The Perils of Being Woke

Being ‘woke’, quite literally refers to the past tense of wake, or being alert and non-passive towards the explicit and implicit forms of injustice in the society. The idea of wokeness, may have been the stimulus for multiple freedom struggles and civil movements, having led to large scale social amelioration. 

The status of being woke comes with honour, like an attribute of intelligence. It might reflect one’s ability to step out of the bystander zone, and not be complicit with the indoctrination of the dominant. The consciousness may serve as the beacon of hope to those who believe that the world is still a good, just place.

This article, however, discusses the downsides, or specifically, the displaced use of ‘wokeness’. 

• Wokeness is on a spectrum

While we are critically thinking about various unspoken rules of the society, it is important to realise that becoming woke is not a one-time act, but a process of unlearning and relearning. There is no absolute level of wokeness we can reach, even if we are relatively more woke compared to our social circles. Similarly, the society’s ideas of being woke, or judging that one stance is more ‘right’ or ‘progressive’, is also subject to change. 

• How to really be woke?

Not jumping to conclusions

Microaggression is a term used for commonplace daily verbal, behavioural or environmental slights, whether intentional or unintentional, that communicate hostile, derogatory, or negative attitudes toward stigmatized or culturally marginalized groups (Wikipedia). Hence, beige colour cannot interchangingly be called ‘skin colour’ or ‘nude colour’ as it may stem from normative and reductionistic ideas of skin tones. 

The concept will definitely improve a lot of my personal relationships, and probably save me from a lot of embarrassing situations. However, while I am still learning about it, I do feel labelling some acts as microaggression might be upto individual discretion and may even be far fetched in some cases. For instance, a team leader who greets their group with a “Hey Guys!” might not have sexist intentions, as the greeting is too commonplace. 

Do your actions make a difference? 

Arm-chair activism is another term coined for performative attempts at seemingly invigorating social change without making any significant contribution towards it. For instance, a person who puts up a social media campaign on eliminating casteism but still practices the same acts of everyday discrimination towards their domestic help when not under public scrutiny. 

Cancelling Wrong with Wrong

Lasty, ‘cancel culture’ may have become the new grounds for internet bullying and ‘othering’. While good things have certainly come out of it, such as the #MeToo movement wherein public scrutiny shook social hierarchies and forced judicial action, the tendency to look out for ‘red flags’ in a person might be coming from a rose-tinted view of what ‘wokeness’ is. 

To question the status quo means sticking out like a sore thumb. It might mean losing out on friends, starting emotionally draining arguments and making ourselves more isolated from people we have classified as the ‘other’. Additionally, being woke may also be an act of privilege, as having the time and resources to look out for all sides of the coin, finding access to information apart from the cocoon of like-minded individuals, and ensuring your safety while you speak your mind is not something everyone can afford to do.

Finally, this article is not a listicle on ‘why to not be woke’ or promote passivity, but aims to complement the idea of being woke and the cause which it stands for. For a female writer to have the literary acumen and liberty to compose an article on being ‘woke’ may have been, and still is a privilege in many parts of the world, something available to me due to the ‘woke actions’ of many people before me.