In person icon Book Preview: Global Perspectives on Anti-Feminism: Far-Right and Religious Attacks on Equality and Diversity

Abstract

Anti-feminism and far right gender politics have in recent years become important topics in gender and sexuality studies as well as political science and related disciplines. Panels at international conferences (e.g. ECPR, ECPG 2019) as well as special issues of relevant journals (e.g. Signs 44 (3), 2019, European Journal on Politics and Gender 1 (3), 2018) and some edited volumes (i.a. Kuhar / Paternotte 2017; Dietze / Roth 2020; Graff / Korolczuk 2021) show the interest in these issues among European and international scholars.The question therefore arises, why is another anthology needed on global perspectives on anti-feminism? First and most obvious, analyses with a global perspective are still lacking. Nearly all the scholarly work that has been done so far focuses on Europe, sometimes including ties to Russia and / or the United States (Moss 2017; Blee 2017; Stern 2019). Other than that, there has been little attention on the transnational ties of anti-feminist actors beyond Europe even though the similarities between anti-gender discourses around the globe are striking. For example Bolsonaro's rhetoric during the Brazilian presidential election campaign seems to mirror the Polish PiS-party's stance on homosexuality as well as the AfD's fear of 'gender', while right-wing actors in Japan stoke fears of the impeding 'abolishment' of the sexes, which are also catered to in Germany. Thus, this edited volume brings together research and analyses which make clear that anti-feminism is not a phenomenon limited to Europe, but that similar developments are taking place worldwide with comparable strategies and discursive set pieces. Given these similarities it seems surprising that the global dimension of anti-feminist politics has been widely overlooked. Second, the book understands anti-feminism analytically as an intersectional ideology, i.e. as an ideology that is co-constitued in relation to different ideologies, foremost in relation to nationalism, racism and anti-semitism. In its current articulation, which is marked by ‘anti-gender’ mobilisations, this ideology targets queer-feminism, e.g. feminist stances that disrupt the seemingly self-evident connection of sex, gender and desire and that analyze the (everyday) violence that is embodied in becoming 'real' men and women. Third, we believe this book to be one potential starting point for conversations that span different continents as well as disciplines and areas of expertise. This approach not only helps to fill relevant gaps in research, but also makes it possible to examine global commonalities of anti-feminist discourses in their locally specific manifestations. The edited volume includes contributions from five continents, which provide in-depth insights into the global dimension of anti-feminist politics in their different national forms of articulation in order to promote a truly global perspective on the thoroughly global phenomenon of the current culture wars around sex and gender. The proposed panel brings together four of the authors, show-casing very diverse aspects - both in terms of geographical location as well as in terms of analytical foci.

Title	Details
A European Agenda? The supra-national dimension of anti-feminism (in Europe)	View Paper Details
Anti-feminism in the Context of Corona Conspiracy Theories in Germany	View Paper Details
Whose Words are Legitimate? Transgender Rights and Politics of Translation in Japan	View Paper Details