Resource Mobilization and the Hierarchy of Rights: Attitudes, Identities and Outcomes Among LGBTQt Populations

Abstract

This study examines the LGBTQ+ movement, including the various identity subpopulations within the community, in the context of resource mobilization theory and the expectation that a hierarchy of rights exists within social movements, and within social movement organizations (SMOs). Resource mobilization theory states that a movement, and SMOs specifically, must have a narrow and focused agenda to be successful. In conformity with this postulate, social movements often have subordinate populations whose needs, rights, and agendas are relegated to secondary status or are completely suborned for the sake of the rights of the dominant population. Since the 1990s, two progressive social movements, the Third Wave feminist movement and the LGBTQ+ rights movement, have challenged this assumption by following and advocating policies that promote intersectionality and inclusion. This study considers whether this inclusive approach pays off by increasing resources through solidarity and movement crossover, and by so doing provides an alternative that allows broader agendas to be effective. To explore these ideas a survey of members of the LGBTQ+ community concerning their involvement, and their perception of the state of LGBTQ+ civil rights, was conducted.