Pride Parades and Lgbt Movements: Political Participation in an International Comparative Perspective

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.

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.