Social activism includes strikes, boycotts, and other forms of protest.
Social activism is public behavior that is developed with the aim of achieving change in society . An activist carries out proselytizing actions and participates in campaigns and initiatives that aim to achieve an objective with an impact on the community.
The protection of human rights is often one of the goals of social activism. Activists of this type also often fight against poverty and economic inequality, promote gender equality, combat climate change and defend freedom of expression, for example.
Unions , student movements and NGOs and non-profit organizations are entities that allow social activism to be channeled. Demonstrations and marches, meanwhile, are among the most frequent initiatives to make their claims known and demand responses or measures from the authorities.
Its characteristics
Social activism consists of the execution of various tasks to promote an improvement in society . It can be deployed through expressions and protests in the streets, through art or even via the Internet ( cyberactivism ).
Although social activism can be individual, with actions driven at a personal level, it is usually integrated into collective and organized processes . In this way, the so-called social movements emerge, such as the LGBT+ movement, the feminist movement, the movement against the death penalty and the civil rights movement, among many others.
One of the pillars of all activism is decision making . Social and other activists act energetically and implement practices to achieve their goals. They are not limited to reflection or debate, but seek to generate concrete changes.
The idea of social activism can contemplate interventions in the field of politics, economics, ecology and law, for example. It arises from the convictions and commitment of those who feel the need to adopt an active position to modify reality.
Waste reduction is one of the objectives of environmental social activism.
Types of social activism
It is possible to classify social activism in different ways. If we focus on the field of action, we can talk about animal activism (which defends animal rights and spreads anti-speciesism), environmental activism (in pursuit of environmental protection) and pacifist activism (movement for peace and nonviolence), among others.
If we think about the mode of intervention, there is a type of social activism that is exercised in the physical world and another virtual one . Of course, both modalities can complement each other: activists can call for civil disobedience through blogs and social networks and, simultaneously, carry out protests in parks and squares.
Art and activism ( artivism ), likewise, come together in protest music, social cinema, documentary photography, committed literature and the theater of the oppressed. Graffiti and street art are also vehicles of social activism.
It can be indicated, on the other hand, that political activism is a type of social activism. In that case it is reflected through the functioning of political parties or thanks to the mechanisms of participatory democracy. Similarly, we can allude to judicial activism , which maintains that the role of judges transcends the application of the law to take into account the social repercussions of their decisions.
Social activism can defend the rights of refugees.
Origin and purpose
Social activism often arises from discontent . When the State does not provide the responses that the community (or a sector of it) demands, or when it does not show the capacity to solve social problems, people tend to act to alleviate this deficit or inaction.
The activist can try to get the rulers, who are in charge of state management, to listen to their claim and act accordingly. Sometimes, however, social activism seeks to generate changes by itself , without depending on the State. Thus, if a government does not guarantee access to education for children living in marginal neighborhoods, social activism can promote popular and solidarity education initiatives, with the creation of training centers or the delivery of public classes.
It should be noted that social activism can develop without seeking a response from the State. Those who spread veganism , those who encourage fair trade and those who publicize the advantages of slow food , to name a few possibilities, are committed to awareness campaigns to provoke social change.
Examples of social activism
Feminism is an example of social activism. This movement demands that women and men have the same rights and opportunities, carrying out different actions to achieve their goal. Every March 8 ( 8M ), when International Women's Day is commemorated, feminists demonstrate in the streets around the world demanding equality. This social activism also occurs in the media and in other spaces where we can work to raise awareness of this problem.
Let's now think about a group of young people who promote responsible consumption . As part of their social activism, they create a website where they explain the negative consequences of consumerism, inform about the benefits of the solidarity economy and warn that consumption has a direct relationship with sustainability.
Another example of social activism is the work of a communicator who decides to specialize in investigative journalism to control government transparency. Although journalism is his job, this professional also considers himself an activist since he uses his profession as an anti-corruption instrument that helps improve society.