Framing matters: LGBTQIA+ organisations’ boundary spanning within and across collective action fields

Western-based LGBTQIA+ mobilisations have often been described as both internally fragmented and isolated from other social struggles. However, recent studies show that LGBTQIA+ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans*, queer, intersex, asexual/aromantic and other) organisations have increasingly used social media to span organisational boundaries by networking with other groups and framing common concerns. This article addresses these concerns by examining the interplay between digital networking and collective framing in different socio-political contexts and over time. The investigation focuses on the collective action events promoted on Facebook by LGBTQIA+ organisations located in Milan and Madrid between 2011 and 2020. After mapping the socio-semantic networks resulting from the promotion of the collective action events, the article analyses the brokerage roles played by different frames. Our findings show that while social media facilitates the creation of both within- and cross-field cooperative networks, framing congruence is necessary for transforming occasional cross-field network choices into sustained efforts to span boundaries and form intersectional alliances.