Abstract
Assessment of social movements typically focuses, rightfully so, on the marginalized voices in question. Black Lives and Bathrooms: Racial and Gendered Reactions to Minority Rights Movements by JE Sumerau and EA Grollman ‘flips’ the traditional normative script by examining how people who benefit within systems of inequality respond to attempts to change such systems. This book is part of the Breaking Boundaries series, which strives to explore and carve out room to have discussions beyond cisgender identity in various forms. The methodology design in this distinctively short three chapter and conclusion book includes in-depth, semi-structured interviews of current white cisgender male college students (n = 21) who were not involved in the Black Lives Matter movement and Transgender Bathroom Access in the USA. Building on a larger study, this sliver of the population for this analysis, argued by the authors, should yield insight because in theory the college campus would expose the participants to the latest information associated with the various historical oppression within society. This particular analysis moves the narrative beyond only exploring one side of a debate. The book unlocks the framework of how outsiders to a social movement react to the efforts to change the established structure.
Chapter 1, ‘Framing Minority Movements’, outlines the ways respondents framed the two movements. It outlines participants’ interpretation within the context of their beliefs and their social identities related to race, class, gender, and sexuality. Entrenched in the chapter is a call and analysis of shifting research to explore voices outside of a movement. Chapter 2, ‘Marginalizing the Marginalized’, focuses on ways respondents utilized existing notions of minority populations to discredit minority rights movements. The authors delineate this discussion within the context of each movement highlighting negative narratives on the topics which project an imminent threat of fear or the need to protect a vulnerable population. Building on Chapters 1 and 2, Chapter 3, ‘The Terms of Conditional Acceptance’, narrows the discussion to how respondents suggest minority movements should behave in order to gain credibility; ultimately that the population in question should accept inequality instead of fighting normative patterns. And the conclusion fittingly asks, ‘what did we learn?’, within the context of social movements being automatically framed as problematic.
The study within the book moves beyond the origins and development of societal norms and practices and purposely offers a flashpoint analysis of the space within the college arena between action, commentary, and reaction. The examination of the space between scholarship focusing on the movement and the way audiences define, frame, and take for granted said movement makes the book pivotal and timeless. Despite past research focused on movement participants and reflective policy, the authors urge for the need to look to outsiders to make meaningful changes in the future. This makes the book ideal within the cultural sociological framework because it explores the variety of discourses associated with social movements and creates space for in-depth dialogue for both undergraduate and graduate students. It creates space for the reader to question whether society on both sides of the argument is hardening its interpretation of social movements. For example, one debate within both social movements is the premise that race, racism, and white supremacy cease to exist. The book explores how participants frame such issues within the context of their past. This insight could only have been obtained from members outside of the movements.
On the surface, the discussion to a novice may seem simplistic but, as articulated by the authors, the discussion has many components. The multi-level analysis of intersectionality and culture makes the content timely and the underlying tone of the book should yield fruitful discussions for the facilitator. The facilitator is cautioned, however, to make sure to expound and take a moment to outline key terms associated with race and gender. Skipping steps, especially at the undergraduate level, may increase the likelihood that the undergraduate student may venture to a stereotypical response when covering the magnitude of either topic.
The biggest criticism of the work is the small sample size, but the book should be praised for focusing on privileged, white, cisgender males who are positioned to benefit from existing structures and who could arguably facilitate change within these structures. The current political platform demands a book that hears more than one voice. The capturing of non-social movement members within this book fits the bill regardless of the book being in its second year of publication. Facilitators would be remiss in walking past it on the shelf.
