The Effect of Judicial Decisions on Issue Salience and Legal Consciousness in Media Serving the LGBTQ+ Community

Dados Bibliográficos

ID3765656
AutoresC M Bailey (0000-0002-5897-7098, University of Massachusetts Amherst, autor correspondente), Perry Mcd Collins (0000-0002-5474-4123, University of Massachusetts Amherst, autor correspondente), Jesse H Rhodes (0000-0002-1304-2256, University of Massachusetts Amherst, autor correspondente), Deborah Rice (0000-0002-3653-857X, University of Massachusetts Amherst, autor correspondente)
Ano2025
Volume119
Fascículo1
Páginas108-123
Data de publicação2025-02-01
Peer ReviewedSim
Open AccessSim
TipoARTICLE
PeriódicoAmerican Political Science Review (JOURNAL)
Identificadores do periódicoISSN: 0003-0554 • E-ISSN: 1537-5943
EditoraCambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1017/s0003055424000030
OpenAlexW4392157764
IdiomaEN
Citações recebidas9
Referências citadas67

Scholars have long questioned whether and how courts influence society. We contribute to this debate by investigating the ability of judicial decisions to shape issue attention and affect toward courts in media serving the LGBTQ+ community. To do so, we compiled an original database of LGBTQ+ magazine coverage of court cases over an extended period covering major decisions, including Lawrence v. Texas (2003), Goodridge v. Massachusetts Department of Public Health (2003), and Lofton v. Secretary of Department of Children & Family Services (2004). We argue these cases influence the volume and tone of LGBTQ+ media coverage. Combining computational social science techniques with qualitative analysis, we find increased attention to same-sex marriage after the decisions in Lawrence, Goodridge, and Lofton, and the coalescence of discussions of courts around same-sex marriage after Lawrence. We also show how LGBTQ+ media informed readers about the political and legal implications of struggles over marriage equality

Cognitive psychology · Consciousness · Legal consciousness · Political science · Salience (neuroscience · Sociology · Computational and Text Analysis Methods · Law · LGBTQ Health, Identity, and Policy · Neuroscience · Psychology · Social Psychology