Part 2: Nudism as a Cultural-Political Movement

Wisconsin 2011 Tax Day Tea Party Rally
Credit: WisPolitics.com | Wikimedia Commons

Defining a Cultural-Political Movement

Based on notes from a sociology class lecture, cultural or social movements can be defined as a type of group action focused on bringing about social change. Cultural movements are generally of long duration and attract many participants who share common goals for changing a specific societal construct.

The participants attracted to social movements often disagree on the specific tactics and strategies that should be used to affect the desired changes in a specific structure of society. As an example some may favor achieving change through peaceful demonstration while others advocate violent confrontation.

The means by which participants in a social movement choose for affecting the desired social change whether it be peaceful demonstration or violent confrontation is in part where the political enters into the equation. A purely cultural or social movement takes on the character of a political movement when there is a focus on the political process as an opportunity for social change. The present-day "Tea Party" I think serves as a useful example of a social, political movement.

Types of Cultural or Social Movements

Cultural and social-political movements can be categorized as reform movements or radical movements. Examples of reform movements include:

• American labor union movement
• Environmental movement
• Tea Party movement
  

Examples of radical movements include:

• American Civil Rights movement
• South African Anti-Apartheid movement
• Current Libyan revolt
  

One of the key parts of any social, political movement is what social theorists term the "mobilization process." Identification of an ongoing mobilization process is one good way of identifying a cultural-political movement. During this process movement leadership:

• Attempts to build a power base among sympathetic political and economic elites
• Recruits new participants for the movement from among the members of general society who share similar beliefs
• Actively motivates group participants to action
• Removes barriers to participation to aid the recruitment effort
• Creates a collective identity among participants
  

Once we have defined what a cultural-political is, observed what it looks with the aid of examples, and identified the chief attributes we can easily use simple comparison to determine whether nudism & naturism meet the criteria as a cultural-political movement. Look for Part 3: Nudism as a Cultural-Political Movement on Friday to learn whether nudism fits the category.