The Strategy of Frame Development in the Women's Ku Klux Klan.

This paper draws from the social movement theory of framing to identify the multiple-frame strategy which Robbie Gill Comer used as Imperial Commander of the Women's Ku Klux Klan. According to framing theory, social movement leaders must align their audiences' belief systems with the movement's ideology and guide potential constituents to collective action. Because neither Sociology nor History has sufficiently addressed the question of framing as a process using historical cases, this paper addresses the following questions: 1) How do leaders articulate and amplify frames? and 2) How much do leaders use a multiple-frame strategy which bridges and innovates frames, including those implying contradictory ideologies? Using the computer software program Atlas, I content coded the speeches and articles written by Robbie Gill Comer and then analyzed the text for thematic structure. Atlas was developed for the systematic analysis of qualitative data and provides the opportunity to identify the strategic framing processes, including frame bridging, that emerge within movements. I found that Comer used the maternalist, feminist, patriotic, women are different, and Protestant frames in various combinations with each other. Study of the historical case of the Women's Ku Klux Klan will provide a richer understanding of early 20th century social movement organizations which were integral to the development of women's organizations in American society. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]