Abstract
Using information gathered during fieldwork on New York lesbian and gay film festival organizations, this paper argues that scholarship on identity has not paid sufficient attention to the organizational mediation of collective identity. The shape of collective identity—how internal instabilities and diversities are accommodated, in this case—depends not only on the emergent characteristics of the “collective,” but also on the resolution of challenges particular to organizational fields. Two very differently conceived lesbian and gay festival organizations, sites at which decision making about collective identity is ongoing and self-conscious, are examined. The analysis traces how each responds to two related tasks: maintaining community legitimacy, which requires racial diversification, and surviving within an altered institutional environment. Rather than imposition from “above” or construction from “below,” the adaptive responses by organizations (to changes in both community expectations and the resource environment) transform the collective identity formulations reaching public visibility.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Bourdieu, Pierre 1986 “The forms of capital.” In John G. Richardson (ed.), Handbook of Theory and Research in Education: 241–258. New York: Greenwood Press.
Buechler, Steven M. 1990 Women's Movements in the United States. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press.
Calhoun, Craig 1994 “Social theory and the politics of identity.” In Craig Calhoun (ed.), Social Theory and the Politics of Identity: 9–36. Cambridge: Blackwell.
Cohen, Jean 1985 “Strategy or identity: New theoretical paradigms and contemporary social movements.” Social Research 52:663–716.
DiMaggio, Paul, and Walter W. Powell 1991 “The iron cage revisited: Institutional isomorphism and collective rationality.” (1983) In Paul DiMaggio and Walter Powell (eds.), The New Institutionalism in Organizational Analysis: 63–82. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Dyson, Michael 1993 Reflecting Black: African American Cultural Criticism. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.
Edwards, Tim 1994 Erotics & Politics: Gay Male Sexuality, Masculinity, and Feminism. New York: Routledge.
Epstein, Steven 1987 “Gay politics, ethnic identity: The limits of social constructionism.” Socialist Review 93/94:9–54.
Evans, Sara M., and Harry C. Boyte 1986 Free Spaces: The Sources of Democratic Change in America. New York: Harper & Row.
Friedman, Debra, and Doug McAdam 1992 “Collective identity and activism.” In Aldon Morris and Carol McClurg Mueller (eds.), Frontiers in Social Movement Theory. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.
Gamson, Joshua 1995 “Must identity movements self-destruct? A queer dilemma.” Social Problems 42:101–118.
Gamson, William, and David S. Meyer 1995 “Framing political opportunity.” In Doug McAdam, John McCarthy, and Mayer Zald (eds.), Opportunities, Mobilizing Structures, and Framing. New York: Cambridge University Press.
Hammer, Barbara 1993 “The politics of abstraction.” In Martha Gever, Pratibha Parmar, and John Greyson (eds.), Queer Looks: Perspectives on Lesbian and Gay Film and Video. New York: Routledge.
Holden, Stephen 1990 “Gay and lesbian festival widens its film horizons.” The New York Times, May 31.
1993 “Gay film festival: The personal and the political.” The New York Times, June 4.
Hooks, Bell 1981 Ain't I a Woman: Black Women and Feminism. Boston: South End Press.
Hunt, Scott, Robert Benford, and David Snow 1994 “Identity fields: Framing processes and the social construction of movement identities.” In Enrique Laraña, Hank Johnston, and Joseph R. Gusfield (eds.), New Social Movements: From Ideology to Identity: 185–208. Philadelphia, PA: Temple University Press.
Johnston, Hank, and Bert Klandermans 1995 “The cultural analysis of social movements.” In Hank Johnston and Bert Klandermans (eds.), Social Movements and Culture. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.
Johnston, Hank, Enrique Laraña, and Joseph R. Gusfield 1994 “Identities, grievances, and new social movements.” In Enrique Laraña, Hank Johnson, and Joseph R. Gusfield (eds.), New Social Movements: From Ideology to Identity: 3–35. Philadelphia, PA: Temple University Press.
Kaufman, L. A. 1990 “The anti-politics of identity.” Socialist Review 20:67–80.
Melucci, Alberto 1989 Nomads of the Present: Social Movements and Individual Needs in Contemporary Society. Philadelphia, PA: Temple University Press.
1995 “The process of collective identity.” In Hank Johnston and Bert Klandermans (eds.), Social Movements and Culture. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.
Mendelsohn, Daniel, and Bill Oliver 1991 “Kiss or Sell? The New Market for Gay and Lesbian Film.” Off-Hollywood Report 6:22–27.
Milofsky, Carl 1987 “Neighborhood-based organizations: A market analogy.” In Walter W. Powell (ed.), The Non-Profit Sector: A Research Handbook: 227–295. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.
Mix Festival 1994a Call for work (unpublished).
1994b Program catalog.
Morris, Aldon D. 1992 “Political consciousness and collective action.” In Aldon Morris and Carol McClurg Mueller (eds.), Frontiers in Social Movement Theory. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.
New Festival 1989 Program catalog.
1990a Program catalog.
1990b “Positive Projections” (newsletter).
1991 National Gay and Lesbian Film Tour catalog.
1994 Program catalog.
1995 Sponsorship proposal (unpublished).
New York Lesbian and Gay Experimental Film Festival 1987a Program flyer.
1987b Program notes.
1989 Program notes.
1992a Fund raising document (unpublished).
1992b Transition memo (unpublished).
Parmer, Pratibha 1993 “That moment of emergence.” In Martha Gever, Pratibha Parmar, and John Greyson (eds.), Queer Looks: Perspectives on Lesbian and Gay Film and Video. New York: Routledge.
Phelan, Shane 1989 Identity Politics: Lesbian Feminism and the Limits of Community. Philadelphia, PA: Temple University Press.
Powell, Walter W., and Rebecca Friedkin 1987 “Organizational change in nonprofit organizations.” In Walter W. Powell (ed.), The Non-Profit Sector: A Research Handbook: 1988–192. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.
Rich, B. Ruby 1991 “Homo pomo: The new queer cinema.” In Pam Cook and Philip Dodd (eds.), Women and Film: A Sight and Sound Reader. Philadelphia, PA: Temple University Press.
Schulman, Sarah 1995 My American History. New York: Routledge.
Scott, W. Richard, and John W. Meyer 1991 “The organization of societal sectors: Propositions and early evidence.” (1983) In Paul DiMaggio and Walter Powell (eds.), The New Institutionalism in Organizational Analysis: 108–140. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Seidman, Steven 1993 “Identity politics in a ‘postmodern’ gay culture: Some historical and conceptual notes.” In Michael Warner, (ed.), Fear of a Queer Planet: 105–142. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.
Soehnlein, Karl 1989 “The New Festival.” OutWeek, June 26:49.
1990 “The New Festival.” OutWeek, June 6: 60–62.
Stein, Arlene, and Ken Plummer 1994 “I can't even think straight': ‘Queer’ theory and the missing sexual revolution in sociology.” Sociological Theory 12:178–187.
Swidler, Ann 1986 “Culture in action: Symbols and strategies.” American Sociological Review 51:273–286.
1995 “Cultural power and social movements.” In Hank Johnston and Bert Klandermans (eds.), Social Movements and Culture. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.
Taylor, Verta, and Nancy Whittier 1992 “Collective identity in social movement communities.” In Aldon Morris and Carol McClurg Mueller (eds.), Frontiers in Social Movement Theory. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.
Webb, John 1993 “Into the mainstream.” New York Daily News, June 15.
Weeks, Jeffrey 1985 Sexuality and Its Discontents. New York: Routledge.
Williams, Rhys 1995 “Constructing the public good: Social movements and cultural resources.” Social Problems 42:124–144.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Gamson, J. The organizational shaping of collective identity: The case of lesbian and gay film festivals in New York. Sociol Forum 11, 231–261 (1996). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02408366
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02408366