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This article examines a contemporary articulation of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) activism, LGBT youth outreach, as a historically contextual moment. By way of a cultural-economic examination, this study explores the identities constructed by both producers and consumers of an LGBT activist campaign. The cultural-economic model (CEM; Curtin & Gaither, 2005) provides a critical theoretical framework to examine public relations, activism, and social movements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Traditionally activists have received more attention as external publics than as users of public relations themselves. This article reviews the dominant literature that positions public relations in contrast to activism and suggests theoretical directions for bridging the gap between activism and public relations. This critical essay provides a brief historical outline of activism in public relations literature, identifying gaps and proposing the cultural-economic model (CEM; Curtin & Gaither, 2005) as a way to propel scholarship of activism and public relations forward. This article presents the CEM as a heuristic theoretical framework to examine how activism and public relations are not always antagonists but sometime synonymous. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]