Loading...
Rooting Equality:Testing the Effectiveness of Activist Frames Combating Homophobia in Zimbabwe
Title / Series / Name
British Journal of Political Science
Publication Volume
55
Publication Issue
Pages
Author
Editors
Keywords
African politics
LGBTQ politics
framing
social change
social movements
Political Science and International Relations
LGBTQ politics
framing
social change
social movements
Political Science and International Relations
Files
Loading...
Ayoub-Phillip_2025.pdf
Adobe PDF, 590.28 KB
URI
https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14018/28743
Abstract
In a political wave that has been emulated across many African states, state-sponsored homophobia is being entrenched via draconian laws. Social movements grapple with countering these state-driven initiatives and altering ingrained anti-LGBTQ societal attitudes. Drawing on a survey experiment developed with guidance from Zimbabwean activists, this study tests the effectiveness of locally rooted messages that affirm queer indigeneity and contest claims that homosexuality is 'un-African'. We find that 'rooted' messages incite no backlash, while an indigenous message reduces prejudice towards LGBTQ neighbors and a liberation message may increase support for LGBTQ-equal rights. These findings are important as they provide empirical support for effective strategies to combat anti-LGBTQ sentiments in challenging contexts. They also speak to broader political science debates on norm contestation and the limits of universal human-rights framing in nationalist and post-colonial contexts, demonstrating that activist-informed rooted messages offer a powerful alternative in shaping opinion on contested rights.
Topic
Publisher
Place of Publication
Type
Journal article
Date
2025-11-27
Language
ISBN
Identifiers
10.1017/S0007123425101051