or to the sense of self in general for example failing to

perform in line with onersquos perceived self-identity can create ontological insecurity and it opens

for questioning onersquos entire role in a specific context for example a social movement For allies

ontological insecurity could arise in relation to them trying to navigate what actions are

appropriate for them to engage in based on the reflexive project of self-identity However

inactivism or passivity cannot only be seen in the individualrsquos relation to action but in politics

in general Giddens argued that politics in premodern times were emancipatory and aiming to

end oppression but that politics in modernity has been transformed into life politics a shift in

ideology and activity towards emphasizing lifestyle and self-actualization (ibid210-14)

The purpose of including Giddensrsquo theory of modernity is to provide a potential context in

which the allies of this study act and shape their own ally identities and how their occasionally

self-restricting introspection may be understood

32 Situated knowledge

To complement the theory of Giddens theories on situated knowledge will be included in the

analysis to point to specific ways in which the allies engage in reflexive decision-making eg

on what basis they make decisions about ally strategies The included theories are feminist

theories but their implications are not limited to gender relations

18

Theories of situated knowledge (also referred to as standpoint theory or feminist epistemology)

is an epistemological attempt to challenge the way knowledge is produced validated and

valued Epistemology is an ldquooverarching theory of knowledgerdquo (Collins 1990408) and theories

of epistemology focuses on how truth and knowledge is shaped by power relations between

social positions and how this could change Easily put social position of the knowledge

producer shapes the kind of knowledge that can be produced (Young 200425) In this thesis

the theoretical works of Haraway Young and Collins will be included although there are more

contributors to the thoughts about situated knowledge

Relating knowledge to power feminist theorists have pointed to how knowledge production

has been dominated by men and postcolonial thinkers have questioned dominant knowledge

for its sometimes exploitative and colonializing tendencies (in for example Western thought

and anthropology) Part of this critique has included a call for recognition privilege of lived

experience and reflexivity in research (Voronka 2016191) Donna Haraway (1988) presented

a feminist epistemology (or feminist objectivism) that recognized how women have historically

seen as immanent beings unable to transcend the body and escape its ldquofinite point of viewrdquo

whereas men have been seen as able to attain lsquoobjectiversquo perspectives and knowledges

(Haraway 1988575) The (imagined) male capacity to transcend ldquoparticular social location

and adopt a lsquoview from nowherersquordquo gives men higher status epistemologically (Young 200424)

Thus the gaze of the White male has been favored in sociology as it represents the unmarked

and objective perspective (Haraway 1988581)

The problem with the idea of objectivity and the lsquoview from nowherersquo according to feminist

and postcolonial critics is that knowledge is a power process and only taking one groups

knowledge into account reinforces these power processes Patricia Hill Collins argued that

power over the production and validation of knowledge is an issue of group interest where the

dominant group preserves their own interests by invalidating knowledge that either challenges

their hegemonic ideas or follows alternative practices in their creation of alternative knowledges

(Collins 1990409-10) Black womenrsquos knowledge is subjugated knowledge and it must fight

for recognition in an anti-Black and anti-female world (ibid414) The Black feminist

epistemology she advocated for includes sensitivity to the combination of female and Black

experiences unique for Black women and it recognized alternative ways to create knowledge

specific to Black womenrsquos knowledge production (ibid407-8)

19

321 Situated knowledge as political strategy

If knowledge is then produced under circumstances of domination power structures and

hegemony ndash what would an alternative look like and what could these alternatives lead to

From a quality standpoint Haraway (1988583) argued that including several perspectives in

knowledge production leads to better conclusions Even though she dismissed the idea that

subjugated people have a purer vision on truth and objectivity an idea she claimed is often

rooted in a fetishized idea of the Third World woman she argued that subjugated groups are

less likely to ldquoallow denial of the critical and interpretive core of all knowledgerdquo than are

dominant groups (ibid583-586) She wrote that the only standpoint from which no objectivity

can ever be reached is ldquothe standpoint of the master the Man the One God whose Eye

produces appropriates and orders differencerdquo (ibid587) Thus to aim for objectivity depends

on including perspectives otherwise ignored by structures of power and dominance (ibid590)

Delegitimizing the idea of a lsquoGodrsquos eyersquo from where true knowledge can be observed and

mediated means including other perspectives and knowledges (Young 200420) This is not

only just and right it also contributes to wiser decision making in a context of democratic

processes including perspectives from all social standpoints maximizes knowledge which

should be treated as a democratic resource when fully utilized (ibid25-9) Thus the idea of

situated knowledges includes a normative assumption of inclusion and diversity in decision

making and knowledge production and social difference should be treated as a resource for

democratic societies (ibid29)

The standpoint theorists emphasize how recognizing specificity in knowledge claims for

different groups does not include the idea that subjugated groups are naturally epistemically

privileged eg that their perspective on every issue should be treated as automatically lsquotruersquo

(Haraway 1988583-4 Young 200427-29) Neither the position of these groups or any

imagined inherent attributes give subjugated groups automatic access to the truth but the

position opens up doors to new perspectives impossible to imagine from above (Haraway

1988584) The specific knowledge unique for the dominated social positions include different

understandings of their own position and others and the relation between them as well as ldquoa

point of view on the history of societyrdquo ldquoan interpretation of how the relations and processes

of the whole society operates especially as they affect onersquos own positionrdquo and finally ldquoa

position-specific experience and point of view on the natural and physical environmentrdquo

(Young 200429)

20

Applying these ideas in a context of practical politics for example in a social movement can

include such inclusion of different perspectives and emphasizing how group difference matters

in terms of knowledge but without claiming the existence of epistemic privilege Often this

practical application is based on including people with lived experience into different contexts

of power or knowledge production (Voronka 2016189)

However the strategy of using lived experience as a criterion for epistemic legitimacy can also

be problematized Voronka (2016192) argued that inclusion and representation of different

groups in decision making as a criterion for legitimate knowledge production can be seen as

resting on essentialist assumptions and stable identity categories The categories themselves are

left unaccounted for meaning the boundaries between and content of different identity groups

are seen as natural entities (ibid194) The concept of lived experience fails to answer questions

of who we are and why while the existence of these categories should be questioned in

themselves Thus acting based on ideas of lived experience and ldquoepistemic privilegerdquo (Young

200427) risks both treating identity as essentialist and constructing group attributes as

embodied truths and ignore difference in lived experience within groups (Voronka 2016196)

Thus Voronka (ibid197) argued

we need to mark how rsquopeople with lived experiencersquo [as a concept my note] risks

reproducing and replicating systems of domination that privileges subjects and

subjectivities that fit closely within the White heteropatriarchal matrix of ruling

Voronkarsquos experiences come from academia but the ideas can be applied to other contexts as

well Theories of situated knowledge can be extracted from the abstract epistemological level

and transformed into a concept more suitable and applicable for everyday situations and as will

be seen in the analysis this theme is highly present in the statements by the study participants

in the form of interpretation privilege (See section 5 Results and analysis)

4 Methodology

The study builds on phenomenological approach and aims to understand a social phenomenon

by interpreting the different meanings ascribed to it by the participant whose lived experience

is in focus for the analysis (Creswell amp Poth 2018150) Thus the focus of the study is not the

BLM movement itself but to understand the experience of the allies The study is abductive

21

meaning the research process was iterative - going back and forth between empirical findings

and theoretical background The aim of abductive analysis is often to generate theory by

cultivating already existing theories together with the surprising results found in the data

collection that are in turn reinterpreted through the revisited theoretical insights (Timmermans

amp Tavory 2012169 173-6) One important aspect of abduction is to revisit the phenomenon

as it can lead to new insights For example when the first couple of interviews were done the

lack of response to one specific question was interpreted as missing data But when the

transcripts were revisited after some additional previous research had been read I realized the

unanswered question was not missing data ndash it was data in itself This realization affected how

the data collection moved forward as the focus narrowed down on the ally role and its

limitations

41 Data collection

The data collection was done by conducting qualitative interviews with 11 self-identified White

allies to understand their perspective experiences and thoughts about their participation The

interviews were in average 010245 in length and they were conducted during a five-week

period The interviews were semi-structured guided by an interview guide without following

it in detail which creates room for flexibility This ensured both consistency between the

interviews and individual variations depending on the interviewee (Turner 2010755) The

interview guide had open-ended questions and covered three main themes (political

background identity emotions) Some questions related to relevant concepts for example they

were asked ldquoIn your perspective what is an allyrdquo The purpose was not to evaluate the

participants academic understanding of the term but to have them reflect upon their own

perceptions and thereby gain insight into their political thinking and its effect on their ally role

Other questions were about experiences such as ldquoCould you tell me about your participation in

the BLM movementrdquo and ldquoWhat emotional responses did you have when this happenedrdquo

Some parts of the interview focused on the BLM movement specifically but since the antiracist

ally identity was often developed before BLM started it also included more general experiences

of antiracist allyship At the end of each interview the participants were given a chance discuss

things important to them The limitation of interview data is that it is not a representation of the

world lsquoout therersquo but only a representation of how the interviewees describe their experiences

and these can be shaped by indefinite number of things beyond the scope of this thesis

22

All interviews were digitally conducted Although digital interviewing is often presented as a

second choice there are benefits to it For example Howlett (20217-8) noticed how the safe

environment of the home made the participants more relaxed and that the interviews also tended

to be both longer and richer in detail than offline interviews One could however imagine how

the opposite effect could occur if the home environment is unsafe or unfit for long

conversations The interviews took place more than a year into the pandemic and people were

thus more familiar with digital communication technologies than they were in the beginning

(ibid10) The pandemic was topic for small talk before the interviews started and our shared

experience with it created some sense of commonality and a relaxed atmosphere where potential

technical issues or disturbances were met with recognition from the other party Despite the

surprisingly positive experience with digital interviewing and as well as the rich data gathered

it is still important to recognize how the quality could have been even better with physical

interviews

The interviews were all conducted on Zoom and recorded in the software The interviews were

transcribed in full verbatim meaning that false starters stutters laughter and pauses were

included Such utterances are clues to how the participants feel about what they are telling and

should be treated as data

42 Sample

The sampling for this study is based on one inclusion criterion motivated by the purpose of the

study the criterion being White ally identification (Creswell amp Poth 201881 157) To base

the inclusion criterion on self-identification could potentially lead to low validity in terms of

not achieving a sample that represents the group one wishes to study by excluding those who

engage in ally work without identifying as such To ensure that the people included in the study

were lsquorealrsquo allies the criterion could have been having a certain amount of experience from ally

work or similar However this was a methodological choice motivated by reflections by

Craddock (2019) who studied activism Craddock learned that including the term activist in

her participant letter excluded people who - despite being very active - did not dare to call

themselves activists due to the high standard of what lsquorealrsquo activism is Especially women feel

that they cannot live up to the ideal and therefore they do not recognize their own activist

identity (Craddock 2019138-42) Therefore anyone who identified as an ally was allowed to

participate without evaluating or judging their level of participants

23

The sampling method was mixed consisting of convenience sampling and snowball sampling

(Creswell amp Poth 2018159) First an email was sent to the Swedish BLM organizationrsquos

official email telling them about the study and asking if they had any recommendations of

where participants could be found This email got no response Different Facebook groups were

chosen as lsquofieldsrsquo to sample in Personal acquaintances were also asked to participate The

choice of Facebook groups related to both convenience and lack of access to physical fields to

sample in and because much of the activism related to BLM took place online The Facebook

groups were all limited demographically (open only for women and non-binary people) and

they all had explicit value-systems with feminist anti-racist intersectional orientations Some

groups were simple support-and-chat groups some had a more political purpose (without party

connections) One participant was found in the comments section on a Facebook page that

relates to antiracism and contacted from there and a few were snowball sampled Recruiting

participants in online forums creates a problematic balance between transparency and

anonymity if too detailed information about the specific sampling sites is revealed the

participants identities can be spoiled due to traceability Thus the names of these Facebook

groups or pages cannot be revealed The groups were known to me beforehand as I am myself

a member in them and therefore had access to the lsquofieldrsquo which reduced the time and effort

spent on sampling If this study were a netnography with digital data to analyze it would be

problematic because my interpretation would be tainted by my personal experiences in the

groups but since the data itself was not related to the specific groups or the participants activity

in these groups it is less problematic

This digital convenience sampling limits the groups included in the sampling frame which

creates a skewed sample in terms of for example gender The complementary snowball

sampling creates a similar problem with homogeneity because of the tendency of participants

to recommend people who are like themselves As a result people with academic backgrounds

in social sciences and humanities are overrepresented in this sample The first interviewee Lisa

works in the international aid sector and she put me in touch with some old classmates and

colleagues which contributed to the skewed sample However the sampling method does not

aim to reach a randomized sample that is representative of the Swedish population in general

but instead a purposeful selection of people with certain experiences (Creswell amp Poth

2018272)

The final sample included people of different genders (9 female 1 male and 1 non-binary)

ages (22-36) education (from high school diploma to MA-degrees) and occupation (traditional

24

working-class occupations or white-collar jobs) They lived in or originated from different parts

of Sweden with one currently living in South Africa They also had very different backgrounds

in regards of political engagement some of them had been organized voluntarily or

professionally in multiple movements and civil society organizations some are or have been

active in party politics and some had their political experience mainly in online discussions

43 Coding and analysis

After all interviews were transcribed the data was coded in Excel using the guidelines for

phenomenological analysis presented called horizonalization (Creswell amp Poth 2018201

Moustakas 1994118) Horizonalization means creating a broad base or platform of equally

important statements to capture the experiences of the participants In phenomenological

studies coding and analysis should preferably be inductive highlighting ldquosignificant

statements sentences and quotesrdquo (Creswell amp Poth 201879) instead of deductively trying to

apply hypotheses or theories onto the data

The coding followed the subsequent steps First each transcript was read one at a time and

important statements were added in a quote-column in Excel (see Image 1) Following the

quote-column were categorical columns based on different themes from the interviews The 12

categories were Background Activity in BLM Identity Role Pandemic Emotion Motivation

Introspection BLM organization Balance Problems and Other There was also a column for

especially good quotes which were marked with an lsquoxrsquo In each column (for example ldquoRolerdquo)

inductively created codes were entered An example can be seen in Image 1

The coding was kept close to the data and focus was to create codes that described the specifics

of each statement instead of keeping the number of codes down which created some overlap

Image 1 Visual representation of the coding strategy

After the 11 interviews were coded the data included 243 quotes in 12 categories In order to

structure the analysis according to relevant topics themes were created out of the codes based

on representativeness and uniqueness These themes provided the basis for the interpretation

25

and analysis For example the previously mentioned code ldquoNot surerdquo was grouped together

with the code ldquoDecided by othersrdquo (in the column ldquoRolerdquo) and analyzed together because they

were interpreted as expressions of the same phenomenon eg insecurity regarding what the

role should contain (Moustakas 1994118)

After the coding which is a big part of the analysis itself the most relevant and interesting

themes were further analyzed This was related to observed regularities in statements being

repeated among several participants and novelty or lsquosurprise factorrsquo Whereas the coding was

unrelated to any specific theory the deeper analysis of the different themes was done parallel

to exploring theory The theories came into the process at different stages Giddensrsquo theory of

modernity and ontological security was explored after the initial coding before starting the

writing process of the analysis based on the pattern of insecurity and reflexivity among the

participantsrsquo descriptions of how they make decisions on how to act as an ally Thereafter the

concept of situated knowledge was introduced after all material had initially been analyzed and

written down in a first draft and the recurring use of the term interpretation privilege

(tolkningsfoumlretraumlde) caught my interest The focus was therefore the themes related to

interpretation privilege and how the participants made sense of the term as well as the different

aspects they had to balance because of their emphasis on interpretation privilege in the final

analysis

44 Ethical considerations

Research should be guided by ethical principles to ensure the safety of the participants and the

quality of the research The most important aspects include consent confidentiality and

anonymity Informed consent means that the participant must be given full information about

what participation means and they must be given the chance to both give and withdraw their

consent during or after the interview The researcher must tell the truth about the purpose of the

study and the participant can choose to leave any unwanted questions unanswered

(Vetenskapsraringdet 201710 16) All participants were given a letter with information about the

study which was again repeated verbally right before the interview The second important

aspect confidentiality means that all information and data must be handled safely and not be

shared with unauthorized people (ibid40) The data was stored on a password protected

computer and no personal information was saved along with the transcripts And finally

anonymity means that the identity of the participants must be concealed for example by giving

26

them new names or changing identifying details in their statements (ibid13) Both of my

sampling methods (digital convenience and snowball) can threaten the anonymity of the

participants because they become traceable either to those who were lsquosnowballedrsquo into the study

or those who were found online (see chapter 42 Sample)

In more qualitative terms the researcher must make fair interpretations of the statements made

by participants and be transparent with how conclusions were made This ensures both

transparency in a scientific standpoint and the well-being of the participants (Vetenskapsraringdet

201710) Related to this it is important to recognize how the analysis may affect the

participants for example Creswell and Poth (2018228) argue that there is always a risk that

participants feel bothered by the way their statements have been interpreted in relation to theory

and previous research and especially in a sensitive topic such as politics identity and emotions

In order to minimize this risk the interpretations will both be rooted in theory and previous

research and include alternative evidence and interpretations

45 Methodological reflexivity

Reflexivity requires researchers to be aware of and transparent about their own biases in their

interpretations as well as scrutinizing their power in relation to the research participants

(Creswell amp Poth 2018201 228) Besides the inherent power in the relation between

researcher and participants no specific power dynamics existed in this study The researcher

must reflect upon their own position (gender class race and similar) and how it affects the

way the research is conducted and how the results are interpreted (ibid228) Being reflexive

thus becomes a way to increase validity by clarifying where researcher bias may have affected

the results (ibid261) Evidence that contradicts the arguments made in the analysis has been

included to avoid bias The idea of researcher reflexivity builds on the epistemological approach

of social constructivism where knowledge is not seen as a neutral or objective but a subjective

socially embedded practice shaped by the lived experience of the author and the participants It

also means that self-criticism and self-consciousness is crucial aspects of qualitative

interpretive research (Lynch 200029-36)

According to Moustakas (1994103-4) reflexivity should guide every step in the

phenomenological research project including choice of topic it must have autobiographical

relevance to the researcher who must be genuinely curious and passionate about the

phenomenon ndash and of course be transparent about these motives The choice of BLM as an

27

empirical example in this study was based on my own experiences from the spring of 2020 I

was just as my respondents and many others very moved by the events that transpired and I

did too participate in some online actions such as checking myself into the US Ambassy on

Facebook to show my support of the movement I followed the news and read everything I

found on social media out of both political sympathy and sociological fascination I wanted to

know more about why the activism looked like it did and how others felt about being part of

it Being able to be fascinated in times of collective grief and trauma for Black people is of

course a privilege that I am aware of I can afford to be distanced towards and critical of the

antiracist movement and how it does or does not invite people to engage themselves in it

because my survival or well-being does not depend on it I aim to be respectful in my

interpretations and descriptions of the movement and its participants

46 Limitations

Instead of aiming to evaluate qualitative research by the same criteria as quantitative studies

there are adjusted validation practices for the specific approach of the study To assure good

quality for qualitative phenomenological studies phenomenological concepts should be used

properly understood and recommended methods should be followed Besides from engaging

in reflexive analysis it is also important to offer descriptive richness and interpretive depth

(Creswell amp Poth 2018272-82) There are also different validation strategies for qualitative

research The researcher can use triangulation to strengthen the stability of the results identify

disconfirming cases and clarify researcher reflexivity (ibid260-1) Member checking and

collaborating with participants can also strengthen the validity (ibid162 Arribas Lozano

2018455-6) All participants were informed of their right to see the transcripts and the analysis

if they wished but they were not contacted with the explicit purpose of checking the finished

results due to time Another aspect is reliability meaning how robust the results of the study

would be if someone else replicated the study (Creswell amp Poth 2018164-5) In the case of

qualitative studies where the researcher is intertwined with the interpretations the probability

of someone else reaching the exact same result is small but thick descriptions of methodology

and the data increases reliability somewhat The generalizability of qualitative studies is often

low and especially so when the sample is skewed The results of this study should be considered

valid only for the group studied since the results could have been different with different

28

representations of gender or class for example However with a purposeful sample of people

with a certain experience the goal is not generalizability beyond the group

Another potential issue is the fact that the quotes from the interviews included in this thesis

have been translated from Swedish to English which means that there is a risk that some of the

core meanings of the quotes may have been spoiled or changed However the analysis was

done on the Swedish transcripts making sure the interpretations were made on the original

material Thus the problem of translating quotes is mainly a problem of communicating the

results to the reader in the same form they appeared in the analysis process of the original

material

5 Results and analysis

As explained in the methods section (43 Coding and analysis) the analysis was gradually

turning toward the themes of a) interpretation privilege and b) how the notion of interpretation

privilege affects the leeway for action These themes will be the focus of the analysis which

will show that although the allies experience their allyship as important and meaningful they

sometimes struggle to find a path for themselves in their attempt to be lsquogoodrsquo allies Their

commitment to respecting interpretation privilege helps them live up the to the ally role as

supporters of Black people in general but it limits the leeway in which they are able to act

independently as political agents But first some general findings on how the allies think about

their role will be presented which primarily relates to the first research question about the

experiences of ally work

The overall experience of allyship is that the ally identity is surrounded by purpose community

and positive experiences They are all highly committed to and well-educated about the cause

Being part of the movement feels meaningful and even like rdquoa privilege to be able to be a part

of it and listen and learnrdquo as Lisa says She describes her emotional experiences

First there was a lot of frustration I think And then there was this powerfulhellip

some kind of like rsquowowrsquo there were a lot of chills there for a while [laughs]

because people really came together

29

Sam shares the experience of initial frustration and pain They describe the feeling when their

frustration and anger transformed into hope like ldquofree fallingrdquo ndash the realization that they were a

part of a group with so many sympathizers made it feel like change was possible

Most ally work was performed online and consisted of acts such as sharing information

knowledge and opinions participating in online seminars and meetings signing petitions and

lsquochecking inrsquo at the US Embassy in Stockholm on Facebook as part of a global protest act To

signal their support for the movement they occasionally used hashtags such as

blacklivesmatter and blackouttuesday All participants got most of their information from

social media in line with the general trend in contemporary activism (Ahmed et al 2017447

Heldman 201788) Previous research emphasizes the important role of emotions in social

movement mobilization and all participants in this study recognized how constant access to

heartbreaking stories virtual proof of mistreatment and a global sense of community provided

by social media motivated them to act (see for example Russo 2014)

Some interviewees also participated outside of social media by attending physical

demonstrations (Sam Sara and Emma) It is impossible to say how many of the interviewees

would have attended had there not been a global pandemic However as digital activism has

become dominating in contemporary social movements (Jaumlmte et al 2020371-2) the low rate

of physical protest among the participants in this study should not be attributed to the pandemic

alone For example Lucas says he has not been to as many demonstrations over the last years

as he would have wanted because of work and other circumstances Amanda says she has

always seen herself as an activist as someone who does what otherrsquos lacks the energy or

resources to do but that she is ldquonot the person who attends demos you knowrdquo And Caroline

who is involved in several organizations besides her antiracist engagement even experiences

that the pandemic has made participation easier for her since it can now be done from home ndash

a point Alva agrees with as she experiences difficulties joining offline protests due to physical

illness Thus the effects of the Covid pandemic are not exclusively negative and limiting Apart

from the different demonstrations the allies also emphasized how implementing antiracist ideas

into their everyday behavior and their professional lives is crucial to be a good ally

The main motivator for their allyship is the notion of privilege All interviewees refer to

themselves as White and relate it to privilege an increasingly common tendency and a

prerequisite for antiracist commitment among Whites (Cole 20201627 Spanierman amp Smith

2017608-9) Lisa describes herself as a ldquoprivileged White woman raised in a middle-class

homerdquo and she says that she faced few obstacles growing up and Sam argues that their White

30

identity gives them platforms and privileges many Black people lack Therefore they use their

social media to amplify the voices of Black people sharing their voices stories and

perspectives Amplifying voices of marginalized groups has been recognized in research as one

of the main tasks for allies (Arora amp Stout 2019390 Bhattacharyya et al 202012 Clark

2019528-31)

The argument of amplifying Black voices as a way to utilize onersquos privilege is twofold First

the participants see their privilege as an opportunity to reach out to fellow Whites who they

expect will listen more to their White counterparts than they would to a Black person which is

confirmed in previous research (see for example Arora amp Stout 2019 Linder amp Johnson 2015)

For example Lucas says

Us Whites who are not affected by racism we have to stand up and show that itrsquos

not OK to spread racism If we donrsquot therersquoll never be any change because

sometimes it feels like people listen more to [hellip] a White person confirming that

what a Black person says is true

Sam shares this reasoning and they actively try to reach people with ldquodeeply racist prejudicerdquo

who would ldquonever listen to a Black personrdquo According to Haraway (1988577) subjugated

groups are deprived the privilege of assumed objectivity and reduced to their position as

inherently linked to and epistemologically limited by their social position in a way the dominant

groups are not Subjugated knowledge must always be fought for in terms of recognition

(Collins 1990414) and the allies in this study is dedicated to doing so in order to reduce the

impact of their own privilege and increase the outreach of Black people Katrin recognizes how

this process of validation of knowledge based on power is an unequal process where Black

people are seen as unreliable because they are ldquoacting out of self-interestrdquo whereas White

people are assigned more credibility Recognizing these mechanisms does not mean that the

interviewees accept them they use words such as ldquoterriblerdquo and ldquodisgustingrdquo to describe the

phenomenon and they feel both guilty about having these privileges and motivated to use them

for good which has been recognized as a potential effect of guilt in previous research (Dull et

al 20211081-84) However acknowledging this epistemic hierarchy is not an automatic

renouncing of privilege but can instead reinforce racist structures by assuming the assigned

value of White knowledge is higher and thus seeing the role of White allies as more important

than that of Black people in fighting racism (see Collins 1009)

31

The second aspect of White privilege in antiracist activism is as recognized by the interviewees

the fact that the costs of engaging are much lower for White people than they are for Black

simply because one does not risk facing racism as a response to speaking up (Drury amp Kaiser

2014642) For example Sam says they saw their ability to participate in the demonstration as

a privilege ndash not everyone can be sure to get home safe if they choose to attend a demo due to

the potential threat of police harassment or counter-protestors These costs are further lowered

by the fact that most ally work is done online Sara for example says that it enables her to

ldquotake the fightrdquo without ending up in situations too uncomfortable or even dangerous

Essentially the privilege of being listened to and the lower cost of speaking up for White allies

motivates specific responsibilities assigned to ally work but it also risks reproducing racist

hierarchies by assigning White knowledge higher value The remainder of the analysis will

focus on how these responsibilities are put into practice and what may limit the allies in their

attempts to do ally work

51 Balancing ally work

Related to the second research question is to what extent the allies feel like they are entitled to

act in the movement and this following section aims to show what different aspects affect this

perception Based on the ideas about privilege and responsibility the difficulties in balancing

different strategies of ally work will now be analyzed Although it may seem self-explanatory

what allies should do based on the previous section ndash use their privilege to raise their voices

against racist discrimination ndash the experiences of the interviewed allies shows that it is more

complicated than at first glance They must balance different strategies which can be defined

as following

A Listen but do not exploit

B Help but do not hijack

C Step down but do not become paralyzed

These three points represent how different ally assignments presented by the interviewees are

at some point met with objections or disclaimers There are a multitude of examples in the

interviews but the above-mentioned strategies are the most representative and common For

analytical and stylistic purposes they will be presented in a step-by-step form but they should

not be understood as linear or causal The relationship between these aspects is much more

32

complicated which the analysis aims to demonstrate Before analyzing these three strategies

the concept that serves as an implicit (sometimes explicit) point of departure for most decisions

by the allies should be accounted for namely the concept of interpretation privilege

511 Interpretation privilege

In all interviews there is an assumption about what kind of knowledge is legitimate knowledge

and interpretations based on interpretation privilege (tolkningsfoumlretraumlde in Swedish) 9 of the

11 interviewees explicitly mention the term but the theme is discussed in all interviews This

means that despite their academic degrees years of professional experience in human rights

work or their genuine interest for social justice issues the interviewees recognize how their

lack of lived experience reduces their ability to fully understand the issue of racism The idea

of interpretation privilege is interpreted here as a translation of ideas about situated knowledge

(Collins 1990408) lived experience (Voronka 2016194) and power into everyday political

lingo This idea is expressed continuously throughout the interviews as a part of their political

reasoning and it guides how they relate to their role as allies Katrin explains

It is not the same thing to understand racism by reading about it or by seeing or

hearing about othersrsquo experiences as it is to carry it in the body It will never be

possible for me to understand that

Interpretation privilege then helps allies understand and accept their own inability to fully

comprehend racism and it creates respect towards the testimonies made by people who

experiences racism However knowing that one lacks access to a full understanding also

contributes to self-doubt about the ally role and the work associated with it Caroline who

studies to become a psychologist tells me she has some concerns about being a White

psychologist treating Black patients Her professors claim psychologists do not need to share

the patientsrsquo experiences but Caroline is doubtful

ldquoI as a White person will never be able to fully understand being constantly

vigilant as a Black person in Sweden not knowing what the day will be like to

constantly be exposed to microaggressions and discrimination and even worse

abuse every dayhelliprdquo

Accepting interpretation privilege as the fact that if one is not exposed to racism one will never

know exactly what it feels like is empathetic and sensitive to the lived experience of Black

33

people It means respecting the ways Black people make sense of and deal with their own

experiences of oppression without claiming to know better However for the participants in

this study it often leads them to disregard all kinds of personal opinions thoughts or ideas

about what racism is and what should be done about it simply because they lack lived

experience of racism The participants sometimes struggle to balance their own knowledge

against the opinions and experiences of Black people Caroline again

Itrsquos this thing about interpreting different actions ndash is this a racist action or not

Well thatrsquos not up to me [hellip] And I think that interpretation privilege in general

in social media too that you just donrsquot go in and interpret what is right and wrong

Here the lack of interpretation privilege disqualifies Caroline from even deciding whether she

finds something right or wrong although such judgements are foundational in political thinking

Interpretation privilege also decides the legitimacy of actions according to Sara she argues

that whereas it is the job of White allies to speak up against other Whites the meaning of the

action is not the same as if a Black person would do it Essentially if a White ally wants to

stand up against racism it should be with a disclaimer

I think it is important to be like lsquothis is my understanding of it but I donrsquot have

interpretation privilegersquo just to create some awareness that I donrsquot have any

right to think anything - Emma

Some participants strip themselves of their agency by retreating to the idea that their

perspectives thoughts and ideas do not matter Lisa tells me that she sometimes censors herself

by not posting or sharing certain things because she feels like she has too little knowledge She

also stays out of debates she is interested in because she ldquodoes not feel [she] has the right to say

something or make a statement in these issuesrdquo Another example of how allies renounce their

political agency can be represented by Sara who tells me that when she saw my participant

message she was concerned that I searched for lsquoself-identified alliesrsquo In her perspective the

label lsquoallyrsquo is not something that one can claim independently one must earn it by being

recognized as such by a Black person Zhelnina (2020361) points to the importance of activists

growing independence emotional confidence and autonomy in their political interpretations

for a movement to successfully mobilize and in a discourse where one does not even possess

the right to claim allyship to a political movement this type of independence and confidence

may be difficult to develop

34

Another important aspect is the conflict that arises when people with interpretation privilege

disagree within the group Lucas says he has met Black people who defend the right to use

racial slurs That does not mean he accept this as true and uses these words himself but he

acknowledges that these situations could be problematic The multitude of perspectives to

consider especially considering the global character of the movement and its social media

presence it becomes difficult to decide what to believe in And when those who have been

assigned authority in this case Black people with interpretation privilege it becomes even

harder The reflexive globalized world with endless sources of information with sometimes

contradictory messages makes it hard to navigate (Giddens 1991138) This problem also

relates to what Voronka (2016196) described as essentialist tendencies when using the concept

of lived experience as a criterion for inclusion With social media where almost unlimited

information is always accessible to the individual the effort to develop independent

interpretations becomes unnecessary and in the case of the White allies insensitive

However it should be noted that although the idea of interpretation privilege is present in all

interviews the participants are also aware that other types of knowledge such as skills from

previous experience in social movements or academic judicial or general professional

knowledge is important Many of them say that they do feel confident of the practical abilities

they have built up over many years of activism and civil society work and Alva among others

points to how she would like to take on the role of fixing practical organizational tasks for the

BLM movement if she were to become more involved in the future Thus there is no validity

in claiming that the interviewees lack all sorts of self-esteem in their ally identity and that they

completely disregard other types of knowledge as Lucas says ldquointerpretation privilege is not

everythingrdquo Still statements such as ldquoI donrsquot have any right to think anythingrdquo or rdquoItrsquos this

thing about interpreting actions ndash is this racist or not Well thatrsquos not up to merdquo are common

in the interviews Although many of the participants can be interpreted as having ontological

security in terms of knowing what they are good at they cannot translate this into a practical

consciousness that guides their actions in a natural manner which creates ontological insecurity

and passivity (Giddens 199144) This relates to findings about lack of lived experience as

leading to potential insensitivity to discrimination which the interviewees recognize in

themselves (Drury amp Kaiser 2014369-42) In theories of situated knowledge it is emphasized

how a multitude of perspectives is needed and that subjugated groups do not have natural access

to hidden truths (Haraway 1988583-6 Young 199027) The disregarding of White ally

perspectives due to lack of lived experience is thus not inherent in the theories themselves but

35

rather something that seems to occur along the popularized interpretation of the term as it is

translated into everyday political lingo as interpretation privilege

So in navigating what to do as an ally while being committed to the idea of interpretation

privilege the first strategy for good ally work is formulated listening

512 Listen but do not exploit

So drawing upon the notion of interpretation privilege the appropriate way to consume

information about racial issues and determining what to do is by listening to Black people

Listening itself becomes not only a way to retrieve information and insight but a political

practice that reflects power structures and identity It becomes a way to renounce onersquos owns

privilege and instead assigning the power of being heard to others (see Collins 1990 Haraway

1988 Young 2004) Sam explains

I as a White person will never be able to sit there and decide what is right and

wrong when it comes to Black experiences or just non-White experiences Irsquove got

nothing to say about that I know nothing about it I just donrsquot What I can do is

listen and learn and I need to take the initiative as a student in this subject

Listening and taking a step back represents successful allyship according to Lucas because it

means both getting access to the right information and showing emotional support and respect

for people exposed to racism Listening is a powerful way to use onersquos White privilege

respecting the interpretation privilege of Black people and redirecting some of the privilege

and power associated to onersquos whiteness to Black people which is one of the main assignments

of allies (Brown amp Ostrove 20132211) But apart from being a virtuous alternative strategy

for allies it is also a relatively effortless option compared to other types of activism such as

participating in demonstrations Effective unproblematic and ideologically right a seemingly

perfect strategy to apply as a White ally

However it is not that simple listening is not only an act of rejecting the power associated to

onersquos racial identity but also hauntingly close to exploitation of Black experience according

to the interviewees The problem of freeriding and exploiting or capitalizing on the stories of

subjugated groups has been acknowledged in previous research on allyship (Clark 2019530

Linder amp Johnson 20159) For example Lisa argues that White people should be careful

36

talking about racism as if they could understand it and instead listen to what Black people say

- but at the same time she says it quickly becomes counterproductive

Black Swedes are not supposed to have to educate me about the racism they

experience because in that case what do I really demand from a Black person

Lou has the same idea and she tells me about how she used to ask her Black partner many

lsquodumbrsquo questions but that she realized that this means that she puts the burden of educating her

on him Sara avoids asking her Black friends about how she as a White ally can help because

that puts too much responsibility on those Black friends Amanda tells me she is after having

listened to one of the biggest antiracist podcasts Raseriet afraid of being one of lsquothose White

peoplersquo who demand to be taught about racism from Black people After all they all agree that

racism is a problem White people created and a problem for White people to solve ndash the

responsibility should not land on Black people As Emma says

Itrsquos essentially White peoplersquos problem itrsquos White people who built the structures

we are protesting [hellip] Itrsquos not Black people who are supposed to stand there and

scream their lungs out about Black Lives Matter but itrsquos about White people

needing to get together and saying like lsquonow we have to fix this because we

created itrsquo

So while trying to balance interpretation privilege the participants easily stumble into another

pitfall Listening as ally work increases the risk of becoming a burden on Black people by

depending on them for education explanations and guidance and exploiting their knowledge

and lived experience for self-improvement which also reinforces racist structures Black people

are implicitly seen as political objects rather than subjects inevitably crushed under the pressure

of White questions and demands and in need of White protection The point of allyship is to

make life and activism easier for Black people not the other way around which brings us to

another strategy of allyship to balance helping

513 Help but do not hijack

Based on the idea that listening as political practice can become exploitative and freeriding the

allies land in the conclusion that helping is the main assignment for allies They motivate this

by referring to their own privileges However as this section will show helping as a political

practice is also surrounded by potential problems

37

The idea of helping as ally work relates again to the idea that the costs of confronting racism is

lower for White people than for Black people (Drury amp Kaiser 2014642) as well as the

realization that White people are granted more respect and legitimacy when advocating for

antiracist causes (Arora amp Stout 2019390) Helping consists of claiming co-responsibility of

changing society protecting Black people from painful experiences and deal with the racism

of White people For example if an ally hears someone being racist they must speak up Sara

tries to do so because she does not want to add to any Black personrsquos burden of having to take

every fight themselves Emma argues that it is not Black peoplersquos responsibility to keep the

movement alive and therefore it is important that White people speak up She thinks ldquoit feels

stupid if White people would just sit around and wait for initiatives cause then you donrsquot do

anything goodrdquo If Black people are left alone with total responsibility of changing institutions

and organizations in Loursquos experience that usually puts Black people in situations where the

risk of being exposed to racism is high and without the support system of allies to help

Although all interviewees describe different ways of helping and supporting Black people and

the BLM movement as a main task for allies such statements are often followed by a disclaimer

For example they say ldquoitrsquos this balance that you being White shouldnrsquot go in and take overrdquo

(Emma) and ldquoWe should support we should be there we should recognize and lift the issues

But we should not be the main actorsrdquo (Alva) One of the most common phrases in the

interviews were lsquothat is not my placersquo This reasoning is present regardless of what types of

actions the interviewees talk about both high-level activism in formal organizations or

representing the movement in media and everyday civil courage such as speaking up against

racist comments in the workplace Sara adds to her statement about wanting to speak up to help

Black people saying that she ldquoalso has to leave room for Black people to act and not trying to

be like lsquoI know best now so let me explain racismrsquordquo Amanda shares similar thoughts saying

Itrsquos important that this can be a movement that Black people own themselves and

that itrsquos not something us White people can just barge into and take over Itrsquos a

balancing between goodwill and wanting to help and to not barge in and be like

lsquoThis is what racism isrsquo

Amanda has worked in organizations who educate people in moral courage and antiracism for

a few years and she has much experience in this type of political work But when she is

contacted in her role as an antiracist educator and asked to hold a course in a workplace she

doubts herself She feels that she must lsquowarnrsquo them about her whiteness ldquoI have to start by

38

saying that Irsquom White Irsquoll never be able to talk about racism like a Black person couldrdquo During

spring of 2020 she started to think about her role again she tells me She concluded that ldquothis

is not my place this organization is not my place but I could do activism in other waysrdquo In

most interviews there are similar reasonings for example Bea explains how she is not against

White people organizing against racism but that she

would not be very comfortable doing it or starting an appeal or initiative like

lsquoWhites in support for Black Lives Matterrsquo because thatrsquos nothellip thatrsquos claiming

space and attention

Katrin said that she in her work at an equality foundation had to weigh her wish to do

something against the risk of ldquotaking over a voice that was just starting to build uprdquo and Lou

who works in HR criticizes her own attempts to implement antiracist ideas at her workplace

because she doubts if she has any right to ldquoclaim that we have to work with so-called diversity

issuesrdquo or ldquobe that voice in a White roomrdquo Emma mentions ldquosupporting without taking overrdquo

as the most important aspect of ally work This is an important part of allyship being

supportive standing by Black peoplersquos side acknowledging oppression raising the issues but

without being the protagonists of the movement as Alva explains Lisa agrees she asks herself

rdquoIs this my space to claim I donrsquot know am I supposed to march in the frontline when it comes

to this issue like Irsquom not so sure about thatrdquo In these statements it is implicitly assumed that

if Whites wanted to take over from Black people they easily could (even unconsciously) and

this implies Black people are less resilient as political actors

These arguments are often motivated by their own experiences with men taking space in

feminist movements They think about the way they want men to act and applies the same

reasoning to their own allyship

If this was about feminism and there was a dude telling me this or doing this that

Irsquom talking about now [taking over authorrsquos note] how would I react then [hellip]

I find it odd when female feminists feel like they have to pay tribute to and psyche

up male feminists I donrsquot think male feminists should need that And I feel the

same way about like Black people shouldnrsquot have to care about me at all it may

sound weird but I donrsquot do it for them itrsquos other Whites I want to affect ndash Katrin

Allies often use their own identities and social positions to understand other types of oppression

and although it seems to function as a source of empathy and compassion for the other group

as well as regulating ones ally behavior it is important to acknowledge that lived experience of

39

sexism does not mean inevitable understanding of experiences of racism (Spanierman amp Smith

2017608-10) which the allies mention themselves

This section shows that the strategy of helping is not as straight-forward and easily managed as

first described but instead associated with a big risk lsquoWhat if I take over What does it say

about me if I dordquo They engage in reflexive identity construction without being ontologically

secure eg without having a ldquopractical consciousnessrdquo or ldquonatural attituderdquo that guides how to

act This creates anxiety and fear of doing and thus being wrong (Giddens 199136) All

participants agree that although allies are important in creating change the movement is and

should be a Black space Although they are confident in these believes and dedicated to living

up to these ideals they are still afraid of unintentionally taking over or hijacking the movement

despite their wish to simply help and support the movement from the background To minimize

the risk of being one of those White allies who barges in and takes over the allies make sure to

balance this by taking a step back and leaving room for Black people to lead the way

514 Take a step back but do not become paralyzed

The choice to take a step back following the alliesrsquo reasoning about claiming space and taking

over means that they are more and more evolving toward a state of allyship where few actions

are legitimate and unproblematic This can be interpreted as a sign that the strategies described

previously (listening and helping) are not part of the alliesrsquo practical consciousness and that

engaging in such ally work is experienced as difficult and frightening due to ontological

insecurity This often leads to passivity (Giddens 199144) Taking a step back is described as

lsquoleaving room forrsquo Black people and it consists of listening (which as previous sections of the

analysis show is not seen as entirely unproblematic) and sharing the perspectives of Black

people for example in social media but without claiming a frontline position in the movement

These are two strategies that reduces the influence of White voices on the antiracist discourse

Taking a step back and leaving room for Black people is a way to denounce the privilege of

being listened to (Arora amp Stout 2019294-5) and reducing the power gap between dominant

and subjugated groups in terms of knowledge production (Collins 1990408)

However the interviewees testify to how the strategy to take a step back is often (but not

always) a shortcut to passivity Katrin who works in an equality foundation dealing with issues

of sexism and racism tells me what happened in her organization when choosing the take-a-

step-back approach by sharing articles Instagram posts and other materials created by Black

40

people and thus engaging in amplification of Black voices (Clark 2019528-31) They were

later criticized for ldquonot doing more not talking about it more screaming more sharing

morehelliprdquo They tried to do the right thing but failed Katrin wonders if they should have done

something of their own something bigger while also acknowledging how it would be

problematic of them to claim the spotlight

The allies worry about their own tendencies to become passive because of trying to navigate

among the different strategies Katrin explains this mechanism as a process where learning

about privilege and power creates an insight of onersquos own role in this power structure

ldquoYou realize that lsquoI have power I have responsibility and I do not have

interpretation privilegersquo and that makes you so scared to do anything wrong that

you end up doing nothing at allrdquo

She describes the insights as ldquoparalyzingrdquo and this experience is shared by more of the

interviewees and found in previous research (Brown amp Ostrove 20132220) Emma says that

it is a complex question that she thinks about a lot and that she has not yet landed in any

conclusions about what she should be doing as an ally but she knows that she must avoid

becoming paralyzed However it could be reflexivity itself that leads to such passivity

(Giddens 199144) Political background does not affect this mechanism as it is observed in

those with no prior experience as well as those with years of activism In some ways having

more prior experience can even make it harder to navigate the ally role because the roles

previously taken are no longer open to you as White Alva explains

Irsquom so used to being in the front and in the middle and being in the back is not

really like how I have been engaged before Irsquom not really used to it and to have

my role defined as being in the backseat in the back of the bus as Whitehellip [hellip] I

havenrsquot done that before And Irsquove struggled to find my role ndash what can I do

Cause I feel my hands are tied behind my back a little I would love to do more but

at the same time my interest cannot decide what the main issue should be Itrsquos all

about knowing your role and your place and being very sensitive to when people

tell you to back away or step up

At the end of each interview they were asked What would you like to see for the movement in

the future I got many analytical answers but some responded by saying like Alva ldquoItrsquos hard

for me to answer because Irsquom White I donrsquot know what needs to be focused on right now and

Irsquom not the right person to askrdquo Lisa says rdquoI donrsquot feel I have the right to speak on this or like

41

debate this issuerdquo Amanda does not answer the question either and refers to how it would be

inappropriate for her to try to decide what the movement should be about Interestingly she

notices how this perspective is only present in her relation to antiracism as she has worked for

LGBTQ-rights for years despite identifying as straight She cannot point out what is different

when it comes to antiracism but she feels there is a difference The uncertainty of knowing

what to do risks leading to passivity

ldquoItrsquos like Irsquove come tohellip Not a stop but a landmark and itrsquos like I canrsquot get

further than that because I donrsquot know what to do Irsquom sure there are things I

could do and a role for me to take on but I canrsquot find it right nowrdquo - Alva

Again the interviewees are aware of the paralyzing effect of their strategies and Lou claims

that she knows that she is overthinking it

When I discuss this with people who are exposed to racism I sometimes get the

feeling that theyrsquore like lsquowe donrsquot care who does it somebody just do itrsquo There

is a need for antiracist work to be done [hellip] So I think that itrsquos easy to fall into

some kind of paralyzed state that doesnrsquot help anybody

The assumption of passivity among contemporary activists can be considered mainstream in

the social movement field Youths of Western democracies are less engaged in any kind of

traditional political involvement such as voting political party membership or other

associational activities (Amnaring amp Ekman 20136) Often this decline in political activity is

attributed to the growing prevalence of digital methods instead of more traditional physical

methods because it gives people an undeserved sense of accomplishment (Skoric 201277) and

a false idea of what activism is efficient (Morozov 200913) Although the majority of the

intervieweesrsquo activism consisted of digital participation and digital participation only it would

be unfair to claim that it is out of a sense of undeserving feeling of accomplishment that they

stopped at digital methods Quite opposite to the conclusions made by Skoric and Morozov of

the self-absorbed slacktivist the interviewees are far from happy with their contributions to the

movement Digital activism is associated with laziness slack and performative allyship by the

interviewees and they usually do not value digital activism as high as physical engagement

For example Lisa says she feels a bit ashamed of being more of a ldquokeyboard activist than a real

activistrdquo and Amanda shares similar thoughts about her own participation

42

When I posted the image I felt like lsquoIrsquom so fucking lame for doing only thisrsquo

[laughs] I didnrsquot really think of it as an activist action because it was so easy

Thus the emotional experience relates to feeling ashamed which under specific circumstances

and motivate action ndash but often it leads to passivity (Dull et al 20211081-84 Zhelnina

2020361) When Emma describes how accessible online activism is she presents a scenario

where someone can ldquosit at home in the couch and watch a movie and at the same time just log

into social media and protestrdquo Bea even laughs while telling me that she ldquothinks she shared a

black square on Instagram like everyone elserdquo Accessibility is not an indicator of democratic

or inclusive value but quality and it seems like the easier it is the lower it is valued by the

allies Comparing to the study by Russo (2014) where the allies put themselves through

physical challenges to demonstrate their allyship the digital form of ally work is interpreted as

a lower form of activism and is surrounded by feelings of inadequacy and shame Although the

reasons for why many of them stopped at digital activism varies none of them did it out of

satisfaction or laziness In the cases where physical limitations the pandemic or lack of protests

in onersquos hometown was not the reason it was rooted in an insecurity about what to do as an

ally Digital methods were perceived as a safer option in a context where almost all other types

of White participation are criticized and the potential pain of being called out as a bad ally is

perceived to be lower in the digital realm than it would be in other contexts

As this section shows the allies handle the potential risk of hijacking the movement by taking

a step back to leave room for Black people to define shape and ultimately run the movement

themselves However this strategy creates its own problems there is an imminent risk of

becoming passive So when listening does not work because of the risk of freeriding and

exploiting Black experiences and actively helping to relieve Black people of the burden to

overthrow systemic racism is deemed inappropriate because it includes a risk of hijacking the

movement and stepping back is ruled out because it leads to passivity ndash what remains

515 Do good but not for the wrong reasons Introspection

In line with previous research and theory introspection of different kinds is often discussed as

an important ally assignment (Drury amp Kaiser 2014638 Kauffman 200124 29-32) Without

introspection the quality of allyship risks becoming deficient because without being aware of

onersquos privilege as well as guilt allyship easily slips into paternalistic behavior (Cole

20201267 Spanierman amp Smith 609-10) Introspection is described in terms of ldquochecking

43

myselfrdquo (Sam) ldquotake a step back and acknowledge that I am part of a racist systemrdquo (Lisa) and

being ldquohumble to the fact that you are part the structurerdquo (Caroline) All interviewees express

the idea that one cannot be a good ally or contribute to positive change without first having

engaged in introspection in different ways

I think one of the most important things is to understand your own whiteness It

sounds kind of ego and self-centered but I think that you canrsquot be an ally

otherwise ever if you donrsquot see your own privilege [hellip] Otherwise you end up

balancing the line between racism and antiracism and that line is thinner than

you think - Lou

This imagined thin line between antiracism and racism concerns many interviewees Lisa

Lucas and Emma also see the risk of falling into racist behavior as big and that they must start

by recognizing this risk to avoid it Amanda says that she knows that she eventually will do

something racist but that she tries not to fear it because ldquoself-criticism can create fear often

therersquos a fear of saying or doing the wrong thing which makes people afraid to be alliedrdquo which

creates passivity Sam calls self-reflection and rdquochecking themselvesrdquo their most important job

and claims that if their aim was to destroy racism that would indicate that they thought of

themselves as bias-free which they are not Lucas also recognizes his own prejudice and says

it is part of his ally work to try to diminish these biases The potential for racist behavior is both

ascribed to being raised in a racist system and to White identity Amanda attributes her future

racist actions to her whiteness explicitly and Caroline argues that all White people are capable

of racist actions regardless of intent lsquowokenessrsquo and knowledge and she knows that she will

at some point act racist despite her devotion to antiracism and her love for her Black partner

All these considerations are part of the reflexive process that is self-identity constantly

scrutinizing oneself and navigating around different actions to act in line with self-identity

(Giddens 199175) When the stakes are as high as they are for White allies ndash they risk acting

and thus being racist if they do not engage in enough introspection The room for action

becomes further limited

In relation to the digital realm where most ally work took place introspection also becomes

about motivations The main concern for the interviewees was whether or not they should use

their social media platforms for ally work at all since digital methods are sometimes frowned

upon for being shallow and too simple Despite this all of them did some type of digital ally

work When I asked those who shared the black square on Instagram why some of them

44

laughed and said that they did not know or could not explain it They mention motivations such

as fitting in

In a way it was like everyone on my Instagram did it and it became like a peer

pressure thing like rsquowhy didnrsquot she share itrsquo or rsquowhy didnrsquot he hare itrsquo you

know ndash Emma

Besides peer pressure the desire to lsquofeel goodrsquo was also reflected upon Many acknowledge

that this desire existed but they did not approve of it as a motive for action Caroline explains

that although it is good to show others where you stand it does not say much about who you

are in the everyday life and the act of posting on social media instead become about seeming

or feeling good The thing they worry about is whether them showing support for the BLM

movement was intended to help the movement or to make themselves look better ndash sometimes

called cosmetic activism (Spanierman amp Smith 2017609-10) or more often among the

participants performative allyship Lou who regularly shares information opinions petitions

and hashtags in her social media says that she worries about her allyship being performative

because she knows most of her followers already shares her opinions Thus her sharing yet

another Instagram post about how racism is wrong could possibly be to ldquoshow off and make

myself feel a little betterrdquo She is careful to stop and reflect upon her actions and intentions and

ask herself lsquowhy did I do this What was my purposersquo Bea shares the same concerns

describing online activism as potentially about ldquostrengthening your personal brandrdquo and

ldquomarketing yourselfrdquo ndash although she does not identify with these motives she feels like there

is always a risk of falling into performative allyship in social media Posting on social media is

also described as a way to claim an antiracist alibi as Bea explains

One way to avoid this is to actively choose not to share with others the activism they engage in

like Sam who calls it unlearning performative allyship Instead of risking acting in the wrong

way and for the wrong reasons they turn to strategic passivism However the unintended result

of this is that one of the main advantages of allies in social movements (that they can use their

voices and platforms to amplify Black voices) goes missing if social media posts are no longer

considered legitimate allyship (Arora amp Stout 2019390 Bhattacharyya et al 202012 Clark

2019528-31)

Introspection is not only a way to secure high-quality allyship but to reduce the risk of doing

something racist and thus being racist Identity is constructed biographically through action

and if the actions does not align with the sense of self-identity this incoherence leads to

45

ontological insecurity in terms of the self meaning one starts to doubt onersquos own motives

(Giddens 199152-54) Seeing onersquos own whiteness as a guarantee of future racist behavior

and knowing how such behavior would clash with the sense of self allies do best in trying to

avoid racist action by all means available Thus acting becomes a risk in itself and this could

be interpreted as ally work becoming unintuitive and unnatural to the allies both at a practical

level determining what to do and at a more discursive level shaping who to be Although

ontological security is defined as practical consciousness it applies to less hands-on orientation

in the world too for example finding onersquos role and identity in a social movement The way to

move forward after recognizing all possible ways one may act wrong is to engage in strategic

passivism apolitical introspection as a political strategy (Kauffman 200124 29-32 Giddens

199144) It is not equivalent to passivity because it includes a strategic choice and it is built

on ally work but ally work that is aimed inwards It becomes a way to be active without acting

in a context where other people may get hurt or judge you

Allies must also make sure not only to act coherently and right but to have pure intentions

being an ally for the sake of recognition or personal gratification is not accepted However

research shows that such extrinsic motivations are especially important in motivating digital

participation (Lilleker amp Koc-Michalska 201725 34-25) and that feelings of shame and guilt

can lead to passivity (Dull et al 20211081-84 Zhelnina 2020361) These two conditions

(ideas of inherent racism and requirements of pure motives) related to introspection does not

create an environment where being active is very appealing Lou admits how acknowledging

the thin line between antiracism and racism leaves her paralyzed instead of motivated

Introspection on the other hand requires no interaction with other people and thus no risk of

being evaluated judged or called out as a bad ally

As the analysis demonstrates the allies recognize there are many different ways they could

engage ndash but all of them are eventually met with disclaimers of how that specific strategy is

inappropriate They try to navigate their own identity and privilege in relation to interpretation

privilege based on theories of situated knowledge but because they lack ontological security

in their ally role they struggle to find a path that is neither inappropriate nor associated with

too much risk Eventually they land in what could be referred to as passivism strategic

passivity as a form of activism

46

6 Discussion and conclusion

The purpose of this study was to better understand how the ally role and participation is

experienced by White allies participating in the Swedish BLM movement and to investigate to

what extent they felt that they had legitimacy as political agents in the movement As the results

show the allies felt strongly for the cause and had many positive experiences of community

and purpose However emotions related to shame guilt and insecurity were also an integral

part of their ally experience and it limited them in their ally work The analysis also shows that

while they are willing and motivated to act as allies the strategies available to them are

surrounded by disclaimers doubt and criticism Few potential actions or approaches are left

unproblematized and the allies often struggle to find their specific path The analysis

emphasizes the link between academic theories of situated knowledge and what can be seen as

a translated popularized version of the term formulated in the political discourse as

interpretation privilege The contribution of Giddensrsquo theories is that the concepts of reflexivity

and ontological security describes the reason for the hesitation the allies engage in whereas the

concept of situated knowledge describes on what basis they hesitate modernity explains why

they worry and situated knowledge what they worry about

Although the analysis shows a pattern that seems to link ideas of interpretation privilege with

passivism among allies the conclusion should not be that acknowledging the importance of

situated knowledge and recognizing the power intertwined with the knowledge creation and

validation process is unnecessary or harmful The theories of situated knowledge standpoint

theory and Black feminist epistemology are important contributions to the sociology of

knowledge and crucial reminders of the power embedded in knowledge However of interest

to political sociology scholars could be the translation of academic concepts into everyday

political lingo and what effects it may have on how people think about politics agency and

identity It is also important to point out that the statements by the interviewees do not reflect

the concept of interpretation privilege in itself but only their interpretation of it Therefore one

could never claim that the concept in itself limits or motivates anything only the way it is

interpreted

Many parts of the results need further investigation One is the implication of guilt if allies are

so limited in this movement whose fault is it It is easy to jump to the conclusion that the fault

belongs to the movement itself and its participants that activists and allies specifically create

47

an environment where action is limited and surrounded by doubt and insecurity This is not the

conclusion of the study Black people or specifically Black movement participants are not to

blame for a culture created by all participants of the movement and this culture or discourse

should be treated as such a larger collective process or frame that is affected by and affecting

all movement participants and the social context it is constructed in It is power on the discursive

level and beyond the reach of any specific grouprsquos aims to control it The experiences and

emotions of the allies should be treated as manifestations of a larger socio-political context

(Buechler 1995458) which could be the focus of future research

Another important aspect to discuss is the implications of quality of the participants allyship

Much research on the passivity of modern activists for example texts on slacktivism (see

Skoric 2012) have a contemptuous tone while discussing how little activists do and how good

they feel about themselves I refrain from evaluating the quality of the actual activism

performed by the allies and from explaining their digitally dominated activism with slacktivism

Instead of seeing contemporary passivism as a potential problem of bad activists one must

focus on the cultural structural and discursive processes enabling this specific kind of activism

instead of other more traditional and acknowledged types of activism Something in the

political climate digital activism identity political social movements or something completely

different limits those who wish to support the movement as allies in their action repertoires

One interesting finding is the consistency in the way the participants describe their involvement

and the issues they thought about Looking at prior experience and their doubts and concerns

about current and future activism there seems to be no link between being unexperienced or

so to say a lsquorookiersquo activist and feeling insecure about what to do as an ally The same problem

was present for people working with equality issues for a living having academic degrees in

the field and well as those without similar professional and academic competences Thus it is

unlikely to be out of inexperience or lack of knowledge that allies sometimes turn to passivism

It is also important to note that while this analysis turned out to be about tendencies of

passivism the interviewed allies were in fact not passive They all engaged in different ally

work digitally and physically sharing information online participating in demonstrations and

trying to incorporate antiracism in their everyday lives and encounters The idea of passivism

applies to their own reasoning and thinking about their allyship more than it does to their

performed ally work Passivism describes their strategic use of introspection which resembles

being passive from out outside perspective but includes much effort in scrutinizing oneself and

trying to become a better ally something that the interviewees are very focused on

48

The main contribution of this study is its representation of the ally perspective something that

is not well researched in the Swedish context It contributes with an insight into the political

arguments of a contemporary social movement characterized by identity-focus and digital

methods Potential contributions could also relate to the questions what would be needed for

allyship to become effective motivating and less associated with introspection and passivism

questions to which the answers must be found in larger contexts than that of these 11 alliesrsquo

testimonies In order to say more about how contemporary allyship is constructed experienced

and given meaning a triangulation of different methods and data sources would be required

along with a bigger sample

The study raised more questioned than it answered which indicates the importance and

relevance of further studies For example the theoretical coherence between the academic

concept of situated knowledge and the more casual term interpretation privilege would need to

be further explored as this study is only a rather shallow review of the concepts Studying the

larger political development and the discourse on activism or racism could also help

constructing a more developed understanding of what it really means to be an ally in the local

context of 21st century Sweden while simultaneously being part of a global network of activists

The implications of these results could be that while allyship is considered important both for

social movements at large (see Brown amp Ostrove 2013 Arora amp Stout 2019 Clark 2019) and

for the individual allies themselves it is also problematized by the interviewees in line with the

problems presented in previous research Applying these results to White allyship there are

things that would need to change in order for the allies to feel secure enough to find the

motivation to participate in the way they all claim they would want to but have not found the

time motivation or feeling of legitimacy to do For ally work to be a force to be reckoned with

in the antiracist struggle preconditions for action beyond introspection and strategic passivism

must be further developed Relating back to Butler the risk is otherwise that

If white people become exclusively preoccupied with our own privilege we risk

becoming self-absorbed We definitely donrsquot need more white people making

everything about themselves that just re-centralizes whiteness and refuses to do

the work of anti-racism (Gleeson 2021)

49

7 References Ahmed S Jaidka K amp Cho J (2017) Tweeting Indiarsquos Nirbhaya protest a study of emotional dynamics in an online social

movement Social Movement Studies 16(4) 227-465 httpsdoi1010801474283720161192457

American Psychological Association (2019) Racial and ethnic identity httpapastyleapaorgstyle-grammar-

guidelinesbias-free-languageracial-ethnic-minorities

Amnaring E amp Ekman J (2013) Standby citizens diverse faces of political passivity European Political Science 1-21

httpsdoi101017S175577391300009X

Andersson P (2021) Bokrecension Vit skoumlrhet vaumllbehoumlvlig i svensk rasismdebatt SVT Nyheter Downloaded 2021-09-29

from httpswwwsvtsekulturbokrecension-vit-skorhet-skickar-meningsfulla-impulser-in-i-den-svenska-debatten

Arora M amp Stout CT (2018) Letters for Black Lives Co-ethnic Mobilization and Support for the Black Lives Matter

Movement Political Research Quarterly 72(2) 389-402 httpsdoiorg1011772F1065912918793222

Arribas Lozano A (2018) Knowledge co-production with social movement networks Redefining grassroots politics

rethinking research Social Movement Studies 17(4) 451-463 httpsdoiorg1010801474283720181457521

Barassi V amp Zamponi L (2020) Social media time identity narratives and the construction of political biographies Social

Movement Studies 195-6 592-608 httpsdoiorg1010801474283720201718489

Bauman Z (2001) Liquid Modernity Cambridge Polity Press

Bhattacharyya G Virdee S amp Winter A (2020) Revisiting histories of anti-racist thought and activism Identities 27(1)

1-19 httpsdoiorg1010801070289X20191647686

Belam M (2021) Black Lives Matter movement nominated for Nobel peace prize The Guardian 2021-01-29

httpswwwtheguardiancomworld2021jan29Black-lives-matter-nobel-peace-prize-petter-eide-norweigan-mp

(Downloaded 2021-06-16)

Bernstein M (2005) Identity Politics Annual Review of Sociology 31(1) 47-74

httpsdoiorg101146annurevsoc29010202100054

Brown K T amp Ostrove J M (2013) What does it mean to be an ally The perception of allies from the perspective of

people of color Journal of Applied Social Psychology 43(11) 2211ndash2222 httpsdoiorg101111jasp12172

Braring (2018) Sjaumllvrapporterad utsatthet foumlr hatbrott Analys utifraringn Nationella trygghetsundersoumlkningen 2006ndash2017 Rapport

201810 Downloaded 2021-03-05 at

httpswwwbrasedownload187f57ba351641b9cdc3d1e0b515344265455312018_10_Sjalvrapporterad_utsatthet_for_

hatbrottpdf

Buechler SM (1995) NEW SOCIAL MOVEMENT THEORIES Sociological Quarterly 36 441-464

httpsdoiorg101111j1533-85251995tb00447x

Bursell M (2014) The Multiple Burdens of Foreign-Named MenmdashEvidence from a Field Experiment on Gendered Ethnic

Hiring Discrimination in Sweden European Sociological Review 30(3) 399ndash409 httpsdoiorg101093esrjcu047

Carnegie Endowment for International Peace 2020 Global Protest Tracker Downloaded 2020-12-16 at

httpscarnegieendowmentorgpublicationsinteractiveprotest-trackergclid=CjwKCAiA_eb-

BRB2EiwAGBnXXve4_M0rNWlgU0_MmYUuIg6ThabxkIbk_kQhlB7O_542emIVDHX1HRoCCFsQAvD_BwE

Clark M (2019) White folksrsquo work digital allyship praxis in the BlackLivesMatter movement Social Movement Studies

18(5) 519-534 httpsdoiorg1010801474283720191603104

Clayton DM (2018) Black Lives Matter and the Civil Rights Movement A Comparative Analysis of Two Social

Movements in the United States Journal of Black Studies 40(5)448-480

httpsdoiorg1011772F0021934718764099

Cole G (2020) Types of White Identification and Attitudes About Black Lives Matter Social Science Quarterly

101(4)1627-1633) httpsdoiorg101111ssqu12837

Collins PH (1990) Black Feminist Epistemology In Calhoun C J Gerteis J Moody S Pfaff amp I Virk (Ed) (2012)

Contemporary Sociological Theory 3rd Ed Chichester Wiley-Blackwell

Craddock E (2019) Doing rsquoenoughrsquo of the lsquorightrsquo thing the gendered dimension of the lsquoideal activistrsquo and its negative

emotional consequencesrdquo Social Movement Studies 18(2)137-153) httpsdoiorg1010801474283720181555457

Creswell JW amp Poth CN (2017) Qualitative inquiry and research design choosing among five approaches (Fourth

edition) Los Angeles Sage Publications

Diani M (1992) The Concept of Social Movement The Sociological Review 40(1)1-25 httpsdoiorg1011112Fj1467-

954X1992tb02943x

Drury B amp C Kaiser (2014) Allies against Sexism The Role of Men in Confronting Sexism Journal of Social Issues

70(4)637-652 httpsdoiorg101111josi12083

Dull BD Hoyt LT Grzanka PR amp Zeider KH (2021) Can White Guilt Motivate Action The Role of Civic Beliefs

Journal of Youth and Adolescence 50 1081ndash1097 (2021) httpsdoiorg101007s10964-021-01401-7

Earl J (2014) The Future of Social Movement Organizations The Waning Dominance of SMOs Online American

Behavioral Scientist 5935-52 httpsdoiorg1011772F0002764214540507

Garrett RK (2006) Protest in an Information Society a review of literature on social movements and new ICTs

Information Communication amp Society 9(2) 202-224 httpsdoiorg10108013691180600630773

Giddens A (1991) Modernity and self-identity Self and society in the late modern age Stanford University Press

Gleeson J (2021) Judith Butler lsquoWe need to rethink the category of womanrsquo The Guardian 2021-09-07 (Accessed 20201-

09-14 at httpswwwtheguardiancomlifeandstyle2021sep07judith-butler-interview-gender)

11

oppression by for example willingly share power with the subordinated group (Clark

2019523)

One of the most valuable aspects of ally work in social movements is the fact that the costs of

confronting sexism racism or any other discriminatory behavior is much lower for allies

without personal interest in the issue than it is for marginalized group members Men

confronting sexist behavior are seen as more rational and credible and less hostile than their

female counterparts which can strengthen the receiverrsquos sympathy for the sentiment of the

movement (Drury amp Kaiser 2014642) Male allies speaking up can also normalize rejecting

sexist ideas for women too and thus create a more open climate for such confrontations

(ibid644) The cost of ally work is further lowered when utilizing digital methods Clark (2019)

found that when White allies use their digital platforms to amplify the voices of Black people

the personal costs are low while the effects are positive The narratives of Black activists often

marginalized in their outreach in other ethnic or cultural groups are spread and legitimized by

White allies and it may ultimately strengthen the movement at large (Clark 2019528-31)

The idea that White allies should help the movement by amplifying the voices of Black people

can be further validated by the results of a study conducted by Arora and Stout (2019) on co-

ethnic mobilization and support for BLM They conducted an experimental study on the support

for the movement and the effect of messages from co-ethnic versus non-co-ethnic messengers

In general people tend to accept and embrace a political message more easily if they find the

messenger trustworthy and likeable which is an increasingly rational mechanism in times of

excessive access to information (Arora amp Stout 2019390) In their study they had people read

letters in favor for supporting the BLM movement written by authors of different ethnicities

Their results showed that White people did not change their opinion on BLM unless the author

was also White (ibid394-5) The implications of these results are that ldquoif whitesrsquo attitudes about

Black Lives Matter are to change appeals are much more effective coming from co-racial

individualsrdquo (ibid396) This implies that the role of White allies in amplifying the message of

Black activists and spreading the message especially within their own racial group is a very

powerful and important way for White allies to support the movement

212 What is problematic with allies

Although the role of allies in social movements are important there are also problems Some

research indicates that without lived experience of for example sexism or racism it is harder

12

to detect when such discrimination occurs For example men are less likely to interpret subtle

sexism as sexism and they are less likely to sympathize with someone confronting sexism if

that someone is female (Drury amp Kaiser 2014639 642) Thus much time and effort may have

to be put into educating out-group allies Allies are also less likely to be emotionally receptive

towards grasping the magnitude of oppression which again comes from lack of lived

experience (Russo 201480) It is also important to recognize uniqueness in group experiences

instead of assuming that experience of one type of oppression automatically leads to insights

about other oppressions (Spanierman amp Smith 2017608-10)

Besides the problem of potential insensibility on behalf of the ally another issue is low

engagement (Jaumlmte et al 2020370) Brown and Ostrove (20132220) argued that although

some inactivity of allies could be attributed to general passivity of contemporary activists or

lack of emotional engagement it could also come out of fear of doing anything considered

wrong White allies they argued tend to be more cautious in their actions because of this and

instead of acting on their own they leave space for Black people to take the lead However in

the attempt to leave room for and amplify for example Black narratives there is a significant

risk that allies freeride on the political labor of Black people (Clark 2019530) This problem

is also present in feminist movements where male allies often engage in low risk high reward

activism and often take credit for work dependent on the efforts of female feminists (Linder amp

Johnson 20155 17-18) This is made possible Linder and Johnson argued by the master

narrative saying male allies should be recognized validated and granted credibility regardless

of their actual contributions to the movementndash even though there is an overwhelming risk with

male feminist ally work being directly counterproductive due to lack of sympathy for the

female perspective and expertise (ibid4-5) In adverse cases male allies have been known to

not only capitalize on womenrsquos pain ignore their perspective and steal their hard work but to

actually commit sexual assault in feminist organizations (ibid9)

There are many other risks associated with ally work Mostly it originates in the fact that many

have good intentions but lack in self-reflection or knowledge about real political work

Spanierman and Smith (2017) pointed to how such discrepancies between intention capacity

and self-awareness can lead to paternalistic behavior towards marginalized people and that this

can strengthen the unconscious sense of superiority and legitimize status quo instead of

challenging it Another mistake especially important in digital activism is the tendency to

engage in optics instead of politics and to treat members of the disenfranchised group as objects

13

to be used for personal virtue signaling Such cosmetic activism rarely leads to any structural

criticism or challenging (Spanierman amp Smith 2017609-10)

22 Digital activism

As can be seen in the previous research on the positive opportunities with allies digital methods

are important for allies to engage for example in amplifying voices of minorities (Clark

2019528-31) This is perhaps even more true in the 2020 BLM-wave when many were limited

in their capacity to participate physically due to the pandemic All participants in this study

participated in digital activism (most of them exclusively so) and it is therefore important to

account for some research on the role digitalism plays in contemporary movements The

introduction of new technologies into political activism has been studied for many years even

before the social medias we use today Information and Communication technologies (ICTrsquos)

such as mobile phones or the internet had many effects on political activism as they became

available for more people for example it contributed with increased sense of community

strengthened political participation facilitated movement organization and increased

independence from elite representations of movements (Garrett 2006205-14)

Modern social medias have the same effects to some extent The internet and social media are

acknowledged to affect how social movements come into being and how they operate (Barassi

amp Zamponi 2020 Earl 2014) Social media platforms are used as tools for organizing raising

awareness and spreading information (Ahmed et al 2017447) and was for example one of

the success factors of the MeToo movement (Li et al 2020 Lin amp Yang 2019) Social media

also played a major role in the BLM protests without social media the protests of 2020 would

perhaps not have been as widespread The fact that the video picturing Floydrsquos murder spread

so rapidly led to massive emotional involvement and increased motivation for participation

according to research on the efficiency of emotions in digital activism (Clark 2019 Heldman

201788) Facilitating the growth of collective emotion and identity is one of the main

contributions of social media because emotions are crucial in motivating political action

(Ahmed et al 201746 Zhelnina 2020361) Studying the emotional expressions before during

and after a social protest on Twitter Ahmed and colleagues concluded that emotions affect

involvement online similarly to their effect offline ndash they channel participation and create

community and identification (Ahmed et al 2017459-61) Besides this social media functions

as a megaphone for individuals without having to be represented by any formal leader (Earl

14

201537) Earl argued that some of the functions centralized and formal social movement

organizations used to fill can in many cases be substituted with online communities lowering

the costs of organizers and participants (ibid39)

221 Critical perspectives on digital activism

Social media as site and tool for social activism is also criticized based on ideas about how it

leads to passivity and how motives for online activism differs from those in offline or lsquorealrsquo

activism Online activism is sometimes called slacktivism referencing the lower degrees of

effort and risk required to engage in online activism (Skoric 201277) The slacktivist narrative

is often used to explain the decline in youth political engagement (Amnaring amp Ekman 20136)

although the link between digital activism and low degrees of participation have not been

determined Online activism is usually less valued than more traditional types of activism which

requires more from the individual activist (Craddock 2019148-9 Heldman 2017207) despite

the lack of consensus between researchers on whether online activism is effective or not

(Lilleker amp Koc-Michalska 201725) Skoric (201277) argued that the Internet promotes a

superficial mode of political activism where liking commenting and sharing are the main tools

for participating in political activism and that the focus often is aimed at the individual and her

capacity of introspection lifestyle politics or mere expression of opinions without further

actions Such positionings rarely challenges structures of power and dominance Slacktivism

feels good without actually doing any good and it distracts people from engaging in meaningful

activism (ibid78)

lsquoFeeling goodrsquo as a motive for political mobilization is further explored by Lilleker and Koc-

Michalska (201723) who argued that there is a strong link between both intrinsic and extrinsic

emotional motivations and political mobilization both self-fulfillment and recognition are

strong motivators for both online and offline activism Extrinsic motivations eg external

approval recognition and being perceived as lsquogoodrsquo has the strongest effect on motivating

participation (ibid34 25) The difference they found between online and offline participation

was that online activism is less self-fulfilling and more driven by ldquoconforming and earning

rewardsrdquo which they interpret as online participation potentially being mere clicktivism and

less personally meaningful to the people engaging in it (ibid35)

Although slacktivism is not necessarily a phenomenon limited to the digital sphere but includes

all performative positioning online activism arguably breeds slacktivism because of how easy

15

and available it is The motivation to engage in high-risk high-effort activism decreases if there

are always lower effort- and risk options available that gives the same recognition and

satisfaction (Skoric 201279) Morozov (2009) also has criticized the naiumlve faith in the potential

of Internet activism and argued that poorly planned online slacktivism is not only ineffective

and toothless but also holds potential for backfiring and causing devastating consequences For

example when Western activists attempted to attack Iranian government sources online they

accidentally slowed down the whole Iranian internet making the activism of local protestors

difficult (Morozov 200913)

As this section shows the relationship between social media and the general level of activism

among people is far from determined However the participants of this study all relied on digital

methods in their ally work and their experiences of digital methods are explored in the analysis

3 Theory

In this section the two theories used to analyze the data will be presented and discussed starting

with Giddensrsquo theories on modernity which are used to contextualize ally work as a 21st century

phenomenon shaped by the preconditions of modernity such as increased reflexivity and

ontological insecurity Thereafter theories of situated knowledge will be used to describe how

the allies relate to their own whiteness in relation to the concept of interpretation privilege

sometimes limiting the allies in their leeway of action Essentially Giddensrsquo theories will be

used to understand why allies hesitate about their role and theories of situated knowledge will

be used to understand what they base these hesitations on

31 Giddens

Giddensrsquo theory of modernity focuses on the circumstances of human activity and identity in

what he referred to as (late) modernity The theory will be used to contextualize ally work as

something that exists within a larger social cultural and economic structure that shapes the

way identity politics and human activity are formed with special focus on self-identity and

ontological security

16

Worth mentioning when using the term modernity is that there are scholarly disagreements on

whether the current era should be interpreted as modernity late (or liquid see Bauman 2001)

modernity or postmodernity However Giddens belongs to the group of theorists who see

contemporary society as still existing within the theoretical frames of late modernity where the

tendencies of modernity has been further stretched and strengthened (Giddens 199127) This

assumption will be present throughout this paper while also acknowledging this is only one

interpretation

311 Life in modernity reflexivity and ontological insecurity

Modernity is an era characterized by post-traditional orders institutionalized radical doubt

detachment of time and space risk-cultures and abstract systems (Giddens 19912-5)

Following these changes in increased emphasis on reflexivity the continuous revisiting of

previously taken-for-granted concepts truths and ideas This applies to the institutional and

individual level and the latter will be of focus in this paper Without the guiding hand of

tradition or custom as in premodern society people must navigate in the world without being

firmly grounded in pregiven sets of beliefs on what should be done in each situation and with

the constant flow of information in modernity the horizon of possible actions are constantly

broadened (ibid20)

The increased emphasis on reflexivity means for the individual that ldquoself-identity becomes a

reflexively organised endeavorrdquo (Giddens 19915) Giddensrsquo described self-identity as a

project based on coherent and ldquocontinuously revised biographical narrativesrdquo which ldquotakes

place in the context of multiple choices as filtered through abstract systemsrdquo (ibid5) This

means that self-identity is closely linked to actions and is ldquoroutinely created and sustainedrdquo in

the actions of the individual (ibid52) This includes making constant decisions while having

endless choices ndash on what to do how to act and ultimately who to be in late modernity ldquowe

are not what we are but what we make of ourselvesrdquo (ibid54 75) If the individual fails to

perform in coherence with their sense of self-identity the individual may start to doubt their

own biographical narrative and ultimately themselves (ibid58) In the context of social

movements the ally identity is thus constantly reshaped by each choice of action and it

becomes important to act in accordance with the ideal-typical ally role Allyship is also a

globalized phenomenon which increases the number of aspects to take into consideration while

reflexively making choices

17

As reflexivity become more and more significant in guiding human action people in late

modernity experience loss of ontological security which is a ldquorsquonatural attitudersquo in everyday

liferdquo in relation to how to act and orient oneself in the world (Giddens 199136) Being

ontologically secure is ldquoto possess on the level of the unconscious and practical consciousness

lsquoanswersrsquo to fundamental existential questions which all human life in some way addressesrdquo

(ibid47) and was previously guided by tradition custom rules and norms of premodern society

Ontological security thus secures the individualsrsquo smooth navigation through life without them

hesitating on their role in the world too much However as society developed into modernity

and late modernity the conditions for ontological security changed ndash the traditions of

premodern society that used to give ontological security by offering a sense of structure

firmness and purpose are now exchanged for reflexivity (ibid48) making each single decision

dependent on an almost infinite number of possible options (ibid36) Without ontological

security the individual experiences existential anxiety caused by uncertainty ndash and such anxiety

itself ldquotends to paralyse relevant actions rather than generate themrdquo (ibid44) This passivity can

occur in relation to specific actions or to the sense of self in general for example failing to

perform in line with onersquos perceived self-identity can create ontological insecurity and it opens

for questioning onersquos entire role in a specific context for example a social movement For allies

ontological insecurity could arise in relation to them trying to navigate what actions are

appropriate for them to engage in based on the reflexive project of self-identity However

inactivism or passivity cannot only be seen in the individualrsquos relation to action but in politics

in general Giddens argued that politics in premodern times were emancipatory and aiming to

end oppression but that politics in modernity has been transformed into life politics a shift in

ideology and activity towards emphasizing lifestyle and self-actualization (ibid210-14)

The purpose of including Giddensrsquo theory of modernity is to provide a potential context in

which the allies of this study act and shape their own ally identities and how their occasionally

self-restricting introspection may be understood

32 Situated knowledge

To complement the theory of Giddens theories on situated knowledge will be included in the

analysis to point to specific ways in which the allies engage in reflexive decision-making eg

on what basis they make decisions about ally strategies The included theories are feminist

theories but their implications are not limited to gender relations

18

Theories of situated knowledge (also referred to as standpoint theory or feminist epistemology)

is an epistemological attempt to challenge the way knowledge is produced validated and

valued Epistemology is an ldquooverarching theory of knowledgerdquo (Collins 1990408) and theories

of epistemology focuses on how truth and knowledge is shaped by power relations between

social positions and how this could change Easily put social position of the knowledge

producer shapes the kind of knowledge that can be produced (Young 200425) In this thesis

the theoretical works of Haraway Young and Collins will be included although there are more

contributors to the thoughts about situated knowledge

Relating knowledge to power feminist theorists have pointed to how knowledge production

has been dominated by men and postcolonial thinkers have questioned dominant knowledge

for its sometimes exploitative and colonializing tendencies (in for example Western thought

and anthropology) Part of this critique has included a call for recognition privilege of lived

experience and reflexivity in research (Voronka 2016191) Donna Haraway (1988) presented

a feminist epistemology (or feminist objectivism) that recognized how women have historically

seen as immanent beings unable to transcend the body and escape its ldquofinite point of viewrdquo

whereas men have been seen as able to attain lsquoobjectiversquo perspectives and knowledges

(Haraway 1988575) The (imagined) male capacity to transcend ldquoparticular social location

and adopt a lsquoview from nowherersquordquo gives men higher status epistemologically (Young 200424)

Thus the gaze of the White male has been favored in sociology as it represents the unmarked

and objective perspective (Haraway 1988581)

The problem with the idea of objectivity and the lsquoview from nowherersquo according to feminist

and postcolonial critics is that knowledge is a power process and only taking one groups

knowledge into account reinforces these power processes Patricia Hill Collins argued that

power over the production and validation of knowledge is an issue of group interest where the

dominant group preserves their own interests by invalidating knowledge that either challenges

their hegemonic ideas or follows alternative practices in their creation of alternative knowledges

(Collins 1990409-10) Black womenrsquos knowledge is subjugated knowledge and it must fight

for recognition in an anti-Black and anti-female world (ibid414) The Black feminist

epistemology she advocated for includes sensitivity to the combination of female and Black

experiences unique for Black women and it recognized alternative ways to create knowledge

specific to Black womenrsquos knowledge production (ibid407-8)

19

321 Situated knowledge as political strategy

If knowledge is then produced under circumstances of domination power structures and

hegemony ndash what would an alternative look like and what could these alternatives lead to

From a quality standpoint Haraway (1988583) argued that including several perspectives in

knowledge production leads to better conclusions Even though she dismissed the idea that

subjugated people have a purer vision on truth and objectivity an idea she claimed is often

rooted in a fetishized idea of the Third World woman she argued that subjugated groups are

less likely to ldquoallow denial of the critical and interpretive core of all knowledgerdquo than are

dominant groups (ibid583-586) She wrote that the only standpoint from which no objectivity

can ever be reached is ldquothe standpoint of the master the Man the One God whose Eye

produces appropriates and orders differencerdquo (ibid587) Thus to aim for objectivity depends

on including perspectives otherwise ignored by structures of power and dominance (ibid590)

Delegitimizing the idea of a lsquoGodrsquos eyersquo from where true knowledge can be observed and

mediated means including other perspectives and knowledges (Young 200420) This is not

only just and right it also contributes to wiser decision making in a context of democratic

processes including perspectives from all social standpoints maximizes knowledge which

should be treated as a democratic resource when fully utilized (ibid25-9) Thus the idea of

situated knowledges includes a normative assumption of inclusion and diversity in decision

making and knowledge production and social difference should be treated as a resource for

democratic societies (ibid29)

The standpoint theorists emphasize how recognizing specificity in knowledge claims for

different groups does not include the idea that subjugated groups are naturally epistemically

privileged eg that their perspective on every issue should be treated as automatically lsquotruersquo

(Haraway 1988583-4 Young 200427-29) Neither the position of these groups or any

imagined inherent attributes give subjugated groups automatic access to the truth but the

position opens up doors to new perspectives impossible to imagine from above (Haraway

1988584) The specific knowledge unique for the dominated social positions include different

understandings of their own position and others and the relation between them as well as ldquoa

point of view on the history of societyrdquo ldquoan interpretation of how the relations and processes

of the whole society operates especially as they affect onersquos own positionrdquo and finally ldquoa

position-specific experience and point of view on the natural and physical environmentrdquo

(Young 200429)

20

Applying these ideas in a context of practical politics for example in a social movement can

include such inclusion of different perspectives and emphasizing how group difference matters

in terms of knowledge but without claiming the existence of epistemic privilege Often this

practical application is based on including people with lived experience into different contexts

of power or knowledge production (Voronka 2016189)

However the strategy of using lived experience as a criterion for epistemic legitimacy can also

be problematized Voronka (2016192) argued that inclusion and representation of different

groups in decision making as a criterion for legitimate knowledge production can be seen as

resting on essentialist assumptions and stable identity categories The categories themselves are

left unaccounted for meaning the boundaries between and content of different identity groups

are seen as natural entities (ibid194) The concept of lived experience fails to answer questions

of who we are and why while the existence of these categories should be questioned in

themselves Thus acting based on ideas of lived experience and ldquoepistemic privilegerdquo (Young

200427) risks both treating identity as essentialist and constructing group attributes as

embodied truths and ignore difference in lived experience within groups (Voronka 2016196)

Thus Voronka (ibid197) argued

we need to mark how rsquopeople with lived experiencersquo [as a concept my note] risks

reproducing and replicating systems of domination that privileges subjects and

subjectivities that fit closely within the White heteropatriarchal matrix of ruling

Voronkarsquos experiences come from academia but the ideas can be applied to other contexts as

well Theories of situated knowledge can be extracted from the abstract epistemological level

and transformed into a concept more suitable and applicable for everyday situations and as will

be seen in the analysis this theme is highly present in the statements by the study participants

in the form of interpretation privilege (See section 5 Results and analysis)

4 Methodology

The study builds on phenomenological approach and aims to understand a social phenomenon

by interpreting the different meanings ascribed to it by the participant whose lived experience

is in focus for the analysis (Creswell amp Poth 2018150) Thus the focus of the study is not the

BLM movement itself but to understand the experience of the allies The study is abductive

21

meaning the research process was iterative - going back and forth between empirical findings

and theoretical background The aim of abductive analysis is often to generate theory by

cultivating already existing theories together with the surprising results found in the data

collection that are in turn reinterpreted through the revisited theoretical insights (Timmermans

amp Tavory 2012169 173-6) One important aspect of abduction is to revisit the phenomenon

as it can lead to new insights For example when the first couple of interviews were done the

lack of response to one specific question was interpreted as missing data But when the

transcripts were revisited after some additional previous research had been read I realized the

unanswered question was not missing data ndash it was data in itself This realization affected how

the data collection moved forward as the focus narrowed down on the ally role and its

limitations

41 Data collection

The data collection was done by conducting qualitative interviews with 11 self-identified White

allies to understand their perspective experiences and thoughts about their participation The

interviews were in average 010245 in length and they were conducted during a five-week

period The interviews were semi-structured guided by an interview guide without following

it in detail which creates room for flexibility This ensured both consistency between the

interviews and individual variations depending on the interviewee (Turner 2010755) The

interview guide had open-ended questions and covered three main themes (political

background identity emotions) Some questions related to relevant concepts for example they

were asked ldquoIn your perspective what is an allyrdquo The purpose was not to evaluate the

participants academic understanding of the term but to have them reflect upon their own

perceptions and thereby gain insight into their political thinking and its effect on their ally role

Other questions were about experiences such as ldquoCould you tell me about your participation in

the BLM movementrdquo and ldquoWhat emotional responses did you have when this happenedrdquo

Some parts of the interview focused on the BLM movement specifically but since the antiracist

ally identity was often developed before BLM started it also included more general experiences

of antiracist allyship At the end of each interview the participants were given a chance discuss

things important to them The limitation of interview data is that it is not a representation of the

world lsquoout therersquo but only a representation of how the interviewees describe their experiences

and these can be shaped by indefinite number of things beyond the scope of this thesis

22

All interviews were digitally conducted Although digital interviewing is often presented as a

second choice there are benefits to it For example Howlett (20217-8) noticed how the safe

environment of the home made the participants more relaxed and that the interviews also tended

to be both longer and richer in detail than offline interviews One could however imagine how

the opposite effect could occur if the home environment is unsafe or unfit for long

conversations The interviews took place more than a year into the pandemic and people were

thus more familiar with digital communication technologies than they were in the beginning

(ibid10) The pandemic was topic for small talk before the interviews started and our shared

experience with it created some sense of commonality and a relaxed atmosphere where potential

technical issues or disturbances were met with recognition from the other party Despite the

surprisingly positive experience with digital interviewing and as well as the rich data gathered

it is still important to recognize how the quality could have been even better with physical

interviews

The interviews were all conducted on Zoom and recorded in the software The interviews were

transcribed in full verbatim meaning that false starters stutters laughter and pauses were

included Such utterances are clues to how the participants feel about what they are telling and

should be treated as data

42 Sample

The sampling for this study is based on one inclusion criterion motivated by the purpose of the

study the criterion being White ally identification (Creswell amp Poth 201881 157) To base

the inclusion criterion on self-identification could potentially lead to low validity in terms of

not achieving a sample that represents the group one wishes to study by excluding those who

engage in ally work without identifying as such To ensure that the people included in the study

were lsquorealrsquo allies the criterion could have been having a certain amount of experience from ally

work or similar However this was a methodological choice motivated by reflections by

Craddock (2019) who studied activism Craddock learned that including the term activist in

her participant letter excluded people who - despite being very active - did not dare to call

themselves activists due to the high standard of what lsquorealrsquo activism is Especially women feel

that they cannot live up to the ideal and therefore they do not recognize their own activist

identity (Craddock 2019138-42) Therefore anyone who identified as an ally was allowed to

participate without evaluating or judging their level of participants

23

The sampling method was mixed consisting of convenience sampling and snowball sampling

(Creswell amp Poth 2018159) First an email was sent to the Swedish BLM organizationrsquos

official email telling them about the study and asking if they had any recommendations of

where participants could be found This email got no response Different Facebook groups were

chosen as lsquofieldsrsquo to sample in Personal acquaintances were also asked to participate The

choice of Facebook groups related to both convenience and lack of access to physical fields to

sample in and because much of the activism related to BLM took place online The Facebook

groups were all limited demographically (open only for women and non-binary people) and

they all had explicit value-systems with feminist anti-racist intersectional orientations Some

groups were simple support-and-chat groups some had a more political purpose (without party

connections) One participant was found in the comments section on a Facebook page that

relates to antiracism and contacted from there and a few were snowball sampled Recruiting

participants in online forums creates a problematic balance between transparency and

anonymity if too detailed information about the specific sampling sites is revealed the

participants identities can be spoiled due to traceability Thus the names of these Facebook

groups or pages cannot be revealed The groups were known to me beforehand as I am myself

a member in them and therefore had access to the lsquofieldrsquo which reduced the time and effort

spent on sampling If this study were a netnography with digital data to analyze it would be

problematic because my interpretation would be tainted by my personal experiences in the

groups but since the data itself was not related to the specific groups or the participants activity

in these groups it is less problematic

This digital convenience sampling limits the groups included in the sampling frame which

creates a skewed sample in terms of for example gender The complementary snowball

sampling creates a similar problem with homogeneity because of the tendency of participants

to recommend people who are like themselves As a result people with academic backgrounds

in social sciences and humanities are overrepresented in this sample The first interviewee Lisa

works in the international aid sector and she put me in touch with some old classmates and

colleagues which contributed to the skewed sample However the sampling method does not

aim to reach a randomized sample that is representative of the Swedish population in general

but instead a purposeful selection of people with certain experiences (Creswell amp Poth

2018272)

The final sample included people of different genders (9 female 1 male and 1 non-binary)

ages (22-36) education (from high school diploma to MA-degrees) and occupation (traditional

24

working-class occupations or white-collar jobs) They lived in or originated from different parts

of Sweden with one currently living in South Africa They also had very different backgrounds

in regards of political engagement some of them had been organized voluntarily or

professionally in multiple movements and civil society organizations some are or have been

active in party politics and some had their political experience mainly in online discussions

43 Coding and analysis

After all interviews were transcribed the data was coded in Excel using the guidelines for

phenomenological analysis presented called horizonalization (Creswell amp Poth 2018201

Moustakas 1994118) Horizonalization means creating a broad base or platform of equally

important statements to capture the experiences of the participants In phenomenological

studies coding and analysis should preferably be inductive highlighting ldquosignificant

statements sentences and quotesrdquo (Creswell amp Poth 201879) instead of deductively trying to

apply hypotheses or theories onto the data

The coding followed the subsequent steps First each transcript was read one at a time and

important statements were added in a quote-column in Excel (see Image 1) Following the

quote-column were categorical columns based on different themes from the interviews The 12

categories were Background Activity in BLM Identity Role Pandemic Emotion Motivation

Introspection BLM organization Balance Problems and Other There was also a column for

especially good quotes which were marked with an lsquoxrsquo In each column (for example ldquoRolerdquo)

inductively created codes were entered An example can be seen in Image 1

The coding was kept close to the data and focus was to create codes that described the specifics

of each statement instead of keeping the number of codes down which created some overlap

Image 1 Visual representation of the coding strategy

After the 11 interviews were coded the data included 243 quotes in 12 categories In order to

structure the analysis according to relevant topics themes were created out of the codes based

on representativeness and uniqueness These themes provided the basis for the interpretation

25

and analysis For example the previously mentioned code ldquoNot surerdquo was grouped together

with the code ldquoDecided by othersrdquo (in the column ldquoRolerdquo) and analyzed together because they

were interpreted as expressions of the same phenomenon eg insecurity regarding what the

role should contain (Moustakas 1994118)

After the coding which is a big part of the analysis itself the most relevant and interesting

themes were further analyzed This was related to observed regularities in statements being

repeated among several participants and novelty or lsquosurprise factorrsquo Whereas the coding was

unrelated to any specific theory the deeper analysis of the different themes was done parallel

to exploring theory The theories came into the process at different stages Giddensrsquo theory of

modernity and ontological security was explored after the initial coding before starting the

writing process of the analysis based on the pattern of insecurity and reflexivity among the

participantsrsquo descriptions of how they make decisions on how to act as an ally Thereafter the

concept of situated knowledge was introduced after all material had initially been analyzed and

written down in a first draft and the recurring use of the term interpretation privilege

(tolkningsfoumlretraumlde) caught my interest The focus was therefore the themes related to

interpretation privilege and how the participants made sense of the term as well as the different

aspects they had to balance because of their emphasis on interpretation privilege in the final

analysis

44 Ethical considerations

Research should be guided by ethical principles to ensure the safety of the participants and the

quality of the research The most important aspects include consent confidentiality and

anonymity Informed consent means that the participant must be given full information about

what participation means and they must be given the chance to both give and withdraw their

consent during or after the interview The researcher must tell the truth about the purpose of the

study and the participant can choose to leave any unwanted questions unanswered

(Vetenskapsraringdet 201710 16) All participants were given a letter with information about the

study which was again repeated verbally right before the interview The second important

aspect confidentiality means that all information and data must be handled safely and not be

shared with unauthorized people (ibid40) The data was stored on a password protected

computer and no personal information was saved along with the transcripts And finally

anonymity means that the identity of the participants must be concealed for example by giving

26

them new names or changing identifying details in their statements (ibid13) Both of my

sampling methods (digital convenience and snowball) can threaten the anonymity of the

participants because they become traceable either to those who were lsquosnowballedrsquo into the study

or those who were found online (see chapter 42 Sample)

In more qualitative terms the researcher must make fair interpretations of the statements made

by participants and be transparent with how conclusions were made This ensures both

transparency in a scientific standpoint and the well-being of the participants (Vetenskapsraringdet

201710) Related to this it is important to recognize how the analysis may affect the

participants for example Creswell and Poth (2018228) argue that there is always a risk that

participants feel bothered by the way their statements have been interpreted in relation to theory

and previous research and especially in a sensitive topic such as politics identity and emotions

In order to minimize this risk the interpretations will both be rooted in theory and previous

research and include alternative evidence and interpretations

45 Methodological reflexivity

Reflexivity requires researchers to be aware of and transparent about their own biases in their

interpretations as well as scrutinizing their power in relation to the research participants

(Creswell amp Poth 2018201 228) Besides the inherent power in the relation between

researcher and participants no specific power dynamics existed in this study The researcher

must reflect upon their own position (gender class race and similar) and how it affects the

way the research is conducted and how the results are interpreted (ibid228) Being reflexive

thus becomes a way to increase validity by clarifying where researcher bias may have affected

the results (ibid261) Evidence that contradicts the arguments made in the analysis has been

included to avoid bias The idea of researcher reflexivity builds on the epistemological approach

of social constructivism where knowledge is not seen as a neutral or objective but a subjective

socially embedded practice shaped by the lived experience of the author and the participants It

also means that self-criticism and self-consciousness is crucial aspects of qualitative

interpretive research (Lynch 200029-36)

According to Moustakas (1994103-4) reflexivity should guide every step in the

phenomenological research project including choice of topic it must have autobiographical

relevance to the researcher who must be genuinely curious and passionate about the

phenomenon ndash and of course be transparent about these motives The choice of BLM as an

27

empirical example in this study was based on my own experiences from the spring of 2020 I

was just as my respondents and many others very moved by the events that transpired and I

did too participate in some online actions such as checking myself into the US Ambassy on

Facebook to show my support of the movement I followed the news and read everything I

found on social media out of both political sympathy and sociological fascination I wanted to

know more about why the activism looked like it did and how others felt about being part of

it Being able to be fascinated in times of collective grief and trauma for Black people is of

course a privilege that I am aware of I can afford to be distanced towards and critical of the

antiracist movement and how it does or does not invite people to engage themselves in it

because my survival or well-being does not depend on it I aim to be respectful in my

interpretations and descriptions of the movement and its participants

46 Limitations

Instead of aiming to evaluate qualitative research by the same criteria as quantitative studies

there are adjusted validation practices for the specific approach of the study To assure good

quality for qualitative phenomenological studies phenomenological concepts should be used

properly understood and recommended methods should be followed Besides from engaging

in reflexive analysis it is also important to offer descriptive richness and interpretive depth

(Creswell amp Poth 2018272-82) There are also different validation strategies for qualitative

research The researcher can use triangulation to strengthen the stability of the results identify

disconfirming cases and clarify researcher reflexivity (ibid260-1) Member checking and

collaborating with participants can also strengthen the validity (ibid162 Arribas Lozano

2018455-6) All participants were informed of their right to see the transcripts and the analysis

if they wished but they were not contacted with the explicit purpose of checking the finished

results due to time Another aspect is reliability meaning how robust the results of the study

would be if someone else replicated the study (Creswell amp Poth 2018164-5) In the case of

qualitative studies where the researcher is intertwined with the interpretations the probability

of someone else reaching the exact same result is small but thick descriptions of methodology

and the data increases reliability somewhat The generalizability of qualitative studies is often

low and especially so when the sample is skewed The results of this study should be considered

valid only for the group studied since the results could have been different with different

28

representations of gender or class for example However with a purposeful sample of people

with a certain experience the goal is not generalizability beyond the group

Another potential issue is the fact that the quotes from the interviews included in this thesis

have been translated from Swedish to English which means that there is a risk that some of the

core meanings of the quotes may have been spoiled or changed However the analysis was

done on the Swedish transcripts making sure the interpretations were made on the original

material Thus the problem of translating quotes is mainly a problem of communicating the

results to the reader in the same form they appeared in the analysis process of the original

material

5 Results and analysis

As explained in the methods section (43 Coding and analysis) the analysis was gradually

turning toward the themes of a) interpretation privilege and b) how the notion of interpretation

privilege affects the leeway for action These themes will be the focus of the analysis which

will show that although the allies experience their allyship as important and meaningful they

sometimes struggle to find a path for themselves in their attempt to be lsquogoodrsquo allies Their

commitment to respecting interpretation privilege helps them live up the to the ally role as

supporters of Black people in general but it limits the leeway in which they are able to act

independently as political agents But first some general findings on how the allies think about

their role will be presented which primarily relates to the first research question about the

experiences of ally work

The overall experience of allyship is that the ally identity is surrounded by purpose community

and positive experiences They are all highly committed to and well-educated about the cause

Being part of the movement feels meaningful and even like rdquoa privilege to be able to be a part

of it and listen and learnrdquo as Lisa says She describes her emotional experiences

First there was a lot of frustration I think And then there was this powerfulhellip

some kind of like rsquowowrsquo there were a lot of chills there for a while [laughs]

because people really came together

29

Sam shares the experience of initial frustration and pain They describe the feeling when their

frustration and anger transformed into hope like ldquofree fallingrdquo ndash the realization that they were a

part of a group with so many sympathizers made it feel like change was possible

Most ally work was performed online and consisted of acts such as sharing information

knowledge and opinions participating in online seminars and meetings signing petitions and

lsquochecking inrsquo at the US Embassy in Stockholm on Facebook as part of a global protest act To

signal their support for the movement they occasionally used hashtags such as

blacklivesmatter and blackouttuesday All participants got most of their information from

social media in line with the general trend in contemporary activism (Ahmed et al 2017447

Heldman 201788) Previous research emphasizes the important role of emotions in social

movement mobilization and all participants in this study recognized how constant access to

heartbreaking stories virtual proof of mistreatment and a global sense of community provided

by social media motivated them to act (see for example Russo 2014)

Some interviewees also participated outside of social media by attending physical

demonstrations (Sam Sara and Emma) It is impossible to say how many of the interviewees

would have attended had there not been a global pandemic However as digital activism has

become dominating in contemporary social movements (Jaumlmte et al 2020371-2) the low rate

of physical protest among the participants in this study should not be attributed to the pandemic

alone For example Lucas says he has not been to as many demonstrations over the last years

as he would have wanted because of work and other circumstances Amanda says she has

always seen herself as an activist as someone who does what otherrsquos lacks the energy or

resources to do but that she is ldquonot the person who attends demos you knowrdquo And Caroline

who is involved in several organizations besides her antiracist engagement even experiences

that the pandemic has made participation easier for her since it can now be done from home ndash

a point Alva agrees with as she experiences difficulties joining offline protests due to physical

illness Thus the effects of the Covid pandemic are not exclusively negative and limiting Apart

from the different demonstrations the allies also emphasized how implementing antiracist ideas

into their everyday behavior and their professional lives is crucial to be a good ally

The main motivator for their allyship is the notion of privilege All interviewees refer to

themselves as White and relate it to privilege an increasingly common tendency and a

prerequisite for antiracist commitment among Whites (Cole 20201627 Spanierman amp Smith

2017608-9) Lisa describes herself as a ldquoprivileged White woman raised in a middle-class

homerdquo and she says that she faced few obstacles growing up and Sam argues that their White

30

identity gives them platforms and privileges many Black people lack Therefore they use their

social media to amplify the voices of Black people sharing their voices stories and

perspectives Amplifying voices of marginalized groups has been recognized in research as one

of the main tasks for allies (Arora amp Stout 2019390 Bhattacharyya et al 202012 Clark

2019528-31)

The argument of amplifying Black voices as a way to utilize onersquos privilege is twofold First

the participants see their privilege as an opportunity to reach out to fellow Whites who they

expect will listen more to their White counterparts than they would to a Black person which is

confirmed in previous research (see for example Arora amp Stout 2019 Linder amp Johnson 2015)

For example Lucas says

Us Whites who are not affected by racism we have to stand up and show that itrsquos

not OK to spread racism If we donrsquot therersquoll never be any change because

sometimes it feels like people listen more to [hellip] a White person confirming that

what a Black person says is true

Sam shares this reasoning and they actively try to reach people with ldquodeeply racist prejudicerdquo

who would ldquonever listen to a Black personrdquo According to Haraway (1988577) subjugated

groups are deprived the privilege of assumed objectivity and reduced to their position as

inherently linked to and epistemologically limited by their social position in a way the dominant

groups are not Subjugated knowledge must always be fought for in terms of recognition

(Collins 1990414) and the allies in this study is dedicated to doing so in order to reduce the

impact of their own privilege and increase the outreach of Black people Katrin recognizes how

this process of validation of knowledge based on power is an unequal process where Black

people are seen as unreliable because they are ldquoacting out of self-interestrdquo whereas White

people are assigned more credibility Recognizing these mechanisms does not mean that the

interviewees accept them they use words such as ldquoterriblerdquo and ldquodisgustingrdquo to describe the

phenomenon and they feel both guilty about having these privileges and motivated to use them

for good which has been recognized as a potential effect of guilt in previous research (Dull et

al 20211081-84) However acknowledging this epistemic hierarchy is not an automatic

renouncing of privilege but can instead reinforce racist structures by assuming the assigned

value of White knowledge is higher and thus seeing the role of White allies as more important

than that of Black people in fighting racism (see Collins 1009)

31

The second aspect of White privilege in antiracist activism is as recognized by the interviewees

the fact that the costs of engaging are much lower for White people than they are for Black

simply because one does not risk facing racism as a response to speaking up (Drury amp Kaiser

2014642) For example Sam says they saw their ability to participate in the demonstration as

a privilege ndash not everyone can be sure to get home safe if they choose to attend a demo due to

the potential threat of police harassment or counter-protestors These costs are further lowered

by the fact that most ally work is done online Sara for example says that it enables her to

ldquotake the fightrdquo without ending up in situations too uncomfortable or even dangerous

Essentially the privilege of being listened to and the lower cost of speaking up for White allies

motivates specific responsibilities assigned to ally work but it also risks reproducing racist

hierarchies by assigning White knowledge higher value The remainder of the analysis will

focus on how these responsibilities are put into practice and what may limit the allies in their

attempts to do ally work

51 Balancing ally work

Related to the second research question is to what extent the allies feel like they are entitled to

act in the movement and this following section aims to show what different aspects affect this

perception Based on the ideas about privilege and responsibility the difficulties in balancing

different strategies of ally work will now be analyzed Although it may seem self-explanatory

what allies should do based on the previous section ndash use their privilege to raise their voices

against racist discrimination ndash the experiences of the interviewed allies shows that it is more

complicated than at first glance They must balance different strategies which can be defined

as following

A Listen but do not exploit

B Help but do not hijack

C Step down but do not become paralyzed

These three points represent how different ally assignments presented by the interviewees are

at some point met with objections or disclaimers There are a multitude of examples in the

interviews but the above-mentioned strategies are the most representative and common For

analytical and stylistic purposes they will be presented in a step-by-step form but they should

not be understood as linear or causal The relationship between these aspects is much more

32

complicated which the analysis aims to demonstrate Before analyzing these three strategies

the concept that serves as an implicit (sometimes explicit) point of departure for most decisions

by the allies should be accounted for namely the concept of interpretation privilege

511 Interpretation privilege

In all interviews there is an assumption about what kind of knowledge is legitimate knowledge

and interpretations based on interpretation privilege (tolkningsfoumlretraumlde in Swedish) 9 of the

11 interviewees explicitly mention the term but the theme is discussed in all interviews This

means that despite their academic degrees years of professional experience in human rights

work or their genuine interest for social justice issues the interviewees recognize how their

lack of lived experience reduces their ability to fully understand the issue of racism The idea

of interpretation privilege is interpreted here as a translation of ideas about situated knowledge

(Collins 1990408) lived experience (Voronka 2016194) and power into everyday political

lingo This idea is expressed continuously throughout the interviews as a part of their political

reasoning and it guides how they relate to their role as allies Katrin explains

It is not the same thing to understand racism by reading about it or by seeing or

hearing about othersrsquo experiences as it is to carry it in the body It will never be

possible for me to understand that

Interpretation privilege then helps allies understand and accept their own inability to fully

comprehend racism and it creates respect towards the testimonies made by people who

experiences racism However knowing that one lacks access to a full understanding also

contributes to self-doubt about the ally role and the work associated with it Caroline who

studies to become a psychologist tells me she has some concerns about being a White

psychologist treating Black patients Her professors claim psychologists do not need to share

the patientsrsquo experiences but Caroline is doubtful

ldquoI as a White person will never be able to fully understand being constantly

vigilant as a Black person in Sweden not knowing what the day will be like to

constantly be exposed to microaggressions and discrimination and even worse

abuse every dayhelliprdquo

Accepting interpretation privilege as the fact that if one is not exposed to racism one will never

know exactly what it feels like is empathetic and sensitive to the lived experience of Black

33

people It means respecting the ways Black people make sense of and deal with their own

experiences of oppression without claiming to know better However for the participants in

this study it often leads them to disregard all kinds of personal opinions thoughts or ideas

about what racism is and what should be done about it simply because they lack lived

experience of racism The participants sometimes struggle to balance their own knowledge

against the opinions and experiences of Black people Caroline again

Itrsquos this thing about interpreting different actions ndash is this a racist action or not

Well thatrsquos not up to me [hellip] And I think that interpretation privilege in general

in social media too that you just donrsquot go in and interpret what is right and wrong

Here the lack of interpretation privilege disqualifies Caroline from even deciding whether she

finds something right or wrong although such judgements are foundational in political thinking

Interpretation privilege also decides the legitimacy of actions according to Sara she argues

that whereas it is the job of White allies to speak up against other Whites the meaning of the

action is not the same as if a Black person would do it Essentially if a White ally wants to

stand up against racism it should be with a disclaimer

I think it is important to be like lsquothis is my understanding of it but I donrsquot have

interpretation privilegersquo just to create some awareness that I donrsquot have any

right to think anything - Emma

Some participants strip themselves of their agency by retreating to the idea that their

perspectives thoughts and ideas do not matter Lisa tells me that she sometimes censors herself

by not posting or sharing certain things because she feels like she has too little knowledge She

also stays out of debates she is interested in because she ldquodoes not feel [she] has the right to say

something or make a statement in these issuesrdquo Another example of how allies renounce their

political agency can be represented by Sara who tells me that when she saw my participant

message she was concerned that I searched for lsquoself-identified alliesrsquo In her perspective the

label lsquoallyrsquo is not something that one can claim independently one must earn it by being

recognized as such by a Black person Zhelnina (2020361) points to the importance of activists

growing independence emotional confidence and autonomy in their political interpretations

for a movement to successfully mobilize and in a discourse where one does not even possess

the right to claim allyship to a political movement this type of independence and confidence

may be difficult to develop

34

Another important aspect is the conflict that arises when people with interpretation privilege

disagree within the group Lucas says he has met Black people who defend the right to use

racial slurs That does not mean he accept this as true and uses these words himself but he

acknowledges that these situations could be problematic The multitude of perspectives to

consider especially considering the global character of the movement and its social media

presence it becomes difficult to decide what to believe in And when those who have been

assigned authority in this case Black people with interpretation privilege it becomes even

harder The reflexive globalized world with endless sources of information with sometimes

contradictory messages makes it hard to navigate (Giddens 1991138) This problem also

relates to what Voronka (2016196) described as essentialist tendencies when using the concept

of lived experience as a criterion for inclusion With social media where almost unlimited

information is always accessible to the individual the effort to develop independent

interpretations becomes unnecessary and in the case of the White allies insensitive

However it should be noted that although the idea of interpretation privilege is present in all

interviews the participants are also aware that other types of knowledge such as skills from

previous experience in social movements or academic judicial or general professional

knowledge is important Many of them say that they do feel confident of the practical abilities

they have built up over many years of activism and civil society work and Alva among others

points to how she would like to take on the role of fixing practical organizational tasks for the

BLM movement if she were to become more involved in the future Thus there is no validity

in claiming that the interviewees lack all sorts of self-esteem in their ally identity and that they

completely disregard other types of knowledge as Lucas says ldquointerpretation privilege is not

everythingrdquo Still statements such as ldquoI donrsquot have any right to think anythingrdquo or rdquoItrsquos this

thing about interpreting actions ndash is this racist or not Well thatrsquos not up to merdquo are common

in the interviews Although many of the participants can be interpreted as having ontological

security in terms of knowing what they are good at they cannot translate this into a practical

consciousness that guides their actions in a natural manner which creates ontological insecurity

and passivity (Giddens 199144) This relates to findings about lack of lived experience as

leading to potential insensitivity to discrimination which the interviewees recognize in

themselves (Drury amp Kaiser 2014369-42) In theories of situated knowledge it is emphasized

how a multitude of perspectives is needed and that subjugated groups do not have natural access

to hidden truths (Haraway 1988583-6 Young 199027) The disregarding of White ally

perspectives due to lack of lived experience is thus not inherent in the theories themselves but

35

rather something that seems to occur along the popularized interpretation of the term as it is

translated into everyday political lingo as interpretation privilege

So in navigating what to do as an ally while being committed to the idea of interpretation

privilege the first strategy for good ally work is formulated listening

512 Listen but do not exploit

So drawing upon the notion of interpretation privilege the appropriate way to consume

information about racial issues and determining what to do is by listening to Black people

Listening itself becomes not only a way to retrieve information and insight but a political

practice that reflects power structures and identity It becomes a way to renounce onersquos owns

privilege and instead assigning the power of being heard to others (see Collins 1990 Haraway

1988 Young 2004) Sam explains

I as a White person will never be able to sit there and decide what is right and

wrong when it comes to Black experiences or just non-White experiences Irsquove got

nothing to say about that I know nothing about it I just donrsquot What I can do is

listen and learn and I need to take the initiative as a student in this subject

Listening and taking a step back represents successful allyship according to Lucas because it

means both getting access to the right information and showing emotional support and respect

for people exposed to racism Listening is a powerful way to use onersquos White privilege

respecting the interpretation privilege of Black people and redirecting some of the privilege

and power associated to onersquos whiteness to Black people which is one of the main assignments

of allies (Brown amp Ostrove 20132211) But apart from being a virtuous alternative strategy

for allies it is also a relatively effortless option compared to other types of activism such as

participating in demonstrations Effective unproblematic and ideologically right a seemingly

perfect strategy to apply as a White ally

However it is not that simple listening is not only an act of rejecting the power associated to

onersquos racial identity but also hauntingly close to exploitation of Black experience according

to the interviewees The problem of freeriding and exploiting or capitalizing on the stories of

subjugated groups has been acknowledged in previous research on allyship (Clark 2019530

Linder amp Johnson 20159) For example Lisa argues that White people should be careful

36

talking about racism as if they could understand it and instead listen to what Black people say

- but at the same time she says it quickly becomes counterproductive

Black Swedes are not supposed to have to educate me about the racism they

experience because in that case what do I really demand from a Black person

Lou has the same idea and she tells me about how she used to ask her Black partner many

lsquodumbrsquo questions but that she realized that this means that she puts the burden of educating her

on him Sara avoids asking her Black friends about how she as a White ally can help because

that puts too much responsibility on those Black friends Amanda tells me she is after having

listened to one of the biggest antiracist podcasts Raseriet afraid of being one of lsquothose White

peoplersquo who demand to be taught about racism from Black people After all they all agree that

racism is a problem White people created and a problem for White people to solve ndash the

responsibility should not land on Black people As Emma says

Itrsquos essentially White peoplersquos problem itrsquos White people who built the structures

we are protesting [hellip] Itrsquos not Black people who are supposed to stand there and

scream their lungs out about Black Lives Matter but itrsquos about White people

needing to get together and saying like lsquonow we have to fix this because we

created itrsquo

So while trying to balance interpretation privilege the participants easily stumble into another

pitfall Listening as ally work increases the risk of becoming a burden on Black people by

depending on them for education explanations and guidance and exploiting their knowledge

and lived experience for self-improvement which also reinforces racist structures Black people

are implicitly seen as political objects rather than subjects inevitably crushed under the pressure

of White questions and demands and in need of White protection The point of allyship is to

make life and activism easier for Black people not the other way around which brings us to

another strategy of allyship to balance helping

513 Help but do not hijack

Based on the idea that listening as political practice can become exploitative and freeriding the

allies land in the conclusion that helping is the main assignment for allies They motivate this

by referring to their own privileges However as this section will show helping as a political

practice is also surrounded by potential problems

37

The idea of helping as ally work relates again to the idea that the costs of confronting racism is

lower for White people than for Black people (Drury amp Kaiser 2014642) as well as the

realization that White people are granted more respect and legitimacy when advocating for

antiracist causes (Arora amp Stout 2019390) Helping consists of claiming co-responsibility of

changing society protecting Black people from painful experiences and deal with the racism

of White people For example if an ally hears someone being racist they must speak up Sara

tries to do so because she does not want to add to any Black personrsquos burden of having to take

every fight themselves Emma argues that it is not Black peoplersquos responsibility to keep the

movement alive and therefore it is important that White people speak up She thinks ldquoit feels

stupid if White people would just sit around and wait for initiatives cause then you donrsquot do

anything goodrdquo If Black people are left alone with total responsibility of changing institutions

and organizations in Loursquos experience that usually puts Black people in situations where the

risk of being exposed to racism is high and without the support system of allies to help

Although all interviewees describe different ways of helping and supporting Black people and

the BLM movement as a main task for allies such statements are often followed by a disclaimer

For example they say ldquoitrsquos this balance that you being White shouldnrsquot go in and take overrdquo

(Emma) and ldquoWe should support we should be there we should recognize and lift the issues

But we should not be the main actorsrdquo (Alva) One of the most common phrases in the

interviews were lsquothat is not my placersquo This reasoning is present regardless of what types of

actions the interviewees talk about both high-level activism in formal organizations or

representing the movement in media and everyday civil courage such as speaking up against

racist comments in the workplace Sara adds to her statement about wanting to speak up to help

Black people saying that she ldquoalso has to leave room for Black people to act and not trying to

be like lsquoI know best now so let me explain racismrsquordquo Amanda shares similar thoughts saying

Itrsquos important that this can be a movement that Black people own themselves and

that itrsquos not something us White people can just barge into and take over Itrsquos a

balancing between goodwill and wanting to help and to not barge in and be like

lsquoThis is what racism isrsquo

Amanda has worked in organizations who educate people in moral courage and antiracism for

a few years and she has much experience in this type of political work But when she is

contacted in her role as an antiracist educator and asked to hold a course in a workplace she

doubts herself She feels that she must lsquowarnrsquo them about her whiteness ldquoI have to start by

38

saying that Irsquom White Irsquoll never be able to talk about racism like a Black person couldrdquo During

spring of 2020 she started to think about her role again she tells me She concluded that ldquothis

is not my place this organization is not my place but I could do activism in other waysrdquo In

most interviews there are similar reasonings for example Bea explains how she is not against

White people organizing against racism but that she

would not be very comfortable doing it or starting an appeal or initiative like

lsquoWhites in support for Black Lives Matterrsquo because thatrsquos nothellip thatrsquos claiming

space and attention

Katrin said that she in her work at an equality foundation had to weigh her wish to do

something against the risk of ldquotaking over a voice that was just starting to build uprdquo and Lou

who works in HR criticizes her own attempts to implement antiracist ideas at her workplace

because she doubts if she has any right to ldquoclaim that we have to work with so-called diversity

issuesrdquo or ldquobe that voice in a White roomrdquo Emma mentions ldquosupporting without taking overrdquo

as the most important aspect of ally work This is an important part of allyship being

supportive standing by Black peoplersquos side acknowledging oppression raising the issues but

without being the protagonists of the movement as Alva explains Lisa agrees she asks herself

rdquoIs this my space to claim I donrsquot know am I supposed to march in the frontline when it comes

to this issue like Irsquom not so sure about thatrdquo In these statements it is implicitly assumed that

if Whites wanted to take over from Black people they easily could (even unconsciously) and

this implies Black people are less resilient as political actors

These arguments are often motivated by their own experiences with men taking space in

feminist movements They think about the way they want men to act and applies the same

reasoning to their own allyship

If this was about feminism and there was a dude telling me this or doing this that

Irsquom talking about now [taking over authorrsquos note] how would I react then [hellip]

I find it odd when female feminists feel like they have to pay tribute to and psyche

up male feminists I donrsquot think male feminists should need that And I feel the

same way about like Black people shouldnrsquot have to care about me at all it may

sound weird but I donrsquot do it for them itrsquos other Whites I want to affect ndash Katrin

Allies often use their own identities and social positions to understand other types of oppression

and although it seems to function as a source of empathy and compassion for the other group

as well as regulating ones ally behavior it is important to acknowledge that lived experience of

39

sexism does not mean inevitable understanding of experiences of racism (Spanierman amp Smith

2017608-10) which the allies mention themselves

This section shows that the strategy of helping is not as straight-forward and easily managed as

first described but instead associated with a big risk lsquoWhat if I take over What does it say

about me if I dordquo They engage in reflexive identity construction without being ontologically

secure eg without having a ldquopractical consciousnessrdquo or ldquonatural attituderdquo that guides how to

act This creates anxiety and fear of doing and thus being wrong (Giddens 199136) All

participants agree that although allies are important in creating change the movement is and

should be a Black space Although they are confident in these believes and dedicated to living

up to these ideals they are still afraid of unintentionally taking over or hijacking the movement

despite their wish to simply help and support the movement from the background To minimize

the risk of being one of those White allies who barges in and takes over the allies make sure to

balance this by taking a step back and leaving room for Black people to lead the way

514 Take a step back but do not become paralyzed

The choice to take a step back following the alliesrsquo reasoning about claiming space and taking

over means that they are more and more evolving toward a state of allyship where few actions

are legitimate and unproblematic This can be interpreted as a sign that the strategies described

previously (listening and helping) are not part of the alliesrsquo practical consciousness and that

engaging in such ally work is experienced as difficult and frightening due to ontological

insecurity This often leads to passivity (Giddens 199144) Taking a step back is described as

lsquoleaving room forrsquo Black people and it consists of listening (which as previous sections of the

analysis show is not seen as entirely unproblematic) and sharing the perspectives of Black

people for example in social media but without claiming a frontline position in the movement

These are two strategies that reduces the influence of White voices on the antiracist discourse

Taking a step back and leaving room for Black people is a way to denounce the privilege of

being listened to (Arora amp Stout 2019294-5) and reducing the power gap between dominant

and subjugated groups in terms of knowledge production (Collins 1990408)

However the interviewees testify to how the strategy to take a step back is often (but not

always) a shortcut to passivity Katrin who works in an equality foundation dealing with issues

of sexism and racism tells me what happened in her organization when choosing the take-a-

step-back approach by sharing articles Instagram posts and other materials created by Black

40

people and thus engaging in amplification of Black voices (Clark 2019528-31) They were

later criticized for ldquonot doing more not talking about it more screaming more sharing

morehelliprdquo They tried to do the right thing but failed Katrin wonders if they should have done

something of their own something bigger while also acknowledging how it would be

problematic of them to claim the spotlight

The allies worry about their own tendencies to become passive because of trying to navigate

among the different strategies Katrin explains this mechanism as a process where learning

about privilege and power creates an insight of onersquos own role in this power structure

ldquoYou realize that lsquoI have power I have responsibility and I do not have

interpretation privilegersquo and that makes you so scared to do anything wrong that

you end up doing nothing at allrdquo

She describes the insights as ldquoparalyzingrdquo and this experience is shared by more of the

interviewees and found in previous research (Brown amp Ostrove 20132220) Emma says that

it is a complex question that she thinks about a lot and that she has not yet landed in any

conclusions about what she should be doing as an ally but she knows that she must avoid

becoming paralyzed However it could be reflexivity itself that leads to such passivity

(Giddens 199144) Political background does not affect this mechanism as it is observed in

those with no prior experience as well as those with years of activism In some ways having

more prior experience can even make it harder to navigate the ally role because the roles

previously taken are no longer open to you as White Alva explains

Irsquom so used to being in the front and in the middle and being in the back is not

really like how I have been engaged before Irsquom not really used to it and to have

my role defined as being in the backseat in the back of the bus as Whitehellip [hellip] I

havenrsquot done that before And Irsquove struggled to find my role ndash what can I do

Cause I feel my hands are tied behind my back a little I would love to do more but

at the same time my interest cannot decide what the main issue should be Itrsquos all

about knowing your role and your place and being very sensitive to when people

tell you to back away or step up

At the end of each interview they were asked What would you like to see for the movement in

the future I got many analytical answers but some responded by saying like Alva ldquoItrsquos hard

for me to answer because Irsquom White I donrsquot know what needs to be focused on right now and

Irsquom not the right person to askrdquo Lisa says rdquoI donrsquot feel I have the right to speak on this or like

41

debate this issuerdquo Amanda does not answer the question either and refers to how it would be

inappropriate for her to try to decide what the movement should be about Interestingly she

notices how this perspective is only present in her relation to antiracism as she has worked for

LGBTQ-rights for years despite identifying as straight She cannot point out what is different

when it comes to antiracism but she feels there is a difference The uncertainty of knowing

what to do risks leading to passivity

ldquoItrsquos like Irsquove come tohellip Not a stop but a landmark and itrsquos like I canrsquot get

further than that because I donrsquot know what to do Irsquom sure there are things I

could do and a role for me to take on but I canrsquot find it right nowrdquo - Alva

Again the interviewees are aware of the paralyzing effect of their strategies and Lou claims

that she knows that she is overthinking it

When I discuss this with people who are exposed to racism I sometimes get the

feeling that theyrsquore like lsquowe donrsquot care who does it somebody just do itrsquo There

is a need for antiracist work to be done [hellip] So I think that itrsquos easy to fall into

some kind of paralyzed state that doesnrsquot help anybody

The assumption of passivity among contemporary activists can be considered mainstream in

the social movement field Youths of Western democracies are less engaged in any kind of

traditional political involvement such as voting political party membership or other

associational activities (Amnaring amp Ekman 20136) Often this decline in political activity is

attributed to the growing prevalence of digital methods instead of more traditional physical

methods because it gives people an undeserved sense of accomplishment (Skoric 201277) and

a false idea of what activism is efficient (Morozov 200913) Although the majority of the

intervieweesrsquo activism consisted of digital participation and digital participation only it would

be unfair to claim that it is out of a sense of undeserving feeling of accomplishment that they

stopped at digital methods Quite opposite to the conclusions made by Skoric and Morozov of

the self-absorbed slacktivist the interviewees are far from happy with their contributions to the

movement Digital activism is associated with laziness slack and performative allyship by the

interviewees and they usually do not value digital activism as high as physical engagement

For example Lisa says she feels a bit ashamed of being more of a ldquokeyboard activist than a real

activistrdquo and Amanda shares similar thoughts about her own participation

42

When I posted the image I felt like lsquoIrsquom so fucking lame for doing only thisrsquo

[laughs] I didnrsquot really think of it as an activist action because it was so easy

Thus the emotional experience relates to feeling ashamed which under specific circumstances

and motivate action ndash but often it leads to passivity (Dull et al 20211081-84 Zhelnina

2020361) When Emma describes how accessible online activism is she presents a scenario

where someone can ldquosit at home in the couch and watch a movie and at the same time just log

into social media and protestrdquo Bea even laughs while telling me that she ldquothinks she shared a

black square on Instagram like everyone elserdquo Accessibility is not an indicator of democratic

or inclusive value but quality and it seems like the easier it is the lower it is valued by the

allies Comparing to the study by Russo (2014) where the allies put themselves through

physical challenges to demonstrate their allyship the digital form of ally work is interpreted as

a lower form of activism and is surrounded by feelings of inadequacy and shame Although the

reasons for why many of them stopped at digital activism varies none of them did it out of

satisfaction or laziness In the cases where physical limitations the pandemic or lack of protests

in onersquos hometown was not the reason it was rooted in an insecurity about what to do as an

ally Digital methods were perceived as a safer option in a context where almost all other types

of White participation are criticized and the potential pain of being called out as a bad ally is

perceived to be lower in the digital realm than it would be in other contexts

As this section shows the allies handle the potential risk of hijacking the movement by taking

a step back to leave room for Black people to define shape and ultimately run the movement

themselves However this strategy creates its own problems there is an imminent risk of

becoming passive So when listening does not work because of the risk of freeriding and

exploiting Black experiences and actively helping to relieve Black people of the burden to

overthrow systemic racism is deemed inappropriate because it includes a risk of hijacking the

movement and stepping back is ruled out because it leads to passivity ndash what remains

515 Do good but not for the wrong reasons Introspection

In line with previous research and theory introspection of different kinds is often discussed as

an important ally assignment (Drury amp Kaiser 2014638 Kauffman 200124 29-32) Without

introspection the quality of allyship risks becoming deficient because without being aware of

onersquos privilege as well as guilt allyship easily slips into paternalistic behavior (Cole

20201267 Spanierman amp Smith 609-10) Introspection is described in terms of ldquochecking

43

myselfrdquo (Sam) ldquotake a step back and acknowledge that I am part of a racist systemrdquo (Lisa) and

being ldquohumble to the fact that you are part the structurerdquo (Caroline) All interviewees express

the idea that one cannot be a good ally or contribute to positive change without first having

engaged in introspection in different ways

I think one of the most important things is to understand your own whiteness It

sounds kind of ego and self-centered but I think that you canrsquot be an ally

otherwise ever if you donrsquot see your own privilege [hellip] Otherwise you end up

balancing the line between racism and antiracism and that line is thinner than

you think - Lou

This imagined thin line between antiracism and racism concerns many interviewees Lisa

Lucas and Emma also see the risk of falling into racist behavior as big and that they must start

by recognizing this risk to avoid it Amanda says that she knows that she eventually will do

something racist but that she tries not to fear it because ldquoself-criticism can create fear often

therersquos a fear of saying or doing the wrong thing which makes people afraid to be alliedrdquo which

creates passivity Sam calls self-reflection and rdquochecking themselvesrdquo their most important job

and claims that if their aim was to destroy racism that would indicate that they thought of

themselves as bias-free which they are not Lucas also recognizes his own prejudice and says

it is part of his ally work to try to diminish these biases The potential for racist behavior is both

ascribed to being raised in a racist system and to White identity Amanda attributes her future

racist actions to her whiteness explicitly and Caroline argues that all White people are capable

of racist actions regardless of intent lsquowokenessrsquo and knowledge and she knows that she will

at some point act racist despite her devotion to antiracism and her love for her Black partner

All these considerations are part of the reflexive process that is self-identity constantly

scrutinizing oneself and navigating around different actions to act in line with self-identity

(Giddens 199175) When the stakes are as high as they are for White allies ndash they risk acting

and thus being racist if they do not engage in enough introspection The room for action

becomes further limited

In relation to the digital realm where most ally work took place introspection also becomes

about motivations The main concern for the interviewees was whether or not they should use

their social media platforms for ally work at all since digital methods are sometimes frowned

upon for being shallow and too simple Despite this all of them did some type of digital ally

work When I asked those who shared the black square on Instagram why some of them

44

laughed and said that they did not know or could not explain it They mention motivations such

as fitting in

In a way it was like everyone on my Instagram did it and it became like a peer

pressure thing like rsquowhy didnrsquot she share itrsquo or rsquowhy didnrsquot he hare itrsquo you

know ndash Emma

Besides peer pressure the desire to lsquofeel goodrsquo was also reflected upon Many acknowledge

that this desire existed but they did not approve of it as a motive for action Caroline explains

that although it is good to show others where you stand it does not say much about who you

are in the everyday life and the act of posting on social media instead become about seeming

or feeling good The thing they worry about is whether them showing support for the BLM

movement was intended to help the movement or to make themselves look better ndash sometimes

called cosmetic activism (Spanierman amp Smith 2017609-10) or more often among the

participants performative allyship Lou who regularly shares information opinions petitions

and hashtags in her social media says that she worries about her allyship being performative

because she knows most of her followers already shares her opinions Thus her sharing yet

another Instagram post about how racism is wrong could possibly be to ldquoshow off and make

myself feel a little betterrdquo She is careful to stop and reflect upon her actions and intentions and

ask herself lsquowhy did I do this What was my purposersquo Bea shares the same concerns

describing online activism as potentially about ldquostrengthening your personal brandrdquo and

ldquomarketing yourselfrdquo ndash although she does not identify with these motives she feels like there

is always a risk of falling into performative allyship in social media Posting on social media is

also described as a way to claim an antiracist alibi as Bea explains

One way to avoid this is to actively choose not to share with others the activism they engage in

like Sam who calls it unlearning performative allyship Instead of risking acting in the wrong

way and for the wrong reasons they turn to strategic passivism However the unintended result

of this is that one of the main advantages of allies in social movements (that they can use their

voices and platforms to amplify Black voices) goes missing if social media posts are no longer

considered legitimate allyship (Arora amp Stout 2019390 Bhattacharyya et al 202012 Clark

2019528-31)

Introspection is not only a way to secure high-quality allyship but to reduce the risk of doing

something racist and thus being racist Identity is constructed biographically through action

and if the actions does not align with the sense of self-identity this incoherence leads to

45

ontological insecurity in terms of the self meaning one starts to doubt onersquos own motives

(Giddens 199152-54) Seeing onersquos own whiteness as a guarantee of future racist behavior

and knowing how such behavior would clash with the sense of self allies do best in trying to

avoid racist action by all means available Thus acting becomes a risk in itself and this could

be interpreted as ally work becoming unintuitive and unnatural to the allies both at a practical

level determining what to do and at a more discursive level shaping who to be Although

ontological security is defined as practical consciousness it applies to less hands-on orientation

in the world too for example finding onersquos role and identity in a social movement The way to

move forward after recognizing all possible ways one may act wrong is to engage in strategic

passivism apolitical introspection as a political strategy (Kauffman 200124 29-32 Giddens

199144) It is not equivalent to passivity because it includes a strategic choice and it is built

on ally work but ally work that is aimed inwards It becomes a way to be active without acting

in a context where other people may get hurt or judge you

Allies must also make sure not only to act coherently and right but to have pure intentions

being an ally for the sake of recognition or personal gratification is not accepted However

research shows that such extrinsic motivations are especially important in motivating digital

participation (Lilleker amp Koc-Michalska 201725 34-25) and that feelings of shame and guilt

can lead to passivity (Dull et al 20211081-84 Zhelnina 2020361) These two conditions

(ideas of inherent racism and requirements of pure motives) related to introspection does not

create an environment where being active is very appealing Lou admits how acknowledging

the thin line between antiracism and racism leaves her paralyzed instead of motivated

Introspection on the other hand requires no interaction with other people and thus no risk of

being evaluated judged or called out as a bad ally

As the analysis demonstrates the allies recognize there are many different ways they could

engage ndash but all of them are eventually met with disclaimers of how that specific strategy is

inappropriate They try to navigate their own identity and privilege in relation to interpretation

privilege based on theories of situated knowledge but because they lack ontological security

in their ally role they struggle to find a path that is neither inappropriate nor associated with

too much risk Eventually they land in what could be referred to as passivism strategic

passivity as a form of activism

46

6 Discussion and conclusion

The purpose of this study was to better understand how the ally role and participation is

experienced by White allies participating in the Swedish BLM movement and to investigate to

what extent they felt that they had legitimacy as political agents in the movement As the results

show the allies felt strongly for the cause and had many positive experiences of community

and purpose However emotions related to shame guilt and insecurity were also an integral

part of their ally experience and it limited them in their ally work The analysis also shows that

while they are willing and motivated to act as allies the strategies available to them are

surrounded by disclaimers doubt and criticism Few potential actions or approaches are left

unproblematized and the allies often struggle to find their specific path The analysis

emphasizes the link between academic theories of situated knowledge and what can be seen as

a translated popularized version of the term formulated in the political discourse as

interpretation privilege The contribution of Giddensrsquo theories is that the concepts of reflexivity

and ontological security describes the reason for the hesitation the allies engage in whereas the

concept of situated knowledge describes on what basis they hesitate modernity explains why

they worry and situated knowledge what they worry about

Although the analysis shows a pattern that seems to link ideas of interpretation privilege with

passivism among allies the conclusion should not be that acknowledging the importance of

situated knowledge and recognizing the power intertwined with the knowledge creation and

validation process is unnecessary or harmful The theories of situated knowledge standpoint

theory and Black feminist epistemology are important contributions to the sociology of

knowledge and crucial reminders of the power embedded in knowledge However of interest

to political sociology scholars could be the translation of academic concepts into everyday

political lingo and what effects it may have on how people think about politics agency and

identity It is also important to point out that the statements by the interviewees do not reflect

the concept of interpretation privilege in itself but only their interpretation of it Therefore one

could never claim that the concept in itself limits or motivates anything only the way it is

interpreted

Many parts of the results need further investigation One is the implication of guilt if allies are

so limited in this movement whose fault is it It is easy to jump to the conclusion that the fault

belongs to the movement itself and its participants that activists and allies specifically create

47

an environment where action is limited and surrounded by doubt and insecurity This is not the

conclusion of the study Black people or specifically Black movement participants are not to

blame for a culture created by all participants of the movement and this culture or discourse

should be treated as such a larger collective process or frame that is affected by and affecting

all movement participants and the social context it is constructed in It is power on the discursive

level and beyond the reach of any specific grouprsquos aims to control it The experiences and

emotions of the allies should be treated as manifestations of a larger socio-political context

(Buechler 1995458) which could be the focus of future research

Another important aspect to discuss is the implications of quality of the participants allyship

Much research on the passivity of modern activists for example texts on slacktivism (see

Skoric 2012) have a contemptuous tone while discussing how little activists do and how good

they feel about themselves I refrain from evaluating the quality of the actual activism

performed by the allies and from explaining their digitally dominated activism with slacktivism

Instead of seeing contemporary passivism as a potential problem of bad activists one must

focus on the cultural structural and discursive processes enabling this specific kind of activism

instead of other more traditional and acknowledged types of activism Something in the

political climate digital activism identity political social movements or something completely

different limits those who wish to support the movement as allies in their action repertoires

One interesting finding is the consistency in the way the participants describe their involvement

and the issues they thought about Looking at prior experience and their doubts and concerns

about current and future activism there seems to be no link between being unexperienced or

so to say a lsquorookiersquo activist and feeling insecure about what to do as an ally The same problem

was present for people working with equality issues for a living having academic degrees in

the field and well as those without similar professional and academic competences Thus it is

unlikely to be out of inexperience or lack of knowledge that allies sometimes turn to passivism

It is also important to note that while this analysis turned out to be about tendencies of

passivism the interviewed allies were in fact not passive They all engaged in different ally

work digitally and physically sharing information online participating in demonstrations and

trying to incorporate antiracism in their everyday lives and encounters The idea of passivism

applies to their own reasoning and thinking about their allyship more than it does to their

performed ally work Passivism describes their strategic use of introspection which resembles

being passive from out outside perspective but includes much effort in scrutinizing oneself and

trying to become a better ally something that the interviewees are very focused on

48

The main contribution of this study is its representation of the ally perspective something that

is not well researched in the Swedish context It contributes with an insight into the political

arguments of a contemporary social movement characterized by identity-focus and digital

methods Potential contributions could also relate to the questions what would be needed for

allyship to become effective motivating and less associated with introspection and passivism

questions to which the answers must be found in larger contexts than that of these 11 alliesrsquo

testimonies In order to say more about how contemporary allyship is constructed experienced

and given meaning a triangulation of different methods and data sources would be required

along with a bigger sample

The study raised more questioned than it answered which indicates the importance and

relevance of further studies For example the theoretical coherence between the academic

concept of situated knowledge and the more casual term interpretation privilege would need to

be further explored as this study is only a rather shallow review of the concepts Studying the

larger political development and the discourse on activism or racism could also help

constructing a more developed understanding of what it really means to be an ally in the local

context of 21st century Sweden while simultaneously being part of a global network of activists

The implications of these results could be that while allyship is considered important both for

social movements at large (see Brown amp Ostrove 2013 Arora amp Stout 2019 Clark 2019) and

for the individual allies themselves it is also problematized by the interviewees in line with the

problems presented in previous research Applying these results to White allyship there are

things that would need to change in order for the allies to feel secure enough to find the

motivation to participate in the way they all claim they would want to but have not found the

time motivation or feeling of legitimacy to do For ally work to be a force to be reckoned with

in the antiracist struggle preconditions for action beyond introspection and strategic passivism

must be further developed Relating back to Butler the risk is otherwise that

If white people become exclusively preoccupied with our own privilege we risk

becoming self-absorbed We definitely donrsquot need more white people making

everything about themselves that just re-centralizes whiteness and refuses to do

the work of anti-racism (Gleeson 2021)

49

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movement Social Movement Studies 16(4) 227-465 httpsdoi1010801474283720161192457

American Psychological Association (2019) Racial and ethnic identity httpapastyleapaorgstyle-grammar-

guidelinesbias-free-languageracial-ethnic-minorities

Amnaring E amp Ekman J (2013) Standby citizens diverse faces of political passivity European Political Science 1-21

httpsdoi101017S175577391300009X

Andersson P (2021) Bokrecension Vit skoumlrhet vaumllbehoumlvlig i svensk rasismdebatt SVT Nyheter Downloaded 2021-09-29

from httpswwwsvtsekulturbokrecension-vit-skorhet-skickar-meningsfulla-impulser-in-i-den-svenska-debatten

Arora M amp Stout CT (2018) Letters for Black Lives Co-ethnic Mobilization and Support for the Black Lives Matter

Movement Political Research Quarterly 72(2) 389-402 httpsdoiorg1011772F1065912918793222

Arribas Lozano A (2018) Knowledge co-production with social movement networks Redefining grassroots politics

rethinking research Social Movement Studies 17(4) 451-463 httpsdoiorg1010801474283720181457521

Barassi V amp Zamponi L (2020) Social media time identity narratives and the construction of political biographies Social

Movement Studies 195-6 592-608 httpsdoiorg1010801474283720201718489

Bauman Z (2001) Liquid Modernity Cambridge Polity Press

Bhattacharyya G Virdee S amp Winter A (2020) Revisiting histories of anti-racist thought and activism Identities 27(1)

1-19 httpsdoiorg1010801070289X20191647686

Belam M (2021) Black Lives Matter movement nominated for Nobel peace prize The Guardian 2021-01-29

httpswwwtheguardiancomworld2021jan29Black-lives-matter-nobel-peace-prize-petter-eide-norweigan-mp

(Downloaded 2021-06-16)

Bernstein M (2005) Identity Politics Annual Review of Sociology 31(1) 47-74

httpsdoiorg101146annurevsoc29010202100054

Brown K T amp Ostrove J M (2013) What does it mean to be an ally The perception of allies from the perspective of

people of color Journal of Applied Social Psychology 43(11) 2211ndash2222 httpsdoiorg101111jasp12172

Braring (2018) Sjaumllvrapporterad utsatthet foumlr hatbrott Analys utifraringn Nationella trygghetsundersoumlkningen 2006ndash2017 Rapport

201810 Downloaded 2021-03-05 at

httpswwwbrasedownload187f57ba351641b9cdc3d1e0b515344265455312018_10_Sjalvrapporterad_utsatthet_for_

hatbrottpdf

Buechler SM (1995) NEW SOCIAL MOVEMENT THEORIES Sociological Quarterly 36 441-464

httpsdoiorg101111j1533-85251995tb00447x

Bursell M (2014) The Multiple Burdens of Foreign-Named MenmdashEvidence from a Field Experiment on Gendered Ethnic

Hiring Discrimination in Sweden European Sociological Review 30(3) 399ndash409 httpsdoiorg101093esrjcu047

Carnegie Endowment for International Peace 2020 Global Protest Tracker Downloaded 2020-12-16 at

httpscarnegieendowmentorgpublicationsinteractiveprotest-trackergclid=CjwKCAiA_eb-

BRB2EiwAGBnXXve4_M0rNWlgU0_MmYUuIg6ThabxkIbk_kQhlB7O_542emIVDHX1HRoCCFsQAvD_BwE

Clark M (2019) White folksrsquo work digital allyship praxis in the BlackLivesMatter movement Social Movement Studies

18(5) 519-534 httpsdoiorg1010801474283720191603104

Clayton DM (2018) Black Lives Matter and the Civil Rights Movement A Comparative Analysis of Two Social

Movements in the United States Journal of Black Studies 40(5)448-480

httpsdoiorg1011772F0021934718764099

Cole G (2020) Types of White Identification and Attitudes About Black Lives Matter Social Science Quarterly

101(4)1627-1633) httpsdoiorg101111ssqu12837

Collins PH (1990) Black Feminist Epistemology In Calhoun C J Gerteis J Moody S Pfaff amp I Virk (Ed) (2012)

Contemporary Sociological Theory 3rd Ed Chichester Wiley-Blackwell

Craddock E (2019) Doing rsquoenoughrsquo of the lsquorightrsquo thing the gendered dimension of the lsquoideal activistrsquo and its negative

emotional consequencesrdquo Social Movement Studies 18(2)137-153) httpsdoiorg1010801474283720181555457

Creswell JW amp Poth CN (2017) Qualitative inquiry and research design choosing among five approaches (Fourth

edition) Los Angeles Sage Publications

Diani M (1992) The Concept of Social Movement The Sociological Review 40(1)1-25 httpsdoiorg1011112Fj1467-

954X1992tb02943x

Drury B amp C Kaiser (2014) Allies against Sexism The Role of Men in Confronting Sexism Journal of Social Issues

70(4)637-652 httpsdoiorg101111josi12083

Dull BD Hoyt LT Grzanka PR amp Zeider KH (2021) Can White Guilt Motivate Action The Role of Civic Beliefs

Journal of Youth and Adolescence 50 1081ndash1097 (2021) httpsdoiorg101007s10964-021-01401-7

Earl J (2014) The Future of Social Movement Organizations The Waning Dominance of SMOs Online American

Behavioral Scientist 5935-52 httpsdoiorg1011772F0002764214540507

Garrett RK (2006) Protest in an Information Society a review of literature on social movements and new ICTs

Information Communication amp Society 9(2) 202-224 httpsdoiorg10108013691180600630773

Giddens A (1991) Modernity and self-identity Self and society in the late modern age Stanford University Press

Gleeson J (2021) Judith Butler lsquoWe need to rethink the category of womanrsquo The Guardian 2021-09-07 (Accessed 20201-

09-14 at httpswwwtheguardiancomlifeandstyle2021sep07judith-butler-interview-gender)

12

to detect when such discrimination occurs For example men are less likely to interpret subtle

sexism as sexism and they are less likely to sympathize with someone confronting sexism if

that someone is female (Drury amp Kaiser 2014639 642) Thus much time and effort may have

to be put into educating out-group allies Allies are also less likely to be emotionally receptive

towards grasping the magnitude of oppression which again comes from lack of lived

experience (Russo 201480) It is also important to recognize uniqueness in group experiences

instead of assuming that experience of one type of oppression automatically leads to insights

about other oppressions (Spanierman amp Smith 2017608-10)

Besides the problem of potential insensibility on behalf of the ally another issue is low

engagement (Jaumlmte et al 2020370) Brown and Ostrove (20132220) argued that although

some inactivity of allies could be attributed to general passivity of contemporary activists or

lack of emotional engagement it could also come out of fear of doing anything considered

wrong White allies they argued tend to be more cautious in their actions because of this and

instead of acting on their own they leave space for Black people to take the lead However in

the attempt to leave room for and amplify for example Black narratives there is a significant

risk that allies freeride on the political labor of Black people (Clark 2019530) This problem

is also present in feminist movements where male allies often engage in low risk high reward

activism and often take credit for work dependent on the efforts of female feminists (Linder amp

Johnson 20155 17-18) This is made possible Linder and Johnson argued by the master

narrative saying male allies should be recognized validated and granted credibility regardless

of their actual contributions to the movementndash even though there is an overwhelming risk with

male feminist ally work being directly counterproductive due to lack of sympathy for the

female perspective and expertise (ibid4-5) In adverse cases male allies have been known to

not only capitalize on womenrsquos pain ignore their perspective and steal their hard work but to

actually commit sexual assault in feminist organizations (ibid9)

There are many other risks associated with ally work Mostly it originates in the fact that many

have good intentions but lack in self-reflection or knowledge about real political work

Spanierman and Smith (2017) pointed to how such discrepancies between intention capacity

and self-awareness can lead to paternalistic behavior towards marginalized people and that this

can strengthen the unconscious sense of superiority and legitimize status quo instead of

challenging it Another mistake especially important in digital activism is the tendency to

engage in optics instead of politics and to treat members of the disenfranchised group as objects

13

to be used for personal virtue signaling Such cosmetic activism rarely leads to any structural

criticism or challenging (Spanierman amp Smith 2017609-10)

22 Digital activism

As can be seen in the previous research on the positive opportunities with allies digital methods

are important for allies to engage for example in amplifying voices of minorities (Clark

2019528-31) This is perhaps even more true in the 2020 BLM-wave when many were limited

in their capacity to participate physically due to the pandemic All participants in this study

participated in digital activism (most of them exclusively so) and it is therefore important to

account for some research on the role digitalism plays in contemporary movements The

introduction of new technologies into political activism has been studied for many years even

before the social medias we use today Information and Communication technologies (ICTrsquos)

such as mobile phones or the internet had many effects on political activism as they became

available for more people for example it contributed with increased sense of community

strengthened political participation facilitated movement organization and increased

independence from elite representations of movements (Garrett 2006205-14)

Modern social medias have the same effects to some extent The internet and social media are

acknowledged to affect how social movements come into being and how they operate (Barassi

amp Zamponi 2020 Earl 2014) Social media platforms are used as tools for organizing raising

awareness and spreading information (Ahmed et al 2017447) and was for example one of

the success factors of the MeToo movement (Li et al 2020 Lin amp Yang 2019) Social media

also played a major role in the BLM protests without social media the protests of 2020 would

perhaps not have been as widespread The fact that the video picturing Floydrsquos murder spread

so rapidly led to massive emotional involvement and increased motivation for participation

according to research on the efficiency of emotions in digital activism (Clark 2019 Heldman

201788) Facilitating the growth of collective emotion and identity is one of the main

contributions of social media because emotions are crucial in motivating political action

(Ahmed et al 201746 Zhelnina 2020361) Studying the emotional expressions before during

and after a social protest on Twitter Ahmed and colleagues concluded that emotions affect

involvement online similarly to their effect offline ndash they channel participation and create

community and identification (Ahmed et al 2017459-61) Besides this social media functions

as a megaphone for individuals without having to be represented by any formal leader (Earl

14

201537) Earl argued that some of the functions centralized and formal social movement

organizations used to fill can in many cases be substituted with online communities lowering

the costs of organizers and participants (ibid39)

221 Critical perspectives on digital activism

Social media as site and tool for social activism is also criticized based on ideas about how it

leads to passivity and how motives for online activism differs from those in offline or lsquorealrsquo

activism Online activism is sometimes called slacktivism referencing the lower degrees of

effort and risk required to engage in online activism (Skoric 201277) The slacktivist narrative

is often used to explain the decline in youth political engagement (Amnaring amp Ekman 20136)

although the link between digital activism and low degrees of participation have not been

determined Online activism is usually less valued than more traditional types of activism which

requires more from the individual activist (Craddock 2019148-9 Heldman 2017207) despite

the lack of consensus between researchers on whether online activism is effective or not

(Lilleker amp Koc-Michalska 201725) Skoric (201277) argued that the Internet promotes a

superficial mode of political activism where liking commenting and sharing are the main tools

for participating in political activism and that the focus often is aimed at the individual and her

capacity of introspection lifestyle politics or mere expression of opinions without further

actions Such positionings rarely challenges structures of power and dominance Slacktivism

feels good without actually doing any good and it distracts people from engaging in meaningful

activism (ibid78)

lsquoFeeling goodrsquo as a motive for political mobilization is further explored by Lilleker and Koc-

Michalska (201723) who argued that there is a strong link between both intrinsic and extrinsic

emotional motivations and political mobilization both self-fulfillment and recognition are

strong motivators for both online and offline activism Extrinsic motivations eg external

approval recognition and being perceived as lsquogoodrsquo has the strongest effect on motivating

participation (ibid34 25) The difference they found between online and offline participation

was that online activism is less self-fulfilling and more driven by ldquoconforming and earning

rewardsrdquo which they interpret as online participation potentially being mere clicktivism and

less personally meaningful to the people engaging in it (ibid35)

Although slacktivism is not necessarily a phenomenon limited to the digital sphere but includes

all performative positioning online activism arguably breeds slacktivism because of how easy

15

and available it is The motivation to engage in high-risk high-effort activism decreases if there

are always lower effort- and risk options available that gives the same recognition and

satisfaction (Skoric 201279) Morozov (2009) also has criticized the naiumlve faith in the potential

of Internet activism and argued that poorly planned online slacktivism is not only ineffective

and toothless but also holds potential for backfiring and causing devastating consequences For

example when Western activists attempted to attack Iranian government sources online they

accidentally slowed down the whole Iranian internet making the activism of local protestors

difficult (Morozov 200913)

As this section shows the relationship between social media and the general level of activism

among people is far from determined However the participants of this study all relied on digital

methods in their ally work and their experiences of digital methods are explored in the analysis

3 Theory

In this section the two theories used to analyze the data will be presented and discussed starting

with Giddensrsquo theories on modernity which are used to contextualize ally work as a 21st century

phenomenon shaped by the preconditions of modernity such as increased reflexivity and

ontological insecurity Thereafter theories of situated knowledge will be used to describe how

the allies relate to their own whiteness in relation to the concept of interpretation privilege

sometimes limiting the allies in their leeway of action Essentially Giddensrsquo theories will be

used to understand why allies hesitate about their role and theories of situated knowledge will

be used to understand what they base these hesitations on

31 Giddens

Giddensrsquo theory of modernity focuses on the circumstances of human activity and identity in

what he referred to as (late) modernity The theory will be used to contextualize ally work as

something that exists within a larger social cultural and economic structure that shapes the

way identity politics and human activity are formed with special focus on self-identity and

ontological security

16

Worth mentioning when using the term modernity is that there are scholarly disagreements on

whether the current era should be interpreted as modernity late (or liquid see Bauman 2001)

modernity or postmodernity However Giddens belongs to the group of theorists who see

contemporary society as still existing within the theoretical frames of late modernity where the

tendencies of modernity has been further stretched and strengthened (Giddens 199127) This

assumption will be present throughout this paper while also acknowledging this is only one

interpretation

311 Life in modernity reflexivity and ontological insecurity

Modernity is an era characterized by post-traditional orders institutionalized radical doubt

detachment of time and space risk-cultures and abstract systems (Giddens 19912-5)

Following these changes in increased emphasis on reflexivity the continuous revisiting of

previously taken-for-granted concepts truths and ideas This applies to the institutional and

individual level and the latter will be of focus in this paper Without the guiding hand of

tradition or custom as in premodern society people must navigate in the world without being

firmly grounded in pregiven sets of beliefs on what should be done in each situation and with

the constant flow of information in modernity the horizon of possible actions are constantly

broadened (ibid20)

The increased emphasis on reflexivity means for the individual that ldquoself-identity becomes a

reflexively organised endeavorrdquo (Giddens 19915) Giddensrsquo described self-identity as a

project based on coherent and ldquocontinuously revised biographical narrativesrdquo which ldquotakes

place in the context of multiple choices as filtered through abstract systemsrdquo (ibid5) This

means that self-identity is closely linked to actions and is ldquoroutinely created and sustainedrdquo in

the actions of the individual (ibid52) This includes making constant decisions while having

endless choices ndash on what to do how to act and ultimately who to be in late modernity ldquowe

are not what we are but what we make of ourselvesrdquo (ibid54 75) If the individual fails to

perform in coherence with their sense of self-identity the individual may start to doubt their

own biographical narrative and ultimately themselves (ibid58) In the context of social

movements the ally identity is thus constantly reshaped by each choice of action and it

becomes important to act in accordance with the ideal-typical ally role Allyship is also a

globalized phenomenon which increases the number of aspects to take into consideration while

reflexively making choices

17

As reflexivity become more and more significant in guiding human action people in late

modernity experience loss of ontological security which is a ldquorsquonatural attitudersquo in everyday

liferdquo in relation to how to act and orient oneself in the world (Giddens 199136) Being

ontologically secure is ldquoto possess on the level of the unconscious and practical consciousness

lsquoanswersrsquo to fundamental existential questions which all human life in some way addressesrdquo

(ibid47) and was previously guided by tradition custom rules and norms of premodern society

Ontological security thus secures the individualsrsquo smooth navigation through life without them

hesitating on their role in the world too much However as society developed into modernity

and late modernity the conditions for ontological security changed ndash the traditions of

premodern society that used to give ontological security by offering a sense of structure

firmness and purpose are now exchanged for reflexivity (ibid48) making each single decision

dependent on an almost infinite number of possible options (ibid36) Without ontological

security the individual experiences existential anxiety caused by uncertainty ndash and such anxiety

itself ldquotends to paralyse relevant actions rather than generate themrdquo (ibid44) This passivity can

occur in relation to specific actions or to the sense of self in general for example failing to

perform in line with onersquos perceived self-identity can create ontological insecurity and it opens

for questioning onersquos entire role in a specific context for example a social movement For allies

ontological insecurity could arise in relation to them trying to navigate what actions are

appropriate for them to engage in based on the reflexive project of self-identity However

inactivism or passivity cannot only be seen in the individualrsquos relation to action but in politics

in general Giddens argued that politics in premodern times were emancipatory and aiming to

end oppression but that politics in modernity has been transformed into life politics a shift in

ideology and activity towards emphasizing lifestyle and self-actualization (ibid210-14)

The purpose of including Giddensrsquo theory of modernity is to provide a potential context in

which the allies of this study act and shape their own ally identities and how their occasionally

self-restricting introspection may be understood

32 Situated knowledge

To complement the theory of Giddens theories on situated knowledge will be included in the

analysis to point to specific ways in which the allies engage in reflexive decision-making eg

on what basis they make decisions about ally strategies The included theories are feminist

theories but their implications are not limited to gender relations

18

Theories of situated knowledge (also referred to as standpoint theory or feminist epistemology)

is an epistemological attempt to challenge the way knowledge is produced validated and

valued Epistemology is an ldquooverarching theory of knowledgerdquo (Collins 1990408) and theories

of epistemology focuses on how truth and knowledge is shaped by power relations between

social positions and how this could change Easily put social position of the knowledge

producer shapes the kind of knowledge that can be produced (Young 200425) In this thesis

the theoretical works of Haraway Young and Collins will be included although there are more

contributors to the thoughts about situated knowledge

Relating knowledge to power feminist theorists have pointed to how knowledge production

has been dominated by men and postcolonial thinkers have questioned dominant knowledge

for its sometimes exploitative and colonializing tendencies (in for example Western thought

and anthropology) Part of this critique has included a call for recognition privilege of lived

experience and reflexivity in research (Voronka 2016191) Donna Haraway (1988) presented

a feminist epistemology (or feminist objectivism) that recognized how women have historically

seen as immanent beings unable to transcend the body and escape its ldquofinite point of viewrdquo

whereas men have been seen as able to attain lsquoobjectiversquo perspectives and knowledges

(Haraway 1988575) The (imagined) male capacity to transcend ldquoparticular social location

and adopt a lsquoview from nowherersquordquo gives men higher status epistemologically (Young 200424)

Thus the gaze of the White male has been favored in sociology as it represents the unmarked

and objective perspective (Haraway 1988581)

The problem with the idea of objectivity and the lsquoview from nowherersquo according to feminist

and postcolonial critics is that knowledge is a power process and only taking one groups

knowledge into account reinforces these power processes Patricia Hill Collins argued that

power over the production and validation of knowledge is an issue of group interest where the

dominant group preserves their own interests by invalidating knowledge that either challenges

their hegemonic ideas or follows alternative practices in their creation of alternative knowledges

(Collins 1990409-10) Black womenrsquos knowledge is subjugated knowledge and it must fight

for recognition in an anti-Black and anti-female world (ibid414) The Black feminist

epistemology she advocated for includes sensitivity to the combination of female and Black

experiences unique for Black women and it recognized alternative ways to create knowledge

specific to Black womenrsquos knowledge production (ibid407-8)

19

321 Situated knowledge as political strategy

If knowledge is then produced under circumstances of domination power structures and

hegemony ndash what would an alternative look like and what could these alternatives lead to

From a quality standpoint Haraway (1988583) argued that including several perspectives in

knowledge production leads to better conclusions Even though she dismissed the idea that

subjugated people have a purer vision on truth and objectivity an idea she claimed is often

rooted in a fetishized idea of the Third World woman she argued that subjugated groups are

less likely to ldquoallow denial of the critical and interpretive core of all knowledgerdquo than are

dominant groups (ibid583-586) She wrote that the only standpoint from which no objectivity

can ever be reached is ldquothe standpoint of the master the Man the One God whose Eye

produces appropriates and orders differencerdquo (ibid587) Thus to aim for objectivity depends

on including perspectives otherwise ignored by structures of power and dominance (ibid590)

Delegitimizing the idea of a lsquoGodrsquos eyersquo from where true knowledge can be observed and

mediated means including other perspectives and knowledges (Young 200420) This is not

only just and right it also contributes to wiser decision making in a context of democratic

processes including perspectives from all social standpoints maximizes knowledge which

should be treated as a democratic resource when fully utilized (ibid25-9) Thus the idea of

situated knowledges includes a normative assumption of inclusion and diversity in decision

making and knowledge production and social difference should be treated as a resource for

democratic societies (ibid29)

The standpoint theorists emphasize how recognizing specificity in knowledge claims for

different groups does not include the idea that subjugated groups are naturally epistemically

privileged eg that their perspective on every issue should be treated as automatically lsquotruersquo

(Haraway 1988583-4 Young 200427-29) Neither the position of these groups or any

imagined inherent attributes give subjugated groups automatic access to the truth but the

position opens up doors to new perspectives impossible to imagine from above (Haraway

1988584) The specific knowledge unique for the dominated social positions include different

understandings of their own position and others and the relation between them as well as ldquoa

point of view on the history of societyrdquo ldquoan interpretation of how the relations and processes

of the whole society operates especially as they affect onersquos own positionrdquo and finally ldquoa

position-specific experience and point of view on the natural and physical environmentrdquo

(Young 200429)

20

Applying these ideas in a context of practical politics for example in a social movement can

include such inclusion of different perspectives and emphasizing how group difference matters

in terms of knowledge but without claiming the existence of epistemic privilege Often this

practical application is based on including people with lived experience into different contexts

of power or knowledge production (Voronka 2016189)

However the strategy of using lived experience as a criterion for epistemic legitimacy can also

be problematized Voronka (2016192) argued that inclusion and representation of different

groups in decision making as a criterion for legitimate knowledge production can be seen as

resting on essentialist assumptions and stable identity categories The categories themselves are

left unaccounted for meaning the boundaries between and content of different identity groups

are seen as natural entities (ibid194) The concept of lived experience fails to answer questions

of who we are and why while the existence of these categories should be questioned in

themselves Thus acting based on ideas of lived experience and ldquoepistemic privilegerdquo (Young

200427) risks both treating identity as essentialist and constructing group attributes as

embodied truths and ignore difference in lived experience within groups (Voronka 2016196)

Thus Voronka (ibid197) argued

we need to mark how rsquopeople with lived experiencersquo [as a concept my note] risks

reproducing and replicating systems of domination that privileges subjects and

subjectivities that fit closely within the White heteropatriarchal matrix of ruling

Voronkarsquos experiences come from academia but the ideas can be applied to other contexts as

well Theories of situated knowledge can be extracted from the abstract epistemological level

and transformed into a concept more suitable and applicable for everyday situations and as will

be seen in the analysis this theme is highly present in the statements by the study participants

in the form of interpretation privilege (See section 5 Results and analysis)

4 Methodology

The study builds on phenomenological approach and aims to understand a social phenomenon

by interpreting the different meanings ascribed to it by the participant whose lived experience

is in focus for the analysis (Creswell amp Poth 2018150) Thus the focus of the study is not the

BLM movement itself but to understand the experience of the allies The study is abductive

21

meaning the research process was iterative - going back and forth between empirical findings

and theoretical background The aim of abductive analysis is often to generate theory by

cultivating already existing theories together with the surprising results found in the data

collection that are in turn reinterpreted through the revisited theoretical insights (Timmermans

amp Tavory 2012169 173-6) One important aspect of abduction is to revisit the phenomenon

as it can lead to new insights For example when the first couple of interviews were done the

lack of response to one specific question was interpreted as missing data But when the

transcripts were revisited after some additional previous research had been read I realized the

unanswered question was not missing data ndash it was data in itself This realization affected how

the data collection moved forward as the focus narrowed down on the ally role and its

limitations

41 Data collection

The data collection was done by conducting qualitative interviews with 11 self-identified White

allies to understand their perspective experiences and thoughts about their participation The

interviews were in average 010245 in length and they were conducted during a five-week

period The interviews were semi-structured guided by an interview guide without following

it in detail which creates room for flexibility This ensured both consistency between the

interviews and individual variations depending on the interviewee (Turner 2010755) The

interview guide had open-ended questions and covered three main themes (political

background identity emotions) Some questions related to relevant concepts for example they

were asked ldquoIn your perspective what is an allyrdquo The purpose was not to evaluate the

participants academic understanding of the term but to have them reflect upon their own

perceptions and thereby gain insight into their political thinking and its effect on their ally role

Other questions were about experiences such as ldquoCould you tell me about your participation in

the BLM movementrdquo and ldquoWhat emotional responses did you have when this happenedrdquo

Some parts of the interview focused on the BLM movement specifically but since the antiracist

ally identity was often developed before BLM started it also included more general experiences

of antiracist allyship At the end of each interview the participants were given a chance discuss

things important to them The limitation of interview data is that it is not a representation of the

world lsquoout therersquo but only a representation of how the interviewees describe their experiences

and these can be shaped by indefinite number of things beyond the scope of this thesis

22

All interviews were digitally conducted Although digital interviewing is often presented as a

second choice there are benefits to it For example Howlett (20217-8) noticed how the safe

environment of the home made the participants more relaxed and that the interviews also tended

to be both longer and richer in detail than offline interviews One could however imagine how

the opposite effect could occur if the home environment is unsafe or unfit for long

conversations The interviews took place more than a year into the pandemic and people were

thus more familiar with digital communication technologies than they were in the beginning

(ibid10) The pandemic was topic for small talk before the interviews started and our shared

experience with it created some sense of commonality and a relaxed atmosphere where potential

technical issues or disturbances were met with recognition from the other party Despite the

surprisingly positive experience with digital interviewing and as well as the rich data gathered

it is still important to recognize how the quality could have been even better with physical

interviews

The interviews were all conducted on Zoom and recorded in the software The interviews were

transcribed in full verbatim meaning that false starters stutters laughter and pauses were

included Such utterances are clues to how the participants feel about what they are telling and

should be treated as data

42 Sample

The sampling for this study is based on one inclusion criterion motivated by the purpose of the

study the criterion being White ally identification (Creswell amp Poth 201881 157) To base

the inclusion criterion on self-identification could potentially lead to low validity in terms of

not achieving a sample that represents the group one wishes to study by excluding those who

engage in ally work without identifying as such To ensure that the people included in the study

were lsquorealrsquo allies the criterion could have been having a certain amount of experience from ally

work or similar However this was a methodological choice motivated by reflections by

Craddock (2019) who studied activism Craddock learned that including the term activist in

her participant letter excluded people who - despite being very active - did not dare to call

themselves activists due to the high standard of what lsquorealrsquo activism is Especially women feel

that they cannot live up to the ideal and therefore they do not recognize their own activist

identity (Craddock 2019138-42) Therefore anyone who identified as an ally was allowed to

participate without evaluating or judging their level of participants

23

The sampling method was mixed consisting of convenience sampling and snowball sampling

(Creswell amp Poth 2018159) First an email was sent to the Swedish BLM organizationrsquos

official email telling them about the study and asking if they had any recommendations of

where participants could be found This email got no response Different Facebook groups were

chosen as lsquofieldsrsquo to sample in Personal acquaintances were also asked to participate The

choice of Facebook groups related to both convenience and lack of access to physical fields to

sample in and because much of the activism related to BLM took place online The Facebook

groups were all limited demographically (open only for women and non-binary people) and

they all had explicit value-systems with feminist anti-racist intersectional orientations Some

groups were simple support-and-chat groups some had a more political purpose (without party

connections) One participant was found in the comments section on a Facebook page that

relates to antiracism and contacted from there and a few were snowball sampled Recruiting

participants in online forums creates a problematic balance between transparency and

anonymity if too detailed information about the specific sampling sites is revealed the

participants identities can be spoiled due to traceability Thus the names of these Facebook

groups or pages cannot be revealed The groups were known to me beforehand as I am myself

a member in them and therefore had access to the lsquofieldrsquo which reduced the time and effort

spent on sampling If this study were a netnography with digital data to analyze it would be

problematic because my interpretation would be tainted by my personal experiences in the

groups but since the data itself was not related to the specific groups or the participants activity

in these groups it is less problematic

This digital convenience sampling limits the groups included in the sampling frame which

creates a skewed sample in terms of for example gender The complementary snowball

sampling creates a similar problem with homogeneity because of the tendency of participants

to recommend people who are like themselves As a result people with academic backgrounds

in social sciences and humanities are overrepresented in this sample The first interviewee Lisa

works in the international aid sector and she put me in touch with some old classmates and

colleagues which contributed to the skewed sample However the sampling method does not

aim to reach a randomized sample that is representative of the Swedish population in general

but instead a purposeful selection of people with certain experiences (Creswell amp Poth

2018272)

The final sample included people of different genders (9 female 1 male and 1 non-binary)

ages (22-36) education (from high school diploma to MA-degrees) and occupation (traditional

24

working-class occupations or white-collar jobs) They lived in or originated from different parts

of Sweden with one currently living in South Africa They also had very different backgrounds

in regards of political engagement some of them had been organized voluntarily or

professionally in multiple movements and civil society organizations some are or have been

active in party politics and some had their political experience mainly in online discussions

43 Coding and analysis

After all interviews were transcribed the data was coded in Excel using the guidelines for

phenomenological analysis presented called horizonalization (Creswell amp Poth 2018201

Moustakas 1994118) Horizonalization means creating a broad base or platform of equally

important statements to capture the experiences of the participants In phenomenological

studies coding and analysis should preferably be inductive highlighting ldquosignificant

statements sentences and quotesrdquo (Creswell amp Poth 201879) instead of deductively trying to

apply hypotheses or theories onto the data

The coding followed the subsequent steps First each transcript was read one at a time and

important statements were added in a quote-column in Excel (see Image 1) Following the

quote-column were categorical columns based on different themes from the interviews The 12

categories were Background Activity in BLM Identity Role Pandemic Emotion Motivation

Introspection BLM organization Balance Problems and Other There was also a column for

especially good quotes which were marked with an lsquoxrsquo In each column (for example ldquoRolerdquo)

inductively created codes were entered An example can be seen in Image 1

The coding was kept close to the data and focus was to create codes that described the specifics

of each statement instead of keeping the number of codes down which created some overlap

Image 1 Visual representation of the coding strategy

After the 11 interviews were coded the data included 243 quotes in 12 categories In order to

structure the analysis according to relevant topics themes were created out of the codes based

on representativeness and uniqueness These themes provided the basis for the interpretation

25

and analysis For example the previously mentioned code ldquoNot surerdquo was grouped together

with the code ldquoDecided by othersrdquo (in the column ldquoRolerdquo) and analyzed together because they

were interpreted as expressions of the same phenomenon eg insecurity regarding what the

role should contain (Moustakas 1994118)

After the coding which is a big part of the analysis itself the most relevant and interesting

themes were further analyzed This was related to observed regularities in statements being

repeated among several participants and novelty or lsquosurprise factorrsquo Whereas the coding was

unrelated to any specific theory the deeper analysis of the different themes was done parallel

to exploring theory The theories came into the process at different stages Giddensrsquo theory of

modernity and ontological security was explored after the initial coding before starting the

writing process of the analysis based on the pattern of insecurity and reflexivity among the

participantsrsquo descriptions of how they make decisions on how to act as an ally Thereafter the

concept of situated knowledge was introduced after all material had initially been analyzed and

written down in a first draft and the recurring use of the term interpretation privilege

(tolkningsfoumlretraumlde) caught my interest The focus was therefore the themes related to

interpretation privilege and how the participants made sense of the term as well as the different

aspects they had to balance because of their emphasis on interpretation privilege in the final

analysis

44 Ethical considerations

Research should be guided by ethical principles to ensure the safety of the participants and the

quality of the research The most important aspects include consent confidentiality and

anonymity Informed consent means that the participant must be given full information about

what participation means and they must be given the chance to both give and withdraw their

consent during or after the interview The researcher must tell the truth about the purpose of the

study and the participant can choose to leave any unwanted questions unanswered

(Vetenskapsraringdet 201710 16) All participants were given a letter with information about the

study which was again repeated verbally right before the interview The second important

aspect confidentiality means that all information and data must be handled safely and not be

shared with unauthorized people (ibid40) The data was stored on a password protected

computer and no personal information was saved along with the transcripts And finally

anonymity means that the identity of the participants must be concealed for example by giving

26

them new names or changing identifying details in their statements (ibid13) Both of my

sampling methods (digital convenience and snowball) can threaten the anonymity of the

participants because they become traceable either to those who were lsquosnowballedrsquo into the study

or those who were found online (see chapter 42 Sample)

In more qualitative terms the researcher must make fair interpretations of the statements made

by participants and be transparent with how conclusions were made This ensures both

transparency in a scientific standpoint and the well-being of the participants (Vetenskapsraringdet

201710) Related to this it is important to recognize how the analysis may affect the

participants for example Creswell and Poth (2018228) argue that there is always a risk that

participants feel bothered by the way their statements have been interpreted in relation to theory

and previous research and especially in a sensitive topic such as politics identity and emotions

In order to minimize this risk the interpretations will both be rooted in theory and previous

research and include alternative evidence and interpretations

45 Methodological reflexivity

Reflexivity requires researchers to be aware of and transparent about their own biases in their

interpretations as well as scrutinizing their power in relation to the research participants

(Creswell amp Poth 2018201 228) Besides the inherent power in the relation between

researcher and participants no specific power dynamics existed in this study The researcher

must reflect upon their own position (gender class race and similar) and how it affects the

way the research is conducted and how the results are interpreted (ibid228) Being reflexive

thus becomes a way to increase validity by clarifying where researcher bias may have affected

the results (ibid261) Evidence that contradicts the arguments made in the analysis has been

included to avoid bias The idea of researcher reflexivity builds on the epistemological approach

of social constructivism where knowledge is not seen as a neutral or objective but a subjective

socially embedded practice shaped by the lived experience of the author and the participants It

also means that self-criticism and self-consciousness is crucial aspects of qualitative

interpretive research (Lynch 200029-36)

According to Moustakas (1994103-4) reflexivity should guide every step in the

phenomenological research project including choice of topic it must have autobiographical

relevance to the researcher who must be genuinely curious and passionate about the

phenomenon ndash and of course be transparent about these motives The choice of BLM as an

27

empirical example in this study was based on my own experiences from the spring of 2020 I

was just as my respondents and many others very moved by the events that transpired and I

did too participate in some online actions such as checking myself into the US Ambassy on

Facebook to show my support of the movement I followed the news and read everything I

found on social media out of both political sympathy and sociological fascination I wanted to

know more about why the activism looked like it did and how others felt about being part of

it Being able to be fascinated in times of collective grief and trauma for Black people is of

course a privilege that I am aware of I can afford to be distanced towards and critical of the

antiracist movement and how it does or does not invite people to engage themselves in it

because my survival or well-being does not depend on it I aim to be respectful in my

interpretations and descriptions of the movement and its participants

46 Limitations

Instead of aiming to evaluate qualitative research by the same criteria as quantitative studies

there are adjusted validation practices for the specific approach of the study To assure good

quality for qualitative phenomenological studies phenomenological concepts should be used

properly understood and recommended methods should be followed Besides from engaging

in reflexive analysis it is also important to offer descriptive richness and interpretive depth

(Creswell amp Poth 2018272-82) There are also different validation strategies for qualitative

research The researcher can use triangulation to strengthen the stability of the results identify

disconfirming cases and clarify researcher reflexivity (ibid260-1) Member checking and

collaborating with participants can also strengthen the validity (ibid162 Arribas Lozano

2018455-6) All participants were informed of their right to see the transcripts and the analysis

if they wished but they were not contacted with the explicit purpose of checking the finished

results due to time Another aspect is reliability meaning how robust the results of the study

would be if someone else replicated the study (Creswell amp Poth 2018164-5) In the case of

qualitative studies where the researcher is intertwined with the interpretations the probability

of someone else reaching the exact same result is small but thick descriptions of methodology

and the data increases reliability somewhat The generalizability of qualitative studies is often

low and especially so when the sample is skewed The results of this study should be considered

valid only for the group studied since the results could have been different with different

28

representations of gender or class for example However with a purposeful sample of people

with a certain experience the goal is not generalizability beyond the group

Another potential issue is the fact that the quotes from the interviews included in this thesis

have been translated from Swedish to English which means that there is a risk that some of the

core meanings of the quotes may have been spoiled or changed However the analysis was

done on the Swedish transcripts making sure the interpretations were made on the original

material Thus the problem of translating quotes is mainly a problem of communicating the

results to the reader in the same form they appeared in the analysis process of the original

material

5 Results and analysis

As explained in the methods section (43 Coding and analysis) the analysis was gradually

turning toward the themes of a) interpretation privilege and b) how the notion of interpretation

privilege affects the leeway for action These themes will be the focus of the analysis which

will show that although the allies experience their allyship as important and meaningful they

sometimes struggle to find a path for themselves in their attempt to be lsquogoodrsquo allies Their

commitment to respecting interpretation privilege helps them live up the to the ally role as

supporters of Black people in general but it limits the leeway in which they are able to act

independently as political agents But first some general findings on how the allies think about

their role will be presented which primarily relates to the first research question about the

experiences of ally work

The overall experience of allyship is that the ally identity is surrounded by purpose community

and positive experiences They are all highly committed to and well-educated about the cause

Being part of the movement feels meaningful and even like rdquoa privilege to be able to be a part

of it and listen and learnrdquo as Lisa says She describes her emotional experiences

First there was a lot of frustration I think And then there was this powerfulhellip

some kind of like rsquowowrsquo there were a lot of chills there for a while [laughs]

because people really came together

29

Sam shares the experience of initial frustration and pain They describe the feeling when their

frustration and anger transformed into hope like ldquofree fallingrdquo ndash the realization that they were a

part of a group with so many sympathizers made it feel like change was possible

Most ally work was performed online and consisted of acts such as sharing information

knowledge and opinions participating in online seminars and meetings signing petitions and

lsquochecking inrsquo at the US Embassy in Stockholm on Facebook as part of a global protest act To

signal their support for the movement they occasionally used hashtags such as

blacklivesmatter and blackouttuesday All participants got most of their information from

social media in line with the general trend in contemporary activism (Ahmed et al 2017447

Heldman 201788) Previous research emphasizes the important role of emotions in social

movement mobilization and all participants in this study recognized how constant access to

heartbreaking stories virtual proof of mistreatment and a global sense of community provided

by social media motivated them to act (see for example Russo 2014)

Some interviewees also participated outside of social media by attending physical

demonstrations (Sam Sara and Emma) It is impossible to say how many of the interviewees

would have attended had there not been a global pandemic However as digital activism has

become dominating in contemporary social movements (Jaumlmte et al 2020371-2) the low rate

of physical protest among the participants in this study should not be attributed to the pandemic

alone For example Lucas says he has not been to as many demonstrations over the last years

as he would have wanted because of work and other circumstances Amanda says she has

always seen herself as an activist as someone who does what otherrsquos lacks the energy or

resources to do but that she is ldquonot the person who attends demos you knowrdquo And Caroline

who is involved in several organizations besides her antiracist engagement even experiences

that the pandemic has made participation easier for her since it can now be done from home ndash

a point Alva agrees with as she experiences difficulties joining offline protests due to physical

illness Thus the effects of the Covid pandemic are not exclusively negative and limiting Apart

from the different demonstrations the allies also emphasized how implementing antiracist ideas

into their everyday behavior and their professional lives is crucial to be a good ally

The main motivator for their allyship is the notion of privilege All interviewees refer to

themselves as White and relate it to privilege an increasingly common tendency and a

prerequisite for antiracist commitment among Whites (Cole 20201627 Spanierman amp Smith

2017608-9) Lisa describes herself as a ldquoprivileged White woman raised in a middle-class

homerdquo and she says that she faced few obstacles growing up and Sam argues that their White

30

identity gives them platforms and privileges many Black people lack Therefore they use their

social media to amplify the voices of Black people sharing their voices stories and

perspectives Amplifying voices of marginalized groups has been recognized in research as one

of the main tasks for allies (Arora amp Stout 2019390 Bhattacharyya et al 202012 Clark

2019528-31)

The argument of amplifying Black voices as a way to utilize onersquos privilege is twofold First

the participants see their privilege as an opportunity to reach out to fellow Whites who they

expect will listen more to their White counterparts than they would to a Black person which is

confirmed in previous research (see for example Arora amp Stout 2019 Linder amp Johnson 2015)

For example Lucas says

Us Whites who are not affected by racism we have to stand up and show that itrsquos

not OK to spread racism If we donrsquot therersquoll never be any change because

sometimes it feels like people listen more to [hellip] a White person confirming that

what a Black person says is true

Sam shares this reasoning and they actively try to reach people with ldquodeeply racist prejudicerdquo

who would ldquonever listen to a Black personrdquo According to Haraway (1988577) subjugated

groups are deprived the privilege of assumed objectivity and reduced to their position as

inherently linked to and epistemologically limited by their social position in a way the dominant

groups are not Subjugated knowledge must always be fought for in terms of recognition

(Collins 1990414) and the allies in this study is dedicated to doing so in order to reduce the

impact of their own privilege and increase the outreach of Black people Katrin recognizes how

this process of validation of knowledge based on power is an unequal process where Black

people are seen as unreliable because they are ldquoacting out of self-interestrdquo whereas White

people are assigned more credibility Recognizing these mechanisms does not mean that the

interviewees accept them they use words such as ldquoterriblerdquo and ldquodisgustingrdquo to describe the

phenomenon and they feel both guilty about having these privileges and motivated to use them

for good which has been recognized as a potential effect of guilt in previous research (Dull et

al 20211081-84) However acknowledging this epistemic hierarchy is not an automatic

renouncing of privilege but can instead reinforce racist structures by assuming the assigned

value of White knowledge is higher and thus seeing the role of White allies as more important

than that of Black people in fighting racism (see Collins 1009)

31

The second aspect of White privilege in antiracist activism is as recognized by the interviewees

the fact that the costs of engaging are much lower for White people than they are for Black

simply because one does not risk facing racism as a response to speaking up (Drury amp Kaiser

2014642) For example Sam says they saw their ability to participate in the demonstration as

a privilege ndash not everyone can be sure to get home safe if they choose to attend a demo due to

the potential threat of police harassment or counter-protestors These costs are further lowered

by the fact that most ally work is done online Sara for example says that it enables her to

ldquotake the fightrdquo without ending up in situations too uncomfortable or even dangerous

Essentially the privilege of being listened to and the lower cost of speaking up for White allies

motivates specific responsibilities assigned to ally work but it also risks reproducing racist

hierarchies by assigning White knowledge higher value The remainder of the analysis will

focus on how these responsibilities are put into practice and what may limit the allies in their

attempts to do ally work

51 Balancing ally work

Related to the second research question is to what extent the allies feel like they are entitled to

act in the movement and this following section aims to show what different aspects affect this

perception Based on the ideas about privilege and responsibility the difficulties in balancing

different strategies of ally work will now be analyzed Although it may seem self-explanatory

what allies should do based on the previous section ndash use their privilege to raise their voices

against racist discrimination ndash the experiences of the interviewed allies shows that it is more

complicated than at first glance They must balance different strategies which can be defined

as following

A Listen but do not exploit

B Help but do not hijack

C Step down but do not become paralyzed

These three points represent how different ally assignments presented by the interviewees are

at some point met with objections or disclaimers There are a multitude of examples in the

interviews but the above-mentioned strategies are the most representative and common For

analytical and stylistic purposes they will be presented in a step-by-step form but they should

not be understood as linear or causal The relationship between these aspects is much more

32

complicated which the analysis aims to demonstrate Before analyzing these three strategies

the concept that serves as an implicit (sometimes explicit) point of departure for most decisions

by the allies should be accounted for namely the concept of interpretation privilege

511 Interpretation privilege

In all interviews there is an assumption about what kind of knowledge is legitimate knowledge

and interpretations based on interpretation privilege (tolkningsfoumlretraumlde in Swedish) 9 of the

11 interviewees explicitly mention the term but the theme is discussed in all interviews This

means that despite their academic degrees years of professional experience in human rights

work or their genuine interest for social justice issues the interviewees recognize how their

lack of lived experience reduces their ability to fully understand the issue of racism The idea

of interpretation privilege is interpreted here as a translation of ideas about situated knowledge

(Collins 1990408) lived experience (Voronka 2016194) and power into everyday political

lingo This idea is expressed continuously throughout the interviews as a part of their political

reasoning and it guides how they relate to their role as allies Katrin explains

It is not the same thing to understand racism by reading about it or by seeing or

hearing about othersrsquo experiences as it is to carry it in the body It will never be

possible for me to understand that

Interpretation privilege then helps allies understand and accept their own inability to fully

comprehend racism and it creates respect towards the testimonies made by people who

experiences racism However knowing that one lacks access to a full understanding also

contributes to self-doubt about the ally role and the work associated with it Caroline who

studies to become a psychologist tells me she has some concerns about being a White

psychologist treating Black patients Her professors claim psychologists do not need to share

the patientsrsquo experiences but Caroline is doubtful

ldquoI as a White person will never be able to fully understand being constantly

vigilant as a Black person in Sweden not knowing what the day will be like to

constantly be exposed to microaggressions and discrimination and even worse

abuse every dayhelliprdquo

Accepting interpretation privilege as the fact that if one is not exposed to racism one will never

know exactly what it feels like is empathetic and sensitive to the lived experience of Black

33

people It means respecting the ways Black people make sense of and deal with their own

experiences of oppression without claiming to know better However for the participants in

this study it often leads them to disregard all kinds of personal opinions thoughts or ideas

about what racism is and what should be done about it simply because they lack lived

experience of racism The participants sometimes struggle to balance their own knowledge

against the opinions and experiences of Black people Caroline again

Itrsquos this thing about interpreting different actions ndash is this a racist action or not

Well thatrsquos not up to me [hellip] And I think that interpretation privilege in general

in social media too that you just donrsquot go in and interpret what is right and wrong

Here the lack of interpretation privilege disqualifies Caroline from even deciding whether she

finds something right or wrong although such judgements are foundational in political thinking

Interpretation privilege also decides the legitimacy of actions according to Sara she argues

that whereas it is the job of White allies to speak up against other Whites the meaning of the

action is not the same as if a Black person would do it Essentially if a White ally wants to

stand up against racism it should be with a disclaimer

I think it is important to be like lsquothis is my understanding of it but I donrsquot have

interpretation privilegersquo just to create some awareness that I donrsquot have any

right to think anything - Emma

Some participants strip themselves of their agency by retreating to the idea that their

perspectives thoughts and ideas do not matter Lisa tells me that she sometimes censors herself

by not posting or sharing certain things because she feels like she has too little knowledge She

also stays out of debates she is interested in because she ldquodoes not feel [she] has the right to say

something or make a statement in these issuesrdquo Another example of how allies renounce their

political agency can be represented by Sara who tells me that when she saw my participant

message she was concerned that I searched for lsquoself-identified alliesrsquo In her perspective the

label lsquoallyrsquo is not something that one can claim independently one must earn it by being

recognized as such by a Black person Zhelnina (2020361) points to the importance of activists

growing independence emotional confidence and autonomy in their political interpretations

for a movement to successfully mobilize and in a discourse where one does not even possess

the right to claim allyship to a political movement this type of independence and confidence

may be difficult to develop

34

Another important aspect is the conflict that arises when people with interpretation privilege

disagree within the group Lucas says he has met Black people who defend the right to use

racial slurs That does not mean he accept this as true and uses these words himself but he

acknowledges that these situations could be problematic The multitude of perspectives to

consider especially considering the global character of the movement and its social media

presence it becomes difficult to decide what to believe in And when those who have been

assigned authority in this case Black people with interpretation privilege it becomes even

harder The reflexive globalized world with endless sources of information with sometimes

contradictory messages makes it hard to navigate (Giddens 1991138) This problem also

relates to what Voronka (2016196) described as essentialist tendencies when using the concept

of lived experience as a criterion for inclusion With social media where almost unlimited

information is always accessible to the individual the effort to develop independent

interpretations becomes unnecessary and in the case of the White allies insensitive

However it should be noted that although the idea of interpretation privilege is present in all

interviews the participants are also aware that other types of knowledge such as skills from

previous experience in social movements or academic judicial or general professional

knowledge is important Many of them say that they do feel confident of the practical abilities

they have built up over many years of activism and civil society work and Alva among others

points to how she would like to take on the role of fixing practical organizational tasks for the

BLM movement if she were to become more involved in the future Thus there is no validity

in claiming that the interviewees lack all sorts of self-esteem in their ally identity and that they

completely disregard other types of knowledge as Lucas says ldquointerpretation privilege is not

everythingrdquo Still statements such as ldquoI donrsquot have any right to think anythingrdquo or rdquoItrsquos this

thing about interpreting actions ndash is this racist or not Well thatrsquos not up to merdquo are common

in the interviews Although many of the participants can be interpreted as having ontological

security in terms of knowing what they are good at they cannot translate this into a practical

consciousness that guides their actions in a natural manner which creates ontological insecurity

and passivity (Giddens 199144) This relates to findings about lack of lived experience as

leading to potential insensitivity to discrimination which the interviewees recognize in

themselves (Drury amp Kaiser 2014369-42) In theories of situated knowledge it is emphasized

how a multitude of perspectives is needed and that subjugated groups do not have natural access

to hidden truths (Haraway 1988583-6 Young 199027) The disregarding of White ally

perspectives due to lack of lived experience is thus not inherent in the theories themselves but

35

rather something that seems to occur along the popularized interpretation of the term as it is

translated into everyday political lingo as interpretation privilege

So in navigating what to do as an ally while being committed to the idea of interpretation

privilege the first strategy for good ally work is formulated listening

512 Listen but do not exploit

So drawing upon the notion of interpretation privilege the appropriate way to consume

information about racial issues and determining what to do is by listening to Black people

Listening itself becomes not only a way to retrieve information and insight but a political

practice that reflects power structures and identity It becomes a way to renounce onersquos owns

privilege and instead assigning the power of being heard to others (see Collins 1990 Haraway

1988 Young 2004) Sam explains

I as a White person will never be able to sit there and decide what is right and

wrong when it comes to Black experiences or just non-White experiences Irsquove got

nothing to say about that I know nothing about it I just donrsquot What I can do is

listen and learn and I need to take the initiative as a student in this subject

Listening and taking a step back represents successful allyship according to Lucas because it

means both getting access to the right information and showing emotional support and respect

for people exposed to racism Listening is a powerful way to use onersquos White privilege

respecting the interpretation privilege of Black people and redirecting some of the privilege

and power associated to onersquos whiteness to Black people which is one of the main assignments

of allies (Brown amp Ostrove 20132211) But apart from being a virtuous alternative strategy

for allies it is also a relatively effortless option compared to other types of activism such as

participating in demonstrations Effective unproblematic and ideologically right a seemingly

perfect strategy to apply as a White ally

However it is not that simple listening is not only an act of rejecting the power associated to

onersquos racial identity but also hauntingly close to exploitation of Black experience according

to the interviewees The problem of freeriding and exploiting or capitalizing on the stories of

subjugated groups has been acknowledged in previous research on allyship (Clark 2019530

Linder amp Johnson 20159) For example Lisa argues that White people should be careful

36

talking about racism as if they could understand it and instead listen to what Black people say

- but at the same time she says it quickly becomes counterproductive

Black Swedes are not supposed to have to educate me about the racism they

experience because in that case what do I really demand from a Black person

Lou has the same idea and she tells me about how she used to ask her Black partner many

lsquodumbrsquo questions but that she realized that this means that she puts the burden of educating her

on him Sara avoids asking her Black friends about how she as a White ally can help because

that puts too much responsibility on those Black friends Amanda tells me she is after having

listened to one of the biggest antiracist podcasts Raseriet afraid of being one of lsquothose White

peoplersquo who demand to be taught about racism from Black people After all they all agree that

racism is a problem White people created and a problem for White people to solve ndash the

responsibility should not land on Black people As Emma says

Itrsquos essentially White peoplersquos problem itrsquos White people who built the structures

we are protesting [hellip] Itrsquos not Black people who are supposed to stand there and

scream their lungs out about Black Lives Matter but itrsquos about White people

needing to get together and saying like lsquonow we have to fix this because we

created itrsquo

So while trying to balance interpretation privilege the participants easily stumble into another

pitfall Listening as ally work increases the risk of becoming a burden on Black people by

depending on them for education explanations and guidance and exploiting their knowledge

and lived experience for self-improvement which also reinforces racist structures Black people

are implicitly seen as political objects rather than subjects inevitably crushed under the pressure

of White questions and demands and in need of White protection The point of allyship is to

make life and activism easier for Black people not the other way around which brings us to

another strategy of allyship to balance helping

513 Help but do not hijack

Based on the idea that listening as political practice can become exploitative and freeriding the

allies land in the conclusion that helping is the main assignment for allies They motivate this

by referring to their own privileges However as this section will show helping as a political

practice is also surrounded by potential problems

37

The idea of helping as ally work relates again to the idea that the costs of confronting racism is

lower for White people than for Black people (Drury amp Kaiser 2014642) as well as the

realization that White people are granted more respect and legitimacy when advocating for

antiracist causes (Arora amp Stout 2019390) Helping consists of claiming co-responsibility of

changing society protecting Black people from painful experiences and deal with the racism

of White people For example if an ally hears someone being racist they must speak up Sara

tries to do so because she does not want to add to any Black personrsquos burden of having to take

every fight themselves Emma argues that it is not Black peoplersquos responsibility to keep the

movement alive and therefore it is important that White people speak up She thinks ldquoit feels

stupid if White people would just sit around and wait for initiatives cause then you donrsquot do

anything goodrdquo If Black people are left alone with total responsibility of changing institutions

and organizations in Loursquos experience that usually puts Black people in situations where the

risk of being exposed to racism is high and without the support system of allies to help

Although all interviewees describe different ways of helping and supporting Black people and

the BLM movement as a main task for allies such statements are often followed by a disclaimer

For example they say ldquoitrsquos this balance that you being White shouldnrsquot go in and take overrdquo

(Emma) and ldquoWe should support we should be there we should recognize and lift the issues

But we should not be the main actorsrdquo (Alva) One of the most common phrases in the

interviews were lsquothat is not my placersquo This reasoning is present regardless of what types of

actions the interviewees talk about both high-level activism in formal organizations or

representing the movement in media and everyday civil courage such as speaking up against

racist comments in the workplace Sara adds to her statement about wanting to speak up to help

Black people saying that she ldquoalso has to leave room for Black people to act and not trying to

be like lsquoI know best now so let me explain racismrsquordquo Amanda shares similar thoughts saying

Itrsquos important that this can be a movement that Black people own themselves and

that itrsquos not something us White people can just barge into and take over Itrsquos a

balancing between goodwill and wanting to help and to not barge in and be like

lsquoThis is what racism isrsquo

Amanda has worked in organizations who educate people in moral courage and antiracism for

a few years and she has much experience in this type of political work But when she is

contacted in her role as an antiracist educator and asked to hold a course in a workplace she

doubts herself She feels that she must lsquowarnrsquo them about her whiteness ldquoI have to start by

38

saying that Irsquom White Irsquoll never be able to talk about racism like a Black person couldrdquo During

spring of 2020 she started to think about her role again she tells me She concluded that ldquothis

is not my place this organization is not my place but I could do activism in other waysrdquo In

most interviews there are similar reasonings for example Bea explains how she is not against

White people organizing against racism but that she

would not be very comfortable doing it or starting an appeal or initiative like

lsquoWhites in support for Black Lives Matterrsquo because thatrsquos nothellip thatrsquos claiming

space and attention

Katrin said that she in her work at an equality foundation had to weigh her wish to do

something against the risk of ldquotaking over a voice that was just starting to build uprdquo and Lou

who works in HR criticizes her own attempts to implement antiracist ideas at her workplace

because she doubts if she has any right to ldquoclaim that we have to work with so-called diversity

issuesrdquo or ldquobe that voice in a White roomrdquo Emma mentions ldquosupporting without taking overrdquo

as the most important aspect of ally work This is an important part of allyship being

supportive standing by Black peoplersquos side acknowledging oppression raising the issues but

without being the protagonists of the movement as Alva explains Lisa agrees she asks herself

rdquoIs this my space to claim I donrsquot know am I supposed to march in the frontline when it comes

to this issue like Irsquom not so sure about thatrdquo In these statements it is implicitly assumed that

if Whites wanted to take over from Black people they easily could (even unconsciously) and

this implies Black people are less resilient as political actors

These arguments are often motivated by their own experiences with men taking space in

feminist movements They think about the way they want men to act and applies the same

reasoning to their own allyship

If this was about feminism and there was a dude telling me this or doing this that

Irsquom talking about now [taking over authorrsquos note] how would I react then [hellip]

I find it odd when female feminists feel like they have to pay tribute to and psyche

up male feminists I donrsquot think male feminists should need that And I feel the

same way about like Black people shouldnrsquot have to care about me at all it may

sound weird but I donrsquot do it for them itrsquos other Whites I want to affect ndash Katrin

Allies often use their own identities and social positions to understand other types of oppression

and although it seems to function as a source of empathy and compassion for the other group

as well as regulating ones ally behavior it is important to acknowledge that lived experience of

39

sexism does not mean inevitable understanding of experiences of racism (Spanierman amp Smith

2017608-10) which the allies mention themselves

This section shows that the strategy of helping is not as straight-forward and easily managed as

first described but instead associated with a big risk lsquoWhat if I take over What does it say

about me if I dordquo They engage in reflexive identity construction without being ontologically

secure eg without having a ldquopractical consciousnessrdquo or ldquonatural attituderdquo that guides how to

act This creates anxiety and fear of doing and thus being wrong (Giddens 199136) All

participants agree that although allies are important in creating change the movement is and

should be a Black space Although they are confident in these believes and dedicated to living

up to these ideals they are still afraid of unintentionally taking over or hijacking the movement

despite their wish to simply help and support the movement from the background To minimize

the risk of being one of those White allies who barges in and takes over the allies make sure to

balance this by taking a step back and leaving room for Black people to lead the way

514 Take a step back but do not become paralyzed

The choice to take a step back following the alliesrsquo reasoning about claiming space and taking

over means that they are more and more evolving toward a state of allyship where few actions

are legitimate and unproblematic This can be interpreted as a sign that the strategies described

previously (listening and helping) are not part of the alliesrsquo practical consciousness and that

engaging in such ally work is experienced as difficult and frightening due to ontological

insecurity This often leads to passivity (Giddens 199144) Taking a step back is described as

lsquoleaving room forrsquo Black people and it consists of listening (which as previous sections of the

analysis show is not seen as entirely unproblematic) and sharing the perspectives of Black

people for example in social media but without claiming a frontline position in the movement

These are two strategies that reduces the influence of White voices on the antiracist discourse

Taking a step back and leaving room for Black people is a way to denounce the privilege of

being listened to (Arora amp Stout 2019294-5) and reducing the power gap between dominant

and subjugated groups in terms of knowledge production (Collins 1990408)

However the interviewees testify to how the strategy to take a step back is often (but not

always) a shortcut to passivity Katrin who works in an equality foundation dealing with issues

of sexism and racism tells me what happened in her organization when choosing the take-a-

step-back approach by sharing articles Instagram posts and other materials created by Black

40

people and thus engaging in amplification of Black voices (Clark 2019528-31) They were

later criticized for ldquonot doing more not talking about it more screaming more sharing

morehelliprdquo They tried to do the right thing but failed Katrin wonders if they should have done

something of their own something bigger while also acknowledging how it would be

problematic of them to claim the spotlight

The allies worry about their own tendencies to become passive because of trying to navigate

among the different strategies Katrin explains this mechanism as a process where learning

about privilege and power creates an insight of onersquos own role in this power structure

ldquoYou realize that lsquoI have power I have responsibility and I do not have

interpretation privilegersquo and that makes you so scared to do anything wrong that

you end up doing nothing at allrdquo

She describes the insights as ldquoparalyzingrdquo and this experience is shared by more of the

interviewees and found in previous research (Brown amp Ostrove 20132220) Emma says that

it is a complex question that she thinks about a lot and that she has not yet landed in any

conclusions about what she should be doing as an ally but she knows that she must avoid

becoming paralyzed However it could be reflexivity itself that leads to such passivity

(Giddens 199144) Political background does not affect this mechanism as it is observed in

those with no prior experience as well as those with years of activism In some ways having

more prior experience can even make it harder to navigate the ally role because the roles

previously taken are no longer open to you as White Alva explains

Irsquom so used to being in the front and in the middle and being in the back is not

really like how I have been engaged before Irsquom not really used to it and to have

my role defined as being in the backseat in the back of the bus as Whitehellip [hellip] I

havenrsquot done that before And Irsquove struggled to find my role ndash what can I do

Cause I feel my hands are tied behind my back a little I would love to do more but

at the same time my interest cannot decide what the main issue should be Itrsquos all

about knowing your role and your place and being very sensitive to when people

tell you to back away or step up

At the end of each interview they were asked What would you like to see for the movement in

the future I got many analytical answers but some responded by saying like Alva ldquoItrsquos hard

for me to answer because Irsquom White I donrsquot know what needs to be focused on right now and

Irsquom not the right person to askrdquo Lisa says rdquoI donrsquot feel I have the right to speak on this or like

41

debate this issuerdquo Amanda does not answer the question either and refers to how it would be

inappropriate for her to try to decide what the movement should be about Interestingly she

notices how this perspective is only present in her relation to antiracism as she has worked for

LGBTQ-rights for years despite identifying as straight She cannot point out what is different

when it comes to antiracism but she feels there is a difference The uncertainty of knowing

what to do risks leading to passivity

ldquoItrsquos like Irsquove come tohellip Not a stop but a landmark and itrsquos like I canrsquot get

further than that because I donrsquot know what to do Irsquom sure there are things I

could do and a role for me to take on but I canrsquot find it right nowrdquo - Alva

Again the interviewees are aware of the paralyzing effect of their strategies and Lou claims

that she knows that she is overthinking it

When I discuss this with people who are exposed to racism I sometimes get the

feeling that theyrsquore like lsquowe donrsquot care who does it somebody just do itrsquo There

is a need for antiracist work to be done [hellip] So I think that itrsquos easy to fall into

some kind of paralyzed state that doesnrsquot help anybody

The assumption of passivity among contemporary activists can be considered mainstream in

the social movement field Youths of Western democracies are less engaged in any kind of

traditional political involvement such as voting political party membership or other

associational activities (Amnaring amp Ekman 20136) Often this decline in political activity is

attributed to the growing prevalence of digital methods instead of more traditional physical

methods because it gives people an undeserved sense of accomplishment (Skoric 201277) and

a false idea of what activism is efficient (Morozov 200913) Although the majority of the

intervieweesrsquo activism consisted of digital participation and digital participation only it would

be unfair to claim that it is out of a sense of undeserving feeling of accomplishment that they

stopped at digital methods Quite opposite to the conclusions made by Skoric and Morozov of

the self-absorbed slacktivist the interviewees are far from happy with their contributions to the

movement Digital activism is associated with laziness slack and performative allyship by the

interviewees and they usually do not value digital activism as high as physical engagement

For example Lisa says she feels a bit ashamed of being more of a ldquokeyboard activist than a real

activistrdquo and Amanda shares similar thoughts about her own participation

42

When I posted the image I felt like lsquoIrsquom so fucking lame for doing only thisrsquo

[laughs] I didnrsquot really think of it as an activist action because it was so easy

Thus the emotional experience relates to feeling ashamed which under specific circumstances

and motivate action ndash but often it leads to passivity (Dull et al 20211081-84 Zhelnina

2020361) When Emma describes how accessible online activism is she presents a scenario

where someone can ldquosit at home in the couch and watch a movie and at the same time just log

into social media and protestrdquo Bea even laughs while telling me that she ldquothinks she shared a

black square on Instagram like everyone elserdquo Accessibility is not an indicator of democratic

or inclusive value but quality and it seems like the easier it is the lower it is valued by the

allies Comparing to the study by Russo (2014) where the allies put themselves through

physical challenges to demonstrate their allyship the digital form of ally work is interpreted as

a lower form of activism and is surrounded by feelings of inadequacy and shame Although the

reasons for why many of them stopped at digital activism varies none of them did it out of

satisfaction or laziness In the cases where physical limitations the pandemic or lack of protests

in onersquos hometown was not the reason it was rooted in an insecurity about what to do as an

ally Digital methods were perceived as a safer option in a context where almost all other types

of White participation are criticized and the potential pain of being called out as a bad ally is

perceived to be lower in the digital realm than it would be in other contexts

As this section shows the allies handle the potential risk of hijacking the movement by taking

a step back to leave room for Black people to define shape and ultimately run the movement

themselves However this strategy creates its own problems there is an imminent risk of

becoming passive So when listening does not work because of the risk of freeriding and

exploiting Black experiences and actively helping to relieve Black people of the burden to

overthrow systemic racism is deemed inappropriate because it includes a risk of hijacking the

movement and stepping back is ruled out because it leads to passivity ndash what remains

515 Do good but not for the wrong reasons Introspection

In line with previous research and theory introspection of different kinds is often discussed as

an important ally assignment (Drury amp Kaiser 2014638 Kauffman 200124 29-32) Without

introspection the quality of allyship risks becoming deficient because without being aware of

onersquos privilege as well as guilt allyship easily slips into paternalistic behavior (Cole

20201267 Spanierman amp Smith 609-10) Introspection is described in terms of ldquochecking

43

myselfrdquo (Sam) ldquotake a step back and acknowledge that I am part of a racist systemrdquo (Lisa) and

being ldquohumble to the fact that you are part the structurerdquo (Caroline) All interviewees express

the idea that one cannot be a good ally or contribute to positive change without first having

engaged in introspection in different ways

I think one of the most important things is to understand your own whiteness It

sounds kind of ego and self-centered but I think that you canrsquot be an ally

otherwise ever if you donrsquot see your own privilege [hellip] Otherwise you end up

balancing the line between racism and antiracism and that line is thinner than

you think - Lou

This imagined thin line between antiracism and racism concerns many interviewees Lisa

Lucas and Emma also see the risk of falling into racist behavior as big and that they must start

by recognizing this risk to avoid it Amanda says that she knows that she eventually will do

something racist but that she tries not to fear it because ldquoself-criticism can create fear often

therersquos a fear of saying or doing the wrong thing which makes people afraid to be alliedrdquo which

creates passivity Sam calls self-reflection and rdquochecking themselvesrdquo their most important job

and claims that if their aim was to destroy racism that would indicate that they thought of

themselves as bias-free which they are not Lucas also recognizes his own prejudice and says

it is part of his ally work to try to diminish these biases The potential for racist behavior is both

ascribed to being raised in a racist system and to White identity Amanda attributes her future

racist actions to her whiteness explicitly and Caroline argues that all White people are capable

of racist actions regardless of intent lsquowokenessrsquo and knowledge and she knows that she will

at some point act racist despite her devotion to antiracism and her love for her Black partner

All these considerations are part of the reflexive process that is self-identity constantly

scrutinizing oneself and navigating around different actions to act in line with self-identity

(Giddens 199175) When the stakes are as high as they are for White allies ndash they risk acting

and thus being racist if they do not engage in enough introspection The room for action

becomes further limited

In relation to the digital realm where most ally work took place introspection also becomes

about motivations The main concern for the interviewees was whether or not they should use

their social media platforms for ally work at all since digital methods are sometimes frowned

upon for being shallow and too simple Despite this all of them did some type of digital ally

work When I asked those who shared the black square on Instagram why some of them

44

laughed and said that they did not know or could not explain it They mention motivations such

as fitting in

In a way it was like everyone on my Instagram did it and it became like a peer

pressure thing like rsquowhy didnrsquot she share itrsquo or rsquowhy didnrsquot he hare itrsquo you

know ndash Emma

Besides peer pressure the desire to lsquofeel goodrsquo was also reflected upon Many acknowledge

that this desire existed but they did not approve of it as a motive for action Caroline explains

that although it is good to show others where you stand it does not say much about who you

are in the everyday life and the act of posting on social media instead become about seeming

or feeling good The thing they worry about is whether them showing support for the BLM

movement was intended to help the movement or to make themselves look better ndash sometimes

called cosmetic activism (Spanierman amp Smith 2017609-10) or more often among the

participants performative allyship Lou who regularly shares information opinions petitions

and hashtags in her social media says that she worries about her allyship being performative

because she knows most of her followers already shares her opinions Thus her sharing yet

another Instagram post about how racism is wrong could possibly be to ldquoshow off and make

myself feel a little betterrdquo She is careful to stop and reflect upon her actions and intentions and

ask herself lsquowhy did I do this What was my purposersquo Bea shares the same concerns

describing online activism as potentially about ldquostrengthening your personal brandrdquo and

ldquomarketing yourselfrdquo ndash although she does not identify with these motives she feels like there

is always a risk of falling into performative allyship in social media Posting on social media is

also described as a way to claim an antiracist alibi as Bea explains

One way to avoid this is to actively choose not to share with others the activism they engage in

like Sam who calls it unlearning performative allyship Instead of risking acting in the wrong

way and for the wrong reasons they turn to strategic passivism However the unintended result

of this is that one of the main advantages of allies in social movements (that they can use their

voices and platforms to amplify Black voices) goes missing if social media posts are no longer

considered legitimate allyship (Arora amp Stout 2019390 Bhattacharyya et al 202012 Clark

2019528-31)

Introspection is not only a way to secure high-quality allyship but to reduce the risk of doing

something racist and thus being racist Identity is constructed biographically through action

and if the actions does not align with the sense of self-identity this incoherence leads to

45

ontological insecurity in terms of the self meaning one starts to doubt onersquos own motives

(Giddens 199152-54) Seeing onersquos own whiteness as a guarantee of future racist behavior

and knowing how such behavior would clash with the sense of self allies do best in trying to

avoid racist action by all means available Thus acting becomes a risk in itself and this could

be interpreted as ally work becoming unintuitive and unnatural to the allies both at a practical

level determining what to do and at a more discursive level shaping who to be Although

ontological security is defined as practical consciousness it applies to less hands-on orientation

in the world too for example finding onersquos role and identity in a social movement The way to

move forward after recognizing all possible ways one may act wrong is to engage in strategic

passivism apolitical introspection as a political strategy (Kauffman 200124 29-32 Giddens

199144) It is not equivalent to passivity because it includes a strategic choice and it is built

on ally work but ally work that is aimed inwards It becomes a way to be active without acting

in a context where other people may get hurt or judge you

Allies must also make sure not only to act coherently and right but to have pure intentions

being an ally for the sake of recognition or personal gratification is not accepted However

research shows that such extrinsic motivations are especially important in motivating digital

participation (Lilleker amp Koc-Michalska 201725 34-25) and that feelings of shame and guilt

can lead to passivity (Dull et al 20211081-84 Zhelnina 2020361) These two conditions

(ideas of inherent racism and requirements of pure motives) related to introspection does not

create an environment where being active is very appealing Lou admits how acknowledging

the thin line between antiracism and racism leaves her paralyzed instead of motivated

Introspection on the other hand requires no interaction with other people and thus no risk of

being evaluated judged or called out as a bad ally

As the analysis demonstrates the allies recognize there are many different ways they could

engage ndash but all of them are eventually met with disclaimers of how that specific strategy is

inappropriate They try to navigate their own identity and privilege in relation to interpretation

privilege based on theories of situated knowledge but because they lack ontological security

in their ally role they struggle to find a path that is neither inappropriate nor associated with

too much risk Eventually they land in what could be referred to as passivism strategic

passivity as a form of activism

46

6 Discussion and conclusion

The purpose of this study was to better understand how the ally role and participation is

experienced by White allies participating in the Swedish BLM movement and to investigate to

what extent they felt that they had legitimacy as political agents in the movement As the results

show the allies felt strongly for the cause and had many positive experiences of community

and purpose However emotions related to shame guilt and insecurity were also an integral

part of their ally experience and it limited them in their ally work The analysis also shows that

while they are willing and motivated to act as allies the strategies available to them are

surrounded by disclaimers doubt and criticism Few potential actions or approaches are left

unproblematized and the allies often struggle to find their specific path The analysis

emphasizes the link between academic theories of situated knowledge and what can be seen as

a translated popularized version of the term formulated in the political discourse as

interpretation privilege The contribution of Giddensrsquo theories is that the concepts of reflexivity

and ontological security describes the reason for the hesitation the allies engage in whereas the

concept of situated knowledge describes on what basis they hesitate modernity explains why

they worry and situated knowledge what they worry about

Although the analysis shows a pattern that seems to link ideas of interpretation privilege with

passivism among allies the conclusion should not be that acknowledging the importance of

situated knowledge and recognizing the power intertwined with the knowledge creation and

validation process is unnecessary or harmful The theories of situated knowledge standpoint

theory and Black feminist epistemology are important contributions to the sociology of

knowledge and crucial reminders of the power embedded in knowledge However of interest

to political sociology scholars could be the translation of academic concepts into everyday

political lingo and what effects it may have on how people think about politics agency and

identity It is also important to point out that the statements by the interviewees do not reflect

the concept of interpretation privilege in itself but only their interpretation of it Therefore one

could never claim that the concept in itself limits or motivates anything only the way it is

interpreted

Many parts of the results need further investigation One is the implication of guilt if allies are

so limited in this movement whose fault is it It is easy to jump to the conclusion that the fault

belongs to the movement itself and its participants that activists and allies specifically create

47

an environment where action is limited and surrounded by doubt and insecurity This is not the

conclusion of the study Black people or specifically Black movement participants are not to

blame for a culture created by all participants of the movement and this culture or discourse

should be treated as such a larger collective process or frame that is affected by and affecting

all movement participants and the social context it is constructed in It is power on the discursive

level and beyond the reach of any specific grouprsquos aims to control it The experiences and

emotions of the allies should be treated as manifestations of a larger socio-political context

(Buechler 1995458) which could be the focus of future research

Another important aspect to discuss is the implications of quality of the participants allyship

Much research on the passivity of modern activists for example texts on slacktivism (see

Skoric 2012) have a contemptuous tone while discussing how little activists do and how good

they feel about themselves I refrain from evaluating the quality of the actual activism

performed by the allies and from explaining their digitally dominated activism with slacktivism

Instead of seeing contemporary passivism as a potential problem of bad activists one must

focus on the cultural structural and discursive processes enabling this specific kind of activism

instead of other more traditional and acknowledged types of activism Something in the

political climate digital activism identity political social movements or something completely

different limits those who wish to support the movement as allies in their action repertoires

One interesting finding is the consistency in the way the participants describe their involvement

and the issues they thought about Looking at prior experience and their doubts and concerns

about current and future activism there seems to be no link between being unexperienced or

so to say a lsquorookiersquo activist and feeling insecure about what to do as an ally The same problem

was present for people working with equality issues for a living having academic degrees in

the field and well as those without similar professional and academic competences Thus it is

unlikely to be out of inexperience or lack of knowledge that allies sometimes turn to passivism

It is also important to note that while this analysis turned out to be about tendencies of

passivism the interviewed allies were in fact not passive They all engaged in different ally

work digitally and physically sharing information online participating in demonstrations and

trying to incorporate antiracism in their everyday lives and encounters The idea of passivism

applies to their own reasoning and thinking about their allyship more than it does to their

performed ally work Passivism describes their strategic use of introspection which resembles

being passive from out outside perspective but includes much effort in scrutinizing oneself and

trying to become a better ally something that the interviewees are very focused on

48

The main contribution of this study is its representation of the ally perspective something that

is not well researched in the Swedish context It contributes with an insight into the political

arguments of a contemporary social movement characterized by identity-focus and digital

methods Potential contributions could also relate to the questions what would be needed for

allyship to become effective motivating and less associated with introspection and passivism

questions to which the answers must be found in larger contexts than that of these 11 alliesrsquo

testimonies In order to say more about how contemporary allyship is constructed experienced

and given meaning a triangulation of different methods and data sources would be required

along with a bigger sample

The study raised more questioned than it answered which indicates the importance and

relevance of further studies For example the theoretical coherence between the academic

concept of situated knowledge and the more casual term interpretation privilege would need to

be further explored as this study is only a rather shallow review of the concepts Studying the

larger political development and the discourse on activism or racism could also help

constructing a more developed understanding of what it really means to be an ally in the local

context of 21st century Sweden while simultaneously being part of a global network of activists

The implications of these results could be that while allyship is considered important both for

social movements at large (see Brown amp Ostrove 2013 Arora amp Stout 2019 Clark 2019) and

for the individual allies themselves it is also problematized by the interviewees in line with the

problems presented in previous research Applying these results to White allyship there are

things that would need to change in order for the allies to feel secure enough to find the

motivation to participate in the way they all claim they would want to but have not found the

time motivation or feeling of legitimacy to do For ally work to be a force to be reckoned with

in the antiracist struggle preconditions for action beyond introspection and strategic passivism

must be further developed Relating back to Butler the risk is otherwise that

If white people become exclusively preoccupied with our own privilege we risk

becoming self-absorbed We definitely donrsquot need more white people making

everything about themselves that just re-centralizes whiteness and refuses to do

the work of anti-racism (Gleeson 2021)

49

7 References Ahmed S Jaidka K amp Cho J (2017) Tweeting Indiarsquos Nirbhaya protest a study of emotional dynamics in an online social

movement Social Movement Studies 16(4) 227-465 httpsdoi1010801474283720161192457

American Psychological Association (2019) Racial and ethnic identity httpapastyleapaorgstyle-grammar-

guidelinesbias-free-languageracial-ethnic-minorities

Amnaring E amp Ekman J (2013) Standby citizens diverse faces of political passivity European Political Science 1-21

httpsdoi101017S175577391300009X

Andersson P (2021) Bokrecension Vit skoumlrhet vaumllbehoumlvlig i svensk rasismdebatt SVT Nyheter Downloaded 2021-09-29

from httpswwwsvtsekulturbokrecension-vit-skorhet-skickar-meningsfulla-impulser-in-i-den-svenska-debatten

Arora M amp Stout CT (2018) Letters for Black Lives Co-ethnic Mobilization and Support for the Black Lives Matter

Movement Political Research Quarterly 72(2) 389-402 httpsdoiorg1011772F1065912918793222

Arribas Lozano A (2018) Knowledge co-production with social movement networks Redefining grassroots politics

rethinking research Social Movement Studies 17(4) 451-463 httpsdoiorg1010801474283720181457521

Barassi V amp Zamponi L (2020) Social media time identity narratives and the construction of political biographies Social

Movement Studies 195-6 592-608 httpsdoiorg1010801474283720201718489

Bauman Z (2001) Liquid Modernity Cambridge Polity Press

Bhattacharyya G Virdee S amp Winter A (2020) Revisiting histories of anti-racist thought and activism Identities 27(1)

1-19 httpsdoiorg1010801070289X20191647686

Belam M (2021) Black Lives Matter movement nominated for Nobel peace prize The Guardian 2021-01-29

httpswwwtheguardiancomworld2021jan29Black-lives-matter-nobel-peace-prize-petter-eide-norweigan-mp

(Downloaded 2021-06-16)

Bernstein M (2005) Identity Politics Annual Review of Sociology 31(1) 47-74

httpsdoiorg101146annurevsoc29010202100054

Brown K T amp Ostrove J M (2013) What does it mean to be an ally The perception of allies from the perspective of

people of color Journal of Applied Social Psychology 43(11) 2211ndash2222 httpsdoiorg101111jasp12172

Braring (2018) Sjaumllvrapporterad utsatthet foumlr hatbrott Analys utifraringn Nationella trygghetsundersoumlkningen 2006ndash2017 Rapport

201810 Downloaded 2021-03-05 at

httpswwwbrasedownload187f57ba351641b9cdc3d1e0b515344265455312018_10_Sjalvrapporterad_utsatthet_for_

hatbrottpdf

Buechler SM (1995) NEW SOCIAL MOVEMENT THEORIES Sociological Quarterly 36 441-464

httpsdoiorg101111j1533-85251995tb00447x

Bursell M (2014) The Multiple Burdens of Foreign-Named MenmdashEvidence from a Field Experiment on Gendered Ethnic

Hiring Discrimination in Sweden European Sociological Review 30(3) 399ndash409 httpsdoiorg101093esrjcu047

Carnegie Endowment for International Peace 2020 Global Protest Tracker Downloaded 2020-12-16 at

httpscarnegieendowmentorgpublicationsinteractiveprotest-trackergclid=CjwKCAiA_eb-

BRB2EiwAGBnXXve4_M0rNWlgU0_MmYUuIg6ThabxkIbk_kQhlB7O_542emIVDHX1HRoCCFsQAvD_BwE

Clark M (2019) White folksrsquo work digital allyship praxis in the BlackLivesMatter movement Social Movement Studies

18(5) 519-534 httpsdoiorg1010801474283720191603104

Clayton DM (2018) Black Lives Matter and the Civil Rights Movement A Comparative Analysis of Two Social

Movements in the United States Journal of Black Studies 40(5)448-480

httpsdoiorg1011772F0021934718764099

Cole G (2020) Types of White Identification and Attitudes About Black Lives Matter Social Science Quarterly

101(4)1627-1633) httpsdoiorg101111ssqu12837

Collins PH (1990) Black Feminist Epistemology In Calhoun C J Gerteis J Moody S Pfaff amp I Virk (Ed) (2012)

Contemporary Sociological Theory 3rd Ed Chichester Wiley-Blackwell

Craddock E (2019) Doing rsquoenoughrsquo of the lsquorightrsquo thing the gendered dimension of the lsquoideal activistrsquo and its negative

emotional consequencesrdquo Social Movement Studies 18(2)137-153) httpsdoiorg1010801474283720181555457

Creswell JW amp Poth CN (2017) Qualitative inquiry and research design choosing among five approaches (Fourth

edition) Los Angeles Sage Publications

Diani M (1992) The Concept of Social Movement The Sociological Review 40(1)1-25 httpsdoiorg1011112Fj1467-

954X1992tb02943x

Drury B amp C Kaiser (2014) Allies against Sexism The Role of Men in Confronting Sexism Journal of Social Issues

70(4)637-652 httpsdoiorg101111josi12083

Dull BD Hoyt LT Grzanka PR amp Zeider KH (2021) Can White Guilt Motivate Action The Role of Civic Beliefs

Journal of Youth and Adolescence 50 1081ndash1097 (2021) httpsdoiorg101007s10964-021-01401-7

Earl J (2014) The Future of Social Movement Organizations The Waning Dominance of SMOs Online American

Behavioral Scientist 5935-52 httpsdoiorg1011772F0002764214540507

Garrett RK (2006) Protest in an Information Society a review of literature on social movements and new ICTs

Information Communication amp Society 9(2) 202-224 httpsdoiorg10108013691180600630773

Giddens A (1991) Modernity and self-identity Self and society in the late modern age Stanford University Press

Gleeson J (2021) Judith Butler lsquoWe need to rethink the category of womanrsquo The Guardian 2021-09-07 (Accessed 20201-

09-14 at httpswwwtheguardiancomlifeandstyle2021sep07judith-butler-interview-gender)

13

to be used for personal virtue signaling Such cosmetic activism rarely leads to any structural

criticism or challenging (Spanierman amp Smith 2017609-10)

22 Digital activism

As can be seen in the previous research on the positive opportunities with allies digital methods

are important for allies to engage for example in amplifying voices of minorities (Clark

2019528-31) This is perhaps even more true in the 2020 BLM-wave when many were limited

in their capacity to participate physically due to the pandemic All participants in this study

participated in digital activism (most of them exclusively so) and it is therefore important to

account for some research on the role digitalism plays in contemporary movements The

introduction of new technologies into political activism has been studied for many years even

before the social medias we use today Information and Communication technologies (ICTrsquos)

such as mobile phones or the internet had many effects on political activism as they became

available for more people for example it contributed with increased sense of community

strengthened political participation facilitated movement organization and increased

independence from elite representations of movements (Garrett 2006205-14)

Modern social medias have the same effects to some extent The internet and social media are

acknowledged to affect how social movements come into being and how they operate (Barassi

amp Zamponi 2020 Earl 2014) Social media platforms are used as tools for organizing raising

awareness and spreading information (Ahmed et al 2017447) and was for example one of

the success factors of the MeToo movement (Li et al 2020 Lin amp Yang 2019) Social media

also played a major role in the BLM protests without social media the protests of 2020 would

perhaps not have been as widespread The fact that the video picturing Floydrsquos murder spread

so rapidly led to massive emotional involvement and increased motivation for participation

according to research on the efficiency of emotions in digital activism (Clark 2019 Heldman

201788) Facilitating the growth of collective emotion and identity is one of the main

contributions of social media because emotions are crucial in motivating political action

(Ahmed et al 201746 Zhelnina 2020361) Studying the emotional expressions before during

and after a social protest on Twitter Ahmed and colleagues concluded that emotions affect

involvement online similarly to their effect offline ndash they channel participation and create

community and identification (Ahmed et al 2017459-61) Besides this social media functions

as a megaphone for individuals without having to be represented by any formal leader (Earl

14

201537) Earl argued that some of the functions centralized and formal social movement

organizations used to fill can in many cases be substituted with online communities lowering

the costs of organizers and participants (ibid39)

221 Critical perspectives on digital activism

Social media as site and tool for social activism is also criticized based on ideas about how it

leads to passivity and how motives for online activism differs from those in offline or lsquorealrsquo

activism Online activism is sometimes called slacktivism referencing the lower degrees of

effort and risk required to engage in online activism (Skoric 201277) The slacktivist narrative

is often used to explain the decline in youth political engagement (Amnaring amp Ekman 20136)

although the link between digital activism and low degrees of participation have not been

determined Online activism is usually less valued than more traditional types of activism which

requires more from the individual activist (Craddock 2019148-9 Heldman 2017207) despite

the lack of consensus between researchers on whether online activism is effective or not

(Lilleker amp Koc-Michalska 201725) Skoric (201277) argued that the Internet promotes a

superficial mode of political activism where liking commenting and sharing are the main tools

for participating in political activism and that the focus often is aimed at the individual and her

capacity of introspection lifestyle politics or mere expression of opinions without further

actions Such positionings rarely challenges structures of power and dominance Slacktivism

feels good without actually doing any good and it distracts people from engaging in meaningful

activism (ibid78)

lsquoFeeling goodrsquo as a motive for political mobilization is further explored by Lilleker and Koc-

Michalska (201723) who argued that there is a strong link between both intrinsic and extrinsic

emotional motivations and political mobilization both self-fulfillment and recognition are

strong motivators for both online and offline activism Extrinsic motivations eg external

approval recognition and being perceived as lsquogoodrsquo has the strongest effect on motivating

participation (ibid34 25) The difference they found between online and offline participation

was that online activism is less self-fulfilling and more driven by ldquoconforming and earning

rewardsrdquo which they interpret as online participation potentially being mere clicktivism and

less personally meaningful to the people engaging in it (ibid35)

Although slacktivism is not necessarily a phenomenon limited to the digital sphere but includes

all performative positioning online activism arguably breeds slacktivism because of how easy

15

and available it is The motivation to engage in high-risk high-effort activism decreases if there

are always lower effort- and risk options available that gives the same recognition and

satisfaction (Skoric 201279) Morozov (2009) also has criticized the naiumlve faith in the potential

of Internet activism and argued that poorly planned online slacktivism is not only ineffective

and toothless but also holds potential for backfiring and causing devastating consequences For

example when Western activists attempted to attack Iranian government sources online they

accidentally slowed down the whole Iranian internet making the activism of local protestors

difficult (Morozov 200913)

As this section shows the relationship between social media and the general level of activism

among people is far from determined However the participants of this study all relied on digital

methods in their ally work and their experiences of digital methods are explored in the analysis

3 Theory

In this section the two theories used to analyze the data will be presented and discussed starting

with Giddensrsquo theories on modernity which are used to contextualize ally work as a 21st century

phenomenon shaped by the preconditions of modernity such as increased reflexivity and

ontological insecurity Thereafter theories of situated knowledge will be used to describe how

the allies relate to their own whiteness in relation to the concept of interpretation privilege

sometimes limiting the allies in their leeway of action Essentially Giddensrsquo theories will be

used to understand why allies hesitate about their role and theories of situated knowledge will

be used to understand what they base these hesitations on

31 Giddens

Giddensrsquo theory of modernity focuses on the circumstances of human activity and identity in

what he referred to as (late) modernity The theory will be used to contextualize ally work as

something that exists within a larger social cultural and economic structure that shapes the

way identity politics and human activity are formed with special focus on self-identity and

ontological security

16

Worth mentioning when using the term modernity is that there are scholarly disagreements on

whether the current era should be interpreted as modernity late (or liquid see Bauman 2001)

modernity or postmodernity However Giddens belongs to the group of theorists who see

contemporary society as still existing within the theoretical frames of late modernity where the

tendencies of modernity has been further stretched and strengthened (Giddens 199127) This

assumption will be present throughout this paper while also acknowledging this is only one

interpretation

311 Life in modernity reflexivity and ontological insecurity

Modernity is an era characterized by post-traditional orders institutionalized radical doubt

detachment of time and space risk-cultures and abstract systems (Giddens 19912-5)

Following these changes in increased emphasis on reflexivity the continuous revisiting of

previously taken-for-granted concepts truths and ideas This applies to the institutional and

individual level and the latter will be of focus in this paper Without the guiding hand of

tradition or custom as in premodern society people must navigate in the world without being

firmly grounded in pregiven sets of beliefs on what should be done in each situation and with

the constant flow of information in modernity the horizon of possible actions are constantly

broadened (ibid20)

The increased emphasis on reflexivity means for the individual that ldquoself-identity becomes a

reflexively organised endeavorrdquo (Giddens 19915) Giddensrsquo described self-identity as a

project based on coherent and ldquocontinuously revised biographical narrativesrdquo which ldquotakes

place in the context of multiple choices as filtered through abstract systemsrdquo (ibid5) This

means that self-identity is closely linked to actions and is ldquoroutinely created and sustainedrdquo in

the actions of the individual (ibid52) This includes making constant decisions while having

endless choices ndash on what to do how to act and ultimately who to be in late modernity ldquowe

are not what we are but what we make of ourselvesrdquo (ibid54 75) If the individual fails to

perform in coherence with their sense of self-identity the individual may start to doubt their

own biographical narrative and ultimately themselves (ibid58) In the context of social

movements the ally identity is thus constantly reshaped by each choice of action and it

becomes important to act in accordance with the ideal-typical ally role Allyship is also a

globalized phenomenon which increases the number of aspects to take into consideration while

reflexively making choices

17

As reflexivity become more and more significant in guiding human action people in late

modernity experience loss of ontological security which is a ldquorsquonatural attitudersquo in everyday

liferdquo in relation to how to act and orient oneself in the world (Giddens 199136) Being

ontologically secure is ldquoto possess on the level of the unconscious and practical consciousness

lsquoanswersrsquo to fundamental existential questions which all human life in some way addressesrdquo

(ibid47) and was previously guided by tradition custom rules and norms of premodern society

Ontological security thus secures the individualsrsquo smooth navigation through life without them

hesitating on their role in the world too much However as society developed into modernity

and late modernity the conditions for ontological security changed ndash the traditions of

premodern society that used to give ontological security by offering a sense of structure

firmness and purpose are now exchanged for reflexivity (ibid48) making each single decision

dependent on an almost infinite number of possible options (ibid36) Without ontological

security the individual experiences existential anxiety caused by uncertainty ndash and such anxiety

itself ldquotends to paralyse relevant actions rather than generate themrdquo (ibid44) This passivity can

occur in relation to specific actions or to the sense of self in general for example failing to

perform in line with onersquos perceived self-identity can create ontological insecurity and it opens

for questioning onersquos entire role in a specific context for example a social movement For allies

ontological insecurity could arise in relation to them trying to navigate what actions are

appropriate for them to engage in based on the reflexive project of self-identity However

inactivism or passivity cannot only be seen in the individualrsquos relation to action but in politics

in general Giddens argued that politics in premodern times were emancipatory and aiming to

end oppression but that politics in modernity has been transformed into life politics a shift in

ideology and activity towards emphasizing lifestyle and self-actualization (ibid210-14)

The purpose of including Giddensrsquo theory of modernity is to provide a potential context in

which the allies of this study act and shape their own ally identities and how their occasionally

self-restricting introspection may be understood

32 Situated knowledge

To complement the theory of Giddens theories on situated knowledge will be included in the

analysis to point to specific ways in which the allies engage in reflexive decision-making eg

on what basis they make decisions about ally strategies The included theories are feminist

theories but their implications are not limited to gender relations

18

Theories of situated knowledge (also referred to as standpoint theory or feminist epistemology)

is an epistemological attempt to challenge the way knowledge is produced validated and

valued Epistemology is an ldquooverarching theory of knowledgerdquo (Collins 1990408) and theories

of epistemology focuses on how truth and knowledge is shaped by power relations between

social positions and how this could change Easily put social position of the knowledge

producer shapes the kind of knowledge that can be produced (Young 200425) In this thesis

the theoretical works of Haraway Young and Collins will be included although there are more

contributors to the thoughts about situated knowledge

Relating knowledge to power feminist theorists have pointed to how knowledge production

has been dominated by men and postcolonial thinkers have questioned dominant knowledge

for its sometimes exploitative and colonializing tendencies (in for example Western thought

and anthropology) Part of this critique has included a call for recognition privilege of lived

experience and reflexivity in research (Voronka 2016191) Donna Haraway (1988) presented

a feminist epistemology (or feminist objectivism) that recognized how women have historically

seen as immanent beings unable to transcend the body and escape its ldquofinite point of viewrdquo

whereas men have been seen as able to attain lsquoobjectiversquo perspectives and knowledges

(Haraway 1988575) The (imagined) male capacity to transcend ldquoparticular social location

and adopt a lsquoview from nowherersquordquo gives men higher status epistemologically (Young 200424)

Thus the gaze of the White male has been favored in sociology as it represents the unmarked

and objective perspective (Haraway 1988581)

The problem with the idea of objectivity and the lsquoview from nowherersquo according to feminist

and postcolonial critics is that knowledge is a power process and only taking one groups

knowledge into account reinforces these power processes Patricia Hill Collins argued that

power over the production and validation of knowledge is an issue of group interest where the

dominant group preserves their own interests by invalidating knowledge that either challenges

their hegemonic ideas or follows alternative practices in their creation of alternative knowledges

(Collins 1990409-10) Black womenrsquos knowledge is subjugated knowledge and it must fight

for recognition in an anti-Black and anti-female world (ibid414) The Black feminist

epistemology she advocated for includes sensitivity to the combination of female and Black

experiences unique for Black women and it recognized alternative ways to create knowledge

specific to Black womenrsquos knowledge production (ibid407-8)

19

321 Situated knowledge as political strategy

If knowledge is then produced under circumstances of domination power structures and

hegemony ndash what would an alternative look like and what could these alternatives lead to

From a quality standpoint Haraway (1988583) argued that including several perspectives in

knowledge production leads to better conclusions Even though she dismissed the idea that

subjugated people have a purer vision on truth and objectivity an idea she claimed is often

rooted in a fetishized idea of the Third World woman she argued that subjugated groups are

less likely to ldquoallow denial of the critical and interpretive core of all knowledgerdquo than are

dominant groups (ibid583-586) She wrote that the only standpoint from which no objectivity

can ever be reached is ldquothe standpoint of the master the Man the One God whose Eye

produces appropriates and orders differencerdquo (ibid587) Thus to aim for objectivity depends

on including perspectives otherwise ignored by structures of power and dominance (ibid590)

Delegitimizing the idea of a lsquoGodrsquos eyersquo from where true knowledge can be observed and

mediated means including other perspectives and knowledges (Young 200420) This is not

only just and right it also contributes to wiser decision making in a context of democratic

processes including perspectives from all social standpoints maximizes knowledge which

should be treated as a democratic resource when fully utilized (ibid25-9) Thus the idea of

situated knowledges includes a normative assumption of inclusion and diversity in decision

making and knowledge production and social difference should be treated as a resource for

democratic societies (ibid29)

The standpoint theorists emphasize how recognizing specificity in knowledge claims for

different groups does not include the idea that subjugated groups are naturally epistemically

privileged eg that their perspective on every issue should be treated as automatically lsquotruersquo

(Haraway 1988583-4 Young 200427-29) Neither the position of these groups or any

imagined inherent attributes give subjugated groups automatic access to the truth but the

position opens up doors to new perspectives impossible to imagine from above (Haraway

1988584) The specific knowledge unique for the dominated social positions include different

understandings of their own position and others and the relation between them as well as ldquoa

point of view on the history of societyrdquo ldquoan interpretation of how the relations and processes

of the whole society operates especially as they affect onersquos own positionrdquo and finally ldquoa

position-specific experience and point of view on the natural and physical environmentrdquo

(Young 200429)

20

Applying these ideas in a context of practical politics for example in a social movement can

include such inclusion of different perspectives and emphasizing how group difference matters

in terms of knowledge but without claiming the existence of epistemic privilege Often this

practical application is based on including people with lived experience into different contexts

of power or knowledge production (Voronka 2016189)

However the strategy of using lived experience as a criterion for epistemic legitimacy can also

be problematized Voronka (2016192) argued that inclusion and representation of different

groups in decision making as a criterion for legitimate knowledge production can be seen as

resting on essentialist assumptions and stable identity categories The categories themselves are

left unaccounted for meaning the boundaries between and content of different identity groups

are seen as natural entities (ibid194) The concept of lived experience fails to answer questions

of who we are and why while the existence of these categories should be questioned in

themselves Thus acting based on ideas of lived experience and ldquoepistemic privilegerdquo (Young

200427) risks both treating identity as essentialist and constructing group attributes as

embodied truths and ignore difference in lived experience within groups (Voronka 2016196)

Thus Voronka (ibid197) argued

we need to mark how rsquopeople with lived experiencersquo [as a concept my note] risks

reproducing and replicating systems of domination that privileges subjects and

subjectivities that fit closely within the White heteropatriarchal matrix of ruling

Voronkarsquos experiences come from academia but the ideas can be applied to other contexts as

well Theories of situated knowledge can be extracted from the abstract epistemological level

and transformed into a concept more suitable and applicable for everyday situations and as will

be seen in the analysis this theme is highly present in the statements by the study participants

in the form of interpretation privilege (See section 5 Results and analysis)

4 Methodology

The study builds on phenomenological approach and aims to understand a social phenomenon

by interpreting the different meanings ascribed to it by the participant whose lived experience

is in focus for the analysis (Creswell amp Poth 2018150) Thus the focus of the study is not the

BLM movement itself but to understand the experience of the allies The study is abductive

21

meaning the research process was iterative - going back and forth between empirical findings

and theoretical background The aim of abductive analysis is often to generate theory by

cultivating already existing theories together with the surprising results found in the data

collection that are in turn reinterpreted through the revisited theoretical insights (Timmermans

amp Tavory 2012169 173-6) One important aspect of abduction is to revisit the phenomenon

as it can lead to new insights For example when the first couple of interviews were done the

lack of response to one specific question was interpreted as missing data But when the

transcripts were revisited after some additional previous research had been read I realized the

unanswered question was not missing data ndash it was data in itself This realization affected how

the data collection moved forward as the focus narrowed down on the ally role and its

limitations

41 Data collection

The data collection was done by conducting qualitative interviews with 11 self-identified White

allies to understand their perspective experiences and thoughts about their participation The

interviews were in average 010245 in length and they were conducted during a five-week

period The interviews were semi-structured guided by an interview guide without following

it in detail which creates room for flexibility This ensured both consistency between the

interviews and individual variations depending on the interviewee (Turner 2010755) The

interview guide had open-ended questions and covered three main themes (political

background identity emotions) Some questions related to relevant concepts for example they

were asked ldquoIn your perspective what is an allyrdquo The purpose was not to evaluate the

participants academic understanding of the term but to have them reflect upon their own

perceptions and thereby gain insight into their political thinking and its effect on their ally role

Other questions were about experiences such as ldquoCould you tell me about your participation in

the BLM movementrdquo and ldquoWhat emotional responses did you have when this happenedrdquo

Some parts of the interview focused on the BLM movement specifically but since the antiracist

ally identity was often developed before BLM started it also included more general experiences

of antiracist allyship At the end of each interview the participants were given a chance discuss

things important to them The limitation of interview data is that it is not a representation of the

world lsquoout therersquo but only a representation of how the interviewees describe their experiences

and these can be shaped by indefinite number of things beyond the scope of this thesis

22

All interviews were digitally conducted Although digital interviewing is often presented as a

second choice there are benefits to it For example Howlett (20217-8) noticed how the safe

environment of the home made the participants more relaxed and that the interviews also tended

to be both longer and richer in detail than offline interviews One could however imagine how

the opposite effect could occur if the home environment is unsafe or unfit for long

conversations The interviews took place more than a year into the pandemic and people were

thus more familiar with digital communication technologies than they were in the beginning

(ibid10) The pandemic was topic for small talk before the interviews started and our shared

experience with it created some sense of commonality and a relaxed atmosphere where potential

technical issues or disturbances were met with recognition from the other party Despite the

surprisingly positive experience with digital interviewing and as well as the rich data gathered

it is still important to recognize how the quality could have been even better with physical

interviews

The interviews were all conducted on Zoom and recorded in the software The interviews were

transcribed in full verbatim meaning that false starters stutters laughter and pauses were

included Such utterances are clues to how the participants feel about what they are telling and

should be treated as data

42 Sample

The sampling for this study is based on one inclusion criterion motivated by the purpose of the

study the criterion being White ally identification (Creswell amp Poth 201881 157) To base

the inclusion criterion on self-identification could potentially lead to low validity in terms of

not achieving a sample that represents the group one wishes to study by excluding those who

engage in ally work without identifying as such To ensure that the people included in the study

were lsquorealrsquo allies the criterion could have been having a certain amount of experience from ally

work or similar However this was a methodological choice motivated by reflections by

Craddock (2019) who studied activism Craddock learned that including the term activist in

her participant letter excluded people who - despite being very active - did not dare to call

themselves activists due to the high standard of what lsquorealrsquo activism is Especially women feel

that they cannot live up to the ideal and therefore they do not recognize their own activist

identity (Craddock 2019138-42) Therefore anyone who identified as an ally was allowed to

participate without evaluating or judging their level of participants

23

The sampling method was mixed consisting of convenience sampling and snowball sampling

(Creswell amp Poth 2018159) First an email was sent to the Swedish BLM organizationrsquos

official email telling them about the study and asking if they had any recommendations of

where participants could be found This email got no response Different Facebook groups were

chosen as lsquofieldsrsquo to sample in Personal acquaintances were also asked to participate The

choice of Facebook groups related to both convenience and lack of access to physical fields to

sample in and because much of the activism related to BLM took place online The Facebook

groups were all limited demographically (open only for women and non-binary people) and

they all had explicit value-systems with feminist anti-racist intersectional orientations Some

groups were simple support-and-chat groups some had a more political purpose (without party

connections) One participant was found in the comments section on a Facebook page that

relates to antiracism and contacted from there and a few were snowball sampled Recruiting

participants in online forums creates a problematic balance between transparency and

anonymity if too detailed information about the specific sampling sites is revealed the

participants identities can be spoiled due to traceability Thus the names of these Facebook

groups or pages cannot be revealed The groups were known to me beforehand as I am myself

a member in them and therefore had access to the lsquofieldrsquo which reduced the time and effort

spent on sampling If this study were a netnography with digital data to analyze it would be

problematic because my interpretation would be tainted by my personal experiences in the

groups but since the data itself was not related to the specific groups or the participants activity

in these groups it is less problematic

This digital convenience sampling limits the groups included in the sampling frame which

creates a skewed sample in terms of for example gender The complementary snowball

sampling creates a similar problem with homogeneity because of the tendency of participants

to recommend people who are like themselves As a result people with academic backgrounds

in social sciences and humanities are overrepresented in this sample The first interviewee Lisa

works in the international aid sector and she put me in touch with some old classmates and

colleagues which contributed to the skewed sample However the sampling method does not

aim to reach a randomized sample that is representative of the Swedish population in general

but instead a purposeful selection of people with certain experiences (Creswell amp Poth

2018272)

The final sample included people of different genders (9 female 1 male and 1 non-binary)

ages (22-36) education (from high school diploma to MA-degrees) and occupation (traditional

24

working-class occupations or white-collar jobs) They lived in or originated from different parts

of Sweden with one currently living in South Africa They also had very different backgrounds

in regards of political engagement some of them had been organized voluntarily or

professionally in multiple movements and civil society organizations some are or have been

active in party politics and some had their political experience mainly in online discussions

43 Coding and analysis

After all interviews were transcribed the data was coded in Excel using the guidelines for

phenomenological analysis presented called horizonalization (Creswell amp Poth 2018201

Moustakas 1994118) Horizonalization means creating a broad base or platform of equally

important statements to capture the experiences of the participants In phenomenological

studies coding and analysis should preferably be inductive highlighting ldquosignificant

statements sentences and quotesrdquo (Creswell amp Poth 201879) instead of deductively trying to

apply hypotheses or theories onto the data

The coding followed the subsequent steps First each transcript was read one at a time and

important statements were added in a quote-column in Excel (see Image 1) Following the

quote-column were categorical columns based on different themes from the interviews The 12

categories were Background Activity in BLM Identity Role Pandemic Emotion Motivation

Introspection BLM organization Balance Problems and Other There was also a column for

especially good quotes which were marked with an lsquoxrsquo In each column (for example ldquoRolerdquo)

inductively created codes were entered An example can be seen in Image 1

The coding was kept close to the data and focus was to create codes that described the specifics

of each statement instead of keeping the number of codes down which created some overlap

Image 1 Visual representation of the coding strategy

After the 11 interviews were coded the data included 243 quotes in 12 categories In order to

structure the analysis according to relevant topics themes were created out of the codes based

on representativeness and uniqueness These themes provided the basis for the interpretation

25

and analysis For example the previously mentioned code ldquoNot surerdquo was grouped together

with the code ldquoDecided by othersrdquo (in the column ldquoRolerdquo) and analyzed together because they

were interpreted as expressions of the same phenomenon eg insecurity regarding what the

role should contain (Moustakas 1994118)

After the coding which is a big part of the analysis itself the most relevant and interesting

themes were further analyzed This was related to observed regularities in statements being

repeated among several participants and novelty or lsquosurprise factorrsquo Whereas the coding was

unrelated to any specific theory the deeper analysis of the different themes was done parallel

to exploring theory The theories came into the process at different stages Giddensrsquo theory of

modernity and ontological security was explored after the initial coding before starting the

writing process of the analysis based on the pattern of insecurity and reflexivity among the

participantsrsquo descriptions of how they make decisions on how to act as an ally Thereafter the

concept of situated knowledge was introduced after all material had initially been analyzed and

written down in a first draft and the recurring use of the term interpretation privilege

(tolkningsfoumlretraumlde) caught my interest The focus was therefore the themes related to

interpretation privilege and how the participants made sense of the term as well as the different

aspects they had to balance because of their emphasis on interpretation privilege in the final

analysis

44 Ethical considerations

Research should be guided by ethical principles to ensure the safety of the participants and the

quality of the research The most important aspects include consent confidentiality and

anonymity Informed consent means that the participant must be given full information about

what participation means and they must be given the chance to both give and withdraw their

consent during or after the interview The researcher must tell the truth about the purpose of the

study and the participant can choose to leave any unwanted questions unanswered

(Vetenskapsraringdet 201710 16) All participants were given a letter with information about the

study which was again repeated verbally right before the interview The second important

aspect confidentiality means that all information and data must be handled safely and not be

shared with unauthorized people (ibid40) The data was stored on a password protected

computer and no personal information was saved along with the transcripts And finally

anonymity means that the identity of the participants must be concealed for example by giving

26

them new names or changing identifying details in their statements (ibid13) Both of my

sampling methods (digital convenience and snowball) can threaten the anonymity of the

participants because they become traceable either to those who were lsquosnowballedrsquo into the study

or those who were found online (see chapter 42 Sample)

In more qualitative terms the researcher must make fair interpretations of the statements made

by participants and be transparent with how conclusions were made This ensures both

transparency in a scientific standpoint and the well-being of the participants (Vetenskapsraringdet

201710) Related to this it is important to recognize how the analysis may affect the

participants for example Creswell and Poth (2018228) argue that there is always a risk that

participants feel bothered by the way their statements have been interpreted in relation to theory

and previous research and especially in a sensitive topic such as politics identity and emotions

In order to minimize this risk the interpretations will both be rooted in theory and previous

research and include alternative evidence and interpretations

45 Methodological reflexivity

Reflexivity requires researchers to be aware of and transparent about their own biases in their

interpretations as well as scrutinizing their power in relation to the research participants

(Creswell amp Poth 2018201 228) Besides the inherent power in the relation between

researcher and participants no specific power dynamics existed in this study The researcher

must reflect upon their own position (gender class race and similar) and how it affects the

way the research is conducted and how the results are interpreted (ibid228) Being reflexive

thus becomes a way to increase validity by clarifying where researcher bias may have affected

the results (ibid261) Evidence that contradicts the arguments made in the analysis has been

included to avoid bias The idea of researcher reflexivity builds on the epistemological approach

of social constructivism where knowledge is not seen as a neutral or objective but a subjective

socially embedded practice shaped by the lived experience of the author and the participants It

also means that self-criticism and self-consciousness is crucial aspects of qualitative

interpretive research (Lynch 200029-36)

According to Moustakas (1994103-4) reflexivity should guide every step in the

phenomenological research project including choice of topic it must have autobiographical

relevance to the researcher who must be genuinely curious and passionate about the

phenomenon ndash and of course be transparent about these motives The choice of BLM as an

27

empirical example in this study was based on my own experiences from the spring of 2020 I

was just as my respondents and many others very moved by the events that transpired and I

did too participate in some online actions such as checking myself into the US Ambassy on

Facebook to show my support of the movement I followed the news and read everything I

found on social media out of both political sympathy and sociological fascination I wanted to

know more about why the activism looked like it did and how others felt about being part of

it Being able to be fascinated in times of collective grief and trauma for Black people is of

course a privilege that I am aware of I can afford to be distanced towards and critical of the

antiracist movement and how it does or does not invite people to engage themselves in it

because my survival or well-being does not depend on it I aim to be respectful in my

interpretations and descriptions of the movement and its participants

46 Limitations

Instead of aiming to evaluate qualitative research by the same criteria as quantitative studies

there are adjusted validation practices for the specific approach of the study To assure good

quality for qualitative phenomenological studies phenomenological concepts should be used

properly understood and recommended methods should be followed Besides from engaging

in reflexive analysis it is also important to offer descriptive richness and interpretive depth

(Creswell amp Poth 2018272-82) There are also different validation strategies for qualitative

research The researcher can use triangulation to strengthen the stability of the results identify

disconfirming cases and clarify researcher reflexivity (ibid260-1) Member checking and

collaborating with participants can also strengthen the validity (ibid162 Arribas Lozano

2018455-6) All participants were informed of their right to see the transcripts and the analysis

if they wished but they were not contacted with the explicit purpose of checking the finished

results due to time Another aspect is reliability meaning how robust the results of the study

would be if someone else replicated the study (Creswell amp Poth 2018164-5) In the case of

qualitative studies where the researcher is intertwined with the interpretations the probability

of someone else reaching the exact same result is small but thick descriptions of methodology

and the data increases reliability somewhat The generalizability of qualitative studies is often

low and especially so when the sample is skewed The results of this study should be considered

valid only for the group studied since the results could have been different with different

28

representations of gender or class for example However with a purposeful sample of people

with a certain experience the goal is not generalizability beyond the group

Another potential issue is the fact that the quotes from the interviews included in this thesis

have been translated from Swedish to English which means that there is a risk that some of the

core meanings of the quotes may have been spoiled or changed However the analysis was

done on the Swedish transcripts making sure the interpretations were made on the original

material Thus the problem of translating quotes is mainly a problem of communicating the

results to the reader in the same form they appeared in the analysis process of the original

material

5 Results and analysis

As explained in the methods section (43 Coding and analysis) the analysis was gradually

turning toward the themes of a) interpretation privilege and b) how the notion of interpretation

privilege affects the leeway for action These themes will be the focus of the analysis which

will show that although the allies experience their allyship as important and meaningful they

sometimes struggle to find a path for themselves in their attempt to be lsquogoodrsquo allies Their

commitment to respecting interpretation privilege helps them live up the to the ally role as

supporters of Black people in general but it limits the leeway in which they are able to act

independently as political agents But first some general findings on how the allies think about

their role will be presented which primarily relates to the first research question about the

experiences of ally work

The overall experience of allyship is that the ally identity is surrounded by purpose community

and positive experiences They are all highly committed to and well-educated about the cause

Being part of the movement feels meaningful and even like rdquoa privilege to be able to be a part

of it and listen and learnrdquo as Lisa says She describes her emotional experiences

First there was a lot of frustration I think And then there was this powerfulhellip

some kind of like rsquowowrsquo there were a lot of chills there for a while [laughs]

because people really came together

29

Sam shares the experience of initial frustration and pain They describe the feeling when their

frustration and anger transformed into hope like ldquofree fallingrdquo ndash the realization that they were a

part of a group with so many sympathizers made it feel like change was possible

Most ally work was performed online and consisted of acts such as sharing information

knowledge and opinions participating in online seminars and meetings signing petitions and

lsquochecking inrsquo at the US Embassy in Stockholm on Facebook as part of a global protest act To

signal their support for the movement they occasionally used hashtags such as

blacklivesmatter and blackouttuesday All participants got most of their information from

social media in line with the general trend in contemporary activism (Ahmed et al 2017447

Heldman 201788) Previous research emphasizes the important role of emotions in social

movement mobilization and all participants in this study recognized how constant access to

heartbreaking stories virtual proof of mistreatment and a global sense of community provided

by social media motivated them to act (see for example Russo 2014)

Some interviewees also participated outside of social media by attending physical

demonstrations (Sam Sara and Emma) It is impossible to say how many of the interviewees

would have attended had there not been a global pandemic However as digital activism has

become dominating in contemporary social movements (Jaumlmte et al 2020371-2) the low rate

of physical protest among the participants in this study should not be attributed to the pandemic

alone For example Lucas says he has not been to as many demonstrations over the last years

as he would have wanted because of work and other circumstances Amanda says she has

always seen herself as an activist as someone who does what otherrsquos lacks the energy or

resources to do but that she is ldquonot the person who attends demos you knowrdquo And Caroline

who is involved in several organizations besides her antiracist engagement even experiences

that the pandemic has made participation easier for her since it can now be done from home ndash

a point Alva agrees with as she experiences difficulties joining offline protests due to physical

illness Thus the effects of the Covid pandemic are not exclusively negative and limiting Apart

from the different demonstrations the allies also emphasized how implementing antiracist ideas

into their everyday behavior and their professional lives is crucial to be a good ally

The main motivator for their allyship is the notion of privilege All interviewees refer to

themselves as White and relate it to privilege an increasingly common tendency and a

prerequisite for antiracist commitment among Whites (Cole 20201627 Spanierman amp Smith

2017608-9) Lisa describes herself as a ldquoprivileged White woman raised in a middle-class

homerdquo and she says that she faced few obstacles growing up and Sam argues that their White

30

identity gives them platforms and privileges many Black people lack Therefore they use their

social media to amplify the voices of Black people sharing their voices stories and

perspectives Amplifying voices of marginalized groups has been recognized in research as one

of the main tasks for allies (Arora amp Stout 2019390 Bhattacharyya et al 202012 Clark

2019528-31)

The argument of amplifying Black voices as a way to utilize onersquos privilege is twofold First

the participants see their privilege as an opportunity to reach out to fellow Whites who they

expect will listen more to their White counterparts than they would to a Black person which is

confirmed in previous research (see for example Arora amp Stout 2019 Linder amp Johnson 2015)

For example Lucas says

Us Whites who are not affected by racism we have to stand up and show that itrsquos

not OK to spread racism If we donrsquot therersquoll never be any change because

sometimes it feels like people listen more to [hellip] a White person confirming that

what a Black person says is true

Sam shares this reasoning and they actively try to reach people with ldquodeeply racist prejudicerdquo

who would ldquonever listen to a Black personrdquo According to Haraway (1988577) subjugated

groups are deprived the privilege of assumed objectivity and reduced to their position as

inherently linked to and epistemologically limited by their social position in a way the dominant

groups are not Subjugated knowledge must always be fought for in terms of recognition

(Collins 1990414) and the allies in this study is dedicated to doing so in order to reduce the

impact of their own privilege and increase the outreach of Black people Katrin recognizes how

this process of validation of knowledge based on power is an unequal process where Black

people are seen as unreliable because they are ldquoacting out of self-interestrdquo whereas White

people are assigned more credibility Recognizing these mechanisms does not mean that the

interviewees accept them they use words such as ldquoterriblerdquo and ldquodisgustingrdquo to describe the

phenomenon and they feel both guilty about having these privileges and motivated to use them

for good which has been recognized as a potential effect of guilt in previous research (Dull et

al 20211081-84) However acknowledging this epistemic hierarchy is not an automatic

renouncing of privilege but can instead reinforce racist structures by assuming the assigned

value of White knowledge is higher and thus seeing the role of White allies as more important

than that of Black people in fighting racism (see Collins 1009)

31

The second aspect of White privilege in antiracist activism is as recognized by the interviewees

the fact that the costs of engaging are much lower for White people than they are for Black

simply because one does not risk facing racism as a response to speaking up (Drury amp Kaiser

2014642) For example Sam says they saw their ability to participate in the demonstration as

a privilege ndash not everyone can be sure to get home safe if they choose to attend a demo due to

the potential threat of police harassment or counter-protestors These costs are further lowered

by the fact that most ally work is done online Sara for example says that it enables her to

ldquotake the fightrdquo without ending up in situations too uncomfortable or even dangerous

Essentially the privilege of being listened to and the lower cost of speaking up for White allies

motivates specific responsibilities assigned to ally work but it also risks reproducing racist

hierarchies by assigning White knowledge higher value The remainder of the analysis will

focus on how these responsibilities are put into practice and what may limit the allies in their

attempts to do ally work

51 Balancing ally work

Related to the second research question is to what extent the allies feel like they are entitled to

act in the movement and this following section aims to show what different aspects affect this

perception Based on the ideas about privilege and responsibility the difficulties in balancing

different strategies of ally work will now be analyzed Although it may seem self-explanatory

what allies should do based on the previous section ndash use their privilege to raise their voices

against racist discrimination ndash the experiences of the interviewed allies shows that it is more

complicated than at first glance They must balance different strategies which can be defined

as following

A Listen but do not exploit

B Help but do not hijack

C Step down but do not become paralyzed

These three points represent how different ally assignments presented by the interviewees are

at some point met with objections or disclaimers There are a multitude of examples in the

interviews but the above-mentioned strategies are the most representative and common For

analytical and stylistic purposes they will be presented in a step-by-step form but they should

not be understood as linear or causal The relationship between these aspects is much more

32

complicated which the analysis aims to demonstrate Before analyzing these three strategies

the concept that serves as an implicit (sometimes explicit) point of departure for most decisions

by the allies should be accounted for namely the concept of interpretation privilege

511 Interpretation privilege

In all interviews there is an assumption about what kind of knowledge is legitimate knowledge

and interpretations based on interpretation privilege (tolkningsfoumlretraumlde in Swedish) 9 of the

11 interviewees explicitly mention the term but the theme is discussed in all interviews This

means that despite their academic degrees years of professional experience in human rights

work or their genuine interest for social justice issues the interviewees recognize how their

lack of lived experience reduces their ability to fully understand the issue of racism The idea

of interpretation privilege is interpreted here as a translation of ideas about situated knowledge

(Collins 1990408) lived experience (Voronka 2016194) and power into everyday political

lingo This idea is expressed continuously throughout the interviews as a part of their political

reasoning and it guides how they relate to their role as allies Katrin explains

It is not the same thing to understand racism by reading about it or by seeing or

hearing about othersrsquo experiences as it is to carry it in the body It will never be

possible for me to understand that

Interpretation privilege then helps allies understand and accept their own inability to fully

comprehend racism and it creates respect towards the testimonies made by people who

experiences racism However knowing that one lacks access to a full understanding also

contributes to self-doubt about the ally role and the work associated with it Caroline who

studies to become a psychologist tells me she has some concerns about being a White

psychologist treating Black patients Her professors claim psychologists do not need to share

the patientsrsquo experiences but Caroline is doubtful

ldquoI as a White person will never be able to fully understand being constantly

vigilant as a Black person in Sweden not knowing what the day will be like to

constantly be exposed to microaggressions and discrimination and even worse

abuse every dayhelliprdquo

Accepting interpretation privilege as the fact that if one is not exposed to racism one will never

know exactly what it feels like is empathetic and sensitive to the lived experience of Black

33

people It means respecting the ways Black people make sense of and deal with their own

experiences of oppression without claiming to know better However for the participants in

this study it often leads them to disregard all kinds of personal opinions thoughts or ideas

about what racism is and what should be done about it simply because they lack lived

experience of racism The participants sometimes struggle to balance their own knowledge

against the opinions and experiences of Black people Caroline again

Itrsquos this thing about interpreting different actions ndash is this a racist action or not

Well thatrsquos not up to me [hellip] And I think that interpretation privilege in general

in social media too that you just donrsquot go in and interpret what is right and wrong

Here the lack of interpretation privilege disqualifies Caroline from even deciding whether she

finds something right or wrong although such judgements are foundational in political thinking

Interpretation privilege also decides the legitimacy of actions according to Sara she argues

that whereas it is the job of White allies to speak up against other Whites the meaning of the

action is not the same as if a Black person would do it Essentially if a White ally wants to

stand up against racism it should be with a disclaimer

I think it is important to be like lsquothis is my understanding of it but I donrsquot have

interpretation privilegersquo just to create some awareness that I donrsquot have any

right to think anything - Emma

Some participants strip themselves of their agency by retreating to the idea that their

perspectives thoughts and ideas do not matter Lisa tells me that she sometimes censors herself

by not posting or sharing certain things because she feels like she has too little knowledge She

also stays out of debates she is interested in because she ldquodoes not feel [she] has the right to say

something or make a statement in these issuesrdquo Another example of how allies renounce their

political agency can be represented by Sara who tells me that when she saw my participant

message she was concerned that I searched for lsquoself-identified alliesrsquo In her perspective the

label lsquoallyrsquo is not something that one can claim independently one must earn it by being

recognized as such by a Black person Zhelnina (2020361) points to the importance of activists

growing independence emotional confidence and autonomy in their political interpretations

for a movement to successfully mobilize and in a discourse where one does not even possess

the right to claim allyship to a political movement this type of independence and confidence

may be difficult to develop

34

Another important aspect is the conflict that arises when people with interpretation privilege

disagree within the group Lucas says he has met Black people who defend the right to use

racial slurs That does not mean he accept this as true and uses these words himself but he

acknowledges that these situations could be problematic The multitude of perspectives to

consider especially considering the global character of the movement and its social media

presence it becomes difficult to decide what to believe in And when those who have been

assigned authority in this case Black people with interpretation privilege it becomes even

harder The reflexive globalized world with endless sources of information with sometimes

contradictory messages makes it hard to navigate (Giddens 1991138) This problem also

relates to what Voronka (2016196) described as essentialist tendencies when using the concept

of lived experience as a criterion for inclusion With social media where almost unlimited

information is always accessible to the individual the effort to develop independent

interpretations becomes unnecessary and in the case of the White allies insensitive

However it should be noted that although the idea of interpretation privilege is present in all

interviews the participants are also aware that other types of knowledge such as skills from

previous experience in social movements or academic judicial or general professional

knowledge is important Many of them say that they do feel confident of the practical abilities

they have built up over many years of activism and civil society work and Alva among others

points to how she would like to take on the role of fixing practical organizational tasks for the

BLM movement if she were to become more involved in the future Thus there is no validity

in claiming that the interviewees lack all sorts of self-esteem in their ally identity and that they

completely disregard other types of knowledge as Lucas says ldquointerpretation privilege is not

everythingrdquo Still statements such as ldquoI donrsquot have any right to think anythingrdquo or rdquoItrsquos this

thing about interpreting actions ndash is this racist or not Well thatrsquos not up to merdquo are common

in the interviews Although many of the participants can be interpreted as having ontological

security in terms of knowing what they are good at they cannot translate this into a practical

consciousness that guides their actions in a natural manner which creates ontological insecurity

and passivity (Giddens 199144) This relates to findings about lack of lived experience as

leading to potential insensitivity to discrimination which the interviewees recognize in

themselves (Drury amp Kaiser 2014369-42) In theories of situated knowledge it is emphasized

how a multitude of perspectives is needed and that subjugated groups do not have natural access

to hidden truths (Haraway 1988583-6 Young 199027) The disregarding of White ally

perspectives due to lack of lived experience is thus not inherent in the theories themselves but

35

rather something that seems to occur along the popularized interpretation of the term as it is

translated into everyday political lingo as interpretation privilege

So in navigating what to do as an ally while being committed to the idea of interpretation

privilege the first strategy for good ally work is formulated listening

512 Listen but do not exploit

So drawing upon the notion of interpretation privilege the appropriate way to consume

information about racial issues and determining what to do is by listening to Black people

Listening itself becomes not only a way to retrieve information and insight but a political

practice that reflects power structures and identity It becomes a way to renounce onersquos owns

privilege and instead assigning the power of being heard to others (see Collins 1990 Haraway

1988 Young 2004) Sam explains

I as a White person will never be able to sit there and decide what is right and

wrong when it comes to Black experiences or just non-White experiences Irsquove got

nothing to say about that I know nothing about it I just donrsquot What I can do is

listen and learn and I need to take the initiative as a student in this subject

Listening and taking a step back represents successful allyship according to Lucas because it

means both getting access to the right information and showing emotional support and respect

for people exposed to racism Listening is a powerful way to use onersquos White privilege

respecting the interpretation privilege of Black people and redirecting some of the privilege

and power associated to onersquos whiteness to Black people which is one of the main assignments

of allies (Brown amp Ostrove 20132211) But apart from being a virtuous alternative strategy

for allies it is also a relatively effortless option compared to other types of activism such as

participating in demonstrations Effective unproblematic and ideologically right a seemingly

perfect strategy to apply as a White ally

However it is not that simple listening is not only an act of rejecting the power associated to

onersquos racial identity but also hauntingly close to exploitation of Black experience according

to the interviewees The problem of freeriding and exploiting or capitalizing on the stories of

subjugated groups has been acknowledged in previous research on allyship (Clark 2019530

Linder amp Johnson 20159) For example Lisa argues that White people should be careful

36

talking about racism as if they could understand it and instead listen to what Black people say

- but at the same time she says it quickly becomes counterproductive

Black Swedes are not supposed to have to educate me about the racism they

experience because in that case what do I really demand from a Black person

Lou has the same idea and she tells me about how she used to ask her Black partner many

lsquodumbrsquo questions but that she realized that this means that she puts the burden of educating her

on him Sara avoids asking her Black friends about how she as a White ally can help because

that puts too much responsibility on those Black friends Amanda tells me she is after having

listened to one of the biggest antiracist podcasts Raseriet afraid of being one of lsquothose White

peoplersquo who demand to be taught about racism from Black people After all they all agree that

racism is a problem White people created and a problem for White people to solve ndash the

responsibility should not land on Black people As Emma says

Itrsquos essentially White peoplersquos problem itrsquos White people who built the structures

we are protesting [hellip] Itrsquos not Black people who are supposed to stand there and

scream their lungs out about Black Lives Matter but itrsquos about White people

needing to get together and saying like lsquonow we have to fix this because we

created itrsquo

So while trying to balance interpretation privilege the participants easily stumble into another

pitfall Listening as ally work increases the risk of becoming a burden on Black people by

depending on them for education explanations and guidance and exploiting their knowledge

and lived experience for self-improvement which also reinforces racist structures Black people

are implicitly seen as political objects rather than subjects inevitably crushed under the pressure

of White questions and demands and in need of White protection The point of allyship is to

make life and activism easier for Black people not the other way around which brings us to

another strategy of allyship to balance helping

513 Help but do not hijack

Based on the idea that listening as political practice can become exploitative and freeriding the

allies land in the conclusion that helping is the main assignment for allies They motivate this

by referring to their own privileges However as this section will show helping as a political

practice is also surrounded by potential problems

37

The idea of helping as ally work relates again to the idea that the costs of confronting racism is

lower for White people than for Black people (Drury amp Kaiser 2014642) as well as the

realization that White people are granted more respect and legitimacy when advocating for

antiracist causes (Arora amp Stout 2019390) Helping consists of claiming co-responsibility of

changing society protecting Black people from painful experiences and deal with the racism

of White people For example if an ally hears someone being racist they must speak up Sara

tries to do so because she does not want to add to any Black personrsquos burden of having to take

every fight themselves Emma argues that it is not Black peoplersquos responsibility to keep the

movement alive and therefore it is important that White people speak up She thinks ldquoit feels

stupid if White people would just sit around and wait for initiatives cause then you donrsquot do

anything goodrdquo If Black people are left alone with total responsibility of changing institutions

and organizations in Loursquos experience that usually puts Black people in situations where the

risk of being exposed to racism is high and without the support system of allies to help

Although all interviewees describe different ways of helping and supporting Black people and

the BLM movement as a main task for allies such statements are often followed by a disclaimer

For example they say ldquoitrsquos this balance that you being White shouldnrsquot go in and take overrdquo

(Emma) and ldquoWe should support we should be there we should recognize and lift the issues

But we should not be the main actorsrdquo (Alva) One of the most common phrases in the

interviews were lsquothat is not my placersquo This reasoning is present regardless of what types of

actions the interviewees talk about both high-level activism in formal organizations or

representing the movement in media and everyday civil courage such as speaking up against

racist comments in the workplace Sara adds to her statement about wanting to speak up to help

Black people saying that she ldquoalso has to leave room for Black people to act and not trying to

be like lsquoI know best now so let me explain racismrsquordquo Amanda shares similar thoughts saying

Itrsquos important that this can be a movement that Black people own themselves and

that itrsquos not something us White people can just barge into and take over Itrsquos a

balancing between goodwill and wanting to help and to not barge in and be like

lsquoThis is what racism isrsquo

Amanda has worked in organizations who educate people in moral courage and antiracism for

a few years and she has much experience in this type of political work But when she is

contacted in her role as an antiracist educator and asked to hold a course in a workplace she

doubts herself She feels that she must lsquowarnrsquo them about her whiteness ldquoI have to start by

38

saying that Irsquom White Irsquoll never be able to talk about racism like a Black person couldrdquo During

spring of 2020 she started to think about her role again she tells me She concluded that ldquothis

is not my place this organization is not my place but I could do activism in other waysrdquo In

most interviews there are similar reasonings for example Bea explains how she is not against

White people organizing against racism but that she

would not be very comfortable doing it or starting an appeal or initiative like

lsquoWhites in support for Black Lives Matterrsquo because thatrsquos nothellip thatrsquos claiming

space and attention

Katrin said that she in her work at an equality foundation had to weigh her wish to do

something against the risk of ldquotaking over a voice that was just starting to build uprdquo and Lou

who works in HR criticizes her own attempts to implement antiracist ideas at her workplace

because she doubts if she has any right to ldquoclaim that we have to work with so-called diversity

issuesrdquo or ldquobe that voice in a White roomrdquo Emma mentions ldquosupporting without taking overrdquo

as the most important aspect of ally work This is an important part of allyship being

supportive standing by Black peoplersquos side acknowledging oppression raising the issues but

without being the protagonists of the movement as Alva explains Lisa agrees she asks herself

rdquoIs this my space to claim I donrsquot know am I supposed to march in the frontline when it comes

to this issue like Irsquom not so sure about thatrdquo In these statements it is implicitly assumed that

if Whites wanted to take over from Black people they easily could (even unconsciously) and

this implies Black people are less resilient as political actors

These arguments are often motivated by their own experiences with men taking space in

feminist movements They think about the way they want men to act and applies the same

reasoning to their own allyship

If this was about feminism and there was a dude telling me this or doing this that

Irsquom talking about now [taking over authorrsquos note] how would I react then [hellip]

I find it odd when female feminists feel like they have to pay tribute to and psyche

up male feminists I donrsquot think male feminists should need that And I feel the

same way about like Black people shouldnrsquot have to care about me at all it may

sound weird but I donrsquot do it for them itrsquos other Whites I want to affect ndash Katrin

Allies often use their own identities and social positions to understand other types of oppression

and although it seems to function as a source of empathy and compassion for the other group

as well as regulating ones ally behavior it is important to acknowledge that lived experience of

39

sexism does not mean inevitable understanding of experiences of racism (Spanierman amp Smith

2017608-10) which the allies mention themselves

This section shows that the strategy of helping is not as straight-forward and easily managed as

first described but instead associated with a big risk lsquoWhat if I take over What does it say

about me if I dordquo They engage in reflexive identity construction without being ontologically

secure eg without having a ldquopractical consciousnessrdquo or ldquonatural attituderdquo that guides how to

act This creates anxiety and fear of doing and thus being wrong (Giddens 199136) All

participants agree that although allies are important in creating change the movement is and

should be a Black space Although they are confident in these believes and dedicated to living

up to these ideals they are still afraid of unintentionally taking over or hijacking the movement

despite their wish to simply help and support the movement from the background To minimize

the risk of being one of those White allies who barges in and takes over the allies make sure to

balance this by taking a step back and leaving room for Black people to lead the way

514 Take a step back but do not become paralyzed

The choice to take a step back following the alliesrsquo reasoning about claiming space and taking

over means that they are more and more evolving toward a state of allyship where few actions

are legitimate and unproblematic This can be interpreted as a sign that the strategies described

previously (listening and helping) are not part of the alliesrsquo practical consciousness and that

engaging in such ally work is experienced as difficult and frightening due to ontological

insecurity This often leads to passivity (Giddens 199144) Taking a step back is described as

lsquoleaving room forrsquo Black people and it consists of listening (which as previous sections of the

analysis show is not seen as entirely unproblematic) and sharing the perspectives of Black

people for example in social media but without claiming a frontline position in the movement

These are two strategies that reduces the influence of White voices on the antiracist discourse

Taking a step back and leaving room for Black people is a way to denounce the privilege of

being listened to (Arora amp Stout 2019294-5) and reducing the power gap between dominant

and subjugated groups in terms of knowledge production (Collins 1990408)

However the interviewees testify to how the strategy to take a step back is often (but not

always) a shortcut to passivity Katrin who works in an equality foundation dealing with issues

of sexism and racism tells me what happened in her organization when choosing the take-a-

step-back approach by sharing articles Instagram posts and other materials created by Black

40

people and thus engaging in amplification of Black voices (Clark 2019528-31) They were

later criticized for ldquonot doing more not talking about it more screaming more sharing

morehelliprdquo They tried to do the right thing but failed Katrin wonders if they should have done

something of their own something bigger while also acknowledging how it would be

problematic of them to claim the spotlight

The allies worry about their own tendencies to become passive because of trying to navigate

among the different strategies Katrin explains this mechanism as a process where learning

about privilege and power creates an insight of onersquos own role in this power structure

ldquoYou realize that lsquoI have power I have responsibility and I do not have

interpretation privilegersquo and that makes you so scared to do anything wrong that

you end up doing nothing at allrdquo

She describes the insights as ldquoparalyzingrdquo and this experience is shared by more of the

interviewees and found in previous research (Brown amp Ostrove 20132220) Emma says that

it is a complex question that she thinks about a lot and that she has not yet landed in any

conclusions about what she should be doing as an ally but she knows that she must avoid

becoming paralyzed However it could be reflexivity itself that leads to such passivity

(Giddens 199144) Political background does not affect this mechanism as it is observed in

those with no prior experience as well as those with years of activism In some ways having

more prior experience can even make it harder to navigate the ally role because the roles

previously taken are no longer open to you as White Alva explains

Irsquom so used to being in the front and in the middle and being in the back is not

really like how I have been engaged before Irsquom not really used to it and to have

my role defined as being in the backseat in the back of the bus as Whitehellip [hellip] I

havenrsquot done that before And Irsquove struggled to find my role ndash what can I do

Cause I feel my hands are tied behind my back a little I would love to do more but

at the same time my interest cannot decide what the main issue should be Itrsquos all

about knowing your role and your place and being very sensitive to when people

tell you to back away or step up

At the end of each interview they were asked What would you like to see for the movement in

the future I got many analytical answers but some responded by saying like Alva ldquoItrsquos hard

for me to answer because Irsquom White I donrsquot know what needs to be focused on right now and

Irsquom not the right person to askrdquo Lisa says rdquoI donrsquot feel I have the right to speak on this or like

41

debate this issuerdquo Amanda does not answer the question either and refers to how it would be

inappropriate for her to try to decide what the movement should be about Interestingly she

notices how this perspective is only present in her relation to antiracism as she has worked for

LGBTQ-rights for years despite identifying as straight She cannot point out what is different

when it comes to antiracism but she feels there is a difference The uncertainty of knowing

what to do risks leading to passivity

ldquoItrsquos like Irsquove come tohellip Not a stop but a landmark and itrsquos like I canrsquot get

further than that because I donrsquot know what to do Irsquom sure there are things I

could do and a role for me to take on but I canrsquot find it right nowrdquo - Alva

Again the interviewees are aware of the paralyzing effect of their strategies and Lou claims

that she knows that she is overthinking it

When I discuss this with people who are exposed to racism I sometimes get the

feeling that theyrsquore like lsquowe donrsquot care who does it somebody just do itrsquo There

is a need for antiracist work to be done [hellip] So I think that itrsquos easy to fall into

some kind of paralyzed state that doesnrsquot help anybody

The assumption of passivity among contemporary activists can be considered mainstream in

the social movement field Youths of Western democracies are less engaged in any kind of

traditional political involvement such as voting political party membership or other

associational activities (Amnaring amp Ekman 20136) Often this decline in political activity is

attributed to the growing prevalence of digital methods instead of more traditional physical

methods because it gives people an undeserved sense of accomplishment (Skoric 201277) and

a false idea of what activism is efficient (Morozov 200913) Although the majority of the

intervieweesrsquo activism consisted of digital participation and digital participation only it would

be unfair to claim that it is out of a sense of undeserving feeling of accomplishment that they

stopped at digital methods Quite opposite to the conclusions made by Skoric and Morozov of

the self-absorbed slacktivist the interviewees are far from happy with their contributions to the

movement Digital activism is associated with laziness slack and performative allyship by the

interviewees and they usually do not value digital activism as high as physical engagement

For example Lisa says she feels a bit ashamed of being more of a ldquokeyboard activist than a real

activistrdquo and Amanda shares similar thoughts about her own participation

42

When I posted the image I felt like lsquoIrsquom so fucking lame for doing only thisrsquo

[laughs] I didnrsquot really think of it as an activist action because it was so easy

Thus the emotional experience relates to feeling ashamed which under specific circumstances

and motivate action ndash but often it leads to passivity (Dull et al 20211081-84 Zhelnina

2020361) When Emma describes how accessible online activism is she presents a scenario

where someone can ldquosit at home in the couch and watch a movie and at the same time just log

into social media and protestrdquo Bea even laughs while telling me that she ldquothinks she shared a

black square on Instagram like everyone elserdquo Accessibility is not an indicator of democratic

or inclusive value but quality and it seems like the easier it is the lower it is valued by the

allies Comparing to the study by Russo (2014) where the allies put themselves through

physical challenges to demonstrate their allyship the digital form of ally work is interpreted as

a lower form of activism and is surrounded by feelings of inadequacy and shame Although the

reasons for why many of them stopped at digital activism varies none of them did it out of

satisfaction or laziness In the cases where physical limitations the pandemic or lack of protests

in onersquos hometown was not the reason it was rooted in an insecurity about what to do as an

ally Digital methods were perceived as a safer option in a context where almost all other types

of White participation are criticized and the potential pain of being called out as a bad ally is

perceived to be lower in the digital realm than it would be in other contexts

As this section shows the allies handle the potential risk of hijacking the movement by taking

a step back to leave room for Black people to define shape and ultimately run the movement

themselves However this strategy creates its own problems there is an imminent risk of

becoming passive So when listening does not work because of the risk of freeriding and

exploiting Black experiences and actively helping to relieve Black people of the burden to

overthrow systemic racism is deemed inappropriate because it includes a risk of hijacking the

movement and stepping back is ruled out because it leads to passivity ndash what remains

515 Do good but not for the wrong reasons Introspection

In line with previous research and theory introspection of different kinds is often discussed as

an important ally assignment (Drury amp Kaiser 2014638 Kauffman 200124 29-32) Without

introspection the quality of allyship risks becoming deficient because without being aware of

onersquos privilege as well as guilt allyship easily slips into paternalistic behavior (Cole

20201267 Spanierman amp Smith 609-10) Introspection is described in terms of ldquochecking

43

myselfrdquo (Sam) ldquotake a step back and acknowledge that I am part of a racist systemrdquo (Lisa) and

being ldquohumble to the fact that you are part the structurerdquo (Caroline) All interviewees express

the idea that one cannot be a good ally or contribute to positive change without first having

engaged in introspection in different ways

I think one of the most important things is to understand your own whiteness It

sounds kind of ego and self-centered but I think that you canrsquot be an ally

otherwise ever if you donrsquot see your own privilege [hellip] Otherwise you end up

balancing the line between racism and antiracism and that line is thinner than

you think - Lou

This imagined thin line between antiracism and racism concerns many interviewees Lisa

Lucas and Emma also see the risk of falling into racist behavior as big and that they must start

by recognizing this risk to avoid it Amanda says that she knows that she eventually will do

something racist but that she tries not to fear it because ldquoself-criticism can create fear often

therersquos a fear of saying or doing the wrong thing which makes people afraid to be alliedrdquo which

creates passivity Sam calls self-reflection and rdquochecking themselvesrdquo their most important job

and claims that if their aim was to destroy racism that would indicate that they thought of

themselves as bias-free which they are not Lucas also recognizes his own prejudice and says

it is part of his ally work to try to diminish these biases The potential for racist behavior is both

ascribed to being raised in a racist system and to White identity Amanda attributes her future

racist actions to her whiteness explicitly and Caroline argues that all White people are capable

of racist actions regardless of intent lsquowokenessrsquo and knowledge and she knows that she will

at some point act racist despite her devotion to antiracism and her love for her Black partner

All these considerations are part of the reflexive process that is self-identity constantly

scrutinizing oneself and navigating around different actions to act in line with self-identity

(Giddens 199175) When the stakes are as high as they are for White allies ndash they risk acting

and thus being racist if they do not engage in enough introspection The room for action

becomes further limited

In relation to the digital realm where most ally work took place introspection also becomes

about motivations The main concern for the interviewees was whether or not they should use

their social media platforms for ally work at all since digital methods are sometimes frowned

upon for being shallow and too simple Despite this all of them did some type of digital ally

work When I asked those who shared the black square on Instagram why some of them

44

laughed and said that they did not know or could not explain it They mention motivations such

as fitting in

In a way it was like everyone on my Instagram did it and it became like a peer

pressure thing like rsquowhy didnrsquot she share itrsquo or rsquowhy didnrsquot he hare itrsquo you

know ndash Emma

Besides peer pressure the desire to lsquofeel goodrsquo was also reflected upon Many acknowledge

that this desire existed but they did not approve of it as a motive for action Caroline explains

that although it is good to show others where you stand it does not say much about who you

are in the everyday life and the act of posting on social media instead become about seeming

or feeling good The thing they worry about is whether them showing support for the BLM

movement was intended to help the movement or to make themselves look better ndash sometimes

called cosmetic activism (Spanierman amp Smith 2017609-10) or more often among the

participants performative allyship Lou who regularly shares information opinions petitions

and hashtags in her social media says that she worries about her allyship being performative

because she knows most of her followers already shares her opinions Thus her sharing yet

another Instagram post about how racism is wrong could possibly be to ldquoshow off and make

myself feel a little betterrdquo She is careful to stop and reflect upon her actions and intentions and

ask herself lsquowhy did I do this What was my purposersquo Bea shares the same concerns

describing online activism as potentially about ldquostrengthening your personal brandrdquo and

ldquomarketing yourselfrdquo ndash although she does not identify with these motives she feels like there

is always a risk of falling into performative allyship in social media Posting on social media is

also described as a way to claim an antiracist alibi as Bea explains

One way to avoid this is to actively choose not to share with others the activism they engage in

like Sam who calls it unlearning performative allyship Instead of risking acting in the wrong

way and for the wrong reasons they turn to strategic passivism However the unintended result

of this is that one of the main advantages of allies in social movements (that they can use their

voices and platforms to amplify Black voices) goes missing if social media posts are no longer

considered legitimate allyship (Arora amp Stout 2019390 Bhattacharyya et al 202012 Clark

2019528-31)

Introspection is not only a way to secure high-quality allyship but to reduce the risk of doing

something racist and thus being racist Identity is constructed biographically through action

and if the actions does not align with the sense of self-identity this incoherence leads to

45

ontological insecurity in terms of the self meaning one starts to doubt onersquos own motives

(Giddens 199152-54) Seeing onersquos own whiteness as a guarantee of future racist behavior

and knowing how such behavior would clash with the sense of self allies do best in trying to

avoid racist action by all means available Thus acting becomes a risk in itself and this could

be interpreted as ally work becoming unintuitive and unnatural to the allies both at a practical

level determining what to do and at a more discursive level shaping who to be Although

ontological security is defined as practical consciousness it applies to less hands-on orientation

in the world too for example finding onersquos role and identity in a social movement The way to

move forward after recognizing all possible ways one may act wrong is to engage in strategic

passivism apolitical introspection as a political strategy (Kauffman 200124 29-32 Giddens

199144) It is not equivalent to passivity because it includes a strategic choice and it is built

on ally work but ally work that is aimed inwards It becomes a way to be active without acting

in a context where other people may get hurt or judge you

Allies must also make sure not only to act coherently and right but to have pure intentions

being an ally for the sake of recognition or personal gratification is not accepted However

research shows that such extrinsic motivations are especially important in motivating digital

participation (Lilleker amp Koc-Michalska 201725 34-25) and that feelings of shame and guilt

can lead to passivity (Dull et al 20211081-84 Zhelnina 2020361) These two conditions

(ideas of inherent racism and requirements of pure motives) related to introspection does not

create an environment where being active is very appealing Lou admits how acknowledging

the thin line between antiracism and racism leaves her paralyzed instead of motivated

Introspection on the other hand requires no interaction with other people and thus no risk of

being evaluated judged or called out as a bad ally

As the analysis demonstrates the allies recognize there are many different ways they could

engage ndash but all of them are eventually met with disclaimers of how that specific strategy is

inappropriate They try to navigate their own identity and privilege in relation to interpretation

privilege based on theories of situated knowledge but because they lack ontological security

in their ally role they struggle to find a path that is neither inappropriate nor associated with

too much risk Eventually they land in what could be referred to as passivism strategic

passivity as a form of activism

46

6 Discussion and conclusion

The purpose of this study was to better understand how the ally role and participation is

experienced by White allies participating in the Swedish BLM movement and to investigate to

what extent they felt that they had legitimacy as political agents in the movement As the results

show the allies felt strongly for the cause and had many positive experiences of community

and purpose However emotions related to shame guilt and insecurity were also an integral

part of their ally experience and it limited them in their ally work The analysis also shows that

while they are willing and motivated to act as allies the strategies available to them are

surrounded by disclaimers doubt and criticism Few potential actions or approaches are left

unproblematized and the allies often struggle to find their specific path The analysis

emphasizes the link between academic theories of situated knowledge and what can be seen as

a translated popularized version of the term formulated in the political discourse as

interpretation privilege The contribution of Giddensrsquo theories is that the concepts of reflexivity

and ontological security describes the reason for the hesitation the allies engage in whereas the

concept of situated knowledge describes on what basis they hesitate modernity explains why

they worry and situated knowledge what they worry about

Although the analysis shows a pattern that seems to link ideas of interpretation privilege with

passivism among allies the conclusion should not be that acknowledging the importance of

situated knowledge and recognizing the power intertwined with the knowledge creation and

validation process is unnecessary or harmful The theories of situated knowledge standpoint

theory and Black feminist epistemology are important contributions to the sociology of

knowledge and crucial reminders of the power embedded in knowledge However of interest

to political sociology scholars could be the translation of academic concepts into everyday

political lingo and what effects it may have on how people think about politics agency and

identity It is also important to point out that the statements by the interviewees do not reflect

the concept of interpretation privilege in itself but only their interpretation of it Therefore one

could never claim that the concept in itself limits or motivates anything only the way it is

interpreted

Many parts of the results need further investigation One is the implication of guilt if allies are

so limited in this movement whose fault is it It is easy to jump to the conclusion that the fault

belongs to the movement itself and its participants that activists and allies specifically create

47

an environment where action is limited and surrounded by doubt and insecurity This is not the

conclusion of the study Black people or specifically Black movement participants are not to

blame for a culture created by all participants of the movement and this culture or discourse

should be treated as such a larger collective process or frame that is affected by and affecting

all movement participants and the social context it is constructed in It is power on the discursive

level and beyond the reach of any specific grouprsquos aims to control it The experiences and

emotions of the allies should be treated as manifestations of a larger socio-political context

(Buechler 1995458) which could be the focus of future research

Another important aspect to discuss is the implications of quality of the participants allyship

Much research on the passivity of modern activists for example texts on slacktivism (see

Skoric 2012) have a contemptuous tone while discussing how little activists do and how good

they feel about themselves I refrain from evaluating the quality of the actual activism

performed by the allies and from explaining their digitally dominated activism with slacktivism

Instead of seeing contemporary passivism as a potential problem of bad activists one must

focus on the cultural structural and discursive processes enabling this specific kind of activism

instead of other more traditional and acknowledged types of activism Something in the

political climate digital activism identity political social movements or something completely

different limits those who wish to support the movement as allies in their action repertoires

One interesting finding is the consistency in the way the participants describe their involvement

and the issues they thought about Looking at prior experience and their doubts and concerns

about current and future activism there seems to be no link between being unexperienced or

so to say a lsquorookiersquo activist and feeling insecure about what to do as an ally The same problem

was present for people working with equality issues for a living having academic degrees in

the field and well as those without similar professional and academic competences Thus it is

unlikely to be out of inexperience or lack of knowledge that allies sometimes turn to passivism

It is also important to note that while this analysis turned out to be about tendencies of

passivism the interviewed allies were in fact not passive They all engaged in different ally

work digitally and physically sharing information online participating in demonstrations and

trying to incorporate antiracism in their everyday lives and encounters The idea of passivism

applies to their own reasoning and thinking about their allyship more than it does to their

performed ally work Passivism describes their strategic use of introspection which resembles

being passive from out outside perspective but includes much effort in scrutinizing oneself and

trying to become a better ally something that the interviewees are very focused on

48

The main contribution of this study is its representation of the ally perspective something that

is not well researched in the Swedish context It contributes with an insight into the political

arguments of a contemporary social movement characterized by identity-focus and digital

methods Potential contributions could also relate to the questions what would be needed for

allyship to become effective motivating and less associated with introspection and passivism

questions to which the answers must be found in larger contexts than that of these 11 alliesrsquo

testimonies In order to say more about how contemporary allyship is constructed experienced

and given meaning a triangulation of different methods and data sources would be required

along with a bigger sample

The study raised more questioned than it answered which indicates the importance and

relevance of further studies For example the theoretical coherence between the academic

concept of situated knowledge and the more casual term interpretation privilege would need to

be further explored as this study is only a rather shallow review of the concepts Studying the

larger political development and the discourse on activism or racism could also help

constructing a more developed understanding of what it really means to be an ally in the local

context of 21st century Sweden while simultaneously being part of a global network of activists

The implications of these results could be that while allyship is considered important both for

social movements at large (see Brown amp Ostrove 2013 Arora amp Stout 2019 Clark 2019) and

for the individual allies themselves it is also problematized by the interviewees in line with the

problems presented in previous research Applying these results to White allyship there are

things that would need to change in order for the allies to feel secure enough to find the

motivation to participate in the way they all claim they would want to but have not found the

time motivation or feeling of legitimacy to do For ally work to be a force to be reckoned with

in the antiracist struggle preconditions for action beyond introspection and strategic passivism

must be further developed Relating back to Butler the risk is otherwise that

If white people become exclusively preoccupied with our own privilege we risk

becoming self-absorbed We definitely donrsquot need more white people making

everything about themselves that just re-centralizes whiteness and refuses to do

the work of anti-racism (Gleeson 2021)

49

7 References Ahmed S Jaidka K amp Cho J (2017) Tweeting Indiarsquos Nirbhaya protest a study of emotional dynamics in an online social

movement Social Movement Studies 16(4) 227-465 httpsdoi1010801474283720161192457

American Psychological Association (2019) Racial and ethnic identity httpapastyleapaorgstyle-grammar-

guidelinesbias-free-languageracial-ethnic-minorities

Amnaring E amp Ekman J (2013) Standby citizens diverse faces of political passivity European Political Science 1-21

httpsdoi101017S175577391300009X

Andersson P (2021) Bokrecension Vit skoumlrhet vaumllbehoumlvlig i svensk rasismdebatt SVT Nyheter Downloaded 2021-09-29

from httpswwwsvtsekulturbokrecension-vit-skorhet-skickar-meningsfulla-impulser-in-i-den-svenska-debatten

Arora M amp Stout CT (2018) Letters for Black Lives Co-ethnic Mobilization and Support for the Black Lives Matter

Movement Political Research Quarterly 72(2) 389-402 httpsdoiorg1011772F1065912918793222

Arribas Lozano A (2018) Knowledge co-production with social movement networks Redefining grassroots politics

rethinking research Social Movement Studies 17(4) 451-463 httpsdoiorg1010801474283720181457521

Barassi V amp Zamponi L (2020) Social media time identity narratives and the construction of political biographies Social

Movement Studies 195-6 592-608 httpsdoiorg1010801474283720201718489

Bauman Z (2001) Liquid Modernity Cambridge Polity Press

Bhattacharyya G Virdee S amp Winter A (2020) Revisiting histories of anti-racist thought and activism Identities 27(1)

1-19 httpsdoiorg1010801070289X20191647686

Belam M (2021) Black Lives Matter movement nominated for Nobel peace prize The Guardian 2021-01-29

httpswwwtheguardiancomworld2021jan29Black-lives-matter-nobel-peace-prize-petter-eide-norweigan-mp

(Downloaded 2021-06-16)

Bernstein M (2005) Identity Politics Annual Review of Sociology 31(1) 47-74

httpsdoiorg101146annurevsoc29010202100054

Brown K T amp Ostrove J M (2013) What does it mean to be an ally The perception of allies from the perspective of

people of color Journal of Applied Social Psychology 43(11) 2211ndash2222 httpsdoiorg101111jasp12172

Braring (2018) Sjaumllvrapporterad utsatthet foumlr hatbrott Analys utifraringn Nationella trygghetsundersoumlkningen 2006ndash2017 Rapport

201810 Downloaded 2021-03-05 at

httpswwwbrasedownload187f57ba351641b9cdc3d1e0b515344265455312018_10_Sjalvrapporterad_utsatthet_for_

hatbrottpdf

Buechler SM (1995) NEW SOCIAL MOVEMENT THEORIES Sociological Quarterly 36 441-464

httpsdoiorg101111j1533-85251995tb00447x

Bursell M (2014) The Multiple Burdens of Foreign-Named MenmdashEvidence from a Field Experiment on Gendered Ethnic

Hiring Discrimination in Sweden European Sociological Review 30(3) 399ndash409 httpsdoiorg101093esrjcu047

Carnegie Endowment for International Peace 2020 Global Protest Tracker Downloaded 2020-12-16 at

httpscarnegieendowmentorgpublicationsinteractiveprotest-trackergclid=CjwKCAiA_eb-

BRB2EiwAGBnXXve4_M0rNWlgU0_MmYUuIg6ThabxkIbk_kQhlB7O_542emIVDHX1HRoCCFsQAvD_BwE

Clark M (2019) White folksrsquo work digital allyship praxis in the BlackLivesMatter movement Social Movement Studies

18(5) 519-534 httpsdoiorg1010801474283720191603104

Clayton DM (2018) Black Lives Matter and the Civil Rights Movement A Comparative Analysis of Two Social

Movements in the United States Journal of Black Studies 40(5)448-480

httpsdoiorg1011772F0021934718764099

Cole G (2020) Types of White Identification and Attitudes About Black Lives Matter Social Science Quarterly

101(4)1627-1633) httpsdoiorg101111ssqu12837

Collins PH (1990) Black Feminist Epistemology In Calhoun C J Gerteis J Moody S Pfaff amp I Virk (Ed) (2012)

Contemporary Sociological Theory 3rd Ed Chichester Wiley-Blackwell

Craddock E (2019) Doing rsquoenoughrsquo of the lsquorightrsquo thing the gendered dimension of the lsquoideal activistrsquo and its negative

emotional consequencesrdquo Social Movement Studies 18(2)137-153) httpsdoiorg1010801474283720181555457

Creswell JW amp Poth CN (2017) Qualitative inquiry and research design choosing among five approaches (Fourth

edition) Los Angeles Sage Publications

Diani M (1992) The Concept of Social Movement The Sociological Review 40(1)1-25 httpsdoiorg1011112Fj1467-

954X1992tb02943x

Drury B amp C Kaiser (2014) Allies against Sexism The Role of Men in Confronting Sexism Journal of Social Issues

70(4)637-652 httpsdoiorg101111josi12083

Dull BD Hoyt LT Grzanka PR amp Zeider KH (2021) Can White Guilt Motivate Action The Role of Civic Beliefs

Journal of Youth and Adolescence 50 1081ndash1097 (2021) httpsdoiorg101007s10964-021-01401-7

Earl J (2014) The Future of Social Movement Organizations The Waning Dominance of SMOs Online American

Behavioral Scientist 5935-52 httpsdoiorg1011772F0002764214540507

Garrett RK (2006) Protest in an Information Society a review of literature on social movements and new ICTs

Information Communication amp Society 9(2) 202-224 httpsdoiorg10108013691180600630773

Giddens A (1991) Modernity and self-identity Self and society in the late modern age Stanford University Press

Gleeson J (2021) Judith Butler lsquoWe need to rethink the category of womanrsquo The Guardian 2021-09-07 (Accessed 20201-

09-14 at httpswwwtheguardiancomlifeandstyle2021sep07judith-butler-interview-gender)

14

201537) Earl argued that some of the functions centralized and formal social movement

organizations used to fill can in many cases be substituted with online communities lowering

the costs of organizers and participants (ibid39)

221 Critical perspectives on digital activism

Social media as site and tool for social activism is also criticized based on ideas about how it

leads to passivity and how motives for online activism differs from those in offline or lsquorealrsquo

activism Online activism is sometimes called slacktivism referencing the lower degrees of

effort and risk required to engage in online activism (Skoric 201277) The slacktivist narrative

is often used to explain the decline in youth political engagement (Amnaring amp Ekman 20136)

although the link between digital activism and low degrees of participation have not been

determined Online activism is usually less valued than more traditional types of activism which

requires more from the individual activist (Craddock 2019148-9 Heldman 2017207) despite

the lack of consensus between researchers on whether online activism is effective or not

(Lilleker amp Koc-Michalska 201725) Skoric (201277) argued that the Internet promotes a

superficial mode of political activism where liking commenting and sharing are the main tools

for participating in political activism and that the focus often is aimed at the individual and her

capacity of introspection lifestyle politics or mere expression of opinions without further

actions Such positionings rarely challenges structures of power and dominance Slacktivism

feels good without actually doing any good and it distracts people from engaging in meaningful

activism (ibid78)

lsquoFeeling goodrsquo as a motive for political mobilization is further explored by Lilleker and Koc-

Michalska (201723) who argued that there is a strong link between both intrinsic and extrinsic

emotional motivations and political mobilization both self-fulfillment and recognition are

strong motivators for both online and offline activism Extrinsic motivations eg external

approval recognition and being perceived as lsquogoodrsquo has the strongest effect on motivating

participation (ibid34 25) The difference they found between online and offline participation

was that online activism is less self-fulfilling and more driven by ldquoconforming and earning

rewardsrdquo which they interpret as online participation potentially being mere clicktivism and

less personally meaningful to the people engaging in it (ibid35)

Although slacktivism is not necessarily a phenomenon limited to the digital sphere but includes

all performative positioning online activism arguably breeds slacktivism because of how easy

15

and available it is The motivation to engage in high-risk high-effort activism decreases if there

are always lower effort- and risk options available that gives the same recognition and

satisfaction (Skoric 201279) Morozov (2009) also has criticized the naiumlve faith in the potential

of Internet activism and argued that poorly planned online slacktivism is not only ineffective

and toothless but also holds potential for backfiring and causing devastating consequences For

example when Western activists attempted to attack Iranian government sources online they

accidentally slowed down the whole Iranian internet making the activism of local protestors

difficult (Morozov 200913)

As this section shows the relationship between social media and the general level of activism

among people is far from determined However the participants of this study all relied on digital

methods in their ally work and their experiences of digital methods are explored in the analysis

3 Theory

In this section the two theories used to analyze the data will be presented and discussed starting

with Giddensrsquo theories on modernity which are used to contextualize ally work as a 21st century

phenomenon shaped by the preconditions of modernity such as increased reflexivity and

ontological insecurity Thereafter theories of situated knowledge will be used to describe how

the allies relate to their own whiteness in relation to the concept of interpretation privilege

sometimes limiting the allies in their leeway of action Essentially Giddensrsquo theories will be

used to understand why allies hesitate about their role and theories of situated knowledge will

be used to understand what they base these hesitations on

31 Giddens

Giddensrsquo theory of modernity focuses on the circumstances of human activity and identity in

what he referred to as (late) modernity The theory will be used to contextualize ally work as

something that exists within a larger social cultural and economic structure that shapes the

way identity politics and human activity are formed with special focus on self-identity and

ontological security

16

Worth mentioning when using the term modernity is that there are scholarly disagreements on

whether the current era should be interpreted as modernity late (or liquid see Bauman 2001)

modernity or postmodernity However Giddens belongs to the group of theorists who see

contemporary society as still existing within the theoretical frames of late modernity where the

tendencies of modernity has been further stretched and strengthened (Giddens 199127) This

assumption will be present throughout this paper while also acknowledging this is only one

interpretation

311 Life in modernity reflexivity and ontological insecurity

Modernity is an era characterized by post-traditional orders institutionalized radical doubt

detachment of time and space risk-cultures and abstract systems (Giddens 19912-5)

Following these changes in increased emphasis on reflexivity the continuous revisiting of

previously taken-for-granted concepts truths and ideas This applies to the institutional and

individual level and the latter will be of focus in this paper Without the guiding hand of

tradition or custom as in premodern society people must navigate in the world without being

firmly grounded in pregiven sets of beliefs on what should be done in each situation and with

the constant flow of information in modernity the horizon of possible actions are constantly

broadened (ibid20)

The increased emphasis on reflexivity means for the individual that ldquoself-identity becomes a

reflexively organised endeavorrdquo (Giddens 19915) Giddensrsquo described self-identity as a

project based on coherent and ldquocontinuously revised biographical narrativesrdquo which ldquotakes

place in the context of multiple choices as filtered through abstract systemsrdquo (ibid5) This

means that self-identity is closely linked to actions and is ldquoroutinely created and sustainedrdquo in

the actions of the individual (ibid52) This includes making constant decisions while having

endless choices ndash on what to do how to act and ultimately who to be in late modernity ldquowe

are not what we are but what we make of ourselvesrdquo (ibid54 75) If the individual fails to

perform in coherence with their sense of self-identity the individual may start to doubt their

own biographical narrative and ultimately themselves (ibid58) In the context of social

movements the ally identity is thus constantly reshaped by each choice of action and it

becomes important to act in accordance with the ideal-typical ally role Allyship is also a

globalized phenomenon which increases the number of aspects to take into consideration while

reflexively making choices

17

As reflexivity become more and more significant in guiding human action people in late

modernity experience loss of ontological security which is a ldquorsquonatural attitudersquo in everyday

liferdquo in relation to how to act and orient oneself in the world (Giddens 199136) Being

ontologically secure is ldquoto possess on the level of the unconscious and practical consciousness

lsquoanswersrsquo to fundamental existential questions which all human life in some way addressesrdquo

(ibid47) and was previously guided by tradition custom rules and norms of premodern society

Ontological security thus secures the individualsrsquo smooth navigation through life without them

hesitating on their role in the world too much However as society developed into modernity

and late modernity the conditions for ontological security changed ndash the traditions of

premodern society that used to give ontological security by offering a sense of structure

firmness and purpose are now exchanged for reflexivity (ibid48) making each single decision

dependent on an almost infinite number of possible options (ibid36) Without ontological

security the individual experiences existential anxiety caused by uncertainty ndash and such anxiety

itself ldquotends to paralyse relevant actions rather than generate themrdquo (ibid44) This passivity can

occur in relation to specific actions or to the sense of self in general for example failing to

perform in line with onersquos perceived self-identity can create ontological insecurity and it opens

for questioning onersquos entire role in a specific context for example a social movement For allies

ontological insecurity could arise in relation to them trying to navigate what actions are

appropriate for them to engage in based on the reflexive project of self-identity However

inactivism or passivity cannot only be seen in the individualrsquos relation to action but in politics

in general Giddens argued that politics in premodern times were emancipatory and aiming to

end oppression but that politics in modernity has been transformed into life politics a shift in

ideology and activity towards emphasizing lifestyle and self-actualization (ibid210-14)

The purpose of including Giddensrsquo theory of modernity is to provide a potential context in

which the allies of this study act and shape their own ally identities and how their occasionally

self-restricting introspection may be understood

32 Situated knowledge

To complement the theory of Giddens theories on situated knowledge will be included in the

analysis to point to specific ways in which the allies engage in reflexive decision-making eg

on what basis they make decisions about ally strategies The included theories are feminist

theories but their implications are not limited to gender relations

18

Theories of situated knowledge (also referred to as standpoint theory or feminist epistemology)

is an epistemological attempt to challenge the way knowledge is produced validated and

valued Epistemology is an ldquooverarching theory of knowledgerdquo (Collins 1990408) and theories

of epistemology focuses on how truth and knowledge is shaped by power relations between

social positions and how this could change Easily put social position of the knowledge

producer shapes the kind of knowledge that can be produced (Young 200425) In this thesis

the theoretical works of Haraway Young and Collins will be included although there are more

contributors to the thoughts about situated knowledge

Relating knowledge to power feminist theorists have pointed to how knowledge production

has been dominated by men and postcolonial thinkers have questioned dominant knowledge

for its sometimes exploitative and colonializing tendencies (in for example Western thought

and anthropology) Part of this critique has included a call for recognition privilege of lived

experience and reflexivity in research (Voronka 2016191) Donna Haraway (1988) presented

a feminist epistemology (or feminist objectivism) that recognized how women have historically

seen as immanent beings unable to transcend the body and escape its ldquofinite point of viewrdquo

whereas men have been seen as able to attain lsquoobjectiversquo perspectives and knowledges

(Haraway 1988575) The (imagined) male capacity to transcend ldquoparticular social location

and adopt a lsquoview from nowherersquordquo gives men higher status epistemologically (Young 200424)

Thus the gaze of the White male has been favored in sociology as it represents the unmarked

and objective perspective (Haraway 1988581)

The problem with the idea of objectivity and the lsquoview from nowherersquo according to feminist

and postcolonial critics is that knowledge is a power process and only taking one groups

knowledge into account reinforces these power processes Patricia Hill Collins argued that

power over the production and validation of knowledge is an issue of group interest where the

dominant group preserves their own interests by invalidating knowledge that either challenges

their hegemonic ideas or follows alternative practices in their creation of alternative knowledges

(Collins 1990409-10) Black womenrsquos knowledge is subjugated knowledge and it must fight

for recognition in an anti-Black and anti-female world (ibid414) The Black feminist

epistemology she advocated for includes sensitivity to the combination of female and Black

experiences unique for Black women and it recognized alternative ways to create knowledge

specific to Black womenrsquos knowledge production (ibid407-8)

19

321 Situated knowledge as political strategy

If knowledge is then produced under circumstances of domination power structures and

hegemony ndash what would an alternative look like and what could these alternatives lead to

From a quality standpoint Haraway (1988583) argued that including several perspectives in

knowledge production leads to better conclusions Even though she dismissed the idea that

subjugated people have a purer vision on truth and objectivity an idea she claimed is often

rooted in a fetishized idea of the Third World woman she argued that subjugated groups are

less likely to ldquoallow denial of the critical and interpretive core of all knowledgerdquo than are

dominant groups (ibid583-586) She wrote that the only standpoint from which no objectivity

can ever be reached is ldquothe standpoint of the master the Man the One God whose Eye

produces appropriates and orders differencerdquo (ibid587) Thus to aim for objectivity depends

on including perspectives otherwise ignored by structures of power and dominance (ibid590)

Delegitimizing the idea of a lsquoGodrsquos eyersquo from where true knowledge can be observed and

mediated means including other perspectives and knowledges (Young 200420) This is not

only just and right it also contributes to wiser decision making in a context of democratic

processes including perspectives from all social standpoints maximizes knowledge which

should be treated as a democratic resource when fully utilized (ibid25-9) Thus the idea of

situated knowledges includes a normative assumption of inclusion and diversity in decision

making and knowledge production and social difference should be treated as a resource for

democratic societies (ibid29)

The standpoint theorists emphasize how recognizing specificity in knowledge claims for

different groups does not include the idea that subjugated groups are naturally epistemically

privileged eg that their perspective on every issue should be treated as automatically lsquotruersquo

(Haraway 1988583-4 Young 200427-29) Neither the position of these groups or any

imagined inherent attributes give subjugated groups automatic access to the truth but the

position opens up doors to new perspectives impossible to imagine from above (Haraway

1988584) The specific knowledge unique for the dominated social positions include different

understandings of their own position and others and the relation between them as well as ldquoa

point of view on the history of societyrdquo ldquoan interpretation of how the relations and processes

of the whole society operates especially as they affect onersquos own positionrdquo and finally ldquoa

position-specific experience and point of view on the natural and physical environmentrdquo

(Young 200429)

20

Applying these ideas in a context of practical politics for example in a social movement can

include such inclusion of different perspectives and emphasizing how group difference matters

in terms of knowledge but without claiming the existence of epistemic privilege Often this

practical application is based on including people with lived experience into different contexts

of power or knowledge production (Voronka 2016189)

However the strategy of using lived experience as a criterion for epistemic legitimacy can also

be problematized Voronka (2016192) argued that inclusion and representation of different

groups in decision making as a criterion for legitimate knowledge production can be seen as

resting on essentialist assumptions and stable identity categories The categories themselves are

left unaccounted for meaning the boundaries between and content of different identity groups

are seen as natural entities (ibid194) The concept of lived experience fails to answer questions

of who we are and why while the existence of these categories should be questioned in

themselves Thus acting based on ideas of lived experience and ldquoepistemic privilegerdquo (Young

200427) risks both treating identity as essentialist and constructing group attributes as

embodied truths and ignore difference in lived experience within groups (Voronka 2016196)

Thus Voronka (ibid197) argued

we need to mark how rsquopeople with lived experiencersquo [as a concept my note] risks

reproducing and replicating systems of domination that privileges subjects and

subjectivities that fit closely within the White heteropatriarchal matrix of ruling

Voronkarsquos experiences come from academia but the ideas can be applied to other contexts as

well Theories of situated knowledge can be extracted from the abstract epistemological level

and transformed into a concept more suitable and applicable for everyday situations and as will

be seen in the analysis this theme is highly present in the statements by the study participants

in the form of interpretation privilege (See section 5 Results and analysis)

4 Methodology

The study builds on phenomenological approach and aims to understand a social phenomenon

by interpreting the different meanings ascribed to it by the participant whose lived experience

is in focus for the analysis (Creswell amp Poth 2018150) Thus the focus of the study is not the

BLM movement itself but to understand the experience of the allies The study is abductive

21

meaning the research process was iterative - going back and forth between empirical findings

and theoretical background The aim of abductive analysis is often to generate theory by

cultivating already existing theories together with the surprising results found in the data

collection that are in turn reinterpreted through the revisited theoretical insights (Timmermans

amp Tavory 2012169 173-6) One important aspect of abduction is to revisit the phenomenon

as it can lead to new insights For example when the first couple of interviews were done the

lack of response to one specific question was interpreted as missing data But when the

transcripts were revisited after some additional previous research had been read I realized the

unanswered question was not missing data ndash it was data in itself This realization affected how

the data collection moved forward as the focus narrowed down on the ally role and its

limitations

41 Data collection

The data collection was done by conducting qualitative interviews with 11 self-identified White

allies to understand their perspective experiences and thoughts about their participation The

interviews were in average 010245 in length and they were conducted during a five-week

period The interviews were semi-structured guided by an interview guide without following

it in detail which creates room for flexibility This ensured both consistency between the

interviews and individual variations depending on the interviewee (Turner 2010755) The

interview guide had open-ended questions and covered three main themes (political

background identity emotions) Some questions related to relevant concepts for example they

were asked ldquoIn your perspective what is an allyrdquo The purpose was not to evaluate the

participants academic understanding of the term but to have them reflect upon their own

perceptions and thereby gain insight into their political thinking and its effect on their ally role

Other questions were about experiences such as ldquoCould you tell me about your participation in

the BLM movementrdquo and ldquoWhat emotional responses did you have when this happenedrdquo

Some parts of the interview focused on the BLM movement specifically but since the antiracist

ally identity was often developed before BLM started it also included more general experiences

of antiracist allyship At the end of each interview the participants were given a chance discuss

things important to them The limitation of interview data is that it is not a representation of the

world lsquoout therersquo but only a representation of how the interviewees describe their experiences

and these can be shaped by indefinite number of things beyond the scope of this thesis

22

All interviews were digitally conducted Although digital interviewing is often presented as a

second choice there are benefits to it For example Howlett (20217-8) noticed how the safe

environment of the home made the participants more relaxed and that the interviews also tended

to be both longer and richer in detail than offline interviews One could however imagine how

the opposite effect could occur if the home environment is unsafe or unfit for long

conversations The interviews took place more than a year into the pandemic and people were

thus more familiar with digital communication technologies than they were in the beginning

(ibid10) The pandemic was topic for small talk before the interviews started and our shared

experience with it created some sense of commonality and a relaxed atmosphere where potential

technical issues or disturbances were met with recognition from the other party Despite the

surprisingly positive experience with digital interviewing and as well as the rich data gathered

it is still important to recognize how the quality could have been even better with physical

interviews

The interviews were all conducted on Zoom and recorded in the software The interviews were

transcribed in full verbatim meaning that false starters stutters laughter and pauses were

included Such utterances are clues to how the participants feel about what they are telling and

should be treated as data

42 Sample

The sampling for this study is based on one inclusion criterion motivated by the purpose of the

study the criterion being White ally identification (Creswell amp Poth 201881 157) To base

the inclusion criterion on self-identification could potentially lead to low validity in terms of

not achieving a sample that represents the group one wishes to study by excluding those who

engage in ally work without identifying as such To ensure that the people included in the study

were lsquorealrsquo allies the criterion could have been having a certain amount of experience from ally

work or similar However this was a methodological choice motivated by reflections by

Craddock (2019) who studied activism Craddock learned that including the term activist in

her participant letter excluded people who - despite being very active - did not dare to call

themselves activists due to the high standard of what lsquorealrsquo activism is Especially women feel

that they cannot live up to the ideal and therefore they do not recognize their own activist

identity (Craddock 2019138-42) Therefore anyone who identified as an ally was allowed to

participate without evaluating or judging their level of participants

23

The sampling method was mixed consisting of convenience sampling and snowball sampling

(Creswell amp Poth 2018159) First an email was sent to the Swedish BLM organizationrsquos

official email telling them about the study and asking if they had any recommendations of

where participants could be found This email got no response Different Facebook groups were

chosen as lsquofieldsrsquo to sample in Personal acquaintances were also asked to participate The

choice of Facebook groups related to both convenience and lack of access to physical fields to

sample in and because much of the activism related to BLM took place online The Facebook

groups were all limited demographically (open only for women and non-binary people) and

they all had explicit value-systems with feminist anti-racist intersectional orientations Some

groups were simple support-and-chat groups some had a more political purpose (without party

connections) One participant was found in the comments section on a Facebook page that

relates to antiracism and contacted from there and a few were snowball sampled Recruiting

participants in online forums creates a problematic balance between transparency and

anonymity if too detailed information about the specific sampling sites is revealed the

participants identities can be spoiled due to traceability Thus the names of these Facebook

groups or pages cannot be revealed The groups were known to me beforehand as I am myself

a member in them and therefore had access to the lsquofieldrsquo which reduced the time and effort

spent on sampling If this study were a netnography with digital data to analyze it would be

problematic because my interpretation would be tainted by my personal experiences in the

groups but since the data itself was not related to the specific groups or the participants activity

in these groups it is less problematic

This digital convenience sampling limits the groups included in the sampling frame which

creates a skewed sample in terms of for example gender The complementary snowball

sampling creates a similar problem with homogeneity because of the tendency of participants

to recommend people who are like themselves As a result people with academic backgrounds

in social sciences and humanities are overrepresented in this sample The first interviewee Lisa

works in the international aid sector and she put me in touch with some old classmates and

colleagues which contributed to the skewed sample However the sampling method does not

aim to reach a randomized sample that is representative of the Swedish population in general

but instead a purposeful selection of people with certain experiences (Creswell amp Poth

2018272)

The final sample included people of different genders (9 female 1 male and 1 non-binary)

ages (22-36) education (from high school diploma to MA-degrees) and occupation (traditional

24

working-class occupations or white-collar jobs) They lived in or originated from different parts

of Sweden with one currently living in South Africa They also had very different backgrounds

in regards of political engagement some of them had been organized voluntarily or

professionally in multiple movements and civil society organizations some are or have been

active in party politics and some had their political experience mainly in online discussions

43 Coding and analysis

After all interviews were transcribed the data was coded in Excel using the guidelines for

phenomenological analysis presented called horizonalization (Creswell amp Poth 2018201

Moustakas 1994118) Horizonalization means creating a broad base or platform of equally

important statements to capture the experiences of the participants In phenomenological

studies coding and analysis should preferably be inductive highlighting ldquosignificant

statements sentences and quotesrdquo (Creswell amp Poth 201879) instead of deductively trying to

apply hypotheses or theories onto the data

The coding followed the subsequent steps First each transcript was read one at a time and

important statements were added in a quote-column in Excel (see Image 1) Following the

quote-column were categorical columns based on different themes from the interviews The 12

categories were Background Activity in BLM Identity Role Pandemic Emotion Motivation

Introspection BLM organization Balance Problems and Other There was also a column for

especially good quotes which were marked with an lsquoxrsquo In each column (for example ldquoRolerdquo)

inductively created codes were entered An example can be seen in Image 1

The coding was kept close to the data and focus was to create codes that described the specifics

of each statement instead of keeping the number of codes down which created some overlap

Image 1 Visual representation of the coding strategy

After the 11 interviews were coded the data included 243 quotes in 12 categories In order to

structure the analysis according to relevant topics themes were created out of the codes based

on representativeness and uniqueness These themes provided the basis for the interpretation

25

and analysis For example the previously mentioned code ldquoNot surerdquo was grouped together

with the code ldquoDecided by othersrdquo (in the column ldquoRolerdquo) and analyzed together because they

were interpreted as expressions of the same phenomenon eg insecurity regarding what the

role should contain (Moustakas 1994118)

After the coding which is a big part of the analysis itself the most relevant and interesting

themes were further analyzed This was related to observed regularities in statements being

repeated among several participants and novelty or lsquosurprise factorrsquo Whereas the coding was

unrelated to any specific theory the deeper analysis of the different themes was done parallel

to exploring theory The theories came into the process at different stages Giddensrsquo theory of

modernity and ontological security was explored after the initial coding before starting the

writing process of the analysis based on the pattern of insecurity and reflexivity among the

participantsrsquo descriptions of how they make decisions on how to act as an ally Thereafter the

concept of situated knowledge was introduced after all material had initially been analyzed and

written down in a first draft and the recurring use of the term interpretation privilege

(tolkningsfoumlretraumlde) caught my interest The focus was therefore the themes related to

interpretation privilege and how the participants made sense of the term as well as the different

aspects they had to balance because of their emphasis on interpretation privilege in the final

analysis

44 Ethical considerations

Research should be guided by ethical principles to ensure the safety of the participants and the

quality of the research The most important aspects include consent confidentiality and

anonymity Informed consent means that the participant must be given full information about

what participation means and they must be given the chance to both give and withdraw their

consent during or after the interview The researcher must tell the truth about the purpose of the

study and the participant can choose to leave any unwanted questions unanswered

(Vetenskapsraringdet 201710 16) All participants were given a letter with information about the

study which was again repeated verbally right before the interview The second important

aspect confidentiality means that all information and data must be handled safely and not be

shared with unauthorized people (ibid40) The data was stored on a password protected

computer and no personal information was saved along with the transcripts And finally

anonymity means that the identity of the participants must be concealed for example by giving

26

them new names or changing identifying details in their statements (ibid13) Both of my

sampling methods (digital convenience and snowball) can threaten the anonymity of the

participants because they become traceable either to those who were lsquosnowballedrsquo into the study

or those who were found online (see chapter 42 Sample)

In more qualitative terms the researcher must make fair interpretations of the statements made

by participants and be transparent with how conclusions were made This ensures both

transparency in a scientific standpoint and the well-being of the participants (Vetenskapsraringdet

201710) Related to this it is important to recognize how the analysis may affect the

participants for example Creswell and Poth (2018228) argue that there is always a risk that

participants feel bothered by the way their statements have been interpreted in relation to theory

and previous research and especially in a sensitive topic such as politics identity and emotions

In order to minimize this risk the interpretations will both be rooted in theory and previous

research and include alternative evidence and interpretations

45 Methodological reflexivity

Reflexivity requires researchers to be aware of and transparent about their own biases in their

interpretations as well as scrutinizing their power in relation to the research participants

(Creswell amp Poth 2018201 228) Besides the inherent power in the relation between

researcher and participants no specific power dynamics existed in this study The researcher

must reflect upon their own position (gender class race and similar) and how it affects the

way the research is conducted and how the results are interpreted (ibid228) Being reflexive

thus becomes a way to increase validity by clarifying where researcher bias may have affected

the results (ibid261) Evidence that contradicts the arguments made in the analysis has been

included to avoid bias The idea of researcher reflexivity builds on the epistemological approach

of social constructivism where knowledge is not seen as a neutral or objective but a subjective

socially embedded practice shaped by the lived experience of the author and the participants It

also means that self-criticism and self-consciousness is crucial aspects of qualitative

interpretive research (Lynch 200029-36)

According to Moustakas (1994103-4) reflexivity should guide every step in the

phenomenological research project including choice of topic it must have autobiographical

relevance to the researcher who must be genuinely curious and passionate about the

phenomenon ndash and of course be transparent about these motives The choice of BLM as an

27

empirical example in this study was based on my own experiences from the spring of 2020 I

was just as my respondents and many others very moved by the events that transpired and I

did too participate in some online actions such as checking myself into the US Ambassy on

Facebook to show my support of the movement I followed the news and read everything I

found on social media out of both political sympathy and sociological fascination I wanted to

know more about why the activism looked like it did and how others felt about being part of

it Being able to be fascinated in times of collective grief and trauma for Black people is of

course a privilege that I am aware of I can afford to be distanced towards and critical of the

antiracist movement and how it does or does not invite people to engage themselves in it

because my survival or well-being does not depend on it I aim to be respectful in my

interpretations and descriptions of the movement and its participants

46 Limitations

Instead of aiming to evaluate qualitative research by the same criteria as quantitative studies

there are adjusted validation practices for the specific approach of the study To assure good

quality for qualitative phenomenological studies phenomenological concepts should be used

properly understood and recommended methods should be followed Besides from engaging

in reflexive analysis it is also important to offer descriptive richness and interpretive depth

(Creswell amp Poth 2018272-82) There are also different validation strategies for qualitative

research The researcher can use triangulation to strengthen the stability of the results identify

disconfirming cases and clarify researcher reflexivity (ibid260-1) Member checking and

collaborating with participants can also strengthen the validity (ibid162 Arribas Lozano

2018455-6) All participants were informed of their right to see the transcripts and the analysis

if they wished but they were not contacted with the explicit purpose of checking the finished

results due to time Another aspect is reliability meaning how robust the results of the study

would be if someone else replicated the study (Creswell amp Poth 2018164-5) In the case of

qualitative studies where the researcher is intertwined with the interpretations the probability

of someone else reaching the exact same result is small but thick descriptions of methodology

and the data increases reliability somewhat The generalizability of qualitative studies is often

low and especially so when the sample is skewed The results of this study should be considered

valid only for the group studied since the results could have been different with different

28

representations of gender or class for example However with a purposeful sample of people

with a certain experience the goal is not generalizability beyond the group

Another potential issue is the fact that the quotes from the interviews included in this thesis

have been translated from Swedish to English which means that there is a risk that some of the

core meanings of the quotes may have been spoiled or changed However the analysis was

done on the Swedish transcripts making sure the interpretations were made on the original

material Thus the problem of translating quotes is mainly a problem of communicating the

results to the reader in the same form they appeared in the analysis process of the original

material

5 Results and analysis

As explained in the methods section (43 Coding and analysis) the analysis was gradually

turning toward the themes of a) interpretation privilege and b) how the notion of interpretation

privilege affects the leeway for action These themes will be the focus of the analysis which

will show that although the allies experience their allyship as important and meaningful they

sometimes struggle to find a path for themselves in their attempt to be lsquogoodrsquo allies Their

commitment to respecting interpretation privilege helps them live up the to the ally role as

supporters of Black people in general but it limits the leeway in which they are able to act

independently as political agents But first some general findings on how the allies think about

their role will be presented which primarily relates to the first research question about the

experiences of ally work

The overall experience of allyship is that the ally identity is surrounded by purpose community

and positive experiences They are all highly committed to and well-educated about the cause

Being part of the movement feels meaningful and even like rdquoa privilege to be able to be a part

of it and listen and learnrdquo as Lisa says She describes her emotional experiences

First there was a lot of frustration I think And then there was this powerfulhellip

some kind of like rsquowowrsquo there were a lot of chills there for a while [laughs]

because people really came together

29

Sam shares the experience of initial frustration and pain They describe the feeling when their

frustration and anger transformed into hope like ldquofree fallingrdquo ndash the realization that they were a

part of a group with so many sympathizers made it feel like change was possible

Most ally work was performed online and consisted of acts such as sharing information

knowledge and opinions participating in online seminars and meetings signing petitions and

lsquochecking inrsquo at the US Embassy in Stockholm on Facebook as part of a global protest act To

signal their support for the movement they occasionally used hashtags such as

blacklivesmatter and blackouttuesday All participants got most of their information from

social media in line with the general trend in contemporary activism (Ahmed et al 2017447

Heldman 201788) Previous research emphasizes the important role of emotions in social

movement mobilization and all participants in this study recognized how constant access to

heartbreaking stories virtual proof of mistreatment and a global sense of community provided

by social media motivated them to act (see for example Russo 2014)

Some interviewees also participated outside of social media by attending physical

demonstrations (Sam Sara and Emma) It is impossible to say how many of the interviewees

would have attended had there not been a global pandemic However as digital activism has

become dominating in contemporary social movements (Jaumlmte et al 2020371-2) the low rate

of physical protest among the participants in this study should not be attributed to the pandemic

alone For example Lucas says he has not been to as many demonstrations over the last years

as he would have wanted because of work and other circumstances Amanda says she has

always seen herself as an activist as someone who does what otherrsquos lacks the energy or

resources to do but that she is ldquonot the person who attends demos you knowrdquo And Caroline

who is involved in several organizations besides her antiracist engagement even experiences

that the pandemic has made participation easier for her since it can now be done from home ndash

a point Alva agrees with as she experiences difficulties joining offline protests due to physical

illness Thus the effects of the Covid pandemic are not exclusively negative and limiting Apart

from the different demonstrations the allies also emphasized how implementing antiracist ideas

into their everyday behavior and their professional lives is crucial to be a good ally

The main motivator for their allyship is the notion of privilege All interviewees refer to

themselves as White and relate it to privilege an increasingly common tendency and a

prerequisite for antiracist commitment among Whites (Cole 20201627 Spanierman amp Smith

2017608-9) Lisa describes herself as a ldquoprivileged White woman raised in a middle-class

homerdquo and she says that she faced few obstacles growing up and Sam argues that their White

30

identity gives them platforms and privileges many Black people lack Therefore they use their

social media to amplify the voices of Black people sharing their voices stories and

perspectives Amplifying voices of marginalized groups has been recognized in research as one

of the main tasks for allies (Arora amp Stout 2019390 Bhattacharyya et al 202012 Clark

2019528-31)

The argument of amplifying Black voices as a way to utilize onersquos privilege is twofold First

the participants see their privilege as an opportunity to reach out to fellow Whites who they

expect will listen more to their White counterparts than they would to a Black person which is

confirmed in previous research (see for example Arora amp Stout 2019 Linder amp Johnson 2015)

For example Lucas says

Us Whites who are not affected by racism we have to stand up and show that itrsquos

not OK to spread racism If we donrsquot therersquoll never be any change because

sometimes it feels like people listen more to [hellip] a White person confirming that

what a Black person says is true

Sam shares this reasoning and they actively try to reach people with ldquodeeply racist prejudicerdquo

who would ldquonever listen to a Black personrdquo According to Haraway (1988577) subjugated

groups are deprived the privilege of assumed objectivity and reduced to their position as

inherently linked to and epistemologically limited by their social position in a way the dominant

groups are not Subjugated knowledge must always be fought for in terms of recognition

(Collins 1990414) and the allies in this study is dedicated to doing so in order to reduce the

impact of their own privilege and increase the outreach of Black people Katrin recognizes how

this process of validation of knowledge based on power is an unequal process where Black

people are seen as unreliable because they are ldquoacting out of self-interestrdquo whereas White

people are assigned more credibility Recognizing these mechanisms does not mean that the

interviewees accept them they use words such as ldquoterriblerdquo and ldquodisgustingrdquo to describe the

phenomenon and they feel both guilty about having these privileges and motivated to use them

for good which has been recognized as a potential effect of guilt in previous research (Dull et

al 20211081-84) However acknowledging this epistemic hierarchy is not an automatic

renouncing of privilege but can instead reinforce racist structures by assuming the assigned

value of White knowledge is higher and thus seeing the role of White allies as more important

than that of Black people in fighting racism (see Collins 1009)

31

The second aspect of White privilege in antiracist activism is as recognized by the interviewees

the fact that the costs of engaging are much lower for White people than they are for Black

simply because one does not risk facing racism as a response to speaking up (Drury amp Kaiser

2014642) For example Sam says they saw their ability to participate in the demonstration as

a privilege ndash not everyone can be sure to get home safe if they choose to attend a demo due to

the potential threat of police harassment or counter-protestors These costs are further lowered

by the fact that most ally work is done online Sara for example says that it enables her to

ldquotake the fightrdquo without ending up in situations too uncomfortable or even dangerous

Essentially the privilege of being listened to and the lower cost of speaking up for White allies

motivates specific responsibilities assigned to ally work but it also risks reproducing racist

hierarchies by assigning White knowledge higher value The remainder of the analysis will

focus on how these responsibilities are put into practice and what may limit the allies in their

attempts to do ally work

51 Balancing ally work

Related to the second research question is to what extent the allies feel like they are entitled to

act in the movement and this following section aims to show what different aspects affect this

perception Based on the ideas about privilege and responsibility the difficulties in balancing

different strategies of ally work will now be analyzed Although it may seem self-explanatory

what allies should do based on the previous section ndash use their privilege to raise their voices

against racist discrimination ndash the experiences of the interviewed allies shows that it is more

complicated than at first glance They must balance different strategies which can be defined

as following

A Listen but do not exploit

B Help but do not hijack

C Step down but do not become paralyzed

These three points represent how different ally assignments presented by the interviewees are

at some point met with objections or disclaimers There are a multitude of examples in the

interviews but the above-mentioned strategies are the most representative and common For

analytical and stylistic purposes they will be presented in a step-by-step form but they should

not be understood as linear or causal The relationship between these aspects is much more

32

complicated which the analysis aims to demonstrate Before analyzing these three strategies

the concept that serves as an implicit (sometimes explicit) point of departure for most decisions

by the allies should be accounted for namely the concept of interpretation privilege

511 Interpretation privilege

In all interviews there is an assumption about what kind of knowledge is legitimate knowledge

and interpretations based on interpretation privilege (tolkningsfoumlretraumlde in Swedish) 9 of the

11 interviewees explicitly mention the term but the theme is discussed in all interviews This

means that despite their academic degrees years of professional experience in human rights

work or their genuine interest for social justice issues the interviewees recognize how their

lack of lived experience reduces their ability to fully understand the issue of racism The idea

of interpretation privilege is interpreted here as a translation of ideas about situated knowledge

(Collins 1990408) lived experience (Voronka 2016194) and power into everyday political

lingo This idea is expressed continuously throughout the interviews as a part of their political

reasoning and it guides how they relate to their role as allies Katrin explains

It is not the same thing to understand racism by reading about it or by seeing or

hearing about othersrsquo experiences as it is to carry it in the body It will never be

possible for me to understand that

Interpretation privilege then helps allies understand and accept their own inability to fully

comprehend racism and it creates respect towards the testimonies made by people who

experiences racism However knowing that one lacks access to a full understanding also

contributes to self-doubt about the ally role and the work associated with it Caroline who

studies to become a psychologist tells me she has some concerns about being a White

psychologist treating Black patients Her professors claim psychologists do not need to share

the patientsrsquo experiences but Caroline is doubtful

ldquoI as a White person will never be able to fully understand being constantly

vigilant as a Black person in Sweden not knowing what the day will be like to

constantly be exposed to microaggressions and discrimination and even worse

abuse every dayhelliprdquo

Accepting interpretation privilege as the fact that if one is not exposed to racism one will never

know exactly what it feels like is empathetic and sensitive to the lived experience of Black

33

people It means respecting the ways Black people make sense of and deal with their own

experiences of oppression without claiming to know better However for the participants in

this study it often leads them to disregard all kinds of personal opinions thoughts or ideas

about what racism is and what should be done about it simply because they lack lived

experience of racism The participants sometimes struggle to balance their own knowledge

against the opinions and experiences of Black people Caroline again

Itrsquos this thing about interpreting different actions ndash is this a racist action or not

Well thatrsquos not up to me [hellip] And I think that interpretation privilege in general

in social media too that you just donrsquot go in and interpret what is right and wrong

Here the lack of interpretation privilege disqualifies Caroline from even deciding whether she

finds something right or wrong although such judgements are foundational in political thinking

Interpretation privilege also decides the legitimacy of actions according to Sara she argues

that whereas it is the job of White allies to speak up against other Whites the meaning of the

action is not the same as if a Black person would do it Essentially if a White ally wants to

stand up against racism it should be with a disclaimer

I think it is important to be like lsquothis is my understanding of it but I donrsquot have

interpretation privilegersquo just to create some awareness that I donrsquot have any

right to think anything - Emma

Some participants strip themselves of their agency by retreating to the idea that their

perspectives thoughts and ideas do not matter Lisa tells me that she sometimes censors herself

by not posting or sharing certain things because she feels like she has too little knowledge She

also stays out of debates she is interested in because she ldquodoes not feel [she] has the right to say

something or make a statement in these issuesrdquo Another example of how allies renounce their

political agency can be represented by Sara who tells me that when she saw my participant

message she was concerned that I searched for lsquoself-identified alliesrsquo In her perspective the

label lsquoallyrsquo is not something that one can claim independently one must earn it by being

recognized as such by a Black person Zhelnina (2020361) points to the importance of activists

growing independence emotional confidence and autonomy in their political interpretations

for a movement to successfully mobilize and in a discourse where one does not even possess

the right to claim allyship to a political movement this type of independence and confidence

may be difficult to develop

34

Another important aspect is the conflict that arises when people with interpretation privilege

disagree within the group Lucas says he has met Black people who defend the right to use

racial slurs That does not mean he accept this as true and uses these words himself but he

acknowledges that these situations could be problematic The multitude of perspectives to

consider especially considering the global character of the movement and its social media

presence it becomes difficult to decide what to believe in And when those who have been

assigned authority in this case Black people with interpretation privilege it becomes even

harder The reflexive globalized world with endless sources of information with sometimes

contradictory messages makes it hard to navigate (Giddens 1991138) This problem also

relates to what Voronka (2016196) described as essentialist tendencies when using the concept

of lived experience as a criterion for inclusion With social media where almost unlimited

information is always accessible to the individual the effort to develop independent

interpretations becomes unnecessary and in the case of the White allies insensitive

However it should be noted that although the idea of interpretation privilege is present in all

interviews the participants are also aware that other types of knowledge such as skills from

previous experience in social movements or academic judicial or general professional

knowledge is important Many of them say that they do feel confident of the practical abilities

they have built up over many years of activism and civil society work and Alva among others

points to how she would like to take on the role of fixing practical organizational tasks for the

BLM movement if she were to become more involved in the future Thus there is no validity

in claiming that the interviewees lack all sorts of self-esteem in their ally identity and that they

completely disregard other types of knowledge as Lucas says ldquointerpretation privilege is not

everythingrdquo Still statements such as ldquoI donrsquot have any right to think anythingrdquo or rdquoItrsquos this

thing about interpreting actions ndash is this racist or not Well thatrsquos not up to merdquo are common

in the interviews Although many of the participants can be interpreted as having ontological

security in terms of knowing what they are good at they cannot translate this into a practical

consciousness that guides their actions in a natural manner which creates ontological insecurity

and passivity (Giddens 199144) This relates to findings about lack of lived experience as

leading to potential insensitivity to discrimination which the interviewees recognize in

themselves (Drury amp Kaiser 2014369-42) In theories of situated knowledge it is emphasized

how a multitude of perspectives is needed and that subjugated groups do not have natural access

to hidden truths (Haraway 1988583-6 Young 199027) The disregarding of White ally

perspectives due to lack of lived experience is thus not inherent in the theories themselves but

35

rather something that seems to occur along the popularized interpretation of the term as it is

translated into everyday political lingo as interpretation privilege

So in navigating what to do as an ally while being committed to the idea of interpretation

privilege the first strategy for good ally work is formulated listening

512 Listen but do not exploit

So drawing upon the notion of interpretation privilege the appropriate way to consume

information about racial issues and determining what to do is by listening to Black people

Listening itself becomes not only a way to retrieve information and insight but a political

practice that reflects power structures and identity It becomes a way to renounce onersquos owns

privilege and instead assigning the power of being heard to others (see Collins 1990 Haraway

1988 Young 2004) Sam explains

I as a White person will never be able to sit there and decide what is right and

wrong when it comes to Black experiences or just non-White experiences Irsquove got

nothing to say about that I know nothing about it I just donrsquot What I can do is

listen and learn and I need to take the initiative as a student in this subject

Listening and taking a step back represents successful allyship according to Lucas because it

means both getting access to the right information and showing emotional support and respect

for people exposed to racism Listening is a powerful way to use onersquos White privilege

respecting the interpretation privilege of Black people and redirecting some of the privilege

and power associated to onersquos whiteness to Black people which is one of the main assignments

of allies (Brown amp Ostrove 20132211) But apart from being a virtuous alternative strategy

for allies it is also a relatively effortless option compared to other types of activism such as

participating in demonstrations Effective unproblematic and ideologically right a seemingly

perfect strategy to apply as a White ally

However it is not that simple listening is not only an act of rejecting the power associated to

onersquos racial identity but also hauntingly close to exploitation of Black experience according

to the interviewees The problem of freeriding and exploiting or capitalizing on the stories of

subjugated groups has been acknowledged in previous research on allyship (Clark 2019530

Linder amp Johnson 20159) For example Lisa argues that White people should be careful

36

talking about racism as if they could understand it and instead listen to what Black people say

- but at the same time she says it quickly becomes counterproductive

Black Swedes are not supposed to have to educate me about the racism they

experience because in that case what do I really demand from a Black person

Lou has the same idea and she tells me about how she used to ask her Black partner many

lsquodumbrsquo questions but that she realized that this means that she puts the burden of educating her

on him Sara avoids asking her Black friends about how she as a White ally can help because

that puts too much responsibility on those Black friends Amanda tells me she is after having

listened to one of the biggest antiracist podcasts Raseriet afraid of being one of lsquothose White

peoplersquo who demand to be taught about racism from Black people After all they all agree that

racism is a problem White people created and a problem for White people to solve ndash the

responsibility should not land on Black people As Emma says

Itrsquos essentially White peoplersquos problem itrsquos White people who built the structures

we are protesting [hellip] Itrsquos not Black people who are supposed to stand there and

scream their lungs out about Black Lives Matter but itrsquos about White people

needing to get together and saying like lsquonow we have to fix this because we

created itrsquo

So while trying to balance interpretation privilege the participants easily stumble into another

pitfall Listening as ally work increases the risk of becoming a burden on Black people by

depending on them for education explanations and guidance and exploiting their knowledge

and lived experience for self-improvement which also reinforces racist structures Black people

are implicitly seen as political objects rather than subjects inevitably crushed under the pressure

of White questions and demands and in need of White protection The point of allyship is to

make life and activism easier for Black people not the other way around which brings us to

another strategy of allyship to balance helping

513 Help but do not hijack

Based on the idea that listening as political practice can become exploitative and freeriding the

allies land in the conclusion that helping is the main assignment for allies They motivate this

by referring to their own privileges However as this section will show helping as a political

practice is also surrounded by potential problems

37

The idea of helping as ally work relates again to the idea that the costs of confronting racism is

lower for White people than for Black people (Drury amp Kaiser 2014642) as well as the

realization that White people are granted more respect and legitimacy when advocating for

antiracist causes (Arora amp Stout 2019390) Helping consists of claiming co-responsibility of

changing society protecting Black people from painful experiences and deal with the racism

of White people For example if an ally hears someone being racist they must speak up Sara

tries to do so because she does not want to add to any Black personrsquos burden of having to take

every fight themselves Emma argues that it is not Black peoplersquos responsibility to keep the

movement alive and therefore it is important that White people speak up She thinks ldquoit feels

stupid if White people would just sit around and wait for initiatives cause then you donrsquot do

anything goodrdquo If Black people are left alone with total responsibility of changing institutions

and organizations in Loursquos experience that usually puts Black people in situations where the

risk of being exposed to racism is high and without the support system of allies to help

Although all interviewees describe different ways of helping and supporting Black people and

the BLM movement as a main task for allies such statements are often followed by a disclaimer

For example they say ldquoitrsquos this balance that you being White shouldnrsquot go in and take overrdquo

(Emma) and ldquoWe should support we should be there we should recognize and lift the issues

But we should not be the main actorsrdquo (Alva) One of the most common phrases in the

interviews were lsquothat is not my placersquo This reasoning is present regardless of what types of

actions the interviewees talk about both high-level activism in formal organizations or

representing the movement in media and everyday civil courage such as speaking up against

racist comments in the workplace Sara adds to her statement about wanting to speak up to help

Black people saying that she ldquoalso has to leave room for Black people to act and not trying to

be like lsquoI know best now so let me explain racismrsquordquo Amanda shares similar thoughts saying

Itrsquos important that this can be a movement that Black people own themselves and

that itrsquos not something us White people can just barge into and take over Itrsquos a

balancing between goodwill and wanting to help and to not barge in and be like

lsquoThis is what racism isrsquo

Amanda has worked in organizations who educate people in moral courage and antiracism for

a few years and she has much experience in this type of political work But when she is

contacted in her role as an antiracist educator and asked to hold a course in a workplace she

doubts herself She feels that she must lsquowarnrsquo them about her whiteness ldquoI have to start by

38

saying that Irsquom White Irsquoll never be able to talk about racism like a Black person couldrdquo During

spring of 2020 she started to think about her role again she tells me She concluded that ldquothis

is not my place this organization is not my place but I could do activism in other waysrdquo In

most interviews there are similar reasonings for example Bea explains how she is not against

White people organizing against racism but that she

would not be very comfortable doing it or starting an appeal or initiative like

lsquoWhites in support for Black Lives Matterrsquo because thatrsquos nothellip thatrsquos claiming

space and attention

Katrin said that she in her work at an equality foundation had to weigh her wish to do

something against the risk of ldquotaking over a voice that was just starting to build uprdquo and Lou

who works in HR criticizes her own attempts to implement antiracist ideas at her workplace

because she doubts if she has any right to ldquoclaim that we have to work with so-called diversity

issuesrdquo or ldquobe that voice in a White roomrdquo Emma mentions ldquosupporting without taking overrdquo

as the most important aspect of ally work This is an important part of allyship being

supportive standing by Black peoplersquos side acknowledging oppression raising the issues but

without being the protagonists of the movement as Alva explains Lisa agrees she asks herself

rdquoIs this my space to claim I donrsquot know am I supposed to march in the frontline when it comes

to this issue like Irsquom not so sure about thatrdquo In these statements it is implicitly assumed that

if Whites wanted to take over from Black people they easily could (even unconsciously) and

this implies Black people are less resilient as political actors

These arguments are often motivated by their own experiences with men taking space in

feminist movements They think about the way they want men to act and applies the same

reasoning to their own allyship

If this was about feminism and there was a dude telling me this or doing this that

Irsquom talking about now [taking over authorrsquos note] how would I react then [hellip]

I find it odd when female feminists feel like they have to pay tribute to and psyche

up male feminists I donrsquot think male feminists should need that And I feel the

same way about like Black people shouldnrsquot have to care about me at all it may

sound weird but I donrsquot do it for them itrsquos other Whites I want to affect ndash Katrin

Allies often use their own identities and social positions to understand other types of oppression

and although it seems to function as a source of empathy and compassion for the other group

as well as regulating ones ally behavior it is important to acknowledge that lived experience of

39

sexism does not mean inevitable understanding of experiences of racism (Spanierman amp Smith

2017608-10) which the allies mention themselves

This section shows that the strategy of helping is not as straight-forward and easily managed as

first described but instead associated with a big risk lsquoWhat if I take over What does it say

about me if I dordquo They engage in reflexive identity construction without being ontologically

secure eg without having a ldquopractical consciousnessrdquo or ldquonatural attituderdquo that guides how to

act This creates anxiety and fear of doing and thus being wrong (Giddens 199136) All

participants agree that although allies are important in creating change the movement is and

should be a Black space Although they are confident in these believes and dedicated to living

up to these ideals they are still afraid of unintentionally taking over or hijacking the movement

despite their wish to simply help and support the movement from the background To minimize

the risk of being one of those White allies who barges in and takes over the allies make sure to

balance this by taking a step back and leaving room for Black people to lead the way

514 Take a step back but do not become paralyzed

The choice to take a step back following the alliesrsquo reasoning about claiming space and taking

over means that they are more and more evolving toward a state of allyship where few actions

are legitimate and unproblematic This can be interpreted as a sign that the strategies described

previously (listening and helping) are not part of the alliesrsquo practical consciousness and that

engaging in such ally work is experienced as difficult and frightening due to ontological

insecurity This often leads to passivity (Giddens 199144) Taking a step back is described as

lsquoleaving room forrsquo Black people and it consists of listening (which as previous sections of the

analysis show is not seen as entirely unproblematic) and sharing the perspectives of Black

people for example in social media but without claiming a frontline position in the movement

These are two strategies that reduces the influence of White voices on the antiracist discourse

Taking a step back and leaving room for Black people is a way to denounce the privilege of

being listened to (Arora amp Stout 2019294-5) and reducing the power gap between dominant

and subjugated groups in terms of knowledge production (Collins 1990408)

However the interviewees testify to how the strategy to take a step back is often (but not

always) a shortcut to passivity Katrin who works in an equality foundation dealing with issues

of sexism and racism tells me what happened in her organization when choosing the take-a-

step-back approach by sharing articles Instagram posts and other materials created by Black

40

people and thus engaging in amplification of Black voices (Clark 2019528-31) They were

later criticized for ldquonot doing more not talking about it more screaming more sharing

morehelliprdquo They tried to do the right thing but failed Katrin wonders if they should have done

something of their own something bigger while also acknowledging how it would be

problematic of them to claim the spotlight

The allies worry about their own tendencies to become passive because of trying to navigate

among the different strategies Katrin explains this mechanism as a process where learning

about privilege and power creates an insight of onersquos own role in this power structure

ldquoYou realize that lsquoI have power I have responsibility and I do not have

interpretation privilegersquo and that makes you so scared to do anything wrong that

you end up doing nothing at allrdquo

She describes the insights as ldquoparalyzingrdquo and this experience is shared by more of the

interviewees and found in previous research (Brown amp Ostrove 20132220) Emma says that

it is a complex question that she thinks about a lot and that she has not yet landed in any

conclusions about what she should be doing as an ally but she knows that she must avoid

becoming paralyzed However it could be reflexivity itself that leads to such passivity

(Giddens 199144) Political background does not affect this mechanism as it is observed in

those with no prior experience as well as those with years of activism In some ways having

more prior experience can even make it harder to navigate the ally role because the roles

previously taken are no longer open to you as White Alva explains

Irsquom so used to being in the front and in the middle and being in the back is not

really like how I have been engaged before Irsquom not really used to it and to have

my role defined as being in the backseat in the back of the bus as Whitehellip [hellip] I

havenrsquot done that before And Irsquove struggled to find my role ndash what can I do

Cause I feel my hands are tied behind my back a little I would love to do more but

at the same time my interest cannot decide what the main issue should be Itrsquos all

about knowing your role and your place and being very sensitive to when people

tell you to back away or step up

At the end of each interview they were asked What would you like to see for the movement in

the future I got many analytical answers but some responded by saying like Alva ldquoItrsquos hard

for me to answer because Irsquom White I donrsquot know what needs to be focused on right now and

Irsquom not the right person to askrdquo Lisa says rdquoI donrsquot feel I have the right to speak on this or like

41

debate this issuerdquo Amanda does not answer the question either and refers to how it would be

inappropriate for her to try to decide what the movement should be about Interestingly she

notices how this perspective is only present in her relation to antiracism as she has worked for

LGBTQ-rights for years despite identifying as straight She cannot point out what is different

when it comes to antiracism but she feels there is a difference The uncertainty of knowing

what to do risks leading to passivity

ldquoItrsquos like Irsquove come tohellip Not a stop but a landmark and itrsquos like I canrsquot get

further than that because I donrsquot know what to do Irsquom sure there are things I

could do and a role for me to take on but I canrsquot find it right nowrdquo - Alva

Again the interviewees are aware of the paralyzing effect of their strategies and Lou claims

that she knows that she is overthinking it

When I discuss this with people who are exposed to racism I sometimes get the

feeling that theyrsquore like lsquowe donrsquot care who does it somebody just do itrsquo There

is a need for antiracist work to be done [hellip] So I think that itrsquos easy to fall into

some kind of paralyzed state that doesnrsquot help anybody

The assumption of passivity among contemporary activists can be considered mainstream in

the social movement field Youths of Western democracies are less engaged in any kind of

traditional political involvement such as voting political party membership or other

associational activities (Amnaring amp Ekman 20136) Often this decline in political activity is

attributed to the growing prevalence of digital methods instead of more traditional physical

methods because it gives people an undeserved sense of accomplishment (Skoric 201277) and

a false idea of what activism is efficient (Morozov 200913) Although the majority of the

intervieweesrsquo activism consisted of digital participation and digital participation only it would

be unfair to claim that it is out of a sense of undeserving feeling of accomplishment that they

stopped at digital methods Quite opposite to the conclusions made by Skoric and Morozov of

the self-absorbed slacktivist the interviewees are far from happy with their contributions to the

movement Digital activism is associated with laziness slack and performative allyship by the

interviewees and they usually do not value digital activism as high as physical engagement

For example Lisa says she feels a bit ashamed of being more of a ldquokeyboard activist than a real

activistrdquo and Amanda shares similar thoughts about her own participation

42

When I posted the image I felt like lsquoIrsquom so fucking lame for doing only thisrsquo

[laughs] I didnrsquot really think of it as an activist action because it was so easy

Thus the emotional experience relates to feeling ashamed which under specific circumstances

and motivate action ndash but often it leads to passivity (Dull et al 20211081-84 Zhelnina

2020361) When Emma describes how accessible online activism is she presents a scenario

where someone can ldquosit at home in the couch and watch a movie and at the same time just log

into social media and protestrdquo Bea even laughs while telling me that she ldquothinks she shared a

black square on Instagram like everyone elserdquo Accessibility is not an indicator of democratic

or inclusive value but quality and it seems like the easier it is the lower it is valued by the

allies Comparing to the study by Russo (2014) where the allies put themselves through

physical challenges to demonstrate their allyship the digital form of ally work is interpreted as

a lower form of activism and is surrounded by feelings of inadequacy and shame Although the

reasons for why many of them stopped at digital activism varies none of them did it out of

satisfaction or laziness In the cases where physical limitations the pandemic or lack of protests

in onersquos hometown was not the reason it was rooted in an insecurity about what to do as an

ally Digital methods were perceived as a safer option in a context where almost all other types

of White participation are criticized and the potential pain of being called out as a bad ally is

perceived to be lower in the digital realm than it would be in other contexts

As this section shows the allies handle the potential risk of hijacking the movement by taking

a step back to leave room for Black people to define shape and ultimately run the movement

themselves However this strategy creates its own problems there is an imminent risk of

becoming passive So when listening does not work because of the risk of freeriding and

exploiting Black experiences and actively helping to relieve Black people of the burden to

overthrow systemic racism is deemed inappropriate because it includes a risk of hijacking the

movement and stepping back is ruled out because it leads to passivity ndash what remains

515 Do good but not for the wrong reasons Introspection

In line with previous research and theory introspection of different kinds is often discussed as

an important ally assignment (Drury amp Kaiser 2014638 Kauffman 200124 29-32) Without

introspection the quality of allyship risks becoming deficient because without being aware of

onersquos privilege as well as guilt allyship easily slips into paternalistic behavior (Cole

20201267 Spanierman amp Smith 609-10) Introspection is described in terms of ldquochecking

43

myselfrdquo (Sam) ldquotake a step back and acknowledge that I am part of a racist systemrdquo (Lisa) and

being ldquohumble to the fact that you are part the structurerdquo (Caroline) All interviewees express

the idea that one cannot be a good ally or contribute to positive change without first having

engaged in introspection in different ways

I think one of the most important things is to understand your own whiteness It

sounds kind of ego and self-centered but I think that you canrsquot be an ally

otherwise ever if you donrsquot see your own privilege [hellip] Otherwise you end up

balancing the line between racism and antiracism and that line is thinner than

you think - Lou

This imagined thin line between antiracism and racism concerns many interviewees Lisa

Lucas and Emma also see the risk of falling into racist behavior as big and that they must start

by recognizing this risk to avoid it Amanda says that she knows that she eventually will do

something racist but that she tries not to fear it because ldquoself-criticism can create fear often

therersquos a fear of saying or doing the wrong thing which makes people afraid to be alliedrdquo which

creates passivity Sam calls self-reflection and rdquochecking themselvesrdquo their most important job

and claims that if their aim was to destroy racism that would indicate that they thought of

themselves as bias-free which they are not Lucas also recognizes his own prejudice and says

it is part of his ally work to try to diminish these biases The potential for racist behavior is both

ascribed to being raised in a racist system and to White identity Amanda attributes her future

racist actions to her whiteness explicitly and Caroline argues that all White people are capable

of racist actions regardless of intent lsquowokenessrsquo and knowledge and she knows that she will

at some point act racist despite her devotion to antiracism and her love for her Black partner

All these considerations are part of the reflexive process that is self-identity constantly

scrutinizing oneself and navigating around different actions to act in line with self-identity

(Giddens 199175) When the stakes are as high as they are for White allies ndash they risk acting

and thus being racist if they do not engage in enough introspection The room for action

becomes further limited

In relation to the digital realm where most ally work took place introspection also becomes

about motivations The main concern for the interviewees was whether or not they should use

their social media platforms for ally work at all since digital methods are sometimes frowned

upon for being shallow and too simple Despite this all of them did some type of digital ally

work When I asked those who shared the black square on Instagram why some of them

44

laughed and said that they did not know or could not explain it They mention motivations such

as fitting in

In a way it was like everyone on my Instagram did it and it became like a peer

pressure thing like rsquowhy didnrsquot she share itrsquo or rsquowhy didnrsquot he hare itrsquo you

know ndash Emma

Besides peer pressure the desire to lsquofeel goodrsquo was also reflected upon Many acknowledge

that this desire existed but they did not approve of it as a motive for action Caroline explains

that although it is good to show others where you stand it does not say much about who you

are in the everyday life and the act of posting on social media instead become about seeming

or feeling good The thing they worry about is whether them showing support for the BLM

movement was intended to help the movement or to make themselves look better ndash sometimes

called cosmetic activism (Spanierman amp Smith 2017609-10) or more often among the

participants performative allyship Lou who regularly shares information opinions petitions

and hashtags in her social media says that she worries about her allyship being performative

because she knows most of her followers already shares her opinions Thus her sharing yet

another Instagram post about how racism is wrong could possibly be to ldquoshow off and make

myself feel a little betterrdquo She is careful to stop and reflect upon her actions and intentions and

ask herself lsquowhy did I do this What was my purposersquo Bea shares the same concerns

describing online activism as potentially about ldquostrengthening your personal brandrdquo and

ldquomarketing yourselfrdquo ndash although she does not identify with these motives she feels like there

is always a risk of falling into performative allyship in social media Posting on social media is

also described as a way to claim an antiracist alibi as Bea explains

One way to avoid this is to actively choose not to share with others the activism they engage in

like Sam who calls it unlearning performative allyship Instead of risking acting in the wrong

way and for the wrong reasons they turn to strategic passivism However the unintended result

of this is that one of the main advantages of allies in social movements (that they can use their

voices and platforms to amplify Black voices) goes missing if social media posts are no longer

considered legitimate allyship (Arora amp Stout 2019390 Bhattacharyya et al 202012 Clark

2019528-31)

Introspection is not only a way to secure high-quality allyship but to reduce the risk of doing

something racist and thus being racist Identity is constructed biographically through action

and if the actions does not align with the sense of self-identity this incoherence leads to

45

ontological insecurity in terms of the self meaning one starts to doubt onersquos own motives

(Giddens 199152-54) Seeing onersquos own whiteness as a guarantee of future racist behavior

and knowing how such behavior would clash with the sense of self allies do best in trying to

avoid racist action by all means available Thus acting becomes a risk in itself and this could

be interpreted as ally work becoming unintuitive and unnatural to the allies both at a practical

level determining what to do and at a more discursive level shaping who to be Although

ontological security is defined as practical consciousness it applies to less hands-on orientation

in the world too for example finding onersquos role and identity in a social movement The way to

move forward after recognizing all possible ways one may act wrong is to engage in strategic

passivism apolitical introspection as a political strategy (Kauffman 200124 29-32 Giddens

199144) It is not equivalent to passivity because it includes a strategic choice and it is built

on ally work but ally work that is aimed inwards It becomes a way to be active without acting

in a context where other people may get hurt or judge you

Allies must also make sure not only to act coherently and right but to have pure intentions

being an ally for the sake of recognition or personal gratification is not accepted However

research shows that such extrinsic motivations are especially important in motivating digital

participation (Lilleker amp Koc-Michalska 201725 34-25) and that feelings of shame and guilt

can lead to passivity (Dull et al 20211081-84 Zhelnina 2020361) These two conditions

(ideas of inherent racism and requirements of pure motives) related to introspection does not

create an environment where being active is very appealing Lou admits how acknowledging

the thin line between antiracism and racism leaves her paralyzed instead of motivated

Introspection on the other hand requires no interaction with other people and thus no risk of

being evaluated judged or called out as a bad ally

As the analysis demonstrates the allies recognize there are many different ways they could

engage ndash but all of them are eventually met with disclaimers of how that specific strategy is

inappropriate They try to navigate their own identity and privilege in relation to interpretation

privilege based on theories of situated knowledge but because they lack ontological security

in their ally role they struggle to find a path that is neither inappropriate nor associated with

too much risk Eventually they land in what could be referred to as passivism strategic

passivity as a form of activism

46

6 Discussion and conclusion

The purpose of this study was to better understand how the ally role and participation is

experienced by White allies participating in the Swedish BLM movement and to investigate to

what extent they felt that they had legitimacy as political agents in the movement As the results

show the allies felt strongly for the cause and had many positive experiences of community

and purpose However emotions related to shame guilt and insecurity were also an integral

part of their ally experience and it limited them in their ally work The analysis also shows that

while they are willing and motivated to act as allies the strategies available to them are

surrounded by disclaimers doubt and criticism Few potential actions or approaches are left

unproblematized and the allies often struggle to find their specific path The analysis

emphasizes the link between academic theories of situated knowledge and what can be seen as

a translated popularized version of the term formulated in the political discourse as

interpretation privilege The contribution of Giddensrsquo theories is that the concepts of reflexivity

and ontological security describes the reason for the hesitation the allies engage in whereas the

concept of situated knowledge describes on what basis they hesitate modernity explains why

they worry and situated knowledge what they worry about

Although the analysis shows a pattern that seems to link ideas of interpretation privilege with

passivism among allies the conclusion should not be that acknowledging the importance of

situated knowledge and recognizing the power intertwined with the knowledge creation and

validation process is unnecessary or harmful The theories of situated knowledge standpoint

theory and Black feminist epistemology are important contributions to the sociology of

knowledge and crucial reminders of the power embedded in knowledge However of interest

to political sociology scholars could be the translation of academic concepts into everyday

political lingo and what effects it may have on how people think about politics agency and

identity It is also important to point out that the statements by the interviewees do not reflect

the concept of interpretation privilege in itself but only their interpretation of it Therefore one

could never claim that the concept in itself limits or motivates anything only the way it is

interpreted

Many parts of the results need further investigation One is the implication of guilt if allies are

so limited in this movement whose fault is it It is easy to jump to the conclusion that the fault

belongs to the movement itself and its participants that activists and allies specifically create

47

an environment where action is limited and surrounded by doubt and insecurity This is not the

conclusion of the study Black people or specifically Black movement participants are not to

blame for a culture created by all participants of the movement and this culture or discourse

should be treated as such a larger collective process or frame that is affected by and affecting

all movement participants and the social context it is constructed in It is power on the discursive

level and beyond the reach of any specific grouprsquos aims to control it The experiences and

emotions of the allies should be treated as manifestations of a larger socio-political context

(Buechler 1995458) which could be the focus of future research

Another important aspect to discuss is the implications of quality of the participants allyship

Much research on the passivity of modern activists for example texts on slacktivism (see

Skoric 2012) have a contemptuous tone while discussing how little activists do and how good

they feel about themselves I refrain from evaluating the quality of the actual activism

performed by the allies and from explaining their digitally dominated activism with slacktivism

Instead of seeing contemporary passivism as a potential problem of bad activists one must

focus on the cultural structural and discursive processes enabling this specific kind of activism

instead of other more traditional and acknowledged types of activism Something in the

political climate digital activism identity political social movements or something completely

different limits those who wish to support the movement as allies in their action repertoires

One interesting finding is the consistency in the way the participants describe their involvement

and the issues they thought about Looking at prior experience and their doubts and concerns

about current and future activism there seems to be no link between being unexperienced or

so to say a lsquorookiersquo activist and feeling insecure about what to do as an ally The same problem

was present for people working with equality issues for a living having academic degrees in

the field and well as those without similar professional and academic competences Thus it is

unlikely to be out of inexperience or lack of knowledge that allies sometimes turn to passivism

It is also important to note that while this analysis turned out to be about tendencies of

passivism the interviewed allies were in fact not passive They all engaged in different ally

work digitally and physically sharing information online participating in demonstrations and

trying to incorporate antiracism in their everyday lives and encounters The idea of passivism

applies to their own reasoning and thinking about their allyship more than it does to their

performed ally work Passivism describes their strategic use of introspection which resembles

being passive from out outside perspective but includes much effort in scrutinizing oneself and

trying to become a better ally something that the interviewees are very focused on

48

The main contribution of this study is its representation of the ally perspective something that

is not well researched in the Swedish context It contributes with an insight into the political

arguments of a contemporary social movement characterized by identity-focus and digital

methods Potential contributions could also relate to the questions what would be needed for

allyship to become effective motivating and less associated with introspection and passivism

questions to which the answers must be found in larger contexts than that of these 11 alliesrsquo

testimonies In order to say more about how contemporary allyship is constructed experienced

and given meaning a triangulation of different methods and data sources would be required

along with a bigger sample

The study raised more questioned than it answered which indicates the importance and

relevance of further studies For example the theoretical coherence between the academic

concept of situated knowledge and the more casual term interpretation privilege would need to

be further explored as this study is only a rather shallow review of the concepts Studying the

larger political development and the discourse on activism or racism could also help

constructing a more developed understanding of what it really means to be an ally in the local

context of 21st century Sweden while simultaneously being part of a global network of activists

The implications of these results could be that while allyship is considered important both for

social movements at large (see Brown amp Ostrove 2013 Arora amp Stout 2019 Clark 2019) and

for the individual allies themselves it is also problematized by the interviewees in line with the

problems presented in previous research Applying these results to White allyship there are

things that would need to change in order for the allies to feel secure enough to find the

motivation to participate in the way they all claim they would want to but have not found the

time motivation or feeling of legitimacy to do For ally work to be a force to be reckoned with

in the antiracist struggle preconditions for action beyond introspection and strategic passivism

must be further developed Relating back to Butler the risk is otherwise that

If white people become exclusively preoccupied with our own privilege we risk

becoming self-absorbed We definitely donrsquot need more white people making

everything about themselves that just re-centralizes whiteness and refuses to do

the work of anti-racism (Gleeson 2021)

49

7 References Ahmed S Jaidka K amp Cho J (2017) Tweeting Indiarsquos Nirbhaya protest a study of emotional dynamics in an online social

movement Social Movement Studies 16(4) 227-465 httpsdoi1010801474283720161192457

American Psychological Association (2019) Racial and ethnic identity httpapastyleapaorgstyle-grammar-

guidelinesbias-free-languageracial-ethnic-minorities

Amnaring E amp Ekman J (2013) Standby citizens diverse faces of political passivity European Political Science 1-21

httpsdoi101017S175577391300009X

Andersson P (2021) Bokrecension Vit skoumlrhet vaumllbehoumlvlig i svensk rasismdebatt SVT Nyheter Downloaded 2021-09-29

from httpswwwsvtsekulturbokrecension-vit-skorhet-skickar-meningsfulla-impulser-in-i-den-svenska-debatten

Arora M amp Stout CT (2018) Letters for Black Lives Co-ethnic Mobilization and Support for the Black Lives Matter

Movement Political Research Quarterly 72(2) 389-402 httpsdoiorg1011772F1065912918793222

Arribas Lozano A (2018) Knowledge co-production with social movement networks Redefining grassroots politics

rethinking research Social Movement Studies 17(4) 451-463 httpsdoiorg1010801474283720181457521

Barassi V amp Zamponi L (2020) Social media time identity narratives and the construction of political biographies Social

Movement Studies 195-6 592-608 httpsdoiorg1010801474283720201718489

Bauman Z (2001) Liquid Modernity Cambridge Polity Press

Bhattacharyya G Virdee S amp Winter A (2020) Revisiting histories of anti-racist thought and activism Identities 27(1)

1-19 httpsdoiorg1010801070289X20191647686

Belam M (2021) Black Lives Matter movement nominated for Nobel peace prize The Guardian 2021-01-29

httpswwwtheguardiancomworld2021jan29Black-lives-matter-nobel-peace-prize-petter-eide-norweigan-mp

(Downloaded 2021-06-16)

Bernstein M (2005) Identity Politics Annual Review of Sociology 31(1) 47-74

httpsdoiorg101146annurevsoc29010202100054

Brown K T amp Ostrove J M (2013) What does it mean to be an ally The perception of allies from the perspective of

people of color Journal of Applied Social Psychology 43(11) 2211ndash2222 httpsdoiorg101111jasp12172

Braring (2018) Sjaumllvrapporterad utsatthet foumlr hatbrott Analys utifraringn Nationella trygghetsundersoumlkningen 2006ndash2017 Rapport

201810 Downloaded 2021-03-05 at

httpswwwbrasedownload187f57ba351641b9cdc3d1e0b515344265455312018_10_Sjalvrapporterad_utsatthet_for_

hatbrottpdf

Buechler SM (1995) NEW SOCIAL MOVEMENT THEORIES Sociological Quarterly 36 441-464

httpsdoiorg101111j1533-85251995tb00447x

Bursell M (2014) The Multiple Burdens of Foreign-Named MenmdashEvidence from a Field Experiment on Gendered Ethnic

Hiring Discrimination in Sweden European Sociological Review 30(3) 399ndash409 httpsdoiorg101093esrjcu047

Carnegie Endowment for International Peace 2020 Global Protest Tracker Downloaded 2020-12-16 at

httpscarnegieendowmentorgpublicationsinteractiveprotest-trackergclid=CjwKCAiA_eb-

BRB2EiwAGBnXXve4_M0rNWlgU0_MmYUuIg6ThabxkIbk_kQhlB7O_542emIVDHX1HRoCCFsQAvD_BwE

Clark M (2019) White folksrsquo work digital allyship praxis in the BlackLivesMatter movement Social Movement Studies

18(5) 519-534 httpsdoiorg1010801474283720191603104

Clayton DM (2018) Black Lives Matter and the Civil Rights Movement A Comparative Analysis of Two Social

Movements in the United States Journal of Black Studies 40(5)448-480

httpsdoiorg1011772F0021934718764099

Cole G (2020) Types of White Identification and Attitudes About Black Lives Matter Social Science Quarterly

101(4)1627-1633) httpsdoiorg101111ssqu12837

Collins PH (1990) Black Feminist Epistemology In Calhoun C J Gerteis J Moody S Pfaff amp I Virk (Ed) (2012)

Contemporary Sociological Theory 3rd Ed Chichester Wiley-Blackwell

Craddock E (2019) Doing rsquoenoughrsquo of the lsquorightrsquo thing the gendered dimension of the lsquoideal activistrsquo and its negative

emotional consequencesrdquo Social Movement Studies 18(2)137-153) httpsdoiorg1010801474283720181555457

Creswell JW amp Poth CN (2017) Qualitative inquiry and research design choosing among five approaches (Fourth

edition) Los Angeles Sage Publications

Diani M (1992) The Concept of Social Movement The Sociological Review 40(1)1-25 httpsdoiorg1011112Fj1467-

954X1992tb02943x

Drury B amp C Kaiser (2014) Allies against Sexism The Role of Men in Confronting Sexism Journal of Social Issues

70(4)637-652 httpsdoiorg101111josi12083

Dull BD Hoyt LT Grzanka PR amp Zeider KH (2021) Can White Guilt Motivate Action The Role of Civic Beliefs

Journal of Youth and Adolescence 50 1081ndash1097 (2021) httpsdoiorg101007s10964-021-01401-7

Earl J (2014) The Future of Social Movement Organizations The Waning Dominance of SMOs Online American

Behavioral Scientist 5935-52 httpsdoiorg1011772F0002764214540507

Garrett RK (2006) Protest in an Information Society a review of literature on social movements and new ICTs

Information Communication amp Society 9(2) 202-224 httpsdoiorg10108013691180600630773

Giddens A (1991) Modernity and self-identity Self and society in the late modern age Stanford University Press

Gleeson J (2021) Judith Butler lsquoWe need to rethink the category of womanrsquo The Guardian 2021-09-07 (Accessed 20201-

09-14 at httpswwwtheguardiancomlifeandstyle2021sep07judith-butler-interview-gender)

15

and available it is The motivation to engage in high-risk high-effort activism decreases if there

are always lower effort- and risk options available that gives the same recognition and

satisfaction (Skoric 201279) Morozov (2009) also has criticized the naiumlve faith in the potential

of Internet activism and argued that poorly planned online slacktivism is not only ineffective

and toothless but also holds potential for backfiring and causing devastating consequences For

example when Western activists attempted to attack Iranian government sources online they

accidentally slowed down the whole Iranian internet making the activism of local protestors

difficult (Morozov 200913)

As this section shows the relationship between social media and the general level of activism

among people is far from determined However the participants of this study all relied on digital

methods in their ally work and their experiences of digital methods are explored in the analysis

3 Theory

In this section the two theories used to analyze the data will be presented and discussed starting

with Giddensrsquo theories on modernity which are used to contextualize ally work as a 21st century

phenomenon shaped by the preconditions of modernity such as increased reflexivity and

ontological insecurity Thereafter theories of situated knowledge will be used to describe how

the allies relate to their own whiteness in relation to the concept of interpretation privilege

sometimes limiting the allies in their leeway of action Essentially Giddensrsquo theories will be

used to understand why allies hesitate about their role and theories of situated knowledge will

be used to understand what they base these hesitations on

31 Giddens

Giddensrsquo theory of modernity focuses on the circumstances of human activity and identity in

what he referred to as (late) modernity The theory will be used to contextualize ally work as

something that exists within a larger social cultural and economic structure that shapes the

way identity politics and human activity are formed with special focus on self-identity and

ontological security

16

Worth mentioning when using the term modernity is that there are scholarly disagreements on

whether the current era should be interpreted as modernity late (or liquid see Bauman 2001)

modernity or postmodernity However Giddens belongs to the group of theorists who see

contemporary society as still existing within the theoretical frames of late modernity where the

tendencies of modernity has been further stretched and strengthened (Giddens 199127) This

assumption will be present throughout this paper while also acknowledging this is only one

interpretation

311 Life in modernity reflexivity and ontological insecurity

Modernity is an era characterized by post-traditional orders institutionalized radical doubt

detachment of time and space risk-cultures and abstract systems (Giddens 19912-5)

Following these changes in increased emphasis on reflexivity the continuous revisiting of

previously taken-for-granted concepts truths and ideas This applies to the institutional and

individual level and the latter will be of focus in this paper Without the guiding hand of

tradition or custom as in premodern society people must navigate in the world without being

firmly grounded in pregiven sets of beliefs on what should be done in each situation and with

the constant flow of information in modernity the horizon of possible actions are constantly

broadened (ibid20)

The increased emphasis on reflexivity means for the individual that ldquoself-identity becomes a

reflexively organised endeavorrdquo (Giddens 19915) Giddensrsquo described self-identity as a

project based on coherent and ldquocontinuously revised biographical narrativesrdquo which ldquotakes

place in the context of multiple choices as filtered through abstract systemsrdquo (ibid5) This

means that self-identity is closely linked to actions and is ldquoroutinely created and sustainedrdquo in

the actions of the individual (ibid52) This includes making constant decisions while having

endless choices ndash on what to do how to act and ultimately who to be in late modernity ldquowe

are not what we are but what we make of ourselvesrdquo (ibid54 75) If the individual fails to

perform in coherence with their sense of self-identity the individual may start to doubt their

own biographical narrative and ultimately themselves (ibid58) In the context of social

movements the ally identity is thus constantly reshaped by each choice of action and it

becomes important to act in accordance with the ideal-typical ally role Allyship is also a

globalized phenomenon which increases the number of aspects to take into consideration while

reflexively making choices

17

As reflexivity become more and more significant in guiding human action people in late

modernity experience loss of ontological security which is a ldquorsquonatural attitudersquo in everyday

liferdquo in relation to how to act and orient oneself in the world (Giddens 199136) Being

ontologically secure is ldquoto possess on the level of the unconscious and practical consciousness

lsquoanswersrsquo to fundamental existential questions which all human life in some way addressesrdquo

(ibid47) and was previously guided by tradition custom rules and norms of premodern society

Ontological security thus secures the individualsrsquo smooth navigation through life without them

hesitating on their role in the world too much However as society developed into modernity

and late modernity the conditions for ontological security changed ndash the traditions of

premodern society that used to give ontological security by offering a sense of structure

firmness and purpose are now exchanged for reflexivity (ibid48) making each single decision

dependent on an almost infinite number of possible options (ibid36) Without ontological

security the individual experiences existential anxiety caused by uncertainty ndash and such anxiety

itself ldquotends to paralyse relevant actions rather than generate themrdquo (ibid44) This passivity can

occur in relation to specific actions or to the sense of self in general for example failing to

perform in line with onersquos perceived self-identity can create ontological insecurity and it opens

for questioning onersquos entire role in a specific context for example a social movement For allies

ontological insecurity could arise in relation to them trying to navigate what actions are

appropriate for them to engage in based on the reflexive project of self-identity However

inactivism or passivity cannot only be seen in the individualrsquos relation to action but in politics

in general Giddens argued that politics in premodern times were emancipatory and aiming to

end oppression but that politics in modernity has been transformed into life politics a shift in

ideology and activity towards emphasizing lifestyle and self-actualization (ibid210-14)

The purpose of including Giddensrsquo theory of modernity is to provide a potential context in

which the allies of this study act and shape their own ally identities and how their occasionally

self-restricting introspection may be understood

32 Situated knowledge

To complement the theory of Giddens theories on situated knowledge will be included in the

analysis to point to specific ways in which the allies engage in reflexive decision-making eg

on what basis they make decisions about ally strategies The included theories are feminist

theories but their implications are not limited to gender relations

18

Theories of situated knowledge (also referred to as standpoint theory or feminist epistemology)

is an epistemological attempt to challenge the way knowledge is produced validated and

valued Epistemology is an ldquooverarching theory of knowledgerdquo (Collins 1990408) and theories

of epistemology focuses on how truth and knowledge is shaped by power relations between

social positions and how this could change Easily put social position of the knowledge

producer shapes the kind of knowledge that can be produced (Young 200425) In this thesis

the theoretical works of Haraway Young and Collins will be included although there are more

contributors to the thoughts about situated knowledge

Relating knowledge to power feminist theorists have pointed to how knowledge production

has been dominated by men and postcolonial thinkers have questioned dominant knowledge

for its sometimes exploitative and colonializing tendencies (in for example Western thought

and anthropology) Part of this critique has included a call for recognition privilege of lived

experience and reflexivity in research (Voronka 2016191) Donna Haraway (1988) presented

a feminist epistemology (or feminist objectivism) that recognized how women have historically

seen as immanent beings unable to transcend the body and escape its ldquofinite point of viewrdquo

whereas men have been seen as able to attain lsquoobjectiversquo perspectives and knowledges

(Haraway 1988575) The (imagined) male capacity to transcend ldquoparticular social location

and adopt a lsquoview from nowherersquordquo gives men higher status epistemologically (Young 200424)

Thus the gaze of the White male has been favored in sociology as it represents the unmarked

and objective perspective (Haraway 1988581)

The problem with the idea of objectivity and the lsquoview from nowherersquo according to feminist

and postcolonial critics is that knowledge is a power process and only taking one groups

knowledge into account reinforces these power processes Patricia Hill Collins argued that

power over the production and validation of knowledge is an issue of group interest where the

dominant group preserves their own interests by invalidating knowledge that either challenges

their hegemonic ideas or follows alternative practices in their creation of alternative knowledges

(Collins 1990409-10) Black womenrsquos knowledge is subjugated knowledge and it must fight

for recognition in an anti-Black and anti-female world (ibid414) The Black feminist

epistemology she advocated for includes sensitivity to the combination of female and Black

experiences unique for Black women and it recognized alternative ways to create knowledge

specific to Black womenrsquos knowledge production (ibid407-8)

19

321 Situated knowledge as political strategy

If knowledge is then produced under circumstances of domination power structures and

hegemony ndash what would an alternative look like and what could these alternatives lead to

From a quality standpoint Haraway (1988583) argued that including several perspectives in

knowledge production leads to better conclusions Even though she dismissed the idea that

subjugated people have a purer vision on truth and objectivity an idea she claimed is often

rooted in a fetishized idea of the Third World woman she argued that subjugated groups are

less likely to ldquoallow denial of the critical and interpretive core of all knowledgerdquo than are

dominant groups (ibid583-586) She wrote that the only standpoint from which no objectivity

can ever be reached is ldquothe standpoint of the master the Man the One God whose Eye

produces appropriates and orders differencerdquo (ibid587) Thus to aim for objectivity depends

on including perspectives otherwise ignored by structures of power and dominance (ibid590)

Delegitimizing the idea of a lsquoGodrsquos eyersquo from where true knowledge can be observed and

mediated means including other perspectives and knowledges (Young 200420) This is not

only just and right it also contributes to wiser decision making in a context of democratic

processes including perspectives from all social standpoints maximizes knowledge which

should be treated as a democratic resource when fully utilized (ibid25-9) Thus the idea of

situated knowledges includes a normative assumption of inclusion and diversity in decision

making and knowledge production and social difference should be treated as a resource for

democratic societies (ibid29)

The standpoint theorists emphasize how recognizing specificity in knowledge claims for

different groups does not include the idea that subjugated groups are naturally epistemically

privileged eg that their perspective on every issue should be treated as automatically lsquotruersquo

(Haraway 1988583-4 Young 200427-29) Neither the position of these groups or any

imagined inherent attributes give subjugated groups automatic access to the truth but the

position opens up doors to new perspectives impossible to imagine from above (Haraway

1988584) The specific knowledge unique for the dominated social positions include different

understandings of their own position and others and the relation between them as well as ldquoa

point of view on the history of societyrdquo ldquoan interpretation of how the relations and processes

of the whole society operates especially as they affect onersquos own positionrdquo and finally ldquoa

position-specific experience and point of view on the natural and physical environmentrdquo

(Young 200429)

20

Applying these ideas in a context of practical politics for example in a social movement can

include such inclusion of different perspectives and emphasizing how group difference matters

in terms of knowledge but without claiming the existence of epistemic privilege Often this

practical application is based on including people with lived experience into different contexts

of power or knowledge production (Voronka 2016189)

However the strategy of using lived experience as a criterion for epistemic legitimacy can also

be problematized Voronka (2016192) argued that inclusion and representation of different

groups in decision making as a criterion for legitimate knowledge production can be seen as

resting on essentialist assumptions and stable identity categories The categories themselves are

left unaccounted for meaning the boundaries between and content of different identity groups

are seen as natural entities (ibid194) The concept of lived experience fails to answer questions

of who we are and why while the existence of these categories should be questioned in

themselves Thus acting based on ideas of lived experience and ldquoepistemic privilegerdquo (Young

200427) risks both treating identity as essentialist and constructing group attributes as

embodied truths and ignore difference in lived experience within groups (Voronka 2016196)

Thus Voronka (ibid197) argued

we need to mark how rsquopeople with lived experiencersquo [as a concept my note] risks

reproducing and replicating systems of domination that privileges subjects and

subjectivities that fit closely within the White heteropatriarchal matrix of ruling

Voronkarsquos experiences come from academia but the ideas can be applied to other contexts as

well Theories of situated knowledge can be extracted from the abstract epistemological level

and transformed into a concept more suitable and applicable for everyday situations and as will

be seen in the analysis this theme is highly present in the statements by the study participants

in the form of interpretation privilege (See section 5 Results and analysis)

4 Methodology

The study builds on phenomenological approach and aims to understand a social phenomenon

by interpreting the different meanings ascribed to it by the participant whose lived experience

is in focus for the analysis (Creswell amp Poth 2018150) Thus the focus of the study is not the

BLM movement itself but to understand the experience of the allies The study is abductive

21

meaning the research process was iterative - going back and forth between empirical findings

and theoretical background The aim of abductive analysis is often to generate theory by

cultivating already existing theories together with the surprising results found in the data

collection that are in turn reinterpreted through the revisited theoretical insights (Timmermans

amp Tavory 2012169 173-6) One important aspect of abduction is to revisit the phenomenon

as it can lead to new insights For example when the first couple of interviews were done the

lack of response to one specific question was interpreted as missing data But when the

transcripts were revisited after some additional previous research had been read I realized the

unanswered question was not missing data ndash it was data in itself This realization affected how

the data collection moved forward as the focus narrowed down on the ally role and its

limitations

41 Data collection

The data collection was done by conducting qualitative interviews with 11 self-identified White

allies to understand their perspective experiences and thoughts about their participation The

interviews were in average 010245 in length and they were conducted during a five-week

period The interviews were semi-structured guided by an interview guide without following

it in detail which creates room for flexibility This ensured both consistency between the

interviews and individual variations depending on the interviewee (Turner 2010755) The

interview guide had open-ended questions and covered three main themes (political

background identity emotions) Some questions related to relevant concepts for example they

were asked ldquoIn your perspective what is an allyrdquo The purpose was not to evaluate the

participants academic understanding of the term but to have them reflect upon their own

perceptions and thereby gain insight into their political thinking and its effect on their ally role

Other questions were about experiences such as ldquoCould you tell me about your participation in

the BLM movementrdquo and ldquoWhat emotional responses did you have when this happenedrdquo

Some parts of the interview focused on the BLM movement specifically but since the antiracist

ally identity was often developed before BLM started it also included more general experiences

of antiracist allyship At the end of each interview the participants were given a chance discuss

things important to them The limitation of interview data is that it is not a representation of the

world lsquoout therersquo but only a representation of how the interviewees describe their experiences

and these can be shaped by indefinite number of things beyond the scope of this thesis

22

All interviews were digitally conducted Although digital interviewing is often presented as a

second choice there are benefits to it For example Howlett (20217-8) noticed how the safe

environment of the home made the participants more relaxed and that the interviews also tended

to be both longer and richer in detail than offline interviews One could however imagine how

the opposite effect could occur if the home environment is unsafe or unfit for long

conversations The interviews took place more than a year into the pandemic and people were

thus more familiar with digital communication technologies than they were in the beginning

(ibid10) The pandemic was topic for small talk before the interviews started and our shared

experience with it created some sense of commonality and a relaxed atmosphere where potential

technical issues or disturbances were met with recognition from the other party Despite the

surprisingly positive experience with digital interviewing and as well as the rich data gathered

it is still important to recognize how the quality could have been even better with physical

interviews

The interviews were all conducted on Zoom and recorded in the software The interviews were

transcribed in full verbatim meaning that false starters stutters laughter and pauses were

included Such utterances are clues to how the participants feel about what they are telling and

should be treated as data

42 Sample

The sampling for this study is based on one inclusion criterion motivated by the purpose of the

study the criterion being White ally identification (Creswell amp Poth 201881 157) To base

the inclusion criterion on self-identification could potentially lead to low validity in terms of

not achieving a sample that represents the group one wishes to study by excluding those who

engage in ally work without identifying as such To ensure that the people included in the study

were lsquorealrsquo allies the criterion could have been having a certain amount of experience from ally

work or similar However this was a methodological choice motivated by reflections by

Craddock (2019) who studied activism Craddock learned that including the term activist in

her participant letter excluded people who - despite being very active - did not dare to call

themselves activists due to the high standard of what lsquorealrsquo activism is Especially women feel

that they cannot live up to the ideal and therefore they do not recognize their own activist

identity (Craddock 2019138-42) Therefore anyone who identified as an ally was allowed to

participate without evaluating or judging their level of participants

23

The sampling method was mixed consisting of convenience sampling and snowball sampling

(Creswell amp Poth 2018159) First an email was sent to the Swedish BLM organizationrsquos

official email telling them about the study and asking if they had any recommendations of

where participants could be found This email got no response Different Facebook groups were

chosen as lsquofieldsrsquo to sample in Personal acquaintances were also asked to participate The

choice of Facebook groups related to both convenience and lack of access to physical fields to

sample in and because much of the activism related to BLM took place online The Facebook

groups were all limited demographically (open only for women and non-binary people) and

they all had explicit value-systems with feminist anti-racist intersectional orientations Some

groups were simple support-and-chat groups some had a more political purpose (without party

connections) One participant was found in the comments section on a Facebook page that

relates to antiracism and contacted from there and a few were snowball sampled Recruiting

participants in online forums creates a problematic balance between transparency and

anonymity if too detailed information about the specific sampling sites is revealed the

participants identities can be spoiled due to traceability Thus the names of these Facebook

groups or pages cannot be revealed The groups were known to me beforehand as I am myself

a member in them and therefore had access to the lsquofieldrsquo which reduced the time and effort

spent on sampling If this study were a netnography with digital data to analyze it would be

problematic because my interpretation would be tainted by my personal experiences in the

groups but since the data itself was not related to the specific groups or the participants activity

in these groups it is less problematic

This digital convenience sampling limits the groups included in the sampling frame which

creates a skewed sample in terms of for example gender The complementary snowball

sampling creates a similar problem with homogeneity because of the tendency of participants

to recommend people who are like themselves As a result people with academic backgrounds

in social sciences and humanities are overrepresented in this sample The first interviewee Lisa

works in the international aid sector and she put me in touch with some old classmates and

colleagues which contributed to the skewed sample However the sampling method does not

aim to reach a randomized sample that is representative of the Swedish population in general

but instead a purposeful selection of people with certain experiences (Creswell amp Poth

2018272)

The final sample included people of different genders (9 female 1 male and 1 non-binary)

ages (22-36) education (from high school diploma to MA-degrees) and occupation (traditional

24

working-class occupations or white-collar jobs) They lived in or originated from different parts

of Sweden with one currently living in South Africa They also had very different backgrounds

in regards of political engagement some of them had been organized voluntarily or

professionally in multiple movements and civil society organizations some are or have been

active in party politics and some had their political experience mainly in online discussions

43 Coding and analysis

After all interviews were transcribed the data was coded in Excel using the guidelines for

phenomenological analysis presented called horizonalization (Creswell amp Poth 2018201

Moustakas 1994118) Horizonalization means creating a broad base or platform of equally

important statements to capture the experiences of the participants In phenomenological

studies coding and analysis should preferably be inductive highlighting ldquosignificant

statements sentences and quotesrdquo (Creswell amp Poth 201879) instead of deductively trying to

apply hypotheses or theories onto the data

The coding followed the subsequent steps First each transcript was read one at a time and

important statements were added in a quote-column in Excel (see Image 1) Following the

quote-column were categorical columns based on different themes from the interviews The 12

categories were Background Activity in BLM Identity Role Pandemic Emotion Motivation

Introspection BLM organization Balance Problems and Other There was also a column for

especially good quotes which were marked with an lsquoxrsquo In each column (for example ldquoRolerdquo)

inductively created codes were entered An example can be seen in Image 1

The coding was kept close to the data and focus was to create codes that described the specifics

of each statement instead of keeping the number of codes down which created some overlap

Image 1 Visual representation of the coding strategy

After the 11 interviews were coded the data included 243 quotes in 12 categories In order to

structure the analysis according to relevant topics themes were created out of the codes based

on representativeness and uniqueness These themes provided the basis for the interpretation

25

and analysis For example the previously mentioned code ldquoNot surerdquo was grouped together

with the code ldquoDecided by othersrdquo (in the column ldquoRolerdquo) and analyzed together because they

were interpreted as expressions of the same phenomenon eg insecurity regarding what the

role should contain (Moustakas 1994118)

After the coding which is a big part of the analysis itself the most relevant and interesting

themes were further analyzed This was related to observed regularities in statements being

repeated among several participants and novelty or lsquosurprise factorrsquo Whereas the coding was

unrelated to any specific theory the deeper analysis of the different themes was done parallel

to exploring theory The theories came into the process at different stages Giddensrsquo theory of

modernity and ontological security was explored after the initial coding before starting the

writing process of the analysis based on the pattern of insecurity and reflexivity among the

participantsrsquo descriptions of how they make decisions on how to act as an ally Thereafter the

concept of situated knowledge was introduced after all material had initially been analyzed and

written down in a first draft and the recurring use of the term interpretation privilege

(tolkningsfoumlretraumlde) caught my interest The focus was therefore the themes related to

interpretation privilege and how the participants made sense of the term as well as the different

aspects they had to balance because of their emphasis on interpretation privilege in the final

analysis

44 Ethical considerations

Research should be guided by ethical principles to ensure the safety of the participants and the

quality of the research The most important aspects include consent confidentiality and

anonymity Informed consent means that the participant must be given full information about

what participation means and they must be given the chance to both give and withdraw their

consent during or after the interview The researcher must tell the truth about the purpose of the

study and the participant can choose to leave any unwanted questions unanswered

(Vetenskapsraringdet 201710 16) All participants were given a letter with information about the

study which was again repeated verbally right before the interview The second important

aspect confidentiality means that all information and data must be handled safely and not be

shared with unauthorized people (ibid40) The data was stored on a password protected

computer and no personal information was saved along with the transcripts And finally

anonymity means that the identity of the participants must be concealed for example by giving

26

them new names or changing identifying details in their statements (ibid13) Both of my

sampling methods (digital convenience and snowball) can threaten the anonymity of the

participants because they become traceable either to those who were lsquosnowballedrsquo into the study

or those who were found online (see chapter 42 Sample)

In more qualitative terms the researcher must make fair interpretations of the statements made

by participants and be transparent with how conclusions were made This ensures both

transparency in a scientific standpoint and the well-being of the participants (Vetenskapsraringdet

201710) Related to this it is important to recognize how the analysis may affect the

participants for example Creswell and Poth (2018228) argue that there is always a risk that

participants feel bothered by the way their statements have been interpreted in relation to theory

and previous research and especially in a sensitive topic such as politics identity and emotions

In order to minimize this risk the interpretations will both be rooted in theory and previous

research and include alternative evidence and interpretations

45 Methodological reflexivity

Reflexivity requires researchers to be aware of and transparent about their own biases in their

interpretations as well as scrutinizing their power in relation to the research participants

(Creswell amp Poth 2018201 228) Besides the inherent power in the relation between

researcher and participants no specific power dynamics existed in this study The researcher

must reflect upon their own position (gender class race and similar) and how it affects the

way the research is conducted and how the results are interpreted (ibid228) Being reflexive

thus becomes a way to increase validity by clarifying where researcher bias may have affected

the results (ibid261) Evidence that contradicts the arguments made in the analysis has been

included to avoid bias The idea of researcher reflexivity builds on the epistemological approach

of social constructivism where knowledge is not seen as a neutral or objective but a subjective

socially embedded practice shaped by the lived experience of the author and the participants It

also means that self-criticism and self-consciousness is crucial aspects of qualitative

interpretive research (Lynch 200029-36)

According to Moustakas (1994103-4) reflexivity should guide every step in the

phenomenological research project including choice of topic it must have autobiographical

relevance to the researcher who must be genuinely curious and passionate about the

phenomenon ndash and of course be transparent about these motives The choice of BLM as an

27

empirical example in this study was based on my own experiences from the spring of 2020 I

was just as my respondents and many others very moved by the events that transpired and I

did too participate in some online actions such as checking myself into the US Ambassy on

Facebook to show my support of the movement I followed the news and read everything I

found on social media out of both political sympathy and sociological fascination I wanted to

know more about why the activism looked like it did and how others felt about being part of

it Being able to be fascinated in times of collective grief and trauma for Black people is of

course a privilege that I am aware of I can afford to be distanced towards and critical of the

antiracist movement and how it does or does not invite people to engage themselves in it

because my survival or well-being does not depend on it I aim to be respectful in my

interpretations and descriptions of the movement and its participants

46 Limitations

Instead of aiming to evaluate qualitative research by the same criteria as quantitative studies

there are adjusted validation practices for the specific approach of the study To assure good

quality for qualitative phenomenological studies phenomenological concepts should be used

properly understood and recommended methods should be followed Besides from engaging

in reflexive analysis it is also important to offer descriptive richness and interpretive depth

(Creswell amp Poth 2018272-82) There are also different validation strategies for qualitative

research The researcher can use triangulation to strengthen the stability of the results identify

disconfirming cases and clarify researcher reflexivity (ibid260-1) Member checking and

collaborating with participants can also strengthen the validity (ibid162 Arribas Lozano

2018455-6) All participants were informed of their right to see the transcripts and the analysis

if they wished but they were not contacted with the explicit purpose of checking the finished

results due to time Another aspect is reliability meaning how robust the results of the study

would be if someone else replicated the study (Creswell amp Poth 2018164-5) In the case of

qualitative studies where the researcher is intertwined with the interpretations the probability

of someone else reaching the exact same result is small but thick descriptions of methodology

and the data increases reliability somewhat The generalizability of qualitative studies is often

low and especially so when the sample is skewed The results of this study should be considered

valid only for the group studied since the results could have been different with different

28

representations of gender or class for example However with a purposeful sample of people

with a certain experience the goal is not generalizability beyond the group

Another potential issue is the fact that the quotes from the interviews included in this thesis

have been translated from Swedish to English which means that there is a risk that some of the

core meanings of the quotes may have been spoiled or changed However the analysis was

done on the Swedish transcripts making sure the interpretations were made on the original

material Thus the problem of translating quotes is mainly a problem of communicating the

results to the reader in the same form they appeared in the analysis process of the original

material

5 Results and analysis

As explained in the methods section (43 Coding and analysis) the analysis was gradually

turning toward the themes of a) interpretation privilege and b) how the notion of interpretation

privilege affects the leeway for action These themes will be the focus of the analysis which

will show that although the allies experience their allyship as important and meaningful they

sometimes struggle to find a path for themselves in their attempt to be lsquogoodrsquo allies Their

commitment to respecting interpretation privilege helps them live up the to the ally role as

supporters of Black people in general but it limits the leeway in which they are able to act

independently as political agents But first some general findings on how the allies think about

their role will be presented which primarily relates to the first research question about the

experiences of ally work

The overall experience of allyship is that the ally identity is surrounded by purpose community

and positive experiences They are all highly committed to and well-educated about the cause

Being part of the movement feels meaningful and even like rdquoa privilege to be able to be a part

of it and listen and learnrdquo as Lisa says She describes her emotional experiences

First there was a lot of frustration I think And then there was this powerfulhellip

some kind of like rsquowowrsquo there were a lot of chills there for a while [laughs]

because people really came together

29

Sam shares the experience of initial frustration and pain They describe the feeling when their

frustration and anger transformed into hope like ldquofree fallingrdquo ndash the realization that they were a

part of a group with so many sympathizers made it feel like change was possible

Most ally work was performed online and consisted of acts such as sharing information

knowledge and opinions participating in online seminars and meetings signing petitions and

lsquochecking inrsquo at the US Embassy in Stockholm on Facebook as part of a global protest act To

signal their support for the movement they occasionally used hashtags such as

blacklivesmatter and blackouttuesday All participants got most of their information from

social media in line with the general trend in contemporary activism (Ahmed et al 2017447

Heldman 201788) Previous research emphasizes the important role of emotions in social

movement mobilization and all participants in this study recognized how constant access to

heartbreaking stories virtual proof of mistreatment and a global sense of community provided

by social media motivated them to act (see for example Russo 2014)

Some interviewees also participated outside of social media by attending physical

demonstrations (Sam Sara and Emma) It is impossible to say how many of the interviewees

would have attended had there not been a global pandemic However as digital activism has

become dominating in contemporary social movements (Jaumlmte et al 2020371-2) the low rate

of physical protest among the participants in this study should not be attributed to the pandemic

alone For example Lucas says he has not been to as many demonstrations over the last years

as he would have wanted because of work and other circumstances Amanda says she has

always seen herself as an activist as someone who does what otherrsquos lacks the energy or

resources to do but that she is ldquonot the person who attends demos you knowrdquo And Caroline

who is involved in several organizations besides her antiracist engagement even experiences

that the pandemic has made participation easier for her since it can now be done from home ndash

a point Alva agrees with as she experiences difficulties joining offline protests due to physical

illness Thus the effects of the Covid pandemic are not exclusively negative and limiting Apart

from the different demonstrations the allies also emphasized how implementing antiracist ideas

into their everyday behavior and their professional lives is crucial to be a good ally

The main motivator for their allyship is the notion of privilege All interviewees refer to

themselves as White and relate it to privilege an increasingly common tendency and a

prerequisite for antiracist commitment among Whites (Cole 20201627 Spanierman amp Smith

2017608-9) Lisa describes herself as a ldquoprivileged White woman raised in a middle-class

homerdquo and she says that she faced few obstacles growing up and Sam argues that their White

30

identity gives them platforms and privileges many Black people lack Therefore they use their

social media to amplify the voices of Black people sharing their voices stories and

perspectives Amplifying voices of marginalized groups has been recognized in research as one

of the main tasks for allies (Arora amp Stout 2019390 Bhattacharyya et al 202012 Clark

2019528-31)

The argument of amplifying Black voices as a way to utilize onersquos privilege is twofold First

the participants see their privilege as an opportunity to reach out to fellow Whites who they

expect will listen more to their White counterparts than they would to a Black person which is

confirmed in previous research (see for example Arora amp Stout 2019 Linder amp Johnson 2015)

For example Lucas says

Us Whites who are not affected by racism we have to stand up and show that itrsquos

not OK to spread racism If we donrsquot therersquoll never be any change because

sometimes it feels like people listen more to [hellip] a White person confirming that

what a Black person says is true

Sam shares this reasoning and they actively try to reach people with ldquodeeply racist prejudicerdquo

who would ldquonever listen to a Black personrdquo According to Haraway (1988577) subjugated

groups are deprived the privilege of assumed objectivity and reduced to their position as

inherently linked to and epistemologically limited by their social position in a way the dominant

groups are not Subjugated knowledge must always be fought for in terms of recognition

(Collins 1990414) and the allies in this study is dedicated to doing so in order to reduce the

impact of their own privilege and increase the outreach of Black people Katrin recognizes how

this process of validation of knowledge based on power is an unequal process where Black

people are seen as unreliable because they are ldquoacting out of self-interestrdquo whereas White

people are assigned more credibility Recognizing these mechanisms does not mean that the

interviewees accept them they use words such as ldquoterriblerdquo and ldquodisgustingrdquo to describe the

phenomenon and they feel both guilty about having these privileges and motivated to use them

for good which has been recognized as a potential effect of guilt in previous research (Dull et

al 20211081-84) However acknowledging this epistemic hierarchy is not an automatic

renouncing of privilege but can instead reinforce racist structures by assuming the assigned

value of White knowledge is higher and thus seeing the role of White allies as more important

than that of Black people in fighting racism (see Collins 1009)

31

The second aspect of White privilege in antiracist activism is as recognized by the interviewees

the fact that the costs of engaging are much lower for White people than they are for Black

simply because one does not risk facing racism as a response to speaking up (Drury amp Kaiser

2014642) For example Sam says they saw their ability to participate in the demonstration as

a privilege ndash not everyone can be sure to get home safe if they choose to attend a demo due to

the potential threat of police harassment or counter-protestors These costs are further lowered

by the fact that most ally work is done online Sara for example says that it enables her to

ldquotake the fightrdquo without ending up in situations too uncomfortable or even dangerous

Essentially the privilege of being listened to and the lower cost of speaking up for White allies

motivates specific responsibilities assigned to ally work but it also risks reproducing racist

hierarchies by assigning White knowledge higher value The remainder of the analysis will

focus on how these responsibilities are put into practice and what may limit the allies in their

attempts to do ally work

51 Balancing ally work

Related to the second research question is to what extent the allies feel like they are entitled to

act in the movement and this following section aims to show what different aspects affect this

perception Based on the ideas about privilege and responsibility the difficulties in balancing

different strategies of ally work will now be analyzed Although it may seem self-explanatory

what allies should do based on the previous section ndash use their privilege to raise their voices

against racist discrimination ndash the experiences of the interviewed allies shows that it is more

complicated than at first glance They must balance different strategies which can be defined

as following

A Listen but do not exploit

B Help but do not hijack

C Step down but do not become paralyzed

These three points represent how different ally assignments presented by the interviewees are

at some point met with objections or disclaimers There are a multitude of examples in the

interviews but the above-mentioned strategies are the most representative and common For

analytical and stylistic purposes they will be presented in a step-by-step form but they should

not be understood as linear or causal The relationship between these aspects is much more

32

complicated which the analysis aims to demonstrate Before analyzing these three strategies

the concept that serves as an implicit (sometimes explicit) point of departure for most decisions

by the allies should be accounted for namely the concept of interpretation privilege

511 Interpretation privilege

In all interviews there is an assumption about what kind of knowledge is legitimate knowledge

and interpretations based on interpretation privilege (tolkningsfoumlretraumlde in Swedish) 9 of the

11 interviewees explicitly mention the term but the theme is discussed in all interviews This

means that despite their academic degrees years of professional experience in human rights

work or their genuine interest for social justice issues the interviewees recognize how their

lack of lived experience reduces their ability to fully understand the issue of racism The idea

of interpretation privilege is interpreted here as a translation of ideas about situated knowledge

(Collins 1990408) lived experience (Voronka 2016194) and power into everyday political

lingo This idea is expressed continuously throughout the interviews as a part of their political

reasoning and it guides how they relate to their role as allies Katrin explains

It is not the same thing to understand racism by reading about it or by seeing or

hearing about othersrsquo experiences as it is to carry it in the body It will never be

possible for me to understand that

Interpretation privilege then helps allies understand and accept their own inability to fully

comprehend racism and it creates respect towards the testimonies made by people who

experiences racism However knowing that one lacks access to a full understanding also

contributes to self-doubt about the ally role and the work associated with it Caroline who

studies to become a psychologist tells me she has some concerns about being a White

psychologist treating Black patients Her professors claim psychologists do not need to share

the patientsrsquo experiences but Caroline is doubtful

ldquoI as a White person will never be able to fully understand being constantly

vigilant as a Black person in Sweden not knowing what the day will be like to

constantly be exposed to microaggressions and discrimination and even worse

abuse every dayhelliprdquo

Accepting interpretation privilege as the fact that if one is not exposed to racism one will never

know exactly what it feels like is empathetic and sensitive to the lived experience of Black

33

people It means respecting the ways Black people make sense of and deal with their own

experiences of oppression without claiming to know better However for the participants in

this study it often leads them to disregard all kinds of personal opinions thoughts or ideas

about what racism is and what should be done about it simply because they lack lived

experience of racism The participants sometimes struggle to balance their own knowledge

against the opinions and experiences of Black people Caroline again

Itrsquos this thing about interpreting different actions ndash is this a racist action or not

Well thatrsquos not up to me [hellip] And I think that interpretation privilege in general

in social media too that you just donrsquot go in and interpret what is right and wrong

Here the lack of interpretation privilege disqualifies Caroline from even deciding whether she

finds something right or wrong although such judgements are foundational in political thinking

Interpretation privilege also decides the legitimacy of actions according to Sara she argues

that whereas it is the job of White allies to speak up against other Whites the meaning of the

action is not the same as if a Black person would do it Essentially if a White ally wants to

stand up against racism it should be with a disclaimer

I think it is important to be like lsquothis is my understanding of it but I donrsquot have

interpretation privilegersquo just to create some awareness that I donrsquot have any

right to think anything - Emma

Some participants strip themselves of their agency by retreating to the idea that their

perspectives thoughts and ideas do not matter Lisa tells me that she sometimes censors herself

by not posting or sharing certain things because she feels like she has too little knowledge She

also stays out of debates she is interested in because she ldquodoes not feel [she] has the right to say

something or make a statement in these issuesrdquo Another example of how allies renounce their

political agency can be represented by Sara who tells me that when she saw my participant

message she was concerned that I searched for lsquoself-identified alliesrsquo In her perspective the

label lsquoallyrsquo is not something that one can claim independently one must earn it by being

recognized as such by a Black person Zhelnina (2020361) points to the importance of activists

growing independence emotional confidence and autonomy in their political interpretations

for a movement to successfully mobilize and in a discourse where one does not even possess

the right to claim allyship to a political movement this type of independence and confidence

may be difficult to develop

34

Another important aspect is the conflict that arises when people with interpretation privilege

disagree within the group Lucas says he has met Black people who defend the right to use

racial slurs That does not mean he accept this as true and uses these words himself but he

acknowledges that these situations could be problematic The multitude of perspectives to

consider especially considering the global character of the movement and its social media

presence it becomes difficult to decide what to believe in And when those who have been

assigned authority in this case Black people with interpretation privilege it becomes even

harder The reflexive globalized world with endless sources of information with sometimes

contradictory messages makes it hard to navigate (Giddens 1991138) This problem also

relates to what Voronka (2016196) described as essentialist tendencies when using the concept

of lived experience as a criterion for inclusion With social media where almost unlimited

information is always accessible to the individual the effort to develop independent

interpretations becomes unnecessary and in the case of the White allies insensitive

However it should be noted that although the idea of interpretation privilege is present in all

interviews the participants are also aware that other types of knowledge such as skills from

previous experience in social movements or academic judicial or general professional

knowledge is important Many of them say that they do feel confident of the practical abilities

they have built up over many years of activism and civil society work and Alva among others

points to how she would like to take on the role of fixing practical organizational tasks for the

BLM movement if she were to become more involved in the future Thus there is no validity

in claiming that the interviewees lack all sorts of self-esteem in their ally identity and that they

completely disregard other types of knowledge as Lucas says ldquointerpretation privilege is not

everythingrdquo Still statements such as ldquoI donrsquot have any right to think anythingrdquo or rdquoItrsquos this

thing about interpreting actions ndash is this racist or not Well thatrsquos not up to merdquo are common

in the interviews Although many of the participants can be interpreted as having ontological

security in terms of knowing what they are good at they cannot translate this into a practical

consciousness that guides their actions in a natural manner which creates ontological insecurity

and passivity (Giddens 199144) This relates to findings about lack of lived experience as

leading to potential insensitivity to discrimination which the interviewees recognize in

themselves (Drury amp Kaiser 2014369-42) In theories of situated knowledge it is emphasized

how a multitude of perspectives is needed and that subjugated groups do not have natural access

to hidden truths (Haraway 1988583-6 Young 199027) The disregarding of White ally

perspectives due to lack of lived experience is thus not inherent in the theories themselves but

35

rather something that seems to occur along the popularized interpretation of the term as it is

translated into everyday political lingo as interpretation privilege

So in navigating what to do as an ally while being committed to the idea of interpretation

privilege the first strategy for good ally work is formulated listening

512 Listen but do not exploit

So drawing upon the notion of interpretation privilege the appropriate way to consume

information about racial issues and determining what to do is by listening to Black people

Listening itself becomes not only a way to retrieve information and insight but a political

practice that reflects power structures and identity It becomes a way to renounce onersquos owns

privilege and instead assigning the power of being heard to others (see Collins 1990 Haraway

1988 Young 2004) Sam explains

I as a White person will never be able to sit there and decide what is right and

wrong when it comes to Black experiences or just non-White experiences Irsquove got

nothing to say about that I know nothing about it I just donrsquot What I can do is

listen and learn and I need to take the initiative as a student in this subject

Listening and taking a step back represents successful allyship according to Lucas because it

means both getting access to the right information and showing emotional support and respect

for people exposed to racism Listening is a powerful way to use onersquos White privilege

respecting the interpretation privilege of Black people and redirecting some of the privilege

and power associated to onersquos whiteness to Black people which is one of the main assignments

of allies (Brown amp Ostrove 20132211) But apart from being a virtuous alternative strategy

for allies it is also a relatively effortless option compared to other types of activism such as

participating in demonstrations Effective unproblematic and ideologically right a seemingly

perfect strategy to apply as a White ally

However it is not that simple listening is not only an act of rejecting the power associated to

onersquos racial identity but also hauntingly close to exploitation of Black experience according

to the interviewees The problem of freeriding and exploiting or capitalizing on the stories of

subjugated groups has been acknowledged in previous research on allyship (Clark 2019530

Linder amp Johnson 20159) For example Lisa argues that White people should be careful

36

talking about racism as if they could understand it and instead listen to what Black people say

- but at the same time she says it quickly becomes counterproductive

Black Swedes are not supposed to have to educate me about the racism they

experience because in that case what do I really demand from a Black person

Lou has the same idea and she tells me about how she used to ask her Black partner many

lsquodumbrsquo questions but that she realized that this means that she puts the burden of educating her

on him Sara avoids asking her Black friends about how she as a White ally can help because

that puts too much responsibility on those Black friends Amanda tells me she is after having

listened to one of the biggest antiracist podcasts Raseriet afraid of being one of lsquothose White

peoplersquo who demand to be taught about racism from Black people After all they all agree that

racism is a problem White people created and a problem for White people to solve ndash the

responsibility should not land on Black people As Emma says

Itrsquos essentially White peoplersquos problem itrsquos White people who built the structures

we are protesting [hellip] Itrsquos not Black people who are supposed to stand there and

scream their lungs out about Black Lives Matter but itrsquos about White people

needing to get together and saying like lsquonow we have to fix this because we

created itrsquo

So while trying to balance interpretation privilege the participants easily stumble into another

pitfall Listening as ally work increases the risk of becoming a burden on Black people by

depending on them for education explanations and guidance and exploiting their knowledge

and lived experience for self-improvement which also reinforces racist structures Black people

are implicitly seen as political objects rather than subjects inevitably crushed under the pressure

of White questions and demands and in need of White protection The point of allyship is to

make life and activism easier for Black people not the other way around which brings us to

another strategy of allyship to balance helping

513 Help but do not hijack

Based on the idea that listening as political practice can become exploitative and freeriding the

allies land in the conclusion that helping is the main assignment for allies They motivate this

by referring to their own privileges However as this section will show helping as a political

practice is also surrounded by potential problems

37

The idea of helping as ally work relates again to the idea that the costs of confronting racism is

lower for White people than for Black people (Drury amp Kaiser 2014642) as well as the

realization that White people are granted more respect and legitimacy when advocating for

antiracist causes (Arora amp Stout 2019390) Helping consists of claiming co-responsibility of

changing society protecting Black people from painful experiences and deal with the racism

of White people For example if an ally hears someone being racist they must speak up Sara

tries to do so because she does not want to add to any Black personrsquos burden of having to take

every fight themselves Emma argues that it is not Black peoplersquos responsibility to keep the

movement alive and therefore it is important that White people speak up She thinks ldquoit feels

stupid if White people would just sit around and wait for initiatives cause then you donrsquot do

anything goodrdquo If Black people are left alone with total responsibility of changing institutions

and organizations in Loursquos experience that usually puts Black people in situations where the

risk of being exposed to racism is high and without the support system of allies to help

Although all interviewees describe different ways of helping and supporting Black people and

the BLM movement as a main task for allies such statements are often followed by a disclaimer

For example they say ldquoitrsquos this balance that you being White shouldnrsquot go in and take overrdquo

(Emma) and ldquoWe should support we should be there we should recognize and lift the issues

But we should not be the main actorsrdquo (Alva) One of the most common phrases in the

interviews were lsquothat is not my placersquo This reasoning is present regardless of what types of

actions the interviewees talk about both high-level activism in formal organizations or

representing the movement in media and everyday civil courage such as speaking up against

racist comments in the workplace Sara adds to her statement about wanting to speak up to help

Black people saying that she ldquoalso has to leave room for Black people to act and not trying to

be like lsquoI know best now so let me explain racismrsquordquo Amanda shares similar thoughts saying

Itrsquos important that this can be a movement that Black people own themselves and

that itrsquos not something us White people can just barge into and take over Itrsquos a

balancing between goodwill and wanting to help and to not barge in and be like

lsquoThis is what racism isrsquo

Amanda has worked in organizations who educate people in moral courage and antiracism for

a few years and she has much experience in this type of political work But when she is

contacted in her role as an antiracist educator and asked to hold a course in a workplace she

doubts herself She feels that she must lsquowarnrsquo them about her whiteness ldquoI have to start by

38

saying that Irsquom White Irsquoll never be able to talk about racism like a Black person couldrdquo During

spring of 2020 she started to think about her role again she tells me She concluded that ldquothis

is not my place this organization is not my place but I could do activism in other waysrdquo In

most interviews there are similar reasonings for example Bea explains how she is not against

White people organizing against racism but that she

would not be very comfortable doing it or starting an appeal or initiative like

lsquoWhites in support for Black Lives Matterrsquo because thatrsquos nothellip thatrsquos claiming

space and attention

Katrin said that she in her work at an equality foundation had to weigh her wish to do

something against the risk of ldquotaking over a voice that was just starting to build uprdquo and Lou

who works in HR criticizes her own attempts to implement antiracist ideas at her workplace

because she doubts if she has any right to ldquoclaim that we have to work with so-called diversity

issuesrdquo or ldquobe that voice in a White roomrdquo Emma mentions ldquosupporting without taking overrdquo

as the most important aspect of ally work This is an important part of allyship being

supportive standing by Black peoplersquos side acknowledging oppression raising the issues but

without being the protagonists of the movement as Alva explains Lisa agrees she asks herself

rdquoIs this my space to claim I donrsquot know am I supposed to march in the frontline when it comes

to this issue like Irsquom not so sure about thatrdquo In these statements it is implicitly assumed that

if Whites wanted to take over from Black people they easily could (even unconsciously) and

this implies Black people are less resilient as political actors

These arguments are often motivated by their own experiences with men taking space in

feminist movements They think about the way they want men to act and applies the same

reasoning to their own allyship

If this was about feminism and there was a dude telling me this or doing this that

Irsquom talking about now [taking over authorrsquos note] how would I react then [hellip]

I find it odd when female feminists feel like they have to pay tribute to and psyche

up male feminists I donrsquot think male feminists should need that And I feel the

same way about like Black people shouldnrsquot have to care about me at all it may

sound weird but I donrsquot do it for them itrsquos other Whites I want to affect ndash Katrin

Allies often use their own identities and social positions to understand other types of oppression

and although it seems to function as a source of empathy and compassion for the other group

as well as regulating ones ally behavior it is important to acknowledge that lived experience of

39

sexism does not mean inevitable understanding of experiences of racism (Spanierman amp Smith

2017608-10) which the allies mention themselves

This section shows that the strategy of helping is not as straight-forward and easily managed as

first described but instead associated with a big risk lsquoWhat if I take over What does it say

about me if I dordquo They engage in reflexive identity construction without being ontologically

secure eg without having a ldquopractical consciousnessrdquo or ldquonatural attituderdquo that guides how to

act This creates anxiety and fear of doing and thus being wrong (Giddens 199136) All

participants agree that although allies are important in creating change the movement is and

should be a Black space Although they are confident in these believes and dedicated to living

up to these ideals they are still afraid of unintentionally taking over or hijacking the movement

despite their wish to simply help and support the movement from the background To minimize

the risk of being one of those White allies who barges in and takes over the allies make sure to

balance this by taking a step back and leaving room for Black people to lead the way

514 Take a step back but do not become paralyzed

The choice to take a step back following the alliesrsquo reasoning about claiming space and taking

over means that they are more and more evolving toward a state of allyship where few actions

are legitimate and unproblematic This can be interpreted as a sign that the strategies described

previously (listening and helping) are not part of the alliesrsquo practical consciousness and that

engaging in such ally work is experienced as difficult and frightening due to ontological

insecurity This often leads to passivity (Giddens 199144) Taking a step back is described as

lsquoleaving room forrsquo Black people and it consists of listening (which as previous sections of the

analysis show is not seen as entirely unproblematic) and sharing the perspectives of Black

people for example in social media but without claiming a frontline position in the movement

These are two strategies that reduces the influence of White voices on the antiracist discourse

Taking a step back and leaving room for Black people is a way to denounce the privilege of

being listened to (Arora amp Stout 2019294-5) and reducing the power gap between dominant

and subjugated groups in terms of knowledge production (Collins 1990408)

However the interviewees testify to how the strategy to take a step back is often (but not

always) a shortcut to passivity Katrin who works in an equality foundation dealing with issues

of sexism and racism tells me what happened in her organization when choosing the take-a-

step-back approach by sharing articles Instagram posts and other materials created by Black

40

people and thus engaging in amplification of Black voices (Clark 2019528-31) They were

later criticized for ldquonot doing more not talking about it more screaming more sharing

morehelliprdquo They tried to do the right thing but failed Katrin wonders if they should have done

something of their own something bigger while also acknowledging how it would be

problematic of them to claim the spotlight

The allies worry about their own tendencies to become passive because of trying to navigate

among the different strategies Katrin explains this mechanism as a process where learning

about privilege and power creates an insight of onersquos own role in this power structure

ldquoYou realize that lsquoI have power I have responsibility and I do not have

interpretation privilegersquo and that makes you so scared to do anything wrong that

you end up doing nothing at allrdquo

She describes the insights as ldquoparalyzingrdquo and this experience is shared by more of the

interviewees and found in previous research (Brown amp Ostrove 20132220) Emma says that

it is a complex question that she thinks about a lot and that she has not yet landed in any

conclusions about what she should be doing as an ally but she knows that she must avoid

becoming paralyzed However it could be reflexivity itself that leads to such passivity

(Giddens 199144) Political background does not affect this mechanism as it is observed in

those with no prior experience as well as those with years of activism In some ways having

more prior experience can even make it harder to navigate the ally role because the roles

previously taken are no longer open to you as White Alva explains

Irsquom so used to being in the front and in the middle and being in the back is not

really like how I have been engaged before Irsquom not really used to it and to have

my role defined as being in the backseat in the back of the bus as Whitehellip [hellip] I

havenrsquot done that before And Irsquove struggled to find my role ndash what can I do

Cause I feel my hands are tied behind my back a little I would love to do more but

at the same time my interest cannot decide what the main issue should be Itrsquos all

about knowing your role and your place and being very sensitive to when people

tell you to back away or step up

At the end of each interview they were asked What would you like to see for the movement in

the future I got many analytical answers but some responded by saying like Alva ldquoItrsquos hard

for me to answer because Irsquom White I donrsquot know what needs to be focused on right now and

Irsquom not the right person to askrdquo Lisa says rdquoI donrsquot feel I have the right to speak on this or like

41

debate this issuerdquo Amanda does not answer the question either and refers to how it would be

inappropriate for her to try to decide what the movement should be about Interestingly she

notices how this perspective is only present in her relation to antiracism as she has worked for

LGBTQ-rights for years despite identifying as straight She cannot point out what is different

when it comes to antiracism but she feels there is a difference The uncertainty of knowing

what to do risks leading to passivity

ldquoItrsquos like Irsquove come tohellip Not a stop but a landmark and itrsquos like I canrsquot get

further than that because I donrsquot know what to do Irsquom sure there are things I

could do and a role for me to take on but I canrsquot find it right nowrdquo - Alva

Again the interviewees are aware of the paralyzing effect of their strategies and Lou claims

that she knows that she is overthinking it

When I discuss this with people who are exposed to racism I sometimes get the

feeling that theyrsquore like lsquowe donrsquot care who does it somebody just do itrsquo There

is a need for antiracist work to be done [hellip] So I think that itrsquos easy to fall into

some kind of paralyzed state that doesnrsquot help anybody

The assumption of passivity among contemporary activists can be considered mainstream in

the social movement field Youths of Western democracies are less engaged in any kind of

traditional political involvement such as voting political party membership or other

associational activities (Amnaring amp Ekman 20136) Often this decline in political activity is

attributed to the growing prevalence of digital methods instead of more traditional physical

methods because it gives people an undeserved sense of accomplishment (Skoric 201277) and

a false idea of what activism is efficient (Morozov 200913) Although the majority of the

intervieweesrsquo activism consisted of digital participation and digital participation only it would

be unfair to claim that it is out of a sense of undeserving feeling of accomplishment that they

stopped at digital methods Quite opposite to the conclusions made by Skoric and Morozov of

the self-absorbed slacktivist the interviewees are far from happy with their contributions to the

movement Digital activism is associated with laziness slack and performative allyship by the

interviewees and they usually do not value digital activism as high as physical engagement

For example Lisa says she feels a bit ashamed of being more of a ldquokeyboard activist than a real

activistrdquo and Amanda shares similar thoughts about her own participation

42

When I posted the image I felt like lsquoIrsquom so fucking lame for doing only thisrsquo

[laughs] I didnrsquot really think of it as an activist action because it was so easy

Thus the emotional experience relates to feeling ashamed which under specific circumstances

and motivate action ndash but often it leads to passivity (Dull et al 20211081-84 Zhelnina

2020361) When Emma describes how accessible online activism is she presents a scenario

where someone can ldquosit at home in the couch and watch a movie and at the same time just log

into social media and protestrdquo Bea even laughs while telling me that she ldquothinks she shared a

black square on Instagram like everyone elserdquo Accessibility is not an indicator of democratic

or inclusive value but quality and it seems like the easier it is the lower it is valued by the

allies Comparing to the study by Russo (2014) where the allies put themselves through

physical challenges to demonstrate their allyship the digital form of ally work is interpreted as

a lower form of activism and is surrounded by feelings of inadequacy and shame Although the

reasons for why many of them stopped at digital activism varies none of them did it out of

satisfaction or laziness In the cases where physical limitations the pandemic or lack of protests

in onersquos hometown was not the reason it was rooted in an insecurity about what to do as an

ally Digital methods were perceived as a safer option in a context where almost all other types

of White participation are criticized and the potential pain of being called out as a bad ally is

perceived to be lower in the digital realm than it would be in other contexts

As this section shows the allies handle the potential risk of hijacking the movement by taking

a step back to leave room for Black people to define shape and ultimately run the movement

themselves However this strategy creates its own problems there is an imminent risk of

becoming passive So when listening does not work because of the risk of freeriding and

exploiting Black experiences and actively helping to relieve Black people of the burden to

overthrow systemic racism is deemed inappropriate because it includes a risk of hijacking the

movement and stepping back is ruled out because it leads to passivity ndash what remains

515 Do good but not for the wrong reasons Introspection

In line with previous research and theory introspection of different kinds is often discussed as

an important ally assignment (Drury amp Kaiser 2014638 Kauffman 200124 29-32) Without

introspection the quality of allyship risks becoming deficient because without being aware of

onersquos privilege as well as guilt allyship easily slips into paternalistic behavior (Cole

20201267 Spanierman amp Smith 609-10) Introspection is described in terms of ldquochecking

43

myselfrdquo (Sam) ldquotake a step back and acknowledge that I am part of a racist systemrdquo (Lisa) and

being ldquohumble to the fact that you are part the structurerdquo (Caroline) All interviewees express

the idea that one cannot be a good ally or contribute to positive change without first having

engaged in introspection in different ways

I think one of the most important things is to understand your own whiteness It

sounds kind of ego and self-centered but I think that you canrsquot be an ally

otherwise ever if you donrsquot see your own privilege [hellip] Otherwise you end up

balancing the line between racism and antiracism and that line is thinner than

you think - Lou

This imagined thin line between antiracism and racism concerns many interviewees Lisa

Lucas and Emma also see the risk of falling into racist behavior as big and that they must start

by recognizing this risk to avoid it Amanda says that she knows that she eventually will do

something racist but that she tries not to fear it because ldquoself-criticism can create fear often

therersquos a fear of saying or doing the wrong thing which makes people afraid to be alliedrdquo which

creates passivity Sam calls self-reflection and rdquochecking themselvesrdquo their most important job

and claims that if their aim was to destroy racism that would indicate that they thought of

themselves as bias-free which they are not Lucas also recognizes his own prejudice and says

it is part of his ally work to try to diminish these biases The potential for racist behavior is both

ascribed to being raised in a racist system and to White identity Amanda attributes her future

racist actions to her whiteness explicitly and Caroline argues that all White people are capable

of racist actions regardless of intent lsquowokenessrsquo and knowledge and she knows that she will

at some point act racist despite her devotion to antiracism and her love for her Black partner

All these considerations are part of the reflexive process that is self-identity constantly

scrutinizing oneself and navigating around different actions to act in line with self-identity

(Giddens 199175) When the stakes are as high as they are for White allies ndash they risk acting

and thus being racist if they do not engage in enough introspection The room for action

becomes further limited

In relation to the digital realm where most ally work took place introspection also becomes

about motivations The main concern for the interviewees was whether or not they should use

their social media platforms for ally work at all since digital methods are sometimes frowned

upon for being shallow and too simple Despite this all of them did some type of digital ally

work When I asked those who shared the black square on Instagram why some of them

44

laughed and said that they did not know or could not explain it They mention motivations such

as fitting in

In a way it was like everyone on my Instagram did it and it became like a peer

pressure thing like rsquowhy didnrsquot she share itrsquo or rsquowhy didnrsquot he hare itrsquo you

know ndash Emma

Besides peer pressure the desire to lsquofeel goodrsquo was also reflected upon Many acknowledge

that this desire existed but they did not approve of it as a motive for action Caroline explains

that although it is good to show others where you stand it does not say much about who you

are in the everyday life and the act of posting on social media instead become about seeming

or feeling good The thing they worry about is whether them showing support for the BLM

movement was intended to help the movement or to make themselves look better ndash sometimes

called cosmetic activism (Spanierman amp Smith 2017609-10) or more often among the

participants performative allyship Lou who regularly shares information opinions petitions

and hashtags in her social media says that she worries about her allyship being performative

because she knows most of her followers already shares her opinions Thus her sharing yet

another Instagram post about how racism is wrong could possibly be to ldquoshow off and make

myself feel a little betterrdquo She is careful to stop and reflect upon her actions and intentions and

ask herself lsquowhy did I do this What was my purposersquo Bea shares the same concerns

describing online activism as potentially about ldquostrengthening your personal brandrdquo and

ldquomarketing yourselfrdquo ndash although she does not identify with these motives she feels like there

is always a risk of falling into performative allyship in social media Posting on social media is

also described as a way to claim an antiracist alibi as Bea explains

One way to avoid this is to actively choose not to share with others the activism they engage in

like Sam who calls it unlearning performative allyship Instead of risking acting in the wrong

way and for the wrong reasons they turn to strategic passivism However the unintended result

of this is that one of the main advantages of allies in social movements (that they can use their

voices and platforms to amplify Black voices) goes missing if social media posts are no longer

considered legitimate allyship (Arora amp Stout 2019390 Bhattacharyya et al 202012 Clark

2019528-31)

Introspection is not only a way to secure high-quality allyship but to reduce the risk of doing

something racist and thus being racist Identity is constructed biographically through action

and if the actions does not align with the sense of self-identity this incoherence leads to

45

ontological insecurity in terms of the self meaning one starts to doubt onersquos own motives

(Giddens 199152-54) Seeing onersquos own whiteness as a guarantee of future racist behavior

and knowing how such behavior would clash with the sense of self allies do best in trying to

avoid racist action by all means available Thus acting becomes a risk in itself and this could

be interpreted as ally work becoming unintuitive and unnatural to the allies both at a practical

level determining what to do and at a more discursive level shaping who to be Although

ontological security is defined as practical consciousness it applies to less hands-on orientation

in the world too for example finding onersquos role and identity in a social movement The way to

move forward after recognizing all possible ways one may act wrong is to engage in strategic

passivism apolitical introspection as a political strategy (Kauffman 200124 29-32 Giddens

199144) It is not equivalent to passivity because it includes a strategic choice and it is built

on ally work but ally work that is aimed inwards It becomes a way to be active without acting

in a context where other people may get hurt or judge you

Allies must also make sure not only to act coherently and right but to have pure intentions

being an ally for the sake of recognition or personal gratification is not accepted However

research shows that such extrinsic motivations are especially important in motivating digital

participation (Lilleker amp Koc-Michalska 201725 34-25) and that feelings of shame and guilt

can lead to passivity (Dull et al 20211081-84 Zhelnina 2020361) These two conditions

(ideas of inherent racism and requirements of pure motives) related to introspection does not

create an environment where being active is very appealing Lou admits how acknowledging

the thin line between antiracism and racism leaves her paralyzed instead of motivated

Introspection on the other hand requires no interaction with other people and thus no risk of

being evaluated judged or called out as a bad ally

As the analysis demonstrates the allies recognize there are many different ways they could

engage ndash but all of them are eventually met with disclaimers of how that specific strategy is

inappropriate They try to navigate their own identity and privilege in relation to interpretation

privilege based on theories of situated knowledge but because they lack ontological security

in their ally role they struggle to find a path that is neither inappropriate nor associated with

too much risk Eventually they land in what could be referred to as passivism strategic

passivity as a form of activism

46

6 Discussion and conclusion

The purpose of this study was to better understand how the ally role and participation is

experienced by White allies participating in the Swedish BLM movement and to investigate to

what extent they felt that they had legitimacy as political agents in the movement As the results

show the allies felt strongly for the cause and had many positive experiences of community

and purpose However emotions related to shame guilt and insecurity were also an integral

part of their ally experience and it limited them in their ally work The analysis also shows that

while they are willing and motivated to act as allies the strategies available to them are

surrounded by disclaimers doubt and criticism Few potential actions or approaches are left

unproblematized and the allies often struggle to find their specific path The analysis

emphasizes the link between academic theories of situated knowledge and what can be seen as

a translated popularized version of the term formulated in the political discourse as

interpretation privilege The contribution of Giddensrsquo theories is that the concepts of reflexivity

and ontological security describes the reason for the hesitation the allies engage in whereas the

concept of situated knowledge describes on what basis they hesitate modernity explains why

they worry and situated knowledge what they worry about

Although the analysis shows a pattern that seems to link ideas of interpretation privilege with

passivism among allies the conclusion should not be that acknowledging the importance of

situated knowledge and recognizing the power intertwined with the knowledge creation and

validation process is unnecessary or harmful The theories of situated knowledge standpoint

theory and Black feminist epistemology are important contributions to the sociology of

knowledge and crucial reminders of the power embedded in knowledge However of interest

to political sociology scholars could be the translation of academic concepts into everyday

political lingo and what effects it may have on how people think about politics agency and

identity It is also important to point out that the statements by the interviewees do not reflect

the concept of interpretation privilege in itself but only their interpretation of it Therefore one

could never claim that the concept in itself limits or motivates anything only the way it is

interpreted

Many parts of the results need further investigation One is the implication of guilt if allies are

so limited in this movement whose fault is it It is easy to jump to the conclusion that the fault

belongs to the movement itself and its participants that activists and allies specifically create

47

an environment where action is limited and surrounded by doubt and insecurity This is not the

conclusion of the study Black people or specifically Black movement participants are not to

blame for a culture created by all participants of the movement and this culture or discourse

should be treated as such a larger collective process or frame that is affected by and affecting

all movement participants and the social context it is constructed in It is power on the discursive

level and beyond the reach of any specific grouprsquos aims to control it The experiences and

emotions of the allies should be treated as manifestations of a larger socio-political context

(Buechler 1995458) which could be the focus of future research

Another important aspect to discuss is the implications of quality of the participants allyship

Much research on the passivity of modern activists for example texts on slacktivism (see

Skoric 2012) have a contemptuous tone while discussing how little activists do and how good

they feel about themselves I refrain from evaluating the quality of the actual activism

performed by the allies and from explaining their digitally dominated activism with slacktivism

Instead of seeing contemporary passivism as a potential problem of bad activists one must

focus on the cultural structural and discursive processes enabling this specific kind of activism

instead of other more traditional and acknowledged types of activism Something in the

political climate digital activism identity political social movements or something completely

different limits those who wish to support the movement as allies in their action repertoires

One interesting finding is the consistency in the way the participants describe their involvement

and the issues they thought about Looking at prior experience and their doubts and concerns

about current and future activism there seems to be no link between being unexperienced or

so to say a lsquorookiersquo activist and feeling insecure about what to do as an ally The same problem

was present for people working with equality issues for a living having academic degrees in

the field and well as those without similar professional and academic competences Thus it is

unlikely to be out of inexperience or lack of knowledge that allies sometimes turn to passivism

It is also important to note that while this analysis turned out to be about tendencies of

passivism the interviewed allies were in fact not passive They all engaged in different ally

work digitally and physically sharing information online participating in demonstrations and

trying to incorporate antiracism in their everyday lives and encounters The idea of passivism

applies to their own reasoning and thinking about their allyship more than it does to their

performed ally work Passivism describes their strategic use of introspection which resembles

being passive from out outside perspective but includes much effort in scrutinizing oneself and

trying to become a better ally something that the interviewees are very focused on

48

The main contribution of this study is its representation of the ally perspective something that

is not well researched in the Swedish context It contributes with an insight into the political

arguments of a contemporary social movement characterized by identity-focus and digital

methods Potential contributions could also relate to the questions what would be needed for

allyship to become effective motivating and less associated with introspection and passivism

questions to which the answers must be found in larger contexts than that of these 11 alliesrsquo

testimonies In order to say more about how contemporary allyship is constructed experienced

and given meaning a triangulation of different methods and data sources would be required

along with a bigger sample

The study raised more questioned than it answered which indicates the importance and

relevance of further studies For example the theoretical coherence between the academic

concept of situated knowledge and the more casual term interpretation privilege would need to

be further explored as this study is only a rather shallow review of the concepts Studying the

larger political development and the discourse on activism or racism could also help

constructing a more developed understanding of what it really means to be an ally in the local

context of 21st century Sweden while simultaneously being part of a global network of activists

The implications of these results could be that while allyship is considered important both for

social movements at large (see Brown amp Ostrove 2013 Arora amp Stout 2019 Clark 2019) and

for the individual allies themselves it is also problematized by the interviewees in line with the

problems presented in previous research Applying these results to White allyship there are

things that would need to change in order for the allies to feel secure enough to find the

motivation to participate in the way they all claim they would want to but have not found the

time motivation or feeling of legitimacy to do For ally work to be a force to be reckoned with

in the antiracist struggle preconditions for action beyond introspection and strategic passivism

must be further developed Relating back to Butler the risk is otherwise that

If white people become exclusively preoccupied with our own privilege we risk

becoming self-absorbed We definitely donrsquot need more white people making

everything about themselves that just re-centralizes whiteness and refuses to do

the work of anti-racism (Gleeson 2021)

49

7 References Ahmed S Jaidka K amp Cho J (2017) Tweeting Indiarsquos Nirbhaya protest a study of emotional dynamics in an online social

movement Social Movement Studies 16(4) 227-465 httpsdoi1010801474283720161192457

American Psychological Association (2019) Racial and ethnic identity httpapastyleapaorgstyle-grammar-

guidelinesbias-free-languageracial-ethnic-minorities

Amnaring E amp Ekman J (2013) Standby citizens diverse faces of political passivity European Political Science 1-21

httpsdoi101017S175577391300009X

Andersson P (2021) Bokrecension Vit skoumlrhet vaumllbehoumlvlig i svensk rasismdebatt SVT Nyheter Downloaded 2021-09-29

from httpswwwsvtsekulturbokrecension-vit-skorhet-skickar-meningsfulla-impulser-in-i-den-svenska-debatten

Arora M amp Stout CT (2018) Letters for Black Lives Co-ethnic Mobilization and Support for the Black Lives Matter

Movement Political Research Quarterly 72(2) 389-402 httpsdoiorg1011772F1065912918793222

Arribas Lozano A (2018) Knowledge co-production with social movement networks Redefining grassroots politics

rethinking research Social Movement Studies 17(4) 451-463 httpsdoiorg1010801474283720181457521

Barassi V amp Zamponi L (2020) Social media time identity narratives and the construction of political biographies Social

Movement Studies 195-6 592-608 httpsdoiorg1010801474283720201718489

Bauman Z (2001) Liquid Modernity Cambridge Polity Press

Bhattacharyya G Virdee S amp Winter A (2020) Revisiting histories of anti-racist thought and activism Identities 27(1)

1-19 httpsdoiorg1010801070289X20191647686

Belam M (2021) Black Lives Matter movement nominated for Nobel peace prize The Guardian 2021-01-29

httpswwwtheguardiancomworld2021jan29Black-lives-matter-nobel-peace-prize-petter-eide-norweigan-mp

(Downloaded 2021-06-16)

Bernstein M (2005) Identity Politics Annual Review of Sociology 31(1) 47-74

httpsdoiorg101146annurevsoc29010202100054

Brown K T amp Ostrove J M (2013) What does it mean to be an ally The perception of allies from the perspective of

people of color Journal of Applied Social Psychology 43(11) 2211ndash2222 httpsdoiorg101111jasp12172

Braring (2018) Sjaumllvrapporterad utsatthet foumlr hatbrott Analys utifraringn Nationella trygghetsundersoumlkningen 2006ndash2017 Rapport

201810 Downloaded 2021-03-05 at

httpswwwbrasedownload187f57ba351641b9cdc3d1e0b515344265455312018_10_Sjalvrapporterad_utsatthet_for_

hatbrottpdf

Buechler SM (1995) NEW SOCIAL MOVEMENT THEORIES Sociological Quarterly 36 441-464

httpsdoiorg101111j1533-85251995tb00447x

Bursell M (2014) The Multiple Burdens of Foreign-Named MenmdashEvidence from a Field Experiment on Gendered Ethnic

Hiring Discrimination in Sweden European Sociological Review 30(3) 399ndash409 httpsdoiorg101093esrjcu047

Carnegie Endowment for International Peace 2020 Global Protest Tracker Downloaded 2020-12-16 at

httpscarnegieendowmentorgpublicationsinteractiveprotest-trackergclid=CjwKCAiA_eb-

BRB2EiwAGBnXXve4_M0rNWlgU0_MmYUuIg6ThabxkIbk_kQhlB7O_542emIVDHX1HRoCCFsQAvD_BwE

Clark M (2019) White folksrsquo work digital allyship praxis in the BlackLivesMatter movement Social Movement Studies

18(5) 519-534 httpsdoiorg1010801474283720191603104

Clayton DM (2018) Black Lives Matter and the Civil Rights Movement A Comparative Analysis of Two Social

Movements in the United States Journal of Black Studies 40(5)448-480

httpsdoiorg1011772F0021934718764099

Cole G (2020) Types of White Identification and Attitudes About Black Lives Matter Social Science Quarterly

101(4)1627-1633) httpsdoiorg101111ssqu12837

Collins PH (1990) Black Feminist Epistemology In Calhoun C J Gerteis J Moody S Pfaff amp I Virk (Ed) (2012)

Contemporary Sociological Theory 3rd Ed Chichester Wiley-Blackwell

Craddock E (2019) Doing rsquoenoughrsquo of the lsquorightrsquo thing the gendered dimension of the lsquoideal activistrsquo and its negative

emotional consequencesrdquo Social Movement Studies 18(2)137-153) httpsdoiorg1010801474283720181555457

Creswell JW amp Poth CN (2017) Qualitative inquiry and research design choosing among five approaches (Fourth

edition) Los Angeles Sage Publications

Diani M (1992) The Concept of Social Movement The Sociological Review 40(1)1-25 httpsdoiorg1011112Fj1467-

954X1992tb02943x

Drury B amp C Kaiser (2014) Allies against Sexism The Role of Men in Confronting Sexism Journal of Social Issues

70(4)637-652 httpsdoiorg101111josi12083

Dull BD Hoyt LT Grzanka PR amp Zeider KH (2021) Can White Guilt Motivate Action The Role of Civic Beliefs

Journal of Youth and Adolescence 50 1081ndash1097 (2021) httpsdoiorg101007s10964-021-01401-7

Earl J (2014) The Future of Social Movement Organizations The Waning Dominance of SMOs Online American

Behavioral Scientist 5935-52 httpsdoiorg1011772F0002764214540507

Garrett RK (2006) Protest in an Information Society a review of literature on social movements and new ICTs

Information Communication amp Society 9(2) 202-224 httpsdoiorg10108013691180600630773

Giddens A (1991) Modernity and self-identity Self and society in the late modern age Stanford University Press

Gleeson J (2021) Judith Butler lsquoWe need to rethink the category of womanrsquo The Guardian 2021-09-07 (Accessed 20201-

09-14 at httpswwwtheguardiancomlifeandstyle2021sep07judith-butler-interview-gender)

16

Worth mentioning when using the term modernity is that there are scholarly disagreements on

whether the current era should be interpreted as modernity late (or liquid see Bauman 2001)

modernity or postmodernity However Giddens belongs to the group of theorists who see

contemporary society as still existing within the theoretical frames of late modernity where the

tendencies of modernity has been further stretched and strengthened (Giddens 199127) This

assumption will be present throughout this paper while also acknowledging this is only one

interpretation

311 Life in modernity reflexivity and ontological insecurity

Modernity is an era characterized by post-traditional orders institutionalized radical doubt

detachment of time and space risk-cultures and abstract systems (Giddens 19912-5)

Following these changes in increased emphasis on reflexivity the continuous revisiting of

previously taken-for-granted concepts truths and ideas This applies to the institutional and

individual level and the latter will be of focus in this paper Without the guiding hand of

tradition or custom as in premodern society people must navigate in the world without being

firmly grounded in pregiven sets of beliefs on what should be done in each situation and with

the constant flow of information in modernity the horizon of possible actions are constantly

broadened (ibid20)

The increased emphasis on reflexivity means for the individual that ldquoself-identity becomes a

reflexively organised endeavorrdquo (Giddens 19915) Giddensrsquo described self-identity as a

project based on coherent and ldquocontinuously revised biographical narrativesrdquo which ldquotakes

place in the context of multiple choices as filtered through abstract systemsrdquo (ibid5) This

means that self-identity is closely linked to actions and is ldquoroutinely created and sustainedrdquo in

the actions of the individual (ibid52) This includes making constant decisions while having

endless choices ndash on what to do how to act and ultimately who to be in late modernity ldquowe

are not what we are but what we make of ourselvesrdquo (ibid54 75) If the individual fails to

perform in coherence with their sense of self-identity the individual may start to doubt their

own biographical narrative and ultimately themselves (ibid58) In the context of social

movements the ally identity is thus constantly reshaped by each choice of action and it

becomes important to act in accordance with the ideal-typical ally role Allyship is also a

globalized phenomenon which increases the number of aspects to take into consideration while

reflexively making choices

17

As reflexivity become more and more significant in guiding human action people in late

modernity experience loss of ontological security which is a ldquorsquonatural attitudersquo in everyday

liferdquo in relation to how to act and orient oneself in the world (Giddens 199136) Being

ontologically secure is ldquoto possess on the level of the unconscious and practical consciousness

lsquoanswersrsquo to fundamental existential questions which all human life in some way addressesrdquo

(ibid47) and was previously guided by tradition custom rules and norms of premodern society

Ontological security thus secures the individualsrsquo smooth navigation through life without them

hesitating on their role in the world too much However as society developed into modernity

and late modernity the conditions for ontological security changed ndash the traditions of

premodern society that used to give ontological security by offering a sense of structure

firmness and purpose are now exchanged for reflexivity (ibid48) making each single decision

dependent on an almost infinite number of possible options (ibid36) Without ontological

security the individual experiences existential anxiety caused by uncertainty ndash and such anxiety

itself ldquotends to paralyse relevant actions rather than generate themrdquo (ibid44) This passivity can

occur in relation to specific actions or to the sense of self in general for example failing to

perform in line with onersquos perceived self-identity can create ontological insecurity and it opens

for questioning onersquos entire role in a specific context for example a social movement For allies

ontological insecurity could arise in relation to them trying to navigate what actions are

appropriate for them to engage in based on the reflexive project of self-identity However

inactivism or passivity cannot only be seen in the individualrsquos relation to action but in politics

in general Giddens argued that politics in premodern times were emancipatory and aiming to

end oppression but that politics in modernity has been transformed into life politics a shift in

ideology and activity towards emphasizing lifestyle and self-actualization (ibid210-14)

The purpose of including Giddensrsquo theory of modernity is to provide a potential context in

which the allies of this study act and shape their own ally identities and how their occasionally

self-restricting introspection may be understood

32 Situated knowledge

To complement the theory of Giddens theories on situated knowledge will be included in the

analysis to point to specific ways in which the allies engage in reflexive decision-making eg

on what basis they make decisions about ally strategies The included theories are feminist

theories but their implications are not limited to gender relations

18

Theories of situated knowledge (also referred to as standpoint theory or feminist epistemology)

is an epistemological attempt to challenge the way knowledge is produced validated and

valued Epistemology is an ldquooverarching theory of knowledgerdquo (Collins 1990408) and theories

of epistemology focuses on how truth and knowledge is shaped by power relations between

social positions and how this could change Easily put social position of the knowledge

producer shapes the kind of knowledge that can be produced (Young 200425) In this thesis

the theoretical works of Haraway Young and Collins will be included although there are more

contributors to the thoughts about situated knowledge

Relating knowledge to power feminist theorists have pointed to how knowledge production

has been dominated by men and postcolonial thinkers have questioned dominant knowledge

for its sometimes exploitative and colonializing tendencies (in for example Western thought

and anthropology) Part of this critique has included a call for recognition privilege of lived

experience and reflexivity in research (Voronka 2016191) Donna Haraway (1988) presented

a feminist epistemology (or feminist objectivism) that recognized how women have historically

seen as immanent beings unable to transcend the body and escape its ldquofinite point of viewrdquo

whereas men have been seen as able to attain lsquoobjectiversquo perspectives and knowledges

(Haraway 1988575) The (imagined) male capacity to transcend ldquoparticular social location

and adopt a lsquoview from nowherersquordquo gives men higher status epistemologically (Young 200424)

Thus the gaze of the White male has been favored in sociology as it represents the unmarked

and objective perspective (Haraway 1988581)

The problem with the idea of objectivity and the lsquoview from nowherersquo according to feminist

and postcolonial critics is that knowledge is a power process and only taking one groups

knowledge into account reinforces these power processes Patricia Hill Collins argued that

power over the production and validation of knowledge is an issue of group interest where the

dominant group preserves their own interests by invalidating knowledge that either challenges

their hegemonic ideas or follows alternative practices in their creation of alternative knowledges

(Collins 1990409-10) Black womenrsquos knowledge is subjugated knowledge and it must fight

for recognition in an anti-Black and anti-female world (ibid414) The Black feminist

epistemology she advocated for includes sensitivity to the combination of female and Black

experiences unique for Black women and it recognized alternative ways to create knowledge

specific to Black womenrsquos knowledge production (ibid407-8)

19

321 Situated knowledge as political strategy

If knowledge is then produced under circumstances of domination power structures and

hegemony ndash what would an alternative look like and what could these alternatives lead to

From a quality standpoint Haraway (1988583) argued that including several perspectives in

knowledge production leads to better conclusions Even though she dismissed the idea that

subjugated people have a purer vision on truth and objectivity an idea she claimed is often

rooted in a fetishized idea of the Third World woman she argued that subjugated groups are

less likely to ldquoallow denial of the critical and interpretive core of all knowledgerdquo than are

dominant groups (ibid583-586) She wrote that the only standpoint from which no objectivity

can ever be reached is ldquothe standpoint of the master the Man the One God whose Eye

produces appropriates and orders differencerdquo (ibid587) Thus to aim for objectivity depends

on including perspectives otherwise ignored by structures of power and dominance (ibid590)

Delegitimizing the idea of a lsquoGodrsquos eyersquo from where true knowledge can be observed and

mediated means including other perspectives and knowledges (Young 200420) This is not

only just and right it also contributes to wiser decision making in a context of democratic

processes including perspectives from all social standpoints maximizes knowledge which

should be treated as a democratic resource when fully utilized (ibid25-9) Thus the idea of

situated knowledges includes a normative assumption of inclusion and diversity in decision

making and knowledge production and social difference should be treated as a resource for

democratic societies (ibid29)

The standpoint theorists emphasize how recognizing specificity in knowledge claims for

different groups does not include the idea that subjugated groups are naturally epistemically

privileged eg that their perspective on every issue should be treated as automatically lsquotruersquo

(Haraway 1988583-4 Young 200427-29) Neither the position of these groups or any

imagined inherent attributes give subjugated groups automatic access to the truth but the

position opens up doors to new perspectives impossible to imagine from above (Haraway

1988584) The specific knowledge unique for the dominated social positions include different

understandings of their own position and others and the relation between them as well as ldquoa

point of view on the history of societyrdquo ldquoan interpretation of how the relations and processes

of the whole society operates especially as they affect onersquos own positionrdquo and finally ldquoa

position-specific experience and point of view on the natural and physical environmentrdquo

(Young 200429)

20

Applying these ideas in a context of practical politics for example in a social movement can

include such inclusion of different perspectives and emphasizing how group difference matters

in terms of knowledge but without claiming the existence of epistemic privilege Often this

practical application is based on including people with lived experience into different contexts

of power or knowledge production (Voronka 2016189)

However the strategy of using lived experience as a criterion for epistemic legitimacy can also

be problematized Voronka (2016192) argued that inclusion and representation of different

groups in decision making as a criterion for legitimate knowledge production can be seen as

resting on essentialist assumptions and stable identity categories The categories themselves are

left unaccounted for meaning the boundaries between and content of different identity groups

are seen as natural entities (ibid194) The concept of lived experience fails to answer questions

of who we are and why while the existence of these categories should be questioned in

themselves Thus acting based on ideas of lived experience and ldquoepistemic privilegerdquo (Young

200427) risks both treating identity as essentialist and constructing group attributes as

embodied truths and ignore difference in lived experience within groups (Voronka 2016196)

Thus Voronka (ibid197) argued

we need to mark how rsquopeople with lived experiencersquo [as a concept my note] risks

reproducing and replicating systems of domination that privileges subjects and

subjectivities that fit closely within the White heteropatriarchal matrix of ruling

Voronkarsquos experiences come from academia but the ideas can be applied to other contexts as

well Theories of situated knowledge can be extracted from the abstract epistemological level

and transformed into a concept more suitable and applicable for everyday situations and as will

be seen in the analysis this theme is highly present in the statements by the study participants

in the form of interpretation privilege (See section 5 Results and analysis)

4 Methodology

The study builds on phenomenological approach and aims to understand a social phenomenon

by interpreting the different meanings ascribed to it by the participant whose lived experience

is in focus for the analysis (Creswell amp Poth 2018150) Thus the focus of the study is not the

BLM movement itself but to understand the experience of the allies The study is abductive

21

meaning the research process was iterative - going back and forth between empirical findings

and theoretical background The aim of abductive analysis is often to generate theory by

cultivating already existing theories together with the surprising results found in the data

collection that are in turn reinterpreted through the revisited theoretical insights (Timmermans

amp Tavory 2012169 173-6) One important aspect of abduction is to revisit the phenomenon

as it can lead to new insights For example when the first couple of interviews were done the

lack of response to one specific question was interpreted as missing data But when the

transcripts were revisited after some additional previous research had been read I realized the

unanswered question was not missing data ndash it was data in itself This realization affected how

the data collection moved forward as the focus narrowed down on the ally role and its

limitations

41 Data collection

The data collection was done by conducting qualitative interviews with 11 self-identified White

allies to understand their perspective experiences and thoughts about their participation The

interviews were in average 010245 in length and they were conducted during a five-week

period The interviews were semi-structured guided by an interview guide without following

it in detail which creates room for flexibility This ensured both consistency between the

interviews and individual variations depending on the interviewee (Turner 2010755) The

interview guide had open-ended questions and covered three main themes (political

background identity emotions) Some questions related to relevant concepts for example they

were asked ldquoIn your perspective what is an allyrdquo The purpose was not to evaluate the

participants academic understanding of the term but to have them reflect upon their own

perceptions and thereby gain insight into their political thinking and its effect on their ally role

Other questions were about experiences such as ldquoCould you tell me about your participation in

the BLM movementrdquo and ldquoWhat emotional responses did you have when this happenedrdquo

Some parts of the interview focused on the BLM movement specifically but since the antiracist

ally identity was often developed before BLM started it also included more general experiences

of antiracist allyship At the end of each interview the participants were given a chance discuss

things important to them The limitation of interview data is that it is not a representation of the

world lsquoout therersquo but only a representation of how the interviewees describe their experiences

and these can be shaped by indefinite number of things beyond the scope of this thesis

22

All interviews were digitally conducted Although digital interviewing is often presented as a

second choice there are benefits to it For example Howlett (20217-8) noticed how the safe

environment of the home made the participants more relaxed and that the interviews also tended

to be both longer and richer in detail than offline interviews One could however imagine how

the opposite effect could occur if the home environment is unsafe or unfit for long

conversations The interviews took place more than a year into the pandemic and people were

thus more familiar with digital communication technologies than they were in the beginning

(ibid10) The pandemic was topic for small talk before the interviews started and our shared

experience with it created some sense of commonality and a relaxed atmosphere where potential

technical issues or disturbances were met with recognition from the other party Despite the

surprisingly positive experience with digital interviewing and as well as the rich data gathered

it is still important to recognize how the quality could have been even better with physical

interviews

The interviews were all conducted on Zoom and recorded in the software The interviews were

transcribed in full verbatim meaning that false starters stutters laughter and pauses were

included Such utterances are clues to how the participants feel about what they are telling and

should be treated as data

42 Sample

The sampling for this study is based on one inclusion criterion motivated by the purpose of the

study the criterion being White ally identification (Creswell amp Poth 201881 157) To base

the inclusion criterion on self-identification could potentially lead to low validity in terms of

not achieving a sample that represents the group one wishes to study by excluding those who

engage in ally work without identifying as such To ensure that the people included in the study

were lsquorealrsquo allies the criterion could have been having a certain amount of experience from ally

work or similar However this was a methodological choice motivated by reflections by

Craddock (2019) who studied activism Craddock learned that including the term activist in

her participant letter excluded people who - despite being very active - did not dare to call

themselves activists due to the high standard of what lsquorealrsquo activism is Especially women feel

that they cannot live up to the ideal and therefore they do not recognize their own activist

identity (Craddock 2019138-42) Therefore anyone who identified as an ally was allowed to

participate without evaluating or judging their level of participants

23

The sampling method was mixed consisting of convenience sampling and snowball sampling

(Creswell amp Poth 2018159) First an email was sent to the Swedish BLM organizationrsquos

official email telling them about the study and asking if they had any recommendations of

where participants could be found This email got no response Different Facebook groups were

chosen as lsquofieldsrsquo to sample in Personal acquaintances were also asked to participate The

choice of Facebook groups related to both convenience and lack of access to physical fields to

sample in and because much of the activism related to BLM took place online The Facebook

groups were all limited demographically (open only for women and non-binary people) and

they all had explicit value-systems with feminist anti-racist intersectional orientations Some

groups were simple support-and-chat groups some had a more political purpose (without party

connections) One participant was found in the comments section on a Facebook page that

relates to antiracism and contacted from there and a few were snowball sampled Recruiting

participants in online forums creates a problematic balance between transparency and

anonymity if too detailed information about the specific sampling sites is revealed the

participants identities can be spoiled due to traceability Thus the names of these Facebook

groups or pages cannot be revealed The groups were known to me beforehand as I am myself

a member in them and therefore had access to the lsquofieldrsquo which reduced the time and effort

spent on sampling If this study were a netnography with digital data to analyze it would be

problematic because my interpretation would be tainted by my personal experiences in the

groups but since the data itself was not related to the specific groups or the participants activity

in these groups it is less problematic

This digital convenience sampling limits the groups included in the sampling frame which

creates a skewed sample in terms of for example gender The complementary snowball

sampling creates a similar problem with homogeneity because of the tendency of participants

to recommend people who are like themselves As a result people with academic backgrounds

in social sciences and humanities are overrepresented in this sample The first interviewee Lisa

works in the international aid sector and she put me in touch with some old classmates and

colleagues which contributed to the skewed sample However the sampling method does not

aim to reach a randomized sample that is representative of the Swedish population in general

but instead a purposeful selection of people with certain experiences (Creswell amp Poth

2018272)

The final sample included people of different genders (9 female 1 male and 1 non-binary)

ages (22-36) education (from high school diploma to MA-degrees) and occupation (traditional

24

working-class occupations or white-collar jobs) They lived in or originated from different parts

of Sweden with one currently living in South Africa They also had very different backgrounds

in regards of political engagement some of them had been organized voluntarily or

professionally in multiple movements and civil society organizations some are or have been

active in party politics and some had their political experience mainly in online discussions

43 Coding and analysis

After all interviews were transcribed the data was coded in Excel using the guidelines for

phenomenological analysis presented called horizonalization (Creswell amp Poth 2018201

Moustakas 1994118) Horizonalization means creating a broad base or platform of equally

important statements to capture the experiences of the participants In phenomenological

studies coding and analysis should preferably be inductive highlighting ldquosignificant

statements sentences and quotesrdquo (Creswell amp Poth 201879) instead of deductively trying to

apply hypotheses or theories onto the data

The coding followed the subsequent steps First each transcript was read one at a time and

important statements were added in a quote-column in Excel (see Image 1) Following the

quote-column were categorical columns based on different themes from the interviews The 12

categories were Background Activity in BLM Identity Role Pandemic Emotion Motivation

Introspection BLM organization Balance Problems and Other There was also a column for

especially good quotes which were marked with an lsquoxrsquo In each column (for example ldquoRolerdquo)

inductively created codes were entered An example can be seen in Image 1

The coding was kept close to the data and focus was to create codes that described the specifics

of each statement instead of keeping the number of codes down which created some overlap

Image 1 Visual representation of the coding strategy

After the 11 interviews were coded the data included 243 quotes in 12 categories In order to

structure the analysis according to relevant topics themes were created out of the codes based

on representativeness and uniqueness These themes provided the basis for the interpretation

25

and analysis For example the previously mentioned code ldquoNot surerdquo was grouped together

with the code ldquoDecided by othersrdquo (in the column ldquoRolerdquo) and analyzed together because they

were interpreted as expressions of the same phenomenon eg insecurity regarding what the

role should contain (Moustakas 1994118)

After the coding which is a big part of the analysis itself the most relevant and interesting

themes were further analyzed This was related to observed regularities in statements being

repeated among several participants and novelty or lsquosurprise factorrsquo Whereas the coding was

unrelated to any specific theory the deeper analysis of the different themes was done parallel

to exploring theory The theories came into the process at different stages Giddensrsquo theory of

modernity and ontological security was explored after the initial coding before starting the

writing process of the analysis based on the pattern of insecurity and reflexivity among the

participantsrsquo descriptions of how they make decisions on how to act as an ally Thereafter the

concept of situated knowledge was introduced after all material had initially been analyzed and

written down in a first draft and the recurring use of the term interpretation privilege

(tolkningsfoumlretraumlde) caught my interest The focus was therefore the themes related to

interpretation privilege and how the participants made sense of the term as well as the different

aspects they had to balance because of their emphasis on interpretation privilege in the final

analysis

44 Ethical considerations

Research should be guided by ethical principles to ensure the safety of the participants and the

quality of the research The most important aspects include consent confidentiality and

anonymity Informed consent means that the participant must be given full information about

what participation means and they must be given the chance to both give and withdraw their

consent during or after the interview The researcher must tell the truth about the purpose of the

study and the participant can choose to leave any unwanted questions unanswered

(Vetenskapsraringdet 201710 16) All participants were given a letter with information about the

study which was again repeated verbally right before the interview The second important

aspect confidentiality means that all information and data must be handled safely and not be

shared with unauthorized people (ibid40) The data was stored on a password protected

computer and no personal information was saved along with the transcripts And finally

anonymity means that the identity of the participants must be concealed for example by giving

26

them new names or changing identifying details in their statements (ibid13) Both of my

sampling methods (digital convenience and snowball) can threaten the anonymity of the

participants because they become traceable either to those who were lsquosnowballedrsquo into the study

or those who were found online (see chapter 42 Sample)

In more qualitative terms the researcher must make fair interpretations of the statements made

by participants and be transparent with how conclusions were made This ensures both

transparency in a scientific standpoint and the well-being of the participants (Vetenskapsraringdet

201710) Related to this it is important to recognize how the analysis may affect the

participants for example Creswell and Poth (2018228) argue that there is always a risk that

participants feel bothered by the way their statements have been interpreted in relation to theory

and previous research and especially in a sensitive topic such as politics identity and emotions

In order to minimize this risk the interpretations will both be rooted in theory and previous

research and include alternative evidence and interpretations

45 Methodological reflexivity

Reflexivity requires researchers to be aware of and transparent about their own biases in their

interpretations as well as scrutinizing their power in relation to the research participants

(Creswell amp Poth 2018201 228) Besides the inherent power in the relation between

researcher and participants no specific power dynamics existed in this study The researcher

must reflect upon their own position (gender class race and similar) and how it affects the

way the research is conducted and how the results are interpreted (ibid228) Being reflexive

thus becomes a way to increase validity by clarifying where researcher bias may have affected

the results (ibid261) Evidence that contradicts the arguments made in the analysis has been

included to avoid bias The idea of researcher reflexivity builds on the epistemological approach

of social constructivism where knowledge is not seen as a neutral or objective but a subjective

socially embedded practice shaped by the lived experience of the author and the participants It

also means that self-criticism and self-consciousness is crucial aspects of qualitative

interpretive research (Lynch 200029-36)

According to Moustakas (1994103-4) reflexivity should guide every step in the

phenomenological research project including choice of topic it must have autobiographical

relevance to the researcher who must be genuinely curious and passionate about the

phenomenon ndash and of course be transparent about these motives The choice of BLM as an

27

empirical example in this study was based on my own experiences from the spring of 2020 I

was just as my respondents and many others very moved by the events that transpired and I

did too participate in some online actions such as checking myself into the US Ambassy on

Facebook to show my support of the movement I followed the news and read everything I

found on social media out of both political sympathy and sociological fascination I wanted to

know more about why the activism looked like it did and how others felt about being part of

it Being able to be fascinated in times of collective grief and trauma for Black people is of

course a privilege that I am aware of I can afford to be distanced towards and critical of the

antiracist movement and how it does or does not invite people to engage themselves in it

because my survival or well-being does not depend on it I aim to be respectful in my

interpretations and descriptions of the movement and its participants

46 Limitations

Instead of aiming to evaluate qualitative research by the same criteria as quantitative studies

there are adjusted validation practices for the specific approach of the study To assure good

quality for qualitative phenomenological studies phenomenological concepts should be used

properly understood and recommended methods should be followed Besides from engaging

in reflexive analysis it is also important to offer descriptive richness and interpretive depth

(Creswell amp Poth 2018272-82) There are also different validation strategies for qualitative

research The researcher can use triangulation to strengthen the stability of the results identify

disconfirming cases and clarify researcher reflexivity (ibid260-1) Member checking and

collaborating with participants can also strengthen the validity (ibid162 Arribas Lozano

2018455-6) All participants were informed of their right to see the transcripts and the analysis

if they wished but they were not contacted with the explicit purpose of checking the finished

results due to time Another aspect is reliability meaning how robust the results of the study

would be if someone else replicated the study (Creswell amp Poth 2018164-5) In the case of

qualitative studies where the researcher is intertwined with the interpretations the probability

of someone else reaching the exact same result is small but thick descriptions of methodology

and the data increases reliability somewhat The generalizability of qualitative studies is often

low and especially so when the sample is skewed The results of this study should be considered

valid only for the group studied since the results could have been different with different

28

representations of gender or class for example However with a purposeful sample of people

with a certain experience the goal is not generalizability beyond the group

Another potential issue is the fact that the quotes from the interviews included in this thesis

have been translated from Swedish to English which means that there is a risk that some of the

core meanings of the quotes may have been spoiled or changed However the analysis was

done on the Swedish transcripts making sure the interpretations were made on the original

material Thus the problem of translating quotes is mainly a problem of communicating the

results to the reader in the same form they appeared in the analysis process of the original

material

5 Results and analysis

As explained in the methods section (43 Coding and analysis) the analysis was gradually

turning toward the themes of a) interpretation privilege and b) how the notion of interpretation

privilege affects the leeway for action These themes will be the focus of the analysis which

will show that although the allies experience their allyship as important and meaningful they

sometimes struggle to find a path for themselves in their attempt to be lsquogoodrsquo allies Their

commitment to respecting interpretation privilege helps them live up the to the ally role as

supporters of Black people in general but it limits the leeway in which they are able to act

independently as political agents But first some general findings on how the allies think about

their role will be presented which primarily relates to the first research question about the

experiences of ally work

The overall experience of allyship is that the ally identity is surrounded by purpose community

and positive experiences They are all highly committed to and well-educated about the cause

Being part of the movement feels meaningful and even like rdquoa privilege to be able to be a part

of it and listen and learnrdquo as Lisa says She describes her emotional experiences

First there was a lot of frustration I think And then there was this powerfulhellip

some kind of like rsquowowrsquo there were a lot of chills there for a while [laughs]

because people really came together

29

Sam shares the experience of initial frustration and pain They describe the feeling when their

frustration and anger transformed into hope like ldquofree fallingrdquo ndash the realization that they were a

part of a group with so many sympathizers made it feel like change was possible

Most ally work was performed online and consisted of acts such as sharing information

knowledge and opinions participating in online seminars and meetings signing petitions and

lsquochecking inrsquo at the US Embassy in Stockholm on Facebook as part of a global protest act To

signal their support for the movement they occasionally used hashtags such as

blacklivesmatter and blackouttuesday All participants got most of their information from

social media in line with the general trend in contemporary activism (Ahmed et al 2017447

Heldman 201788) Previous research emphasizes the important role of emotions in social

movement mobilization and all participants in this study recognized how constant access to

heartbreaking stories virtual proof of mistreatment and a global sense of community provided

by social media motivated them to act (see for example Russo 2014)

Some interviewees also participated outside of social media by attending physical

demonstrations (Sam Sara and Emma) It is impossible to say how many of the interviewees

would have attended had there not been a global pandemic However as digital activism has

become dominating in contemporary social movements (Jaumlmte et al 2020371-2) the low rate

of physical protest among the participants in this study should not be attributed to the pandemic

alone For example Lucas says he has not been to as many demonstrations over the last years

as he would have wanted because of work and other circumstances Amanda says she has

always seen herself as an activist as someone who does what otherrsquos lacks the energy or

resources to do but that she is ldquonot the person who attends demos you knowrdquo And Caroline

who is involved in several organizations besides her antiracist engagement even experiences

that the pandemic has made participation easier for her since it can now be done from home ndash

a point Alva agrees with as she experiences difficulties joining offline protests due to physical

illness Thus the effects of the Covid pandemic are not exclusively negative and limiting Apart

from the different demonstrations the allies also emphasized how implementing antiracist ideas

into their everyday behavior and their professional lives is crucial to be a good ally

The main motivator for their allyship is the notion of privilege All interviewees refer to

themselves as White and relate it to privilege an increasingly common tendency and a

prerequisite for antiracist commitment among Whites (Cole 20201627 Spanierman amp Smith

2017608-9) Lisa describes herself as a ldquoprivileged White woman raised in a middle-class

homerdquo and she says that she faced few obstacles growing up and Sam argues that their White

30

identity gives them platforms and privileges many Black people lack Therefore they use their

social media to amplify the voices of Black people sharing their voices stories and

perspectives Amplifying voices of marginalized groups has been recognized in research as one

of the main tasks for allies (Arora amp Stout 2019390 Bhattacharyya et al 202012 Clark

2019528-31)

The argument of amplifying Black voices as a way to utilize onersquos privilege is twofold First

the participants see their privilege as an opportunity to reach out to fellow Whites who they

expect will listen more to their White counterparts than they would to a Black person which is

confirmed in previous research (see for example Arora amp Stout 2019 Linder amp Johnson 2015)

For example Lucas says

Us Whites who are not affected by racism we have to stand up and show that itrsquos

not OK to spread racism If we donrsquot therersquoll never be any change because

sometimes it feels like people listen more to [hellip] a White person confirming that

what a Black person says is true

Sam shares this reasoning and they actively try to reach people with ldquodeeply racist prejudicerdquo

who would ldquonever listen to a Black personrdquo According to Haraway (1988577) subjugated

groups are deprived the privilege of assumed objectivity and reduced to their position as

inherently linked to and epistemologically limited by their social position in a way the dominant

groups are not Subjugated knowledge must always be fought for in terms of recognition

(Collins 1990414) and the allies in this study is dedicated to doing so in order to reduce the

impact of their own privilege and increase the outreach of Black people Katrin recognizes how

this process of validation of knowledge based on power is an unequal process where Black

people are seen as unreliable because they are ldquoacting out of self-interestrdquo whereas White

people are assigned more credibility Recognizing these mechanisms does not mean that the

interviewees accept them they use words such as ldquoterriblerdquo and ldquodisgustingrdquo to describe the

phenomenon and they feel both guilty about having these privileges and motivated to use them

for good which has been recognized as a potential effect of guilt in previous research (Dull et

al 20211081-84) However acknowledging this epistemic hierarchy is not an automatic

renouncing of privilege but can instead reinforce racist structures by assuming the assigned

value of White knowledge is higher and thus seeing the role of White allies as more important

than that of Black people in fighting racism (see Collins 1009)

31

The second aspect of White privilege in antiracist activism is as recognized by the interviewees

the fact that the costs of engaging are much lower for White people than they are for Black

simply because one does not risk facing racism as a response to speaking up (Drury amp Kaiser

2014642) For example Sam says they saw their ability to participate in the demonstration as

a privilege ndash not everyone can be sure to get home safe if they choose to attend a demo due to

the potential threat of police harassment or counter-protestors These costs are further lowered

by the fact that most ally work is done online Sara for example says that it enables her to

ldquotake the fightrdquo without ending up in situations too uncomfortable or even dangerous

Essentially the privilege of being listened to and the lower cost of speaking up for White allies

motivates specific responsibilities assigned to ally work but it also risks reproducing racist

hierarchies by assigning White knowledge higher value The remainder of the analysis will

focus on how these responsibilities are put into practice and what may limit the allies in their

attempts to do ally work

51 Balancing ally work

Related to the second research question is to what extent the allies feel like they are entitled to

act in the movement and this following section aims to show what different aspects affect this

perception Based on the ideas about privilege and responsibility the difficulties in balancing

different strategies of ally work will now be analyzed Although it may seem self-explanatory

what allies should do based on the previous section ndash use their privilege to raise their voices

against racist discrimination ndash the experiences of the interviewed allies shows that it is more

complicated than at first glance They must balance different strategies which can be defined

as following

A Listen but do not exploit

B Help but do not hijack

C Step down but do not become paralyzed

These three points represent how different ally assignments presented by the interviewees are

at some point met with objections or disclaimers There are a multitude of examples in the

interviews but the above-mentioned strategies are the most representative and common For

analytical and stylistic purposes they will be presented in a step-by-step form but they should

not be understood as linear or causal The relationship between these aspects is much more

32

complicated which the analysis aims to demonstrate Before analyzing these three strategies

the concept that serves as an implicit (sometimes explicit) point of departure for most decisions

by the allies should be accounted for namely the concept of interpretation privilege

511 Interpretation privilege

In all interviews there is an assumption about what kind of knowledge is legitimate knowledge

and interpretations based on interpretation privilege (tolkningsfoumlretraumlde in Swedish) 9 of the

11 interviewees explicitly mention the term but the theme is discussed in all interviews This

means that despite their academic degrees years of professional experience in human rights

work or their genuine interest for social justice issues the interviewees recognize how their

lack of lived experience reduces their ability to fully understand the issue of racism The idea

of interpretation privilege is interpreted here as a translation of ideas about situated knowledge

(Collins 1990408) lived experience (Voronka 2016194) and power into everyday political

lingo This idea is expressed continuously throughout the interviews as a part of their political

reasoning and it guides how they relate to their role as allies Katrin explains

It is not the same thing to understand racism by reading about it or by seeing or

hearing about othersrsquo experiences as it is to carry it in the body It will never be

possible for me to understand that

Interpretation privilege then helps allies understand and accept their own inability to fully

comprehend racism and it creates respect towards the testimonies made by people who

experiences racism However knowing that one lacks access to a full understanding also

contributes to self-doubt about the ally role and the work associated with it Caroline who

studies to become a psychologist tells me she has some concerns about being a White

psychologist treating Black patients Her professors claim psychologists do not need to share

the patientsrsquo experiences but Caroline is doubtful

ldquoI as a White person will never be able to fully understand being constantly

vigilant as a Black person in Sweden not knowing what the day will be like to

constantly be exposed to microaggressions and discrimination and even worse

abuse every dayhelliprdquo

Accepting interpretation privilege as the fact that if one is not exposed to racism one will never

know exactly what it feels like is empathetic and sensitive to the lived experience of Black

33

people It means respecting the ways Black people make sense of and deal with their own

experiences of oppression without claiming to know better However for the participants in

this study it often leads them to disregard all kinds of personal opinions thoughts or ideas

about what racism is and what should be done about it simply because they lack lived

experience of racism The participants sometimes struggle to balance their own knowledge

against the opinions and experiences of Black people Caroline again

Itrsquos this thing about interpreting different actions ndash is this a racist action or not

Well thatrsquos not up to me [hellip] And I think that interpretation privilege in general

in social media too that you just donrsquot go in and interpret what is right and wrong

Here the lack of interpretation privilege disqualifies Caroline from even deciding whether she

finds something right or wrong although such judgements are foundational in political thinking

Interpretation privilege also decides the legitimacy of actions according to Sara she argues

that whereas it is the job of White allies to speak up against other Whites the meaning of the

action is not the same as if a Black person would do it Essentially if a White ally wants to

stand up against racism it should be with a disclaimer

I think it is important to be like lsquothis is my understanding of it but I donrsquot have

interpretation privilegersquo just to create some awareness that I donrsquot have any

right to think anything - Emma

Some participants strip themselves of their agency by retreating to the idea that their

perspectives thoughts and ideas do not matter Lisa tells me that she sometimes censors herself

by not posting or sharing certain things because she feels like she has too little knowledge She

also stays out of debates she is interested in because she ldquodoes not feel [she] has the right to say

something or make a statement in these issuesrdquo Another example of how allies renounce their

political agency can be represented by Sara who tells me that when she saw my participant

message she was concerned that I searched for lsquoself-identified alliesrsquo In her perspective the

label lsquoallyrsquo is not something that one can claim independently one must earn it by being

recognized as such by a Black person Zhelnina (2020361) points to the importance of activists

growing independence emotional confidence and autonomy in their political interpretations

for a movement to successfully mobilize and in a discourse where one does not even possess

the right to claim allyship to a political movement this type of independence and confidence

may be difficult to develop

34

Another important aspect is the conflict that arises when people with interpretation privilege

disagree within the group Lucas says he has met Black people who defend the right to use

racial slurs That does not mean he accept this as true and uses these words himself but he

acknowledges that these situations could be problematic The multitude of perspectives to

consider especially considering the global character of the movement and its social media

presence it becomes difficult to decide what to believe in And when those who have been

assigned authority in this case Black people with interpretation privilege it becomes even

harder The reflexive globalized world with endless sources of information with sometimes

contradictory messages makes it hard to navigate (Giddens 1991138) This problem also

relates to what Voronka (2016196) described as essentialist tendencies when using the concept

of lived experience as a criterion for inclusion With social media where almost unlimited

information is always accessible to the individual the effort to develop independent

interpretations becomes unnecessary and in the case of the White allies insensitive

However it should be noted that although the idea of interpretation privilege is present in all

interviews the participants are also aware that other types of knowledge such as skills from

previous experience in social movements or academic judicial or general professional

knowledge is important Many of them say that they do feel confident of the practical abilities

they have built up over many years of activism and civil society work and Alva among others

points to how she would like to take on the role of fixing practical organizational tasks for the

BLM movement if she were to become more involved in the future Thus there is no validity

in claiming that the interviewees lack all sorts of self-esteem in their ally identity and that they

completely disregard other types of knowledge as Lucas says ldquointerpretation privilege is not

everythingrdquo Still statements such as ldquoI donrsquot have any right to think anythingrdquo or rdquoItrsquos this

thing about interpreting actions ndash is this racist or not Well thatrsquos not up to merdquo are common

in the interviews Although many of the participants can be interpreted as having ontological

security in terms of knowing what they are good at they cannot translate this into a practical

consciousness that guides their actions in a natural manner which creates ontological insecurity

and passivity (Giddens 199144) This relates to findings about lack of lived experience as

leading to potential insensitivity to discrimination which the interviewees recognize in

themselves (Drury amp Kaiser 2014369-42) In theories of situated knowledge it is emphasized

how a multitude of perspectives is needed and that subjugated groups do not have natural access

to hidden truths (Haraway 1988583-6 Young 199027) The disregarding of White ally

perspectives due to lack of lived experience is thus not inherent in the theories themselves but

35

rather something that seems to occur along the popularized interpretation of the term as it is

translated into everyday political lingo as interpretation privilege

So in navigating what to do as an ally while being committed to the idea of interpretation

privilege the first strategy for good ally work is formulated listening

512 Listen but do not exploit

So drawing upon the notion of interpretation privilege the appropriate way to consume

information about racial issues and determining what to do is by listening to Black people

Listening itself becomes not only a way to retrieve information and insight but a political

practice that reflects power structures and identity It becomes a way to renounce onersquos owns

privilege and instead assigning the power of being heard to others (see Collins 1990 Haraway

1988 Young 2004) Sam explains

I as a White person will never be able to sit there and decide what is right and

wrong when it comes to Black experiences or just non-White experiences Irsquove got

nothing to say about that I know nothing about it I just donrsquot What I can do is

listen and learn and I need to take the initiative as a student in this subject

Listening and taking a step back represents successful allyship according to Lucas because it

means both getting access to the right information and showing emotional support and respect

for people exposed to racism Listening is a powerful way to use onersquos White privilege

respecting the interpretation privilege of Black people and redirecting some of the privilege

and power associated to onersquos whiteness to Black people which is one of the main assignments

of allies (Brown amp Ostrove 20132211) But apart from being a virtuous alternative strategy

for allies it is also a relatively effortless option compared to other types of activism such as

participating in demonstrations Effective unproblematic and ideologically right a seemingly

perfect strategy to apply as a White ally

However it is not that simple listening is not only an act of rejecting the power associated to

onersquos racial identity but also hauntingly close to exploitation of Black experience according

to the interviewees The problem of freeriding and exploiting or capitalizing on the stories of

subjugated groups has been acknowledged in previous research on allyship (Clark 2019530

Linder amp Johnson 20159) For example Lisa argues that White people should be careful

36

talking about racism as if they could understand it and instead listen to what Black people say

- but at the same time she says it quickly becomes counterproductive

Black Swedes are not supposed to have to educate me about the racism they

experience because in that case what do I really demand from a Black person

Lou has the same idea and she tells me about how she used to ask her Black partner many

lsquodumbrsquo questions but that she realized that this means that she puts the burden of educating her

on him Sara avoids asking her Black friends about how she as a White ally can help because

that puts too much responsibility on those Black friends Amanda tells me she is after having

listened to one of the biggest antiracist podcasts Raseriet afraid of being one of lsquothose White

peoplersquo who demand to be taught about racism from Black people After all they all agree that

racism is a problem White people created and a problem for White people to solve ndash the

responsibility should not land on Black people As Emma says

Itrsquos essentially White peoplersquos problem itrsquos White people who built the structures

we are protesting [hellip] Itrsquos not Black people who are supposed to stand there and

scream their lungs out about Black Lives Matter but itrsquos about White people

needing to get together and saying like lsquonow we have to fix this because we

created itrsquo

So while trying to balance interpretation privilege the participants easily stumble into another

pitfall Listening as ally work increases the risk of becoming a burden on Black people by

depending on them for education explanations and guidance and exploiting their knowledge

and lived experience for self-improvement which also reinforces racist structures Black people

are implicitly seen as political objects rather than subjects inevitably crushed under the pressure

of White questions and demands and in need of White protection The point of allyship is to

make life and activism easier for Black people not the other way around which brings us to

another strategy of allyship to balance helping

513 Help but do not hijack

Based on the idea that listening as political practice can become exploitative and freeriding the

allies land in the conclusion that helping is the main assignment for allies They motivate this

by referring to their own privileges However as this section will show helping as a political

practice is also surrounded by potential problems

37

The idea of helping as ally work relates again to the idea that the costs of confronting racism is

lower for White people than for Black people (Drury amp Kaiser 2014642) as well as the

realization that White people are granted more respect and legitimacy when advocating for

antiracist causes (Arora amp Stout 2019390) Helping consists of claiming co-responsibility of

changing society protecting Black people from painful experiences and deal with the racism

of White people For example if an ally hears someone being racist they must speak up Sara

tries to do so because she does not want to add to any Black personrsquos burden of having to take

every fight themselves Emma argues that it is not Black peoplersquos responsibility to keep the

movement alive and therefore it is important that White people speak up She thinks ldquoit feels

stupid if White people would just sit around and wait for initiatives cause then you donrsquot do

anything goodrdquo If Black people are left alone with total responsibility of changing institutions

and organizations in Loursquos experience that usually puts Black people in situations where the

risk of being exposed to racism is high and without the support system of allies to help

Although all interviewees describe different ways of helping and supporting Black people and

the BLM movement as a main task for allies such statements are often followed by a disclaimer

For example they say ldquoitrsquos this balance that you being White shouldnrsquot go in and take overrdquo

(Emma) and ldquoWe should support we should be there we should recognize and lift the issues

But we should not be the main actorsrdquo (Alva) One of the most common phrases in the

interviews were lsquothat is not my placersquo This reasoning is present regardless of what types of

actions the interviewees talk about both high-level activism in formal organizations or

representing the movement in media and everyday civil courage such as speaking up against

racist comments in the workplace Sara adds to her statement about wanting to speak up to help

Black people saying that she ldquoalso has to leave room for Black people to act and not trying to

be like lsquoI know best now so let me explain racismrsquordquo Amanda shares similar thoughts saying

Itrsquos important that this can be a movement that Black people own themselves and

that itrsquos not something us White people can just barge into and take over Itrsquos a

balancing between goodwill and wanting to help and to not barge in and be like

lsquoThis is what racism isrsquo

Amanda has worked in organizations who educate people in moral courage and antiracism for

a few years and she has much experience in this type of political work But when she is

contacted in her role as an antiracist educator and asked to hold a course in a workplace she

doubts herself She feels that she must lsquowarnrsquo them about her whiteness ldquoI have to start by

38

saying that Irsquom White Irsquoll never be able to talk about racism like a Black person couldrdquo During

spring of 2020 she started to think about her role again she tells me She concluded that ldquothis

is not my place this organization is not my place but I could do activism in other waysrdquo In

most interviews there are similar reasonings for example Bea explains how she is not against

White people organizing against racism but that she

would not be very comfortable doing it or starting an appeal or initiative like

lsquoWhites in support for Black Lives Matterrsquo because thatrsquos nothellip thatrsquos claiming

space and attention

Katrin said that she in her work at an equality foundation had to weigh her wish to do

something against the risk of ldquotaking over a voice that was just starting to build uprdquo and Lou

who works in HR criticizes her own attempts to implement antiracist ideas at her workplace

because she doubts if she has any right to ldquoclaim that we have to work with so-called diversity

issuesrdquo or ldquobe that voice in a White roomrdquo Emma mentions ldquosupporting without taking overrdquo

as the most important aspect of ally work This is an important part of allyship being

supportive standing by Black peoplersquos side acknowledging oppression raising the issues but

without being the protagonists of the movement as Alva explains Lisa agrees she asks herself

rdquoIs this my space to claim I donrsquot know am I supposed to march in the frontline when it comes

to this issue like Irsquom not so sure about thatrdquo In these statements it is implicitly assumed that

if Whites wanted to take over from Black people they easily could (even unconsciously) and

this implies Black people are less resilient as political actors

These arguments are often motivated by their own experiences with men taking space in

feminist movements They think about the way they want men to act and applies the same

reasoning to their own allyship

If this was about feminism and there was a dude telling me this or doing this that

Irsquom talking about now [taking over authorrsquos note] how would I react then [hellip]

I find it odd when female feminists feel like they have to pay tribute to and psyche

up male feminists I donrsquot think male feminists should need that And I feel the

same way about like Black people shouldnrsquot have to care about me at all it may

sound weird but I donrsquot do it for them itrsquos other Whites I want to affect ndash Katrin

Allies often use their own identities and social positions to understand other types of oppression

and although it seems to function as a source of empathy and compassion for the other group

as well as regulating ones ally behavior it is important to acknowledge that lived experience of

39

sexism does not mean inevitable understanding of experiences of racism (Spanierman amp Smith

2017608-10) which the allies mention themselves

This section shows that the strategy of helping is not as straight-forward and easily managed as

first described but instead associated with a big risk lsquoWhat if I take over What does it say

about me if I dordquo They engage in reflexive identity construction without being ontologically

secure eg without having a ldquopractical consciousnessrdquo or ldquonatural attituderdquo that guides how to

act This creates anxiety and fear of doing and thus being wrong (Giddens 199136) All

participants agree that although allies are important in creating change the movement is and

should be a Black space Although they are confident in these believes and dedicated to living

up to these ideals they are still afraid of unintentionally taking over or hijacking the movement

despite their wish to simply help and support the movement from the background To minimize

the risk of being one of those White allies who barges in and takes over the allies make sure to

balance this by taking a step back and leaving room for Black people to lead the way

514 Take a step back but do not become paralyzed

The choice to take a step back following the alliesrsquo reasoning about claiming space and taking

over means that they are more and more evolving toward a state of allyship where few actions

are legitimate and unproblematic This can be interpreted as a sign that the strategies described

previously (listening and helping) are not part of the alliesrsquo practical consciousness and that

engaging in such ally work is experienced as difficult and frightening due to ontological

insecurity This often leads to passivity (Giddens 199144) Taking a step back is described as

lsquoleaving room forrsquo Black people and it consists of listening (which as previous sections of the

analysis show is not seen as entirely unproblematic) and sharing the perspectives of Black

people for example in social media but without claiming a frontline position in the movement

These are two strategies that reduces the influence of White voices on the antiracist discourse

Taking a step back and leaving room for Black people is a way to denounce the privilege of

being listened to (Arora amp Stout 2019294-5) and reducing the power gap between dominant

and subjugated groups in terms of knowledge production (Collins 1990408)

However the interviewees testify to how the strategy to take a step back is often (but not

always) a shortcut to passivity Katrin who works in an equality foundation dealing with issues

of sexism and racism tells me what happened in her organization when choosing the take-a-

step-back approach by sharing articles Instagram posts and other materials created by Black

40

people and thus engaging in amplification of Black voices (Clark 2019528-31) They were

later criticized for ldquonot doing more not talking about it more screaming more sharing

morehelliprdquo They tried to do the right thing but failed Katrin wonders if they should have done

something of their own something bigger while also acknowledging how it would be

problematic of them to claim the spotlight

The allies worry about their own tendencies to become passive because of trying to navigate

among the different strategies Katrin explains this mechanism as a process where learning

about privilege and power creates an insight of onersquos own role in this power structure

ldquoYou realize that lsquoI have power I have responsibility and I do not have

interpretation privilegersquo and that makes you so scared to do anything wrong that

you end up doing nothing at allrdquo

She describes the insights as ldquoparalyzingrdquo and this experience is shared by more of the

interviewees and found in previous research (Brown amp Ostrove 20132220) Emma says that

it is a complex question that she thinks about a lot and that she has not yet landed in any

conclusions about what she should be doing as an ally but she knows that she must avoid

becoming paralyzed However it could be reflexivity itself that leads to such passivity

(Giddens 199144) Political background does not affect this mechanism as it is observed in

those with no prior experience as well as those with years of activism In some ways having

more prior experience can even make it harder to navigate the ally role because the roles

previously taken are no longer open to you as White Alva explains

Irsquom so used to being in the front and in the middle and being in the back is not

really like how I have been engaged before Irsquom not really used to it and to have

my role defined as being in the backseat in the back of the bus as Whitehellip [hellip] I

havenrsquot done that before And Irsquove struggled to find my role ndash what can I do

Cause I feel my hands are tied behind my back a little I would love to do more but

at the same time my interest cannot decide what the main issue should be Itrsquos all

about knowing your role and your place and being very sensitive to when people

tell you to back away or step up

At the end of each interview they were asked What would you like to see for the movement in

the future I got many analytical answers but some responded by saying like Alva ldquoItrsquos hard

for me to answer because Irsquom White I donrsquot know what needs to be focused on right now and

Irsquom not the right person to askrdquo Lisa says rdquoI donrsquot feel I have the right to speak on this or like

41

debate this issuerdquo Amanda does not answer the question either and refers to how it would be

inappropriate for her to try to decide what the movement should be about Interestingly she

notices how this perspective is only present in her relation to antiracism as she has worked for

LGBTQ-rights for years despite identifying as straight She cannot point out what is different

when it comes to antiracism but she feels there is a difference The uncertainty of knowing

what to do risks leading to passivity

ldquoItrsquos like Irsquove come tohellip Not a stop but a landmark and itrsquos like I canrsquot get

further than that because I donrsquot know what to do Irsquom sure there are things I

could do and a role for me to take on but I canrsquot find it right nowrdquo - Alva

Again the interviewees are aware of the paralyzing effect of their strategies and Lou claims

that she knows that she is overthinking it

When I discuss this with people who are exposed to racism I sometimes get the

feeling that theyrsquore like lsquowe donrsquot care who does it somebody just do itrsquo There

is a need for antiracist work to be done [hellip] So I think that itrsquos easy to fall into

some kind of paralyzed state that doesnrsquot help anybody

The assumption of passivity among contemporary activists can be considered mainstream in

the social movement field Youths of Western democracies are less engaged in any kind of

traditional political involvement such as voting political party membership or other

associational activities (Amnaring amp Ekman 20136) Often this decline in political activity is

attributed to the growing prevalence of digital methods instead of more traditional physical

methods because it gives people an undeserved sense of accomplishment (Skoric 201277) and

a false idea of what activism is efficient (Morozov 200913) Although the majority of the

intervieweesrsquo activism consisted of digital participation and digital participation only it would

be unfair to claim that it is out of a sense of undeserving feeling of accomplishment that they

stopped at digital methods Quite opposite to the conclusions made by Skoric and Morozov of

the self-absorbed slacktivist the interviewees are far from happy with their contributions to the

movement Digital activism is associated with laziness slack and performative allyship by the

interviewees and they usually do not value digital activism as high as physical engagement

For example Lisa says she feels a bit ashamed of being more of a ldquokeyboard activist than a real

activistrdquo and Amanda shares similar thoughts about her own participation

42

When I posted the image I felt like lsquoIrsquom so fucking lame for doing only thisrsquo

[laughs] I didnrsquot really think of it as an activist action because it was so easy

Thus the emotional experience relates to feeling ashamed which under specific circumstances

and motivate action ndash but often it leads to passivity (Dull et al 20211081-84 Zhelnina

2020361) When Emma describes how accessible online activism is she presents a scenario

where someone can ldquosit at home in the couch and watch a movie and at the same time just log

into social media and protestrdquo Bea even laughs while telling me that she ldquothinks she shared a

black square on Instagram like everyone elserdquo Accessibility is not an indicator of democratic

or inclusive value but quality and it seems like the easier it is the lower it is valued by the

allies Comparing to the study by Russo (2014) where the allies put themselves through

physical challenges to demonstrate their allyship the digital form of ally work is interpreted as

a lower form of activism and is surrounded by feelings of inadequacy and shame Although the

reasons for why many of them stopped at digital activism varies none of them did it out of

satisfaction or laziness In the cases where physical limitations the pandemic or lack of protests

in onersquos hometown was not the reason it was rooted in an insecurity about what to do as an

ally Digital methods were perceived as a safer option in a context where almost all other types

of White participation are criticized and the potential pain of being called out as a bad ally is

perceived to be lower in the digital realm than it would be in other contexts

As this section shows the allies handle the potential risk of hijacking the movement by taking

a step back to leave room for Black people to define shape and ultimately run the movement

themselves However this strategy creates its own problems there is an imminent risk of

becoming passive So when listening does not work because of the risk of freeriding and

exploiting Black experiences and actively helping to relieve Black people of the burden to

overthrow systemic racism is deemed inappropriate because it includes a risk of hijacking the

movement and stepping back is ruled out because it leads to passivity ndash what remains

515 Do good but not for the wrong reasons Introspection

In line with previous research and theory introspection of different kinds is often discussed as

an important ally assignment (Drury amp Kaiser 2014638 Kauffman 200124 29-32) Without

introspection the quality of allyship risks becoming deficient because without being aware of

onersquos privilege as well as guilt allyship easily slips into paternalistic behavior (Cole

20201267 Spanierman amp Smith 609-10) Introspection is described in terms of ldquochecking

43

myselfrdquo (Sam) ldquotake a step back and acknowledge that I am part of a racist systemrdquo (Lisa) and

being ldquohumble to the fact that you are part the structurerdquo (Caroline) All interviewees express

the idea that one cannot be a good ally or contribute to positive change without first having

engaged in introspection in different ways

I think one of the most important things is to understand your own whiteness It

sounds kind of ego and self-centered but I think that you canrsquot be an ally

otherwise ever if you donrsquot see your own privilege [hellip] Otherwise you end up

balancing the line between racism and antiracism and that line is thinner than

you think - Lou

This imagined thin line between antiracism and racism concerns many interviewees Lisa

Lucas and Emma also see the risk of falling into racist behavior as big and that they must start

by recognizing this risk to avoid it Amanda says that she knows that she eventually will do

something racist but that she tries not to fear it because ldquoself-criticism can create fear often

therersquos a fear of saying or doing the wrong thing which makes people afraid to be alliedrdquo which

creates passivity Sam calls self-reflection and rdquochecking themselvesrdquo their most important job

and claims that if their aim was to destroy racism that would indicate that they thought of

themselves as bias-free which they are not Lucas also recognizes his own prejudice and says

it is part of his ally work to try to diminish these biases The potential for racist behavior is both

ascribed to being raised in a racist system and to White identity Amanda attributes her future

racist actions to her whiteness explicitly and Caroline argues that all White people are capable

of racist actions regardless of intent lsquowokenessrsquo and knowledge and she knows that she will

at some point act racist despite her devotion to antiracism and her love for her Black partner

All these considerations are part of the reflexive process that is self-identity constantly

scrutinizing oneself and navigating around different actions to act in line with self-identity

(Giddens 199175) When the stakes are as high as they are for White allies ndash they risk acting

and thus being racist if they do not engage in enough introspection The room for action

becomes further limited

In relation to the digital realm where most ally work took place introspection also becomes

about motivations The main concern for the interviewees was whether or not they should use

their social media platforms for ally work at all since digital methods are sometimes frowned

upon for being shallow and too simple Despite this all of them did some type of digital ally

work When I asked those who shared the black square on Instagram why some of them

44

laughed and said that they did not know or could not explain it They mention motivations such

as fitting in

In a way it was like everyone on my Instagram did it and it became like a peer

pressure thing like rsquowhy didnrsquot she share itrsquo or rsquowhy didnrsquot he hare itrsquo you

know ndash Emma

Besides peer pressure the desire to lsquofeel goodrsquo was also reflected upon Many acknowledge

that this desire existed but they did not approve of it as a motive for action Caroline explains

that although it is good to show others where you stand it does not say much about who you

are in the everyday life and the act of posting on social media instead become about seeming

or feeling good The thing they worry about is whether them showing support for the BLM

movement was intended to help the movement or to make themselves look better ndash sometimes

called cosmetic activism (Spanierman amp Smith 2017609-10) or more often among the

participants performative allyship Lou who regularly shares information opinions petitions

and hashtags in her social media says that she worries about her allyship being performative

because she knows most of her followers already shares her opinions Thus her sharing yet

another Instagram post about how racism is wrong could possibly be to ldquoshow off and make

myself feel a little betterrdquo She is careful to stop and reflect upon her actions and intentions and

ask herself lsquowhy did I do this What was my purposersquo Bea shares the same concerns

describing online activism as potentially about ldquostrengthening your personal brandrdquo and

ldquomarketing yourselfrdquo ndash although she does not identify with these motives she feels like there

is always a risk of falling into performative allyship in social media Posting on social media is

also described as a way to claim an antiracist alibi as Bea explains

One way to avoid this is to actively choose not to share with others the activism they engage in

like Sam who calls it unlearning performative allyship Instead of risking acting in the wrong

way and for the wrong reasons they turn to strategic passivism However the unintended result

of this is that one of the main advantages of allies in social movements (that they can use their

voices and platforms to amplify Black voices) goes missing if social media posts are no longer

considered legitimate allyship (Arora amp Stout 2019390 Bhattacharyya et al 202012 Clark

2019528-31)

Introspection is not only a way to secure high-quality allyship but to reduce the risk of doing

something racist and thus being racist Identity is constructed biographically through action

and if the actions does not align with the sense of self-identity this incoherence leads to

45

ontological insecurity in terms of the self meaning one starts to doubt onersquos own motives

(Giddens 199152-54) Seeing onersquos own whiteness as a guarantee of future racist behavior

and knowing how such behavior would clash with the sense of self allies do best in trying to

avoid racist action by all means available Thus acting becomes a risk in itself and this could

be interpreted as ally work becoming unintuitive and unnatural to the allies both at a practical

level determining what to do and at a more discursive level shaping who to be Although

ontological security is defined as practical consciousness it applies to less hands-on orientation

in the world too for example finding onersquos role and identity in a social movement The way to

move forward after recognizing all possible ways one may act wrong is to engage in strategic

passivism apolitical introspection as a political strategy (Kauffman 200124 29-32 Giddens

199144) It is not equivalent to passivity because it includes a strategic choice and it is built

on ally work but ally work that is aimed inwards It becomes a way to be active without acting

in a context where other people may get hurt or judge you

Allies must also make sure not only to act coherently and right but to have pure intentions

being an ally for the sake of recognition or personal gratification is not accepted However

research shows that such extrinsic motivations are especially important in motivating digital

participation (Lilleker amp Koc-Michalska 201725 34-25) and that feelings of shame and guilt

can lead to passivity (Dull et al 20211081-84 Zhelnina 2020361) These two conditions

(ideas of inherent racism and requirements of pure motives) related to introspection does not

create an environment where being active is very appealing Lou admits how acknowledging

the thin line between antiracism and racism leaves her paralyzed instead of motivated

Introspection on the other hand requires no interaction with other people and thus no risk of

being evaluated judged or called out as a bad ally

As the analysis demonstrates the allies recognize there are many different ways they could

engage ndash but all of them are eventually met with disclaimers of how that specific strategy is

inappropriate They try to navigate their own identity and privilege in relation to interpretation

privilege based on theories of situated knowledge but because they lack ontological security

in their ally role they struggle to find a path that is neither inappropriate nor associated with

too much risk Eventually they land in what could be referred to as passivism strategic

passivity as a form of activism

46

6 Discussion and conclusion

The purpose of this study was to better understand how the ally role and participation is

experienced by White allies participating in the Swedish BLM movement and to investigate to

what extent they felt that they had legitimacy as political agents in the movement As the results

show the allies felt strongly for the cause and had many positive experiences of community

and purpose However emotions related to shame guilt and insecurity were also an integral

part of their ally experience and it limited them in their ally work The analysis also shows that

while they are willing and motivated to act as allies the strategies available to them are

surrounded by disclaimers doubt and criticism Few potential actions or approaches are left

unproblematized and the allies often struggle to find their specific path The analysis

emphasizes the link between academic theories of situated knowledge and what can be seen as

a translated popularized version of the term formulated in the political discourse as

interpretation privilege The contribution of Giddensrsquo theories is that the concepts of reflexivity

and ontological security describes the reason for the hesitation the allies engage in whereas the

concept of situated knowledge describes on what basis they hesitate modernity explains why

they worry and situated knowledge what they worry about

Although the analysis shows a pattern that seems to link ideas of interpretation privilege with

passivism among allies the conclusion should not be that acknowledging the importance of

situated knowledge and recognizing the power intertwined with the knowledge creation and

validation process is unnecessary or harmful The theories of situated knowledge standpoint

theory and Black feminist epistemology are important contributions to the sociology of

knowledge and crucial reminders of the power embedded in knowledge However of interest

to political sociology scholars could be the translation of academic concepts into everyday

political lingo and what effects it may have on how people think about politics agency and

identity It is also important to point out that the statements by the interviewees do not reflect

the concept of interpretation privilege in itself but only their interpretation of it Therefore one

could never claim that the concept in itself limits or motivates anything only the way it is

interpreted

Many parts of the results need further investigation One is the implication of guilt if allies are

so limited in this movement whose fault is it It is easy to jump to the conclusion that the fault

belongs to the movement itself and its participants that activists and allies specifically create

47

an environment where action is limited and surrounded by doubt and insecurity This is not the

conclusion of the study Black people or specifically Black movement participants are not to

blame for a culture created by all participants of the movement and this culture or discourse

should be treated as such a larger collective process or frame that is affected by and affecting

all movement participants and the social context it is constructed in It is power on the discursive

level and beyond the reach of any specific grouprsquos aims to control it The experiences and

emotions of the allies should be treated as manifestations of a larger socio-political context

(Buechler 1995458) which could be the focus of future research

Another important aspect to discuss is the implications of quality of the participants allyship

Much research on the passivity of modern activists for example texts on slacktivism (see

Skoric 2012) have a contemptuous tone while discussing how little activists do and how good

they feel about themselves I refrain from evaluating the quality of the actual activism

performed by the allies and from explaining their digitally dominated activism with slacktivism

Instead of seeing contemporary passivism as a potential problem of bad activists one must

focus on the cultural structural and discursive processes enabling this specific kind of activism

instead of other more traditional and acknowledged types of activism Something in the

political climate digital activism identity political social movements or something completely

different limits those who wish to support the movement as allies in their action repertoires

One interesting finding is the consistency in the way the participants describe their involvement

and the issues they thought about Looking at prior experience and their doubts and concerns

about current and future activism there seems to be no link between being unexperienced or

so to say a lsquorookiersquo activist and feeling insecure about what to do as an ally The same problem

was present for people working with equality issues for a living having academic degrees in

the field and well as those without similar professional and academic competences Thus it is

unlikely to be out of inexperience or lack of knowledge that allies sometimes turn to passivism

It is also important to note that while this analysis turned out to be about tendencies of

passivism the interviewed allies were in fact not passive They all engaged in different ally

work digitally and physically sharing information online participating in demonstrations and

trying to incorporate antiracism in their everyday lives and encounters The idea of passivism

applies to their own reasoning and thinking about their allyship more than it does to their

performed ally work Passivism describes their strategic use of introspection which resembles

being passive from out outside perspective but includes much effort in scrutinizing oneself and

trying to become a better ally something that the interviewees are very focused on

48

The main contribution of this study is its representation of the ally perspective something that

is not well researched in the Swedish context It contributes with an insight into the political

arguments of a contemporary social movement characterized by identity-focus and digital

methods Potential contributions could also relate to the questions what would be needed for

allyship to become effective motivating and less associated with introspection and passivism

questions to which the answers must be found in larger contexts than that of these 11 alliesrsquo

testimonies In order to say more about how contemporary allyship is constructed experienced

and given meaning a triangulation of different methods and data sources would be required

along with a bigger sample

The study raised more questioned than it answered which indicates the importance and

relevance of further studies For example the theoretical coherence between the academic

concept of situated knowledge and the more casual term interpretation privilege would need to

be further explored as this study is only a rather shallow review of the concepts Studying the

larger political development and the discourse on activism or racism could also help

constructing a more developed understanding of what it really means to be an ally in the local

context of 21st century Sweden while simultaneously being part of a global network of activists

The implications of these results could be that while allyship is considered important both for

social movements at large (see Brown amp Ostrove 2013 Arora amp Stout 2019 Clark 2019) and

for the individual allies themselves it is also problematized by the interviewees in line with the

problems presented in previous research Applying these results to White allyship there are

things that would need to change in order for the allies to feel secure enough to find the

motivation to participate in the way they all claim they would want to but have not found the

time motivation or feeling of legitimacy to do For ally work to be a force to be reckoned with

in the antiracist struggle preconditions for action beyond introspection and strategic passivism

must be further developed Relating back to Butler the risk is otherwise that

If white people become exclusively preoccupied with our own privilege we risk

becoming self-absorbed We definitely donrsquot need more white people making

everything about themselves that just re-centralizes whiteness and refuses to do

the work of anti-racism (Gleeson 2021)

49

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guidelinesbias-free-languageracial-ethnic-minorities

Amnaring E amp Ekman J (2013) Standby citizens diverse faces of political passivity European Political Science 1-21

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Andersson P (2021) Bokrecension Vit skoumlrhet vaumllbehoumlvlig i svensk rasismdebatt SVT Nyheter Downloaded 2021-09-29

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Arora M amp Stout CT (2018) Letters for Black Lives Co-ethnic Mobilization and Support for the Black Lives Matter

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Arribas Lozano A (2018) Knowledge co-production with social movement networks Redefining grassroots politics

rethinking research Social Movement Studies 17(4) 451-463 httpsdoiorg1010801474283720181457521

Barassi V amp Zamponi L (2020) Social media time identity narratives and the construction of political biographies Social

Movement Studies 195-6 592-608 httpsdoiorg1010801474283720201718489

Bauman Z (2001) Liquid Modernity Cambridge Polity Press

Bhattacharyya G Virdee S amp Winter A (2020) Revisiting histories of anti-racist thought and activism Identities 27(1)

1-19 httpsdoiorg1010801070289X20191647686

Belam M (2021) Black Lives Matter movement nominated for Nobel peace prize The Guardian 2021-01-29

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(Downloaded 2021-06-16)

Bernstein M (2005) Identity Politics Annual Review of Sociology 31(1) 47-74

httpsdoiorg101146annurevsoc29010202100054

Brown K T amp Ostrove J M (2013) What does it mean to be an ally The perception of allies from the perspective of

people of color Journal of Applied Social Psychology 43(11) 2211ndash2222 httpsdoiorg101111jasp12172

Braring (2018) Sjaumllvrapporterad utsatthet foumlr hatbrott Analys utifraringn Nationella trygghetsundersoumlkningen 2006ndash2017 Rapport

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httpswwwbrasedownload187f57ba351641b9cdc3d1e0b515344265455312018_10_Sjalvrapporterad_utsatthet_for_

hatbrottpdf

Buechler SM (1995) NEW SOCIAL MOVEMENT THEORIES Sociological Quarterly 36 441-464

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Bursell M (2014) The Multiple Burdens of Foreign-Named MenmdashEvidence from a Field Experiment on Gendered Ethnic

Hiring Discrimination in Sweden European Sociological Review 30(3) 399ndash409 httpsdoiorg101093esrjcu047

Carnegie Endowment for International Peace 2020 Global Protest Tracker Downloaded 2020-12-16 at

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Clark M (2019) White folksrsquo work digital allyship praxis in the BlackLivesMatter movement Social Movement Studies

18(5) 519-534 httpsdoiorg1010801474283720191603104

Clayton DM (2018) Black Lives Matter and the Civil Rights Movement A Comparative Analysis of Two Social

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Cole G (2020) Types of White Identification and Attitudes About Black Lives Matter Social Science Quarterly

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Collins PH (1990) Black Feminist Epistemology In Calhoun C J Gerteis J Moody S Pfaff amp I Virk (Ed) (2012)

Contemporary Sociological Theory 3rd Ed Chichester Wiley-Blackwell

Craddock E (2019) Doing rsquoenoughrsquo of the lsquorightrsquo thing the gendered dimension of the lsquoideal activistrsquo and its negative

emotional consequencesrdquo Social Movement Studies 18(2)137-153) httpsdoiorg1010801474283720181555457

Creswell JW amp Poth CN (2017) Qualitative inquiry and research design choosing among five approaches (Fourth

edition) Los Angeles Sage Publications

Diani M (1992) The Concept of Social Movement The Sociological Review 40(1)1-25 httpsdoiorg1011112Fj1467-

954X1992tb02943x

Drury B amp C Kaiser (2014) Allies against Sexism The Role of Men in Confronting Sexism Journal of Social Issues

70(4)637-652 httpsdoiorg101111josi12083

Dull BD Hoyt LT Grzanka PR amp Zeider KH (2021) Can White Guilt Motivate Action The Role of Civic Beliefs

Journal of Youth and Adolescence 50 1081ndash1097 (2021) httpsdoiorg101007s10964-021-01401-7

Earl J (2014) The Future of Social Movement Organizations The Waning Dominance of SMOs Online American

Behavioral Scientist 5935-52 httpsdoiorg1011772F0002764214540507

Garrett RK (2006) Protest in an Information Society a review of literature on social movements and new ICTs

Information Communication amp Society 9(2) 202-224 httpsdoiorg10108013691180600630773

Giddens A (1991) Modernity and self-identity Self and society in the late modern age Stanford University Press

Gleeson J (2021) Judith Butler lsquoWe need to rethink the category of womanrsquo The Guardian 2021-09-07 (Accessed 20201-

09-14 at httpswwwtheguardiancomlifeandstyle2021sep07judith-butler-interview-gender)