Joseph Schwartz
“Framing Same-Sex Marriage:
An Examination of Three Groups’ Websites”

Abstract

This study examines the frames employed by three gay rights organizations -- Lambda Legal, the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) and the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force (NGLTF) -- to discuss same-sex marriage. The results of the study show that the three groups approached the issue in distinctly different ways. Lambda Legal framed same-sex marriage in terms of the benefits denied gay and lesbian couples, GLAAD emphasized the need to raise public awareness of it, and the NGLTF framed it in terms of hope. Implications of this research are also discussed.

Communication and Change Symposium
December 2005