To Örebro University

This research examines how RFSU uses politeness strategies to mitigate face threats in their texts about universal taboos, such as sex, sexuality, and reproductive rights. The thesis is a qualitative study of transcribed texts from RFSU education materials constituting written texts and informative videos where we used Brown & Levinson’s (1978) Politeness Theory to analyze how face threats are mitigated. The methods section also includes an account of our own perspectives on the subject as well as background information from an RFSU representative. The results show how RFSU uses politeness strategies and humor to create accessible material about sex, sexuality, and reproductive rights directed at an international audience and how RFSU appeals to positive and negative face in their mitigative strategies. The discussion problematizes various aspects of the research questions and discusses other perspectives with which one can approach a similar study in the future.