Intersectional advocacy: civil society organizations in times of singularization & diversification

Sanja Bökle

- completed -

The study explores the possibilities of civil society organizing in times of diversification and singularization of society. The project assumes that organizations that claim to represent larger constituencies need to reach a sufficient degree of commonality/consensus to form and sustain an organization. Given the increasing diversification of society and trends towards singularity, this is neither easy nor straightforward. Studying the field of sexual and gender minorities in Germany, the study asks: What are the possibilities and challenges of intersectional advocacy? How do civil society organizations negotiate tensions between individuals and community, and singularity and collectivity? Is intersectional advocacy a feasible alternative to fragmentation? What strategies do civil society organizations use to incorporate and represent sub(group) interests? This is part of the “ZOMiDi” project.