callout culture

noun

The practice, in social justice circles, of publicly criticizing people for violating accepted behavioural standards, with or without corrective intent.

Meanings

nouncallout culture (countable and uncountable, plural callout cultures)

plural callout cultures · alternative call-out culture

  1. countableuncountableThe practice, in social justice circles, of publicly criticizing people for violating accepted behavioural standards, with or without corrective intent.

    While former President Obama called out the call-out culture, former first lady Michelle Obama took white conservatives to task.

    2019 October 30, “Obama calls out call-out culture: "That's not bringing about change"”, in CBS News, archived from the original on 28 Feb 2020
    3 more examples

    While general “calling out” can be about anything at all, the callout culture addressed in this article relates specifically to social justice communities and admits to the tendency of some social justice activists to see calling out as "an end in itself."

    2015, Saryta Rodriguez, Until Every Animal is Free

    Since the mid-1990s the internet facilitated spread of 4th Wave Feminism, particularly through social media platforms such as Twitter has meant that much campaigning is now done online. The internet has facilitated a 'callout' culture, in which sexism or misogyny can be challenged by a global community of young feminists who use the internet both for discussion and activism.

    2016, Sarah Lowndes, The DIY Movement in Art, Music and Publishing: Subjugated Knowledges

    While callout culture raises issues of shaming and risk, it has also raised consciousness around the implications of public speech on Twitter.

    2016, George Veletsianos, Social Media in Academia: Networked Scholars, page 56
Cite this entry
APA

callout culture. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/callout%20culture

MLA

“callout culture.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/callout%20culture. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “callout culture,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/callout%20culture.

Source: callout culture on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.