Stony Brook University

SSStttooonnnyyy BBBrrrooooookkk UUUnnniiivvveeerrrsssiiitttyyy The official electronic file of this thesis or dissertation is maintained by the University Libraries on behalf of The Graduate School at Stony Brook University. ©©© AAAllllll RRRiiiggghhhtttsss RRReeessseeerrrvvveeeddd bbbyyy AAAuuuttthhhooorrr... THE PRODUCTION OF PRIDE: INSTITUTIONALIZATION AND LGBT PRIDE ORGANIZATIONS A Dissertation Presented by Lauren Joseph to The Graduate School in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Sociology Stony Brook University August 2010 1 Copyright by Lauren Joseph 2010 i Stony Brook University The Graduate School Lauren Joseph We, the dissertation committee for the above candidate for the Doctor of Philosophy degree, hereby recommend acceptance of this dissertation. Javier Auyero – Dissertation Co‐Advisor Professor, Department of Sociology University of Texas at Austin Michael Schwartz – Dissertation Co‐Advisor Professor, Department of Sociology Tammy Smith – Chairperson of Defense Assistant Professor, Department of Sociology Ashley Currier – Assistant Professor Department of Sociology and Women’s and Gender Studies Program Texas A & M University This dissertation is accepted by the Graduate School Lawrence Martin Dean of the Graduate School ii Abstract of the Dissertation THE PRODUCTION OF PRIDE: INSTITUTIONALIZATION AND LGBT PRIDE ORGANIZATIONS By Lauren Joseph Doctor of Philosophy in Sociology Stony Brook University 2010 This dissertation examines the process of institutionalization for cultural social movement organizations, drawing on twelve months of intensive ethnographic fieldwork and archival research in four LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender) Pride organizations in three cities: New York, NY, Boise, ID, and St. George, UT. Pride events are marches, parades and festivals that celebrate LGBT identity. This study focuses on activities and decision‐making involved in the production of pride events throughout the year. While some social movement theorists treat institutionalization as the final stage before organizational death, this dissertation shows that institutionalization can signal organizational growth and survival. The dissertation defines and analyzes two distinct meanings for “institutionalization.” First, I develop the concept external institutionalization to describe the process by which LGBT Pride organizations become regular, established actors within a community. Pride organizations, through routine activities of fundraising and resource‐gathering, create instrumental ties to local and national commercial, political, and civic entities. These ties represent social capital within a community, which generates symbolic capital, or legitimacy and recognition for the sexual minority group. The term cultural resource mobilization is used to describe the process by which organizations draw on symbolic capital to decrease social marginalization. Internal institutionalization, the second meaning of institutionalization, describes the use of routine, bureaucratic procedures for decision‐making and task completion for organizational goals. Contested but largely‐accepted research on social movements suggests that internal institutionalization inevitably leads to oligarchy, deradicalization, and cooptation by mainstream interests. I argue that previous research has inappropriately merged the concepts of bureaucracy with democratic decision‐making. My findings suggest that formal, bureaucratic structures can be more egalitarian in the diffusion of power among members—when and if democracy is deliberately built into the bureaucratic structure—than organizations based on informal structures and the bonds of friendship. I argue that internal and external institutionalization are linked—in that external institutionalization requires some degree of internal institutionalization, and tends to push a iii group toward developing a bureaucratic structure—but that neither of the two are necessarily the kiss of death for an organization seeking to achieve genuine cultural, social and political change through Pride organizing. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF FIGURES …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………... xviii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS …………………………………………………............................................................... ix CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION ……………………………………………………………………………………………….. 1 Understanding Institutionalization…………………………………………...................................... 10 Forms of Institutionalization: Distinguishing External from Internal Dimensions…………………………………………………………………………… 15 The Meaning of Mobilizing Resources: Resource Mobilization Theory and Culture…….. 19 Building on Resource Mobilization Theory: Integrating Culture and Process……………………………………………………………………………………… 22 Social and Symbolic Capital............................................................................................ 28 Gay Pride as a Discourse, and Gay Shame....................................................................... 33 Activist Talk, Activist Definitions, and the Doing of Pride……………………………………………. 37 Conclusion ....................................................................................................................... 42 CHAPTER 2: RESEARCH METHODS AND METHODOLOGICAL REFLECTIONS ON FIELDWORK …. 48 The Gathering of Information…………………………………………………………………………………….. 50 Constructing the Cases ……………………………………………………………….................... 50 Extended Case Method: Reflexive Dialogue between Theory and Data…………. 53 Out in the Field: Data Triangulation using Various Approaches ………………………............ 55 Participant Observation ………………………………………………………………………………… 55 Constructing the Organizational Field …………………………………………………………… 61 Interviews …………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 64 Archival Data ……………………………………………………………………………………………….. 67 A Note on Terminology ……………………………………………………………………………..…. 71 Being “Me” in the Field …………………………………………………………………………………………..… 73 Being Straight in a Gay World ………………………………………………………………………. 73 Surprises during Ethnography ………………………………………………………………………. 80 CHAPTER 3: BACKGROUND ON MANHATTAN, NY AND QUEENS, NY ………………………………….. 82 Introduction ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 82 Case 1: Heritage of Pride …………………………………………………………………………………............ 85 The Gay Community in Downtown Manhattan …………………………………………….. 88 LGBT and Allied Organizations in NYC ……………………………………………………………. 93 The Beginnings of HOP ………………………………………………………………………………….. 99 Becoming HOP, Inc. …………………………………………………………………………………….. 102 Description of the Events ………………………………………………………………………..…… 104 Case 2: Queens Lesbian and Gay Pride Committee ……………………………………………..…… 109 The Gay Community in Jackson Heights and Queens ……………………………........ 113 LGBT and Allied Organizations in Queens ……………………………………………….…… 114 The Beginnings of Queens Pride …………………………………………………………….……. 115 Queens Pride, Inc. ………………………………………………………………………………………. 119 v Description of the Events ……………………………………………………………………………. 122 Conclusion ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 124 CHAPTER 4: BACKGROUND ON ST. GEORGE, UT AND BOISE, ID .......................................... 127 Introduction ………………………………………………………………................................................ 127 Case 3 : Southern Utah Pride ………………………………………………………………...................... 128 The Gay Community in St. George ………………………………………......................... 134 LGBT and Allied Organizations in St. George ................................................... 138 The Beginnings of Southern Utah Pride ........................................................... 143 Becoming Southern Utah Pride Association, Inc. ............................................. 146 Description of the Events ................................................................................. 149 Case 4 : Boise Pride ....................................................................................................... 152 The Gay Community in Boise .......................................................................... 157 The Beginnings of the Pride Events .................................................................. 165 Becoming Boise Pride, Inc. ............................................................................... 168 Description of the Events ................................................................................ 172 Conclusion ..................................................................................................................... 174 CHAPTER 5: EXTERNAL INSTITUTIONALIZATION ................................................................. 177 How Does EI Create Social Change? ………………………………........................................... 185 Building Pride from the Ground Up : The Case of Southern Utah Pride ...................... 189 Creating Social Capital through Fundraising, Advertising, and Finding Vendors .......................................................................... 189 Using Sponsorships and Logos as Symbolic Capital ......................................... 197 “The Mother of All Prides”: The Case of Heritage of Pride and the Corporate Market ………………………………………………………………………………………. 202 Pride Guide Analysis: From Small Local Businesses to Major Corporate Companies …………………………………………………………………………………….. 204 Corporate Sponsorship: A Measure of Success or a “Necessary Evil”? ……….. 208 Sponsorship as a Necessary Evil …………………………………………………….. 212 Corporate Sponsorship as an Indicator of Success ............................. 214 Employe Groups ................................................................................

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