Professor Suzanne Staggenborg PHOTO: OWEN EGAN

Listening to the voices for change

DANIEL McCABE | As a young undergraduate at the University of Miami, Suzanne Staggenborg was an enthusiastic supporter of the women's movement. Equal pay for equal work, an end to discriminatory hiring practices, firm opposition to sexism and sexual harassment -- the women's movement fought for issues that Staggenborg strongly believed in. As she got older and as her studies progressed to the graduate level, Staggenborg began to look at the women's movement in a new light. On a personal level, she was still interested in its goals, but as a scholar, she found herself more and more interested in how the movement operated. How was it organized? How did it interact with the larger society? Today, Staggenborg, a sociology professor, has made a name for herself as an expert on the subject of social movements in general. She looks at how they go about their business, how they win or lose their battles and how they sometimes inspire the creation of other social movements that are virulently opposed to their goals. Her most recent book, Gender, Family and Social Movements, was published as part of Pine Forge's "Sociology for a New Century" series -- a collection of books by respected sociologists that tackle contemporary issues. The series is targeted at general readers as well as scholars. Her previous book dealt with the pro-choice movement in the U.S. and the heated debate surrounding abortion. "There isn't really all that much research in this area," says Staggenborg of social movements. "And what is there has been done by political scientists." That's odd when you think of the key role social movements play in agitating for social change. Successful social movements have to think both globally and locally to survive over the long haul, says Staggenborg. "You can't be so centralized that there aren't opportunities for people to participate -- you have to find ways for individuals to get involved and have their say. On the other hand, you have to have some kind of organized focus keeping things together. Organizations that don't have staff tend to dissolve pretty quickly." Staggenborg says the American civil rights movement is "probably the most successful social movement in recent history." She gives high marks to the women's movement too. Both have been well organized and both have been able to appeal to a broad base to garner significant social changes. A social movement with a less successful track record would be the ERA movement in the U.S. -- a spin-off group, in some respects, from the larger women's movement. The ERA movement focused on the battle to add an equal rights amendment to the U.S. constitution -- making gender equality a guiding principle of America's top law. But a significant counter-movement developed -- one which ultimately out-manoeuvred the ERA movement for the hearts and minds of policymakers and members of the general public. "The ERA activists didn't realize how threatening they seemed to women who saw themselves as homemakers," says Staggenborg. Many of these homemakers blamed career women for making women's lives harder -- women were now expected to have careers and do the housework. They also perceived the ERA movement as an attack on their contributions to society -- if a woman didn't have a paid job, her work wasn't as important. Social conservatives and fundamentalist Christians vigorously opposed the ERA. They believed in a clear gender division of roles -- women took care of the family, men were the breadwinners. ERA opponents were successful in attaching the ERA battle to larger, symbolic concerns about the rising divorce rates and the increasing vulnerability of the family. Stagggenborg thinks the ERA activists might have enjoyed greater success if they had made a better case for how some of their goals -- such as the right to universal daycare -- would have benefited all families. In the end, the ERA died, though most of the changes sought by ERA supporters ended up happening anyway as a result of court decisions. Today, many young women have turned their backs on the women's movement, accusing it of being overly hostile to men or too quick to paint women as victims. "I think in some ways it's a testament to the women's movement's success that some young women don't want to call themselves feminists," says Staggenborg. "They can afford not to, because a lot of the battles have been won already. Women have opportunities today that they just didn't have years ago." Staggenborg has spent time focusing on the unique dynamics created when a social movement inspires the creation of a counter-movement. She says the resulting stalemate can lead to certain issues dominating the headlines, while other important items go unattended. "I suspect that a lot of people in the U.S. pro-choice movement would direct their energies to health care issues if the abortion argument wasn't still going on." Still, having two social movements in opposition to each other must pay dividends in terms of sparking informed debate on important issues, right? Staggenborg isn't so sure. "What happens is that the media focuses on what's most dramatic -- the extremists on both sides. So the extreme viewpoints get discussed. The more moderate proposals on either side get yelled down, because you end up with this charged atmosphere in movements where you're either 'for us or against us.' "For instance, if we look at the abortion debate, it's difficult for pro-choice activists who have problems with late-term abortions to bring that issue up. You don't want to touch issues like that, because you're afraid the opposition will pounce on them and weaken your side." What are the social movements that will draw attention in the years to come? Staggenborg points to the growing gay rights movement, a movement that has recently been successful in using the courts to support some of its aims. "It's one of the last great civil rights battles and there are a lot of issues that haven't yet been resolved," says Staggenborg. She also sees gay rights as an area where a powerful counter-movement is emerging. Like the ERA battle, a large number of fundamentalist Christians and social conservatives see the gay rights issue as part of a larger battle over defining what constitutes a family. "The environmental movement can pick up again," predicts Staggenborg. "Its goals appeal to a lot of people. Environmental disasters still loom. If something happened, I think we would see a lot of activity centred on that movement."