Citizens' increased access to the internet is transforming political landscapes across the globe. The implications for civil society, culture, religion, governmental legitimacy and accountability are vast. In nations where one does not typically expect "modern" or egalitarian ideals to be prevalent among highly religious and conservative populations, those with motivations to unite around socially and culturally taboo causes are no longer forced to silently acquiesce and accept the status quo. The internet has proven to be an invaluable tool for those aiming to engage in social activism, as it allows citizens in highly oppressive authoritarian regimes to covertly mobilize and coordinate online protest events (such as hashtag campaigns, proclamations via social media, signing of petitions, and even DDoS attacks) without the fear of repression. What catalyzes lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer/questioning (LGBTQ) equality movements in authoritarian regimes, specifically with respect to the Middle East and North African region? This thesis argues that gay rights movements are more likely to emerge in politically repressive, more conservative states when new political opportunities--namely access to the internet for purposes of political organization--become available. This master's thesis identifies why LGBTQ movements emerged in Morocco and Algeria, but not in Tunisia until after it underwent democratization. These states will be analyzed in order to gauge the strength of their LGBTQ rights movements and, most importantly, to identify which variables most cogently explain their existence altogether.

This thesis examines the development and evolution of the gay movement. It raises the questions as to why the gay movement was not organized prior to the 1960's. The study starts in the 1940's and ends in 1970. It employs qualitative research methods for the collection and analysis of primary and secondary data sources. Blumer's description of general and specific social movements and Resource Mobilization Theory were used as theoretical frames of reference. The former explained the developmental stages in the career of the movement and the latter focused on the behavior of movement organizations.

This study attempted to make releveant connections between the marginalization theory posited by Edward Herman and Noam Chomsky and Indiana news media coverage of the 1993 Gay, Lesbian and Bi-Sexual March on Washington. To date, Herman and Chomsky's work has looked at the marginalization of political or racial minorities. This study looked at how the elements of marginalization, the perpetuation of stereotypes and the complete annihilation of thought or consideration of the minority group, as seen regarding gay and lesbian people in America. Further, the theory guided the study's content analysis of Indiana news media coverage of the 1993 Gay, Lesbian and Bi-Sexual March on Washington. Taking the form of a case study, the contextual basis for the content analysis was provided by an interview with Gregory Adams, media co-chair for the march.Indiana coverage of the march in The Indianapolis Star was content analyzed sentence-by-sentence, while the same coverage was analyzed sentence-by-sentence from stories broadcast on WISH-TV, Channel 8 in Indianapolis. In addition, media images from the March broadcast by WISH-TV, Channel 8 in Indianapolis were also content analyzed video cut-by-cut.The study found gay and lesbian people were marginalized in the text of the Indiana news media coverage. The study also found that the marginalization of gay and lesbian people in the coverage was consistent among the three media types measured (newspaper text, television text and television images). / Department of Journalism

Typescript. / Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Hawaii at Manoa, 1979. / Bibliography: leaves 198-208. / Microfiche. / viii, 208 leaves 29 cm

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 1998. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 143-152). Available also in a digital version from Dissertation Abstracts.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of California, Santa Cruz, 2000. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 372-381).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Auckland, 2000. / Embargoed until 25 October 2001.

No description available.

This dissertation examines the gay rights movement occurring in Dallas, Texas, from the mid-twentieth century to present day by focusing on the work of the Dallas Gay and Lesbian Alliance (DGLA), previously known as the Dallas Gay Political Caucus and the Dallas Gay Alliance. Members of that group utilized a methodology they called "the Dallas Way" that minimized mass protests and rallies in favor of using backroom negotiations with the people who could make the changes sought by the movement. The fact that most of the members of the DGLA were white, professional men aided in the success of their methodology. Particularly useful in this type of effort is the use of legal action. The Dallas community supported several lawsuits that attempted to overthrow various versions of sodomy laws in the Texas Penal Code that criminalized an entire population of gay men and lesbians in the state.

No description available.