Pride Parades and LGBT Movements: Political Participation in an International Comparative Perspective(Gender and Comparative Politics)

The Open Access version of this book, available at http://www.tandfebooks.com/doi/view/10.4324/9781315474052, has been made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives 4.0 license Today, Pride parades are staged in countries and localities across the globe, providing the most visible manifestations of lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, queer and intersex movements and politics. Pride Parades and LGBT Movements contributes to a better understanding of LGBT protest dynamics through a comparative study of eleven Pride parades in seven European countries – Czech Republic, Italy, Netherlands, Poland, Sweden, Switzerland, the UK – and Mexico. Peterson, Wahlström and Wennerhag uncover the dynamics producing similarities and differences between Pride parades, using unique data from surveys of Pride participants and qualitative interviews with parade organizers and key LGBT activists. In addition to outlining the histories of Pride in the respective countries, the authors explore how the different political and cultural contexts influence: Who participates, in terms of socio-demographic characteristics and political orientations; what Pride parades mean for their participants; how participants were mobilized; how Pride organizers relate to allies and what strategies they employ for their performances of Pride. This book will be of interest to political scientists and sociologists with an interest in LGBT studies, social movements, comparative politics and political behavior and participation.

Table of Contents:
Preface and Acknowledgements 1. Introduction—"Coming out all over" [Abby Peterson] 2. The Histories of Pride [Abby Peterson, Mattias Wahlström, and Magnus Wennerhag] 3. Context Matters [Abby Peterson] 4. Who Participates? [Magnus Wennerhag] 5. Pride Parade Mobilizing and the Barrier of Stigma [Abby Peterson and Mattias Wahlström] 6. Friends of Pride—Challenges, Conflicts and Dilemmas [Abby Peterson and Mattias Wahlström] 7. Performances of Party and Politics [Abby Peterson] 8. The Meanings of Pride Parades for their Participants [Mattias Wahlström] 9. Between Politics and Party [Abby Peterson and Mattias Wahlström] Appendix: Data and Methods

About the Author :
Abby Peterson is Professor Emerita of Sociology at the Department of Sociology and Work Science, University of Gothenburg, Sweden. She has published extensively within the fields of social movement research, cultural sociology and criminology. Mattias Wahlström is Associate Professor at the Department of Sociology and Work Science, University of Gothenburg, Sweden. He has a PhD in Sociology from the University of Gothenburg. His research mainly concerns social movements, protest and the policing of social protest. Magnus Wennerhag is Associate Professor in Sociology at the School of Social Sciences, Södertörn University, Sweden. He has a PhD in Sociology from Lund University. His research mainly concerns social movements, political participation, social stratification and theories of modernity.

Review :
'Notwithstanding their relevance to the development of collective identities, as well as for the image and narrative of contentious politics, festivals or parades have not received much attention in social movement studies. This volume fills this gap through an in-depth comparative analysis of Pride Parades that uncovers the polyvocal manifestations of LGBT communities in different countries and periods. A brilliant contribution!' - Donatella della Porta, Director of Centre of Social Movements Studies, Scuola Normale Superiore, Italy 'Pride parades emerged across the globe as routine performances of LGBT collective identity. This book draws on survey and qualitative data to examine parades in seven European countries and Mexico. By exploring who participates and why, how participants are mobilized, and how the parades vary depending on political context, the authors argue that Pride parades are more than celebratory performances. Rather, they are highly political, challenging not only gender and cultural norms but also larger political conditions.' - Verta Taylor, Distinguished Professor of Sociology, University of California, Santa Barbara