Subverting our stories of subversion

Three theoretical moves or themes have gained attention in the emerging literature at the intersection of social movements, institutions, and organizations. We have contributed to each of these three themes, showing them to be inter-related, in our previous work that draws on the case of the adoption of gay-friendly policies by organizations: i.) The construction of social identities as the basis for social movement mobilization by active agents. (We found that everyday encounters in which agents share and thereby mold both the distinct and prosaic elements of an identity help to legitimate that identity (Creed and Scully, 2000).) ii.) The creation – and we would add, diffusion – of repertoires of action by these agents. (We found that not only did domestic partner benefits partially diffuse among organizations in a field, but the activists ’ tactics, such as “stealth legitimation, ” diffused as well, enabling some organizations to be deeply involved in the issues even if they were not yet adopters; the adoption / non-adoption distinction becomes a less crucial outcome than the mobilization of ready agent