Document Type
Article
Publication Date
6-11-2019
Department 1
Political Science
Abstract
Existing research suggests that supporters of gay rights have outmobilized their opponents, leading to policy changes in advanced industrialized democracies. At the same time, we observe the diffusion of state-sponsored homophobia in many parts of the world. The emergence of gay rights as a salient political issue in global politics leads us to ask, “Who is empowered to be politically active in various societies?” What current research misses is a comparison of levels of participation (voting and protesting) between states that make stronger and weaker appeals to homophobia. Voters face contrasting appeals from politicians in favor of and against gay rights globally. In an analysis of survey data from Europe and Latin America, we argue that the alignment between the norms of sexuality a state promotes and an individual’s personal attitudes on sexuality increases felt political efficacy. We find that individuals who are tolerant of homosexuality are more likely to participate in states with gay-friendly policies in comparison with intolerant individuals. The reverse also holds: individuals with low education levels that are intolerant of homosexuality are more likely to participate in states espousing political homophobia.
Copyright Note
This is the author's version of the work. This publication appears in Gettysburg College's institutional repository by permission of the copyright owner for personal use, not for redistribution.
DOI
10.1177/1065912919853377
Version
Post-Print
Recommended Citation
Ayoub, Phillip and Douglas Page. "When Do Opponents of Gay Rights Mobilize? Explaining Political Participation in Times of Backlash against Liberalism." Political Research Quarterly (2019).
Required Publisher's Statement
This article is available on the publisher's website: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/1065912919853377
Included in
Comparative Politics Commons, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Studies Commons, Policy History, Theory, and Methods Commons