Promise Keepers abandoned soft masculinity for militarized imagery within a decade

Evidence

Recognizing that their version of evangelical masculinity was out of step with contemporary trends, Promise Keepers rebranded accordingly. To appeal to “The Next Warriors for Christ,” the organization replaced promotional images of men hugging, crying, and holding hands, with pictures of sword-wielding men charging on horseback, climbing rocks, and covered in mud, accompanied by the reassuring promise that “This Ain’t Your Daddy’s PK!” Of course, the organization had only been around for a little over a decade at this point. No longer asking men to “Stand in the Gap,” more manly conference titles challenged men to rise up and “Storm the Gates.” — Kristin Kobes Du Mez, Jesus and John Wayne, 419

Categorization

• XREF: Shows the militant-masculinity strand consolidating within an organization that had launched with the hug-and-cry image, supporting the continuity-not-hypocrisy thesis the reader wants to assess.