Document Type
Article
Publication Date
Spring 2014
Keywords
Same-sex marriage
Disciplines
American Politics | Gender and Sexuality | Political Theory | Politics and Social Change | Sexuality and the Law
Abstract
Since the 1980s, social movement scholars have investigated the dynamic of movement/countermovement interaction. Most of these studies posit movements as initiators, with countermovements reacting to their challenges. Yet sometimes a movement supports an agenda in response to a countermovement that engages in what we call “anticipatory countermobilization.” We interviewed ten leading LGBT activists to explore the hypothesis that the LGBT movement was brought to the fight for marriage equality by the anticipatory countermobilization of social conservatives who opposed same-sex marriage before there was a realistic prospect that it would be recognized by the courts or political actors. Our findings reinforce the existing scholarship, but also go beyond it in emphasizing a triangular relationship among social movement organizations, countermovement organizations, and grassroots supporters of same-sex marriage. More broadly, the evidence suggests the need for a more reciprocal understanding of the relations among movements, countermovements, and sociolegal change.
Recommended Citation
Michael C. Dorf and Sidney Tarrow, "Strange Bedfellows: How an Anticipatory Countermovement Brought Same-Sex Marriage into the Public Arena," 39 Law & Social Inquiry (2014)
Included in
American Politics Commons, Gender and Sexuality Commons, Political Theory Commons, Politics and Social Change Commons, Sexuality and the Law Commons