"Wokism is an anti-democratic movement that refuses dialogue and uses intimidation and disinformation to impose its agenda, and people are fed up, myself included!" declared Québec Solidaire leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon during a press conference last November. You may have heard similar statements from politicians and editorialists about "wokes" or "wokism." These terms have become prominent in Quebec's political and media lexicon in recent years, sparking debates and controversies. But what do they really mean? And how did they come to carry such a negative charge in the public sphere?
To find answers to these questions, I met with Marilou Craft, an artist, author, and dramaturgy consultant who has faced her share of anti-woke criticism throughout her career in the cultural scene. She participated in some very delicate debates, notably the one about the play SLĀV in 2018. At the time, she faced multiple attacks following her stances.
"I felt it was impossible to do my work or talk about art or culture without talking about what affects people like me. I was often in a context where I was the only non-white person. But I felt it was not something I could name. It was as if I had to endure differentiated treatment, but I couldn't name it, otherwise I'd create a problem."
To explain how the prevailing discourse on social justice issues has evolved, Marilou refers to "social justice warriors." "It's an expression that was used negatively, but at its core, it's quite clear; it refers to people who care about social justice and talk about it. And it would be a problem, in fact, to always bring up discrimination. If we experience or notice oppression and talk about it, we would become a social justice warrior, and that would be negative."
Marilou notes that as the term "social justice warrior" began to be questioned, other terms like "woke" and "wokism" entered the prevailing discourse. According to her, "wokism" is something very vague that doesn't really exist, and she asserts that when people are labeled "woke," they are given a stigmatizing label they didn't choose. "These people experience complex situations without being able to speak freely about them, due to the negative weight of this label."
The word "woke" originated in African-American communities in the early 20th century, where it was used in popular language to denote a state of awareness or vigilance regarding racial and social injustices. It gained popularity in the 2010s, particularly after Michael Brown's death in Ferguson in 2014, a catalytic event for the Black Lives Matter movement. "Woke" then became a keyword to express awareness of all kinds of discrimination, whether racial, social, or related to gender or sexual orientation. However, as its notoriety grew, the term was co-opted and its meaning distorted by conservative figures in the United States, who used it pejoratively to criticize what they perceived as excessive militant progressivism.
Negative Connotation Crosses Borders
In Quebec, the evolution of the connotation of the word "woke" has been analyzed by sociologist Raphaël Canet. In 2022, as part of a study he conducted in collaboration with a student, Léo Palardy, he examined 500 articles published in Quebec media containing the words "woke" or "wokism." The results of his survey reveal that 70% of these texts came from press groups affiliated with Quebecor, that 45% were signed by only five authors, and that a majority of them judged "wokism" unfavorably. More recently, Raphaël Canet's research has highlighted the role of media coverage in consolidating an anti-woke sentiment within Quebec society.
The sociologist emphasizes that "the inversion of meaning is that we no longer characterize a systemic problem of inequality, injustice, or racism, but rather people considered to be troublemakers."
According to him, this transformation, which accelerated after the Lieutenant-Duval professor case, created a media scarecrow, diverting public attention from the real issues. As a reminder, in September 2020, Professor Verushka Lieutenant-Duval was temporarily suspended from her duties at the University of Ottawa after using the N-word during a course outline presentation. This incident was heavily publicized and co-opted in public debates, amplifying the polarization around issues of censorship, freedom of expression, and identity. It marked a turning point in the use of the term "woke" in Quebec.
The Word "Woke" in the National Assembly
The pejorative use of the term "woke" reached the highest political spheres in 2021 when Premier François Legault used it in a National Assembly debate to criticize Québec solidaire MNA Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois. "The Québec solidaire leader talks to us about Maurice Duplessis. He had many flaws, but he defended his nation. He was not a woke like the Québec solidaire leader." A year earlier, during question period at a press conference, he refused to use the expression "systemic racism" in the Quebec context, on the pretext that it was a concept stemming from African-American struggles. A stance denounced by hip-hop artist Webster. "It's very easy to accuse people of importing American concepts. We say that systemic racism comes from the United States, but the use of the term 'woke' also comes from the United States. We carefully choose what we want to import or not import from the United States to feed language and people's positions."
For this committed figure who dedicates a large part of his work to the memory of the Afro-descendant presence and slavery in Quebec, this terminological dispute reveals a deliberate choice to disregard words that clearly name complex issues, in favor of vaguer vocabulary. According to Webster, it's easier to accuse people of being "woke" than to try to understand the questions they raise.
The Dogwhistling Behind the Word
Dramaturge Marilou Craft believes it's not easy to determine to whom the term "woke" actually applies. She notes that its use in public discourse falls under what's called dogwhistling. This word refers to a rhetorical technique that involves using seemingly innocuous language, but which carries a coded message perceptible only by a certain audience.
It thus allows for precise reactions without openly formulating controversial statements. "Talking about wokes and wokism is a way of evoking what is feared by the population, without having to name it, or take responsibility for this social criticism. Wokism necessarily evokes something like terrorism; it evokes something negative. It evokes the idea that wokes have an agenda or an intention against society, when they are only talking about what they experience."
According to her, this process helps reinforce a hostile perception towards those who denounce injustices, while avoiding fully assuming the ideological basis of this accusation.
For social movements, this semantic evolution is not without consequences. "The trap is having to defend oneself against being categorized as woke, and thus having to waste time and energy on a topic far removed from current social problems," concludes sociologist Raphaël Canet.