The Ins and Outs of Cancel Culture Article Analysis

The article “The Ins and Outs of Cancel Culture” written by Constance C.R. White examines the positive and negative sides of cancel culture. In the article, White discusses the extremes of canceling and how it can be beneficial as well as detrimental to those it targets. While cancel culture can go to extremes, at its core it is about accountability and giving the voiceless a space to be heard.

Cancel culture, in essence, is about giving a platform to those who do not have one. In paragraph sixteen of the article, White puts the benefits of cancel culture into the spotlight. “Where would we be without cancel culture? Many of the most disenfranchised people have been given the opportunity to make a stand; therefore, by going to the internet and demanding justice, essentially cancel culture is giving a voice to the voiceless,” (White, Paragraph 16). Creators, businesses, celebrities, and the like dwarf the people in influence. There are instances all over the internet of racist, sexist, and discriminatory behavior being treated as jokes by larger creators but cancel culture makes a point to show that it is not, and never will be, acceptable. Powerful people are being called into the limelight and told that they cannot continue to be problematic and stay untouched, cancel culture makes a point to show that those behaviors are not, and never will be, acceptable. Minorities, who would not have had the voice to speak directly to large creators regarding their behavior, can with cancel culture. However, though canceling may be about accountability, some may argue that it goes to extremes.

In the article, White also displays the argument that canceling is often rushed and goes to unnecessary extremes, but while cancel culture can get extreme, there are times when extremes are the only way to make a change. In paragraph nineteen, White looks at cancel culture from another perspective, and how it is utilized in other situations. “From boycotts to protests, cancel culture is not new. “Unions did it,” notes communications expert Elyse Feldman.“Unions said, ‘Don’t buy this product because of unfair labor practices, unfair salaries.’ Before the internet you couldn’t have the impact because the reach wasn’t there. What is cancel culture without the internet? It’s demonstrations,” (White, Paragraph 19). Cancel culture is not a new phenomenon, but with the internet, people can reach a wider audience and join together to make their voices heard, whether it is protesting or unionizing, or boycotting, there is power in numbers. While cancel culture can go to extremes, at its core it is about holding people accountable.

Cancel Culture, fundamentally, is about accountability and allowing those without a voice to alert creators of problematic behavior. Cancel culture has been deemed as extreme and dramatic by many, but cancel culture is not about canceling or drama or purposefully ruining careers, it’s about giving people a voice, it’s about holding people accountable. It’s not cancel culture, it is accountability culture.