2021/01/25 by PHILLIP M. AYOUB, Phillip M. Ayoub, DOUGLAS PAGE +3 · 70 citations
Psychology · Social Sciences · #Collective action #Electoral Systems and Political Participation #Gender Politics and Representation #Gender studies #LGBTQ Health, Identity, and Policy #Law #Lesbian #Opposition (politics) #Political science #Politics #Prejudice (legal term) #Pride #Psychology #Social movement #Social psychology #Sociology #Transgender
paper · open access · doi:10.1017/s0003055420001082
published in American Political Science Review 115(2), 467-485 (Cambridge University Press)
openalex publication_date 2021/01/25 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/01
How do mass publics react to lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT+) advocacy efforts in socially conservative societies? We consider how the first-ever LGBT+ Pride in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina influences ordinary citizens’ attitudes and behavior regarding LGBT+ support. Using nationwide and local panel surveys, we find that support for LGBT+ activism increased locally after the Pride but did not diffuse nationwide, signaling how proximity mechanisms reinforce Pride effects. In survey experiments, we show that subjects are responsive to both mobilization and counter-mobilization appeals by local activists. We also find evidence from a behavioral experiment that the Pride had a positive effect on shifting the allocation of financial resources toward local pro-LGBT+ activists and away from opposition groups. Finally, in-depth interviews with local LGBT+ activists underscore the challenges facing LGBT+ activism in socially conservative societies but also point to the substantial possibilities of collective action on behalf of minorities at risk.