Anti-gender movement
The anti-gender movement is an international movement that opposes what it refers to as "gender ideology", "gender theory" or "genderism",[1] terms which cover a variety of issues[1] and do not have a coherent definition.[2] Members of the anti-gender movement primarily include those of the political right-wing and far right, such as right-wing populists, conservatives, and Christian fundamentalists.[3][4] It has been linked to a shift away from liberal democracy and towards right-wing populism.[5] Anti-gender rhetoric has seen increasing circulation in trans-exclusionary radical feminist (TERF) discourse since 2016.[6] Members of the anti-gender movement oppose some LGBT rights, some reproductive rights, government gender policies, gender equality, gender mainstreaming, and gender studies academic departments.[1][7][8] The Canadian Security Intelligence Service has linked the anti-gender movement to the risk of "extreme violence" against the LGBT+ community.[9]
This article is about the conservative or religious movement. For the anti-trans movement with roots in radical feminism, see Gender-critical feminism. For opposition to the concept of binary gender, see Postgenderism.
The term gender ideology has been described by academics Stefanie Mayer and Birgit Sauer as an "empty signifier",[2] and by Agnieszka Graff as a "great name for all that conservative Catholics despise".[10] The idea of gender ideology has been described by some as a moral panic,[11][12] or a conspiracy theory, as it alleges that there is a secret cabal out to undermine society.[13][14] A report by the European Parliament linked the rise of the anti-gender movement in Europe to disinformation campaigns that are sponsored in large part by Russia.[15]
The movement derives from Catholic theology and can be dated to the late twentieth century, but the protests that brought the movement to attention did not start until around 2012–2013.[16] Gender researcher Andrea Pető states that the anti-gender movement is not a form of classical anti-feminism but instead "a fundamentally new phenomenon that was launched to establish a new world order".[17]
Terminology[edit]
In non-English speaking countries, many anti-gender activists avoid using vernacular translations of the word "gender" in favor of the English word to promote the idea that gender is a foreign concept.[18]
The concept of gender ideology does not have a coherent definition[2] and covers a variety of issues;[1] for this reason, it has been described by academics Stefanie Mayer and Birgit Sauer as an "empty signifier"[2] and by Agnieszka Graff as a catch-all term "for all that conservative Catholics despise".[10]
The term gender ideology and related terms gender theory and genderism, used interchangeably, are not equivalent to the academic discipline of gender studies, within which significant controversies and disagreements exist. Anti-gender proponents are often unaware of these debates and disagreements.[19]
Elizabeth Corredor writes: "gender ideology serves as both a political and epistemological counterclaim to emancipatory conceptions of gender, sex, and sexuality".[20] She adds that the anti-gender movement combines "gender ideology" rhetoric with attempts to exploit the existing divisions within LGBT and feminist movements.[20] The movement accuses various actors of being bearers of "gender ideology", including "liberal, green or leftist politicians, women's rights activists, LGBT activists, gender policy officers of public administrations, and gender studies scholars".[21]
Analyses and responses[edit]
Backlash or proactive movement[edit]
It is disputed the extent to which the anti-gender movement is a reaction to events and other movements, or a proactive movement attempting to create social change.[8] Hande Eslen-Ziya argues that the anti-gender movement relies on what she calls "troll science", that she describes as "(distorted) scientific arguments moulded into populist discourse, creating an alternative narrative on the conceptions of gender equality".[50]
According to Marta Rawłuszko, the anti-gender movement is, in part, a backlash against the devolution of power from democratically elected national governments to unelected equality bodies and international organizations, such as the European Union, which demand changes. Because these policies are not approved by voters or their elected representatives, they generate a democratic deficit.[51] She notes that "gender equality policies have been implemented without engaging a wider audience or public debate".[52]
However, Paternotte argues that picturing the anti-gender movement as a "backlash" is "conceptually flawed, empirically weak and politically problematic", because comparative research has shown that in different countries, the anti-gender activism is "sparked by extremely different issues".[53]
Conspiracism[edit]
The idea of gender ideology has been described as a moral panic[11][12] or conspiracy theory.[13] According to two political psychologists writing for The Conversation, the conspiracy theory contributed to a debate in Poland in 2020 about "whether the coronavirus pandemic is a punishment for gender theory".[41] An Ipsos survey in October 2019 found that a plurality of Polish men under 40 believe that "the LGBT movement and gender ideology" is the "biggest threat facing them in the 21st century".[54]
Democracy and liberalism[edit]
The emergence and success of anti-gender movements is considered by political scientist Eszter Kováts to be a symptom of a deeper underlying socioeconomic, political, and cultural crisis of liberal democracy and a reaction to neoliberalism.[55] Similarly, political scientist Birgit Sauer refers to these movements as, among other things, a reaction to deregulation, precarization of labor, the erosion of the welfare state and the widening of the gap between the rich and poor.[56] In the journal LuXemburg in 2018, sociologist Weronika Grzebalska and political scientists Eszter Kováts and Andrea Pető analyze the term gender as the "symbolic glue" of the anti-gender movement, which unites different political and religious actors who would otherwise not cooperate with each other. They view the "gender ideology" that these actors mobilize against as a metaphor for the insecurity and unfairness produced by the neoliberal socioeconomic order.[57]
Those said to support gender ideology are delegitimized, negating pluralism and undermining liberal democracy, in a similar way to the far-right.[25] Lorena Sosa, assistant professor at the Netherlands Institute of Human Rights (SIM), states that the anti-gender movement has challenged human rights, such as protection from violence against women, and contributed to democratic erosion.[58]
Pető argues that "The anti-gender movement is not merely another offshoot of centuries-old anti-feminism... The anti-gender movement is a fundamentally new phenomenon that was launched to establish a new world order." She also argues that the movement "is saturated with hatred"—citing online harassment against gender researchers—and argues that it "attacks liberalism and therefore democracy".[17]
In 2021 the philosopher Judith Butler described the anti-gender movement as a fascist trend and cautioned self-declared feminists against allying with such movements in targeting trans, non-binary, and genderqueer people.[59][60]
In February 2024, Canada's Integrated Terrorism Assessment Centre released an assessment, finding that "the ecosystem of violent rhetoric within the anti-gender movement, compounded with other extreme worldviews, can lead to serious violence." In June 2023, an associate professor and two students had been stabbed while attending a gender studies class at the University of Waterloo.[61]
In 2023, Elżbieta Korolczuk argued that "while the activities of the anti-gender movement are generally non-violent, its discursive strategies and campaigns should be further analysed as possible conveyor belt to engagement in violent extremism".[62]
LGBT rights and gender equality[edit]
Marie Wittenius of the Gunda Werner Institute for feminism and gender democracy argues that the term "gender ideology" "functions as a broad projection area for racism, anti-Semitism, homophobia and transphobia, ethnicnationalist ideas as well as hostility towards elites."[63]
In August 2021, the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights Dunja Mijatović said the anti-gender movement are "instrumentalising existing societal prejudices and verbally attacking LGBTI people to achieve political objectives for their own benefit" and said the targeting of "LGBTI people for political gain is a costly strategy which harms the lives and well-being of those affected and undermines social cohesion in general." The Commissioner said that "by permeating the political scene, the anti-gender movements are increasingly well-placed to erode the protection of human rights in Europe" and concluded that "by standing up for LGBTI people, we defend the equal human dignity of all, protect our societies' wellbeing and the strength of our precious human rights system."[64]
In February 2022, the European Parliament Committee on Women's Rights and Gender Equality organised a public hearing on "Countering the anti-gender movement", highlighting the anti-gender movement as a threat to gender equality.[65]