THE HIERARCHY OF RIGHTS AND THE EXPRESSION OF VALUES IN THE LGBTQ+ RIGHTS MOVEMENT

Abstract

Utilizing a web survey of members of social movement organizations within one new social movement, the LGBTQ+ rights movement, this study measures the level to which the progressive values of inclusion, intersectionality, and solidarity are actually valued by participants, and whether participants perceive the movement as following these values.The study examines the LGBTQ+ movement in the context of new social movement theory and the theoretical establishment of a hierarchy of rights within social movements to see whether the LGBTQ+ movement seems to follow the older theoretical rules of narrow agendas (i.e., agendas focused on the needs of the majority or “dominant population” over minorities within the social movement) or is moving towards embracing the strategies predicted by new social movement theories, which suggest that the shared values of a broader membership dictate the pursuit of agendas which focus on the needs of all group members, not just the majority.