TY - JOUR PY - 1994// TI - “it's Hard to Change What We Want to Change”: Rape Crisis Centers as Organizations JO - Gender and society A1 - Fried, Amy SP - 562 EP - 583 VL - 8 IS - 4 N2 - Like other groups associated with social movements, rape crisis centers have been judged co-optive by some and progressive by others. This article argues that organizational theory yields fuller explanations of their dynamics and character. In a case study, two subcultures—dubbed the politicized and service perspectives—developed and epitomized fundamentally different approaches to sexual violence. These subcultures emerged for a number of reasons, including the organization's goals, the character of the fiminist movement, and organizational features such as permeability, a broad constituency, a collective goods orientation, and an emphasis on open discourse. This article argues that similar organizational and environmental features in rape crisis centers and other social movement-related organizations are associated with organizational fluidity and conflict. While these groups may not be cohesive and stable actors for broad social change, they contribute incrementally to long-term shifts in gendered social structures.

LA - SN - 0891-2432 UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/089124394008004006 ID - ref1 ER -