MovieChat Forums > General Discussion > What does "virtue signalling" mean?

What does "virtue signalling" mean?

posted 6 years ago by Eric56 (4580)
13 replies | jump to latest

Does it basically mean showing off how "good" or moral of a person you are just for the "likes", attention, and good PR? I can't stand people like that! This reminds me of that Ice Bucket challenge that was viral on FB a couple of years ago to *supposedly* promote awareness of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, yet these people don't care at all about ALS. They just do it because it's "trending" or to get "likes".

Another example, male actors and politicians wearing t-shirts with the slogan "this is what a feminist looks like". *sigh*

Anyone share other examples of this?

[–] AndyKing1967 (39853) 6 years ago

It means you’ve been reading too many woke threads.

[–] nyctc7 (44107) 6 years ago

Being a white person and saying how privileged and terrible white people are. White people suck don't you know.

[–] zeesha (1826) 6 years ago

"virtue signaling" is better than "vice signaling".

[–] [deleted] 6 years ago

No comment.

[–] Kawada_Kira (7282) 6 years ago

This is a weird place to ask this question.

[–] [deleted] 6 years ago

HEEYAW HOOOYAWWWWWWW

[–] SolemnMime (174) 6 years ago

Saying something that's not true in order to pass it off as it is to the benefit of your image; or likely presenting yourself as liking/not liking something to look good in some way (often with some moral suggestion tied to it, like maybe identity politics/social issues/etc.).

It is just another way of saying, "Lying to look good by supporting/saying something/doing something that you really don't stand for/don't relate to/isn't true." This is the way I see it and have come to understand it.

[–] GlenEllyn (21659) 6 years ago

This is my take on it, too. Saying something you don't really believe to make yourself look good.

[–] SolemnMime (174) 6 years ago

My guess is its origin came from celebrities maybe or something like that (mass media, public figures, big political figures or etc.).

Someone big in the public eye being disingenuous or hypocritical is possibly what made the concept more widespread and evident across more people, but I'm just guessing here on that.

I haven't done my research on it really.

[–] kspkap (13629) 6 years ago

Four words:

Being a damn hypocrite!

[–] AmeriGirl26 (15113) 6 years ago

If that's the case, pretty much every "diverse" tv show and movie is like that nowadays. It's disgusting and pathetic to watch, to tell the truth. Just name a current movie or tv show where they have these things:

- an LGBT person as a victim, hero, or is a bff of the protagonist
- an interracial couple
- inserting non-white people into traditionally white roles seen in history (particularly black people into European fairy-tales)
- all the straight, white people looking stupid
- all the men look stupid next to the one bitchy feminist in the room who took charge when nobody asked her to (sometimes there's more than one bitchy feminist, or she has female lackeys)
- LGBT couples sucking lip gratuitously and hogging the spotlight to show how in love they are and never showing any straight couples in a successful relationship

[–] [deleted] 6 years ago

Careful! You can get in trouble for telling the truth!

[–] Mrmojo4700 (21718) 6 years ago

I usually don’t comment on political topics but I must say that television commercials have been going this direction for several years now. I would say 98% of the time commercials show the white male as the idiot or the butt of the joke. If humor is not involved the white male or couple is doing things wrong or using the incorrect product or whatever. I mean it’s not real life but it should make any thinking person curious about the motives of these advertisers and how the hell did they all get on the same page. It’s like mass coordinated propaganda.