When Do Rainbows Form? Public Demand and LGBTQ+ Rights

• In Event: 50 Years of LGBTQ Scholarship at APSA Mini-Conference: Rainbow Elections, Rainbow Parties

Abstract

This paper explores the effects of public demand on the substantive representation of the LGBTQ+ population and institutional factors that condition this relationship. Across European countries, why has there been such a significant shift in the landscape of LGBTQ+ rights in the last decade with observable variation? I argue that legalizing LGBTQ+ rights on the country level requires public demand, which is comprised of social construction and issue salience. Furthermore, I assert that translating social constructions of LGBTQ+ populations to policy outcomes is mediated by electoral systems' proportionality. I examine the theory by TSCS data of 28 European advanced democracies from 2012 to 2020 including LGBTQ+ policy scores, public acceptance about the people, and Google Trends on the issues. I find that positive social constructions are correlated with more liberal LGBTQ+ rights across countries, and the positive impact of issue salience on LGBTQ+ rights is observed only in countries with positive social constructions. However, the influence of proportionality of electoral systems-PR or SMD/Mixed, electoral threshold, and average district magnitude-is inconclusive.

Author

• Yeon Soo Park, University of Texas at Dallas