Advocacy and marginality: Considering legitimacy, authenticity, and culture to extend fully functioning society theory

ABSTRACT Public relations (PR) scholars have highlighted the discipline’s responsibility to advocate for marginalized groups against the backdrop of fully functioning society theory (FFST), which emphasizes how collectives, issues, and ideas undergo appraisal for collective decision-making. What is in need of scholarly inquiry is how marginalized groups struggle to assert the legitimacy and authenticity required to influence collective decision-making when appraisals of worth are predicated on the cultural context that marginalizes them. This essay explicates legitimacy and authenticity alongside culture and marginality to investigate the specific advocacy challenges that marginalized groups face. Ultimately, it presents theoretical extensions for FFST, urges PR to consider the differences between facilitational and representational advocacy approaches for marginalized groups, and encourages PR scholarship and practice to legitimize lived experience. While this essay primarily draws examples from a specific marginalized group within mental health advocacy, consumers/survivors/ex-patients, it also offers reflections for other marginalized groups.