New Social Movements

Social movements are groups of people, and they stand for either the implementation or the prevention of a change in the structure of society. The social movements have been integral to human history, especially with modernity. 

For example, 

• The Luddites in nineteenth-century England, for instance, smashed machinery in factories. Similar movements, pursuing a variety of aims have occurred the world over. 
• The Freedom movement in India was a social movement. 
• Greenpeace is an important social movement in contemporary times. The increasing political influence of such movements is interesting and relevant to understanding contemporary culture. Greenpeace, for instance, has a significant role to play in world politics, even getting into Parliaments in some countries.

A term that is frequently used in connection with social movements is 'protest. Protest-either social or political - refers to the questioning and/or challenging of established cultural, social, and political practices. Protest can be by individuals or by groups. In this case, we shall look at group protests, where movements have resisted authorities in power.

A social movement is a collective, organized and mostly non-institutionalized challenge to authorities and established social/ cultural practices. Social movements blur the line between collective action and institutionalized action. They are formal organizations Greenpeace or the World Social Forum - and frequently develop a system of hierarchy and cultural/social practices. 

Social Movement and Revolution

Revolutions differ from social movements principally in their aims: they seek to overthrow the government or state. 

A social movement is a set of opinions which represents preferences and demands for change in some elements of the social structure.

Characteristics of New Social Movement.

• Anti-authoritarian stance
• Democratic and activist nature
• flexibility
• more participatory nature

Social Movement and Identity

Frequently, social movements are about identity. The American Civil Rights Movement, the Women's movement, and the Gay and Lesbian movements have essentially been 'identity movements'. These are movements that assert radical racial, gender or sexual identities in order to build communities and challenge hegemonic cultural norms that have consistently refused certain identities. Identity movements are based on characteristics such as ethnicity, gender or sexual preference.