Sixteenth International Conference on New Directions in the Humanities

Abstract

Evangelical Christians have traditionally adhered to the dictates of Biblical morality, which date back to the Biblical myths of Eve, the Virgin Mary, and Mary Magdalene. The traditional Christian understanding sees prostitution as sinful and immoral, and sex trafficked persons as innocent victims. An overview of the verbal and visual discourse of several Evangelical Christian anti-sex-trafficking organizations places the “perfect victim” as one who can be rescued and restored; however a condition of her “restoration” to the ideal of Christian womanhood, a reborn “Virgin Mary,” requires that that she re-establish her worth. In several cases, a condition of this restoration is re-ownership by her rescuers; functioning as a “prop” as her experiences are continually retold and consumed. Through this retelling, the woman also functions as a continuously penitent Mary Magdalene. The archetype of “Eve” is represented as the “complicit prostitute,” the one who, despite attempts to “save” her, has not been rescued. The figure of Eve is delineated by racialized images pieces of women’s bodies, a patronizing and dismissive tone, and an emphasis that the prostitute resists efforts to salvage her from her own life.