The Anti-Pornography Campaign: A Symbolic Crusade

Abstract

The natural histories of two anti-pornography campaigns (Midville and Southtown) are analyzed comparatively in the frameworks suggested by Smelser's (1962) theory of collective behavior and Gusfield's (1963) dramatistic theory of status politics. Both the Midville and Southtown campaigns are found, as hypothesized, to be norm-oriented social movements and symbolic crusades, and developmentally to fit the value-added stages of collective behavior. Active participants in the campaigns (Conporns) are found, again as hypothesized, to be status discontents defending the dominance and prestige of a life style to which they were committed, and to differ markedly from opponents to the campaigns (Proporns) in selected demographic characteristics. A set of predictor variables is suggested as describing the community settings in which anti-pornography campaigns, as symbolic crusades, can be expected to emerge. Data were gathered by extensive observation, document search, unstructured interviews with campaign-knowledgeable respondents, and structured interviews with 85 Conporns, 51 Proporns, and 40 Controls.