Tulsi Achia
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When and how can helping disadvantaged groups go wrong?
Allyship refers to socially privileged groups working in solidarity with disadvantaged groups. This is an important element of social justice work aimed at furthering equality—think White people protesting side by side with Black Lives Matter protestors, men supporting women in demanding equal pay, and straight people voting for marriage equality in support of LGBTIQ groups. Being an “ally” to these groups, however, takes more than good intentions and an understanding of their struggles.
By understanding the conditions of conflict that may arise in allyship contexts, and the impact it has on disadvantaged groups, my research aims to help socially privileged groups—whether in volunteering, development or human services contexts—to work towards more equal and productive partnerships with the groups they intend to support.
Good intentions are never enough in social justice work
Advocacy and activist groups often have members or staff who come from socially privileged groups and want to use their structural power and resources to make a difference to the lives and futures of disadvantaged groups. They are equally mindful of three main challenges: (a) context of unequal power—the disparity in power between themselves and their targets of support, (b) the looming question of why they receive backlash from the very groups they seek to support, and (c) the possibility that good intentions and solid logistical tools can often fail to achieve the outcomes they had hoped for.
What is missing, is the understanding of relevant psychological and relational factors that influence how support is given and received between two groups of people who have different identities and power. This knowledge has the potential to inform how organisations and collectives recruit, train, execute and monitor support based relationships between socially privileged and disadvantaged people.
Toxic allyship: Antecedents and impacts of intergroup helping gone wrong
Allyship as a form of collective action has gained more attention recently within collective action and activism research, though usually with a focus on predicting solidarity actions and understanding the benefits of such action. Very little is known about when allyship could go wrong, how that happens, and what impact toxic allyship (deliberate or unintentional) has on disadvantaged groups and their intentions for inter-group contact in the future.
My research identifies some of the conditions under which allyship may be unhelpful or harmful (such as instances where allies deny their White privilege or heteronormative privilege), predictors of unhelpful allyship (e.g., colourblind ideology, neglecting identity distinctiveness, privileged group identity fragility), and the impact toxic allyship has on disadvantaged groups (e.g., distrust of allies, questioning legitimacy of ally role, increased hopelessness).
About Tulsi Achia
My academic background is in counselling and clinical psychology. Before starting a PhD at UQ, I worked as a practicing psychologist in India and Australia for 13 years focusing primarily on (a) chronic mental illness and personality vulnerabilities, and (b) behavioural sleep medicine. I continue to hold registration as a psychologist in Australia. My work in mental health has had a strong social justice focus which led me to work predominantly with low income groups, women, and ethnic minority groups. Coming from that line of work, I became interested in applying intersectionality theory to understanding vulnerability. It also led me to want to closely examine solidarity actions undertaken by privileged groups, in the context of activism and human services in general.
Broadly speaking, I am interested in collective action, race, and gender. First, I am interested in social justice motivations of people, politicized identities and their role in collective action. Next, I am interested in racial minorities’ and how their minority group status influences how they see themselves, others from their group and dominant racial group members. Finally, I am interested in factionalism within movements – e.g. the feminist collective (working class feminists, white feminists, feminists of colour, queer feminists, etc.).
Get in touch
Tulsi is always happy to speak about her research. Potential speaking topics include:
Articles written by Tulsi for the Social Change Blog:
If you’re interested in having Tulsi speak at an event or collaborating on research, please get in touch.
Allyship refers to socially privileged groups working in solidarity with disadvantaged groups. This is an important element of social justice work aimed at furthering equality—think White people protesting side by side with Black Lives Matter protestors, men supporting women in demanding equal pay, and straight people voting for marriage equality in support of LGBTIQ groups. Being an “ally” to these groups, however, takes more than good intentions and an understanding of their struggles.
By understanding the conditions of conflict that may arise in allyship contexts, and the impact it has on disadvantaged groups, my research aims to help socially privileged groups—whether in volunteering, development or human services contexts—to work towards more equal and productive partnerships with the groups they intend to support.
Good intentions are never enough in social justice work
Advocacy and activist groups often have members or staff who come from socially privileged groups and want to use their structural power and resources to make a difference to the lives and futures of disadvantaged groups. They are equally mindful of three main challenges: (a) context of unequal power—the disparity in power between themselves and their targets of support, (b) the looming question of why they receive backlash from the very groups they seek to support, and (c) the possibility that good intentions and solid logistical tools can often fail to achieve the outcomes they had hoped for.
What is missing, is the understanding of relevant psychological and relational factors that influence how support is given and received between two groups of people who have different identities and power. This knowledge has the potential to inform how organisations and collectives recruit, train, execute and monitor support based relationships between socially privileged and disadvantaged people.
Toxic allyship: Antecedents and impacts of intergroup helping gone wrong
Allyship as a form of collective action has gained more attention recently within collective action and activism research, though usually with a focus on predicting solidarity actions and understanding the benefits of such action. Very little is known about when allyship could go wrong, how that happens, and what impact toxic allyship (deliberate or unintentional) has on disadvantaged groups and their intentions for inter-group contact in the future.
My research identifies some of the conditions under which allyship may be unhelpful or harmful (such as instances where allies deny their White privilege or heteronormative privilege), predictors of unhelpful allyship (e.g., colourblind ideology, neglecting identity distinctiveness, privileged group identity fragility), and the impact toxic allyship has on disadvantaged groups (e.g., distrust of allies, questioning legitimacy of ally role, increased hopelessness).
About Tulsi Achia
My academic background is in counselling and clinical psychology. Before starting a PhD at UQ, I worked as a practicing psychologist in India and Australia for 13 years focusing primarily on (a) chronic mental illness and personality vulnerabilities, and (b) behavioural sleep medicine. I continue to hold registration as a psychologist in Australia. My work in mental health has had a strong social justice focus which led me to work predominantly with low income groups, women, and ethnic minority groups. Coming from that line of work, I became interested in applying intersectionality theory to understanding vulnerability. It also led me to want to closely examine solidarity actions undertaken by privileged groups, in the context of activism and human services in general.
Broadly speaking, I am interested in collective action, race, and gender. First, I am interested in social justice motivations of people, politicized identities and their role in collective action. Next, I am interested in racial minorities’ and how their minority group status influences how they see themselves, others from their group and dominant racial group members. Finally, I am interested in factionalism within movements – e.g. the feminist collective (working class feminists, white feminists, feminists of colour, queer feminists, etc.).
Get in touch
Tulsi is always happy to speak about her research. Potential speaking topics include:
- Experiences of and responses to group based privilege
- Solidarity action and allyship
- Supporting people across power/status lines
Articles written by Tulsi for the Social Change Blog:
- Why "I don't see race or skin colour" is an unhelpful anti-racism strategy
- Awkward! Four reasons interracial interactions go awry
- How do people become allies to a cause
- What is Privilege and How Does it Affect us Psychologically?
If you’re interested in having Tulsi speak at an event or collaborating on research, please get in touch.
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