Language on the Move: "Cancel Culture," "Critical Race Theory," and the Digital Public Sphere
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THE YALE LAW JOURNAL FORUM
JANUARY 26, 2022
Language on the Move: Cancel Culture, Critical
Race Theory, and the Digital Public Sphere
Khiara M. Bridges
ABSTRACT. Scores of people have been talking about cancel culture and Critical Race The-
ory recently. However, what people mean when they use the terms varies wildly. This Essay ex-
amines the recent drift around the meaning of these terms, analyzing the role that the digital public
sphere has played in generating these examples of language on the move. Part I describes the Ha-
bermasian concept of the public sphere, its theorized importance to democracy, and the ways in
which the digital public sphere has not lived up to the Habermasian ideal. Part II explores how the
terms canceling and Critical Race Theory have rapidly shifted in meaning as political actors
have bandied the phrases about in the digital public sphere. Part III cautions that we should not
blame the digital nature of the digital public sphere for these shifts in meaning; while technology
plays some role in the perversion of canceling and Critical Race Theory, larger social, cultural,
and political processes bear greater responsibility.
INTRODUCTION
Cancel culture has been on the tip of many tongues of late. The folks de-
crying it have been a true model of diversity- ranging from defendants facing
charges for rioting at the Capitol on January 6, 20211 to entertainers Chris Rock
and Donald Glover (both of whom blamed the boring quality of recent
1. Zoe Tillman, Alleged Capitol Rioters Are Telling Judges They Shouldn't Be Tried in DC Because of
Cancel Culture, BuzzFEED NEWS (May 20, 2021, 5:40 PM ET), https://www.buzzfeednews
.com/article/zoetillman/capitol-riot-cases-dc-venue-cancel-culture [https://perma.cc/73SQ
-E4P3].
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Language on the Move: "Cancel Culture," "Critical Race Theory," and the Digital Public Sphere
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