Intersectional Identities and Protest Participation

• In Event: Sociology of and for Palestine

Abstract

Intersectionality theory posits that overlapping social identities shape unique lived experiences and social outcomes, yet social movement scholarship has rarely examined how compounding identities influence individuals' generalized willingness to join protests or the types of movements they choose to affiliate with. To address these gaps, I first employ nationally-representative data from the American National Election Study (2016-2024; n=12,577) and find that protest rates in the US population are driven by the interacting influence of gender and sexuality. While previous research has indicated that LGBTQ individuals are more likely to be protest, the present study finds this is driven largely by the protest participation of LGBTQ women. Next, I use original survey data of left-leaning protesters at five large anti-Trump rallies in the US (n=1,381). From this data, I find that the distribution of individuals between movements was strongly conditioned by the combination of race and sexuality. LGBTQ people and people of color were more likely than their straight and white counterparts to have participated in the pro-Palestine movement, but LGBTQ people of color exhibited by far the highest levels of participation in the pro-Palestine movement. Notably, participation in the Women’s March was driven by reverse intersectional effects, whereby the most privileged constituencies were most prevalent (i.e., straight whites). No intersectional effects were found in the Black Lives Matter movement. Thus, depending on the movement, overlapping marginalized identities can provoke greater participation, can exhibit no effects, or can even suppress participation. Overall, this research underscores the importance of intersectional analysis in studying movement participation, both with regards to general protest and the types of movements individuals choose to join.

Author

• Arman Azedi, American University