Value War: Public Opinion and the Politics of Gay Rights

Paul R. Brewer

doi:10.5771/9781461646624

Summary

In Value War: Public Opinion and the Politics of Gay Rights, Paul R. Brewer looks at how the public debate about gay rights has shaped public opinion and conversely how public opinion has shaped the public debate about gay rights. Using a variety of methods, including polls, experimentation, and content analysis, he shows how the nature of public debate_which encompasses news stories, television sitcoms, presidential speeches, and sermons by local clergy_has influenced what and how Americans think about gay rights. He also shows how public opinion has created opportunities and obstacles for foes and advocates of gay rights by defining the very terms and boundaries of the public debate. Brewer's analysis not only sheds new light on how the politics of gay rights has evolved in recent years and may evolve in the future, it also illuminates the broader tensions in American politics, from the culture war over social issues to the struggle over civil rights.

Search publication

Bibliographic data

Edition: 1/2007
Copyright Year: 2007
ISBN-Print: 978-0-7425-6210-3
ISBN-Online: 978-1-4616-4662-4
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield, Lanham
Language: English
Pages: 171
Product Type: Monograph

1. Contents No access
2. List of Tables and Figures No access
3. Acknowledgments No access
1 Introduction No access Pages 1 - 18
2 Public Opinion about Gay Rights No access Pages 19 - 42
3 Whose Rights? Public Opinion about Gays, Lesbians, and Homosexuality No access Pages 43 - 66
4 From the Podium and the Pulpit: Opinion Leadership and Gay Rights No access Pages 67 - 86
5 Using Values to Frame Gay Rights: Traditional Morals, Equal Rights, or Special Rights? No access Pages 87 - 108
6 The Foundations of Opinion about Gay Rights: Changes over Time, Differences across Contexts No access Pages 109 - 128
7 The Meanings of Public Opinion about Gay Rights No access Pages 129 - 148
Appendix A: The Pooled 2003-2004 Pew Research Center Surveys No access Pages 149 - 149
Appendix B: The 1993 ANES Pilot Study and the 2003 October Pew Survey No access Pages 150 - 151
Appendix C: Content Analysis Procedure No access Pages 152 - 152
Appendix D: The 1999 Experiment No access Pages 153 - 154
Appendix E: The 1992, 1996, 2000, and 2004 American National Election Studies No access Pages 155 - 156
Bibliography No access Pages 157 - 164
Index No access Pages 165 - 170
About the Author No access Pages 171 - 171