SOCIAL MOVEMENTS OUTLINE Definition Origins Goals Waves Social

SOCIAL MOVEMENTS

OUTLINE • Definition • Origins • Goals • Waves • Social Construction • Examples

DEFINITION • Social Movement: group of individuals who focus on a specific political or social issue to address

ORIGINS • Structural Strain Theory (Emily Durkheim) • Structural conduciveness • Structural strain • Growth and spread of a solution • Precipitating factors • Lack of social control • Mobilization

CONDUCIVENESS • People come to believe their society has problems

STRAIN • People experience deprivation

GROWTH OF SOLUTION • A solution to the problems people are experiencing is proposed and spreads

PRECIPITATING FACTORS • Discontent requires a catalyst to turn it into a social movement

LACK OF SOCIAL CONTROL • The entity to be changed must be at least somewhat open to the change

MOBILIZATION • Actually organizing the people and movement on the ground; people do what needs to be done

GOALS • To unite the members of the movement • To change people’s mindsets • To change society’s values or laws • To make the gains sustainable

UNITY • Ideology • Identity politics • Intersectional solidarity

MINDSETS • Knowing your markets – conservative, liberal, moderates, swing votes, radicals • Appealing to cognitive biases

CHANGING SOCIETY • Critical mass • Coalition-building • Generational change

WAVES • 1 st wave • 2 nd wave • 3 rd wave • Post post-modern

SOCIAL CONSTRUCTION • Identities are socially constructed by the majority • Minorities must deconstruct and reconstruct such identities • Elements • Factual basis • Interpretation

EXAMPLES • Civil rights movement • Feminist movement • LGBT movement • Fat acceptance movement • Disability rights movement

CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT • THBT the Black. Lives. Matter movement should not prioritize the use of violence.

FEMINIST MOVEMENT • TH prefers the #Me. Too Movement to focus on the creation of a safe space instead of the accusation of offenders.

LGBT MOVEMENT • THBT the transgender movement should tell individual transgenders, pre or post operation, to disclose their assigned sex to their potential or current sex partners

FAT ACCEPTANCE MOVEMENT • TH regrets the fat acceptance movement

DISABILITY RIGHTS MOVEMENT • THW allow deaf parents to choose embryos with deafness