Saving Sex Slaves: The A21 Campaign and the Mobilization of Christian Affect

<p>In this thesis, I argue that the A21 Campaign’s discourse mobilizes Christian affect to produce relational proximity between audience members and human trafficking victims. My study intervenes in related literature surrounding Burke’s (1969) idea of identification by acknowledging that discourse can invite audiences to feel relationally close to or empathetic with others in the absence of consubstantiation. Relying on Gould’s (2009) notion of the mobilization of affect, I contend that unconscious, Christian affective investments are mobilized within A21’s rhetoric through the covert deployment of evangelical tropes that register with Christians’ affective desires and encourage believers to act as Christ or “saviors.” Specifically, this analysis unveils three ways in which Christian affect is covertly mobilized. First, the campaign uses coded Christian language and tropes to appeal to believers’ religious values, constituting an evangelical public willing to affectively invest in the non-profit. Secondly, victims’ experiences are personalized to prime audiences to empathize with sex slaves, viewing themselves as relationally proximal to the trafficked “other.” Lastly, audiences are positioned as “saviors” who are encouraged to fulfill their role as Christ followers by taking action to support the A21 Campaign. Together, these strategies function to invite Christians to embrace the taboo topic of sex slavery within the sacred setting of the church, beckoning believers to further the social movement based on their religious convictions.</p>

Name thesis:degree_name

Master of Arts (MA)

Level thesis:degree_level

Masters Thesis

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Communication Studies

Year dc:date.available

2015

Author dc:creator

• Magee, Nicole Elizabeth

Contributors dc:contributor

• Wendy Atkins-Sayre
• Ashley Mack
• Steven Venette

• Affect Studies
• Identification
• Arts and Humanities

Repository record dc:identifier

https://aquila.usm.edu/masters_theses/109

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:aquila.usm.edu:masters_theses-1104