Consciousness-Raising Groups

Consciousness-raising groups consist of people who rally around a cause to achieve a common goal, such as persuading voters, changing laws, and ending warfare. Activist in nature, these groups are often dissatisfied with the status quo and focused on raising awareness about issues. Common issues addressed among [Page 370]consciousness-raising groups in the United States include human rights (e.g., feminism, LGBT rights, intimate partner violence), diseases (e.g., breast cancer, AIDS), environmental concerns (e.g., global warming, animal rights), conflicts (e.g., the Darfur genocide, Israeli-Palestinian conflict), and political issues (e.g., the Tea Party or the Occupy movement). Consciousness-raising groups are relevant to the psychology of gender because they are embedded in the history of the women’s movement, feminism, and serve as an important mechanism for advocating for gender ...