PANTIES FOR PEACE: REFLEXIVITY IN THE DEPLOYMENT OF A HYPERLOCAL CAMPAIGN TROPE FROM MYANMAR

Abstract

Scholars of internet activism have comprehensively analyzed techniques for ensuring the success of online campaigns, but few have examined whether and how campaigns built around culturally specific tropes drawn from non-Western contexts can achieve traction with global audiences. This article addresses this question by tracking the use of a hyperlocal cultural trope relating to the impact of women’s sarongs (htamein) on men’s power in an awareness-raising campaign sparked by a violent crackdown against tens of thousands of protesters in Myanmar. We draw on in-depth interviews with the campaign’s originators and a content analysis of its online component to document how this trope transformed through three iterations over several years. In doing so, we examine the impact of processes of appropriative mediation and digital reflexivity, and the extent to which available technology shapes online campaigns.