Predicting electoral activism among gays and lesbians in the United States

Abstract

Although battles over gay and lesbian rights have appeared prominently in political arenas, scholars have created few empirical studies on gay and lesbian activism. To address this absence, this quantitative study identified factors that inspired greater electoral engagement among gays and lesbians in the United States (n = 285). After integrating "resource," "mobilizing," and "framing" variables into regressions, this study found that electoral activism was inspired by many sorts of motivators. In sum, activist tendencies were swayed by educational levels, perceptions of political potency, a desire to conceal sexual orientations, surviving hate crimes, and joining certain political groups. Interestingly, this study supported "new social movement" theories that downplay economic factors as predictors of involvement in gay and lesbian rights campaigns.

Feelings of Belonging: An Exploratory Analysis of the Sociopolitical Involvement of Black, Latina, and Asian/Pacific Islander Sexual Minority Women

“…Previous research on LGBT POC and community engagement primarily focuses on political activism (Swank and Fahs 2013a; Swank and Fahs 2013b). The findings of this paper support some previous research, while some findings differ from previous research.…”

“…Level of outness also determines one’s level of civic and community involvement (Swank & Fahs, 2013b; Swank and Fahs, 2011; Rosario, Schrimshaw, & Hunter, 2004). The level of support that LGBT people feel from their families is not only important for the psychosocial well-being (Newman & Muzzonigro, 1993), but it also influences their level of community involvement (Beaty, 1999).…”

“…Previous research also examined the influence of identity on the community engagement of lesbians (Lehavot et al, 2009; Heath & Mulligan, 2008; Esterberg, 1997) and gay men (Flores et al, 2009; Han, 2007) and found that the importance of sexual identity has a positive impact on civic engagement among lesbians and gays (Swank and Fahs, 2013a; Swank and Fahs, 2013b). Research maintains that racial identity has a positive impact on the civic engagement of POC (Bobo & Gilliam, 1990).…”

“…Although a higher income increases one’s chances of registering to vote among Asian Americans, it does not necessarily increase their likelihood to vote (Jang, 2009). Among sexual minorities, although there were expectations that income and education would serve as important predictors for civic engagement among lesbian and gay people (Barrett and Pollack, 2005), Swank and Fahs (2013b; 2011) found that it was primarily education, along with other factors, such as surviving hate crimes and joining political groups, and not income that encouraged activism among lesbians and gays. Mignon R. Moore (2010) found that Black sexual minorities attempt to remain connected to Black communities and they are often able to drawn on cultural references in their activism and political work.…”

“…Activities that include volunteering for organizations, voting, and even church attendance are heavily determined by age cohort, with older Americans participating in more of these activities than younger ones, regardless of race or gender (Galston & Lopez, 2006; Sander & Putnam, 2006). This does not seem to hold true among sexual minorities, as their most important factors for civic engagement appear to be education, income, and outness (Swank & Fahs, 2013b; Moore, 2010; Barrett and Pollack, 2005). …”