Performative Activism and Validation in Debate

Sofia Vargas | 4 min read

One of the key pillars of high school debate is advocacy; to craft passionate cases about crises, oppression, policy. We are rewarded for our performance of empathy, and our ability to convey the pain of others with the right source and a dramatic statistic. 

But what many are not explicitly taught is how to make space for the people they claim to represent.

Stepping Forward vs. Stepping Back

Rarely is there silence in the round, and rarely is there pause for reflection. Often it is an environment overwhelmed with the pressure to dominate. Through this, and countless hours of practice, we learn to embody everybody’s pain except our own. We become polished vessels for suffering we have never lived, and are rewarded for our accuracy. 

But when real students from marginalized backgrounds–those who have lived the experiences that are the topic of debate–step forward, they are often discredited and judged as “too emotional.”

Debaters are not being taught to listen. They are being taught to win. 

Measurable Validation

In a room full of debaters, I’ll be the first to admit I was unconsciously addicted to validation. Scrutinizing my ballots became a habit; high ranks made the sleep deprivation worth it. Dropping a round made me consider quitting. While it may be a characteristic of one’s novice year, it certainly was a shock to consciously realize. 

This approval from numbers changed the question “Do I believe in what I am arguing?” to “Did it work?”

While I did believe in the impacts and the arguments of the cases I created, rare were the times in which I truly internalized them. I convinced myself that the ballot didn’t care about my truth, but rather how I performed. Debate is the master of the art of argument, but the teachings of advocacy are not so easily learned. 

Rewarding a Disguise of Advocacy

Currently, a generation of students with the ability to speak eloquently about oppression is being created. While there is nothing inherently wrong with that, a majority of those students have never questioned their place within it. The work of changemakers is being presented without ever making space for actual change. This encompasses the unconscious lesson being taught: justice is something you win, not something you build. Coaches argue over the importance of advocacy, yet the days spent at tournaments surrounded by highly-competitive debaters often drowns out those teachings. 

Changing to Change – Bringing Advocacy Back to Debate

Listening must be valued just as much as speaking.

Lived experience is just as much evidence as statistics. 

Stepping back is just as important as stepping forward. 

In a world full of speaking, the most radical (and important) thing might be to listen. Then do the “voiceless” have a space to speak for themselves.