Ideals of Americanism and the American Identity in the Californian Same-Sex Marriage Debate, An analysis of Campaign Material for the 2008 Ballot Initiative Proposition 8
Summary
This thesis analyses media campaigns from 2008 in California, when same-sex marriage was on the ballot under Proposition 8. It discusses several concepts, such as family and religion, that shaped the campaigns for and against same-sex marriage in the context of American religious as well as LGBT history. Its ultimate goal is to both explain the traditions behind the arguments, as well as find the Americanness the campaigns effuse, thus portraying ideas of Americanism and the American identity that are responsible for as well as promoted by the ideological content of the campaigns.