The analysis of the creation of the “LGBT” formula, an activist reference that allowed the emergence of the space of LGBT activism (united and plural), allows us to understand the critical role of discursive strategies in the LGBT collective action. The article proposes a French-Italian bottom-up comparative approach to show that, even though successful international discourses contributed to inform local activist strategies, the configuration of the space of LGBT activism is strongly related to national context and to the activist and political local field. Firstly, the article presents political and historical data to theorize a French model of recognition and an Italian model of political inopportunity. Secondly, the article analyzes the...