**Performative Allyship Self-Test**

Is your allyship performative? Here are a few questions to ask yourself:

1. Are the people that I claim allyship to able to correct me?

2. When I am corrected, do I get defensive?

3. Do I try to tell marginalized people what they should or shouldn’t be doing in their self-advocacy?

4. Am I quick to cite my credentials, work, and connections when people attempt to call me out/in?

5. Do I “collect” people who are big names in my advocacy circle(s) so I can pad the credibility of my own work? In other words, do I kiss up to well-known people so it looks like they endorse my work?

6. Do I brag about l the books I’ve read, conferences I’ve attended, actions that I’ve participated in, or other work/qualifications? Do I make sure to cite these things when I get called out/in?

7. Do I insist on using language that marginalized people deem harmful or problematic? Do I attempt to justify it?

8. Have I been called out/in by marginalized people more than once in the past three months for my problematic/harmful behavior?

9. Do I only listen to voices that affirm me in my allyship and not those who challenge me?

10. Are there advocacy spaces to which I am unwelcome because of my past problematic behavior?

11. Have marginalized people and other allies spent days’ worth of time, resources, and emotional labor to help me see the error of my ways.

12. When confronted, do I listen to hear or to respond?

13. Do I make a point to show off how much I know?

14. Am I actively divesting in my privilege?

15. Is my activism/advocacy all about me?

16. Is my “work” carefully observed and open to critique or revision by marginalized people?

Take time to honestly reflect on these questions. This is not a checklist nor is it comprehensive. This is not the time to be defensive. It is time for introspection and honest self-assessment.

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