ABSTRACT
This chapter examines how collective identities change when the political opportunity structure becomes more favorable to a social movement. Alternative activists began by creating an alternative model of medicine intending to challenge Western medicine and influence individuals. These activists created boundaries that positioned themselves as an alternative to Western medicine. Alternative practitioners and their patients developed a political consciousness as they learned that others had the same frustrations and experiences with Western medicine. Some Bay area activists are beginning to change their collective identity from ‘alternative’ to ‘integrative.’ Activists change their boundaries, polit-ical consciousness and strategies as political opportunities arise. New political opportunities are allowing activists in the Bay area to work more closely with physicians, thereby changing their collective identity. The increased complexity and scale of the medical field has led to new financial arrangements within Western medicine.
