Heart, Mind and Body: #NoMorePage3 and the Replenishment of Emotional Energy

Abstract

Emotional energy is key to disruptive institutional work, but we still know little about what it is, and importantly, how it is re-fuelled. This empirical paper presents an in-depth case study of ‘No More Page 3’ (#NMP3), an Internet-based feminist organisation which fought for the removal of sexualised images of women from a UK newspaper. Facing online misogyny, actors engage in ‘emotional energy replenishment’ to sustain this disruptive institutional work amidst emotional highs and lows. We introduce ‘affective embodiment’ – the corporeal and emotional experiences of the institution – as providing emotional energy in relation to disruptive institutional work. Affective embodiment is surfaced through alignment or misalignment with others’ embodied experiences, and this mediates how actors replenish emotional energy. Alignment with other’s embodied experiences, often connected to online abuse, means emotional energy is replenished through ‘affective solidarity’ (movement towards the collective). Misalignment, surfaced through tensions within the movement, means actors seek replenishment through ‘sensory retreat’ (movement away from the collective). This study contributes to theorisation on institutional work and emotional energy by re-centring the importance of the body alongside emotions, as well as offering important lessons for online organising.

How consumers subvert advertising through rhetorical institutional work

“…Consumers are able to undermine or subvert brands by responding to what they see as corporate transgressions of social justice, or corporate acts of irresponsibility (Kachen & Krishen, 2020; Kähr et al, 2016; Xie & Bagozzi, 2019). We add to the growing stream of consumer subversion literature that considers how consumers may take a social advocate or activism role (Feddema et al, 2020; Kachen et al, 2020; McCarthy & Glozer, 2021). Demsar et al (2021) describe the phenomenon of trolling in mainstream internet culture by two ideological sides occupying distinct and polarized subject positions.…”

“…Such fearless efforts on the part of activist social media users are not without demands, and indeed rely on significant emotional energy. Social media users engaging with internet‐based feminist organization, “No More Page 3” (#NMP3), to fight for the removal of sexualized images of women from a UK newspaper replenished emotional energy through “affective solidarity,” a function of the collective (McCarthy & Glozer, 2021). Thus, while consumers produce value through performative labor in social media, they also work toward achieving the Aristotelian idea of “virtuous action” that forms part of a life well lived with others (Biraghi et al, 2020).…”

“…While we have a growing understanding of consumers' positive responses to advertising that advocates for gender equality, we have less knowledge about how they might in fact, subvert such advertising that offends their wider social justice sensibilities. Indeed, recent research examines how consumers may subvert perceived marketplace social justice transgressions McCarthy & Glozer, 2021;Valor et al, 2021) but more understanding of the risks of such corporate transgressions as a result of their impact within wider public discourses is needed. Kozinets and Handelman (2004) discuss "consumer movements" that seek to transform consumption ideology and culture.…”

“…Yet, while prior research has examined how consumer interaction in online brand communities may be used to build legitimacy for change (Hakala et al, 2017;Kjeldgaard et al, 2017), we have less knowledge about the performative nature of consumer advocacy and subversion in these contexts. & Glozer, 2021). Thus, while consumers produce value through performative labor in social media, they also work toward achieving the Aristotelian idea of "virtuous action" that forms part of a life well lived with others (Biraghi et al, 2020).…”

Hackathons as Affective Circuits: Technology, organizationality and affect

“…At other moments, when teams lacked particular skills needed for task completion, a lack of energy and a sense of tedium ensued (cf. McCarthy & Glozer, 2021), illustrating how 'flows of imitation ' (Thrift, 2008) can lead to affective disenchantment. Ultimately, the intensification and circulation of affect depended on a credible promise to be able to 'make it' with a recognized solution, couching organizationality in a solutionist ethic (Morozov, 2013) from which value can be extracted.…”