Rhetorics of incommensurability: Disarticulating queer Christianity in mainstream news coverage of the Soulforce Equality Ride

Abstract

In this article, we present a critical rhetorical analysis of mainstream news coverage of the Soulforce Equality Ride, an annual bus tour composed of mostly queer and trans Christian students who protest Christian colleges and universities with antiqueer or anti-trans policies. We argue that much mainstream news coverage of the Equality Ride rhetorically functions to disarticulate queer and Christian identities by: marginalizing the activists, overemphasizing the activists' arrests, and framing Christian colleges and universities as hospitable and welcoming environments for the activists. By disarticulating queer and Christian identities, the news stories KEYWORDS Soulforce Equality Ride Christianity queer politics rhetoric articulation news activism