“As with the anti-ERA movement, the anti-gay rights movements gained national attention through its embrace by an effective leader, in this case pop singer and former beauty pageant contestant Anita Bryant, who was the national spokesperson for the Florida orange juice industry.” p. 341

The author mentions Anita Bryant as one example of a prominent anti-equal rights movement figure. In response to Equal Rights Amendment, conservative women like Bryant and Phyllis Schlafly rallied people around them to thwart any attempts of expanding gay and women’s rights. The efforts were largely the consequences of futile activism in the political arena, yet they gained much momentum as “anti-movement” leaders were succeeding at scaring people with unsupported claims. The transformation of American society in the late 70s and early 80s spawned a multitude of social issues that people like Anita Bryant were still unprepared to deal with. Preserving the old way of life and maintaining certain gender roles was the only way for them to slow down the inevitable progress.