A rhetorical analysis of social media activism against domestic violence in conservative evangelical communities

This empirical study analyzes the digital activist ecologies created by women in highly conservative Christian circles using social media to speak against traditionally taboo topics of domestic and sexual violence. This research covers a time of upheaval in several large Protestant denominations as they confront growing pressure from women who are using social media to establish ethos and speak against the ways their churches have silenced and enabled cases of physical and sexual abuse. Through analysis of six activists’ interviews and social media activity, I have collected data on the invention and circulation strategies that activists use to create an ecology of texts designed to subvert organizational power structures and recruit survivors to private support groups. Because digital activist movements like #YesAllWomen and #MeToo have had a profound impact on conversations about female identity, it is essential that we pay attention to the rhetorical practices that initiate and sustain these movements. Currently, theorists like Gries, Edwards, and Lang approach digital activism through the lens of actor-network theory, focusing on the circulation of hashtags and iconography. My research applies rhetorical ecology and rhetorical velocity to analyze activists’ use of inventive strategies to create and participate in rhetorical ecologies. The data collected in this study emphasizes the affective and inventive processes that influence the circulation of texts, revealing how online movements impact the policies of organizations and the ideologies of their member.