“We still have a long way to go”: Exploring Social Representations of LGBTQ+ Law and Equality through Mixed Qualitative Methods

Resumen

In the wake of a changing global context for the LGBTQ+ community and equality, it has become increasingly important to bridge the gap between psychology and politics. The present study achieved this by exploring understandings of the current and future state of legal equality for the LGBTQ+ community, using social representations theory and a politically-charged thematic analysis. Talk from three different groups were analysed: (1) government actors, (2) hetero-cisgender people and (3) LGBTQ+ identifying individuals. Analysis of data from these three samples allowed for an exploration into differences in power in society may impact the representational field. Overall, three themes were identified, with their respective social representations; (1) progress vs “a long way to go”, with an emphasis on (2) responsibility and (3) LGB triumphalism vs T. All of which are underpinned by the thema of us vs them. Overall, the present study aimed to counteract individualistic conceptualisations of LGBTQ+ oppression by exploring how social representations of law, at a meso-level, can be used to understand the issue in context while recommending possible avenues for social change, to ultimately bridge the gap between psychology and politics.

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Cómo citar (APA 7)

Roberts, A., & Wright-Bevans, K. (2019). “We still have a long way to go”: Exploring Social Representations of LGBTQ+ Law and Equality through Mixed Qualitative Methods. https://doi.org/10.31234/osf.io/zc2em