When states come out
Subtitle: Europe's sexual minorities and the politics of visibility
By: Phillip M. Ayoub
Series: Cambridge studies in contentious politics; Cambridge studies in contentious politics
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Published: 2016
Language: eng
Number of pages: 275
ISBN-13: 9781107115590; 9781107535893
Subjects: Gay liberation movement; Sexual minorities; Gay rights; Political activity; Identity politics
Description: "In the last two decades, the LGBT movement has gained momentum that is arguably unprecedented in speed and suddenness when compared to other human rights movements. This book investigates the recent history of this transnational movement in Europe, focusing on the diffusion of the norms it champions and the overarching question of why, despite similar international pressures, the trajectories of socio-legal recognition for LGBT minorities are so different across states. The book makes the case that a politics of visibility has engendered the interactions between movements and states that empower marginalized people - mobilizing actors to demand change, influencing the spread of new legal standards, and weaving new ideas into the fabrics of societies. It documents how this process of 'coming out' empowers marginalized social groups by moving them to the center of political debate and public recognition and making it possible for them to obtain rights to which they have due claim"--
Notes: Includes bibliographical references and index.
Table of contents: title: 1. Introduction; title: 2. The politics of visibility and LGBT rights in Europe; title: 3. Transnational movement : opportunities, actors, and mechanisms; title: 4. Complying with new norms : LGBT rights legislation; title: 5. Internalizing new norms : attitudes towards sexual minorities; title: 6. Poland and Slovenia's responses to international norms; title: 7. Visibility in movement and transnational politics.