Anti-gender appropriation of feminist abortion discourse: Shifting the human rights frame through affect

Reproductive rights, abortion in particular, have been at the center of feminist activism and struggles for several decades. However, the landscape has shifted with the rise of neoconservative anti-feminist and anti-gender movements, reshaping public discourse on this topic. This paper delves into the discourse on abortion rights in Slovenia, a post-socialist country with a constitutional legacy of protecting reproductive rights. The objective is to analyse the ongoing debate by juxtaposing the framing of the topic by feminist and anti-feminist/anti-gender actors, revealing frame repertoires in their narratives. In particular, we aim to complement existing studies that have analysed pro- and anti-abortion discoursive opportunities by exploring discourses in their relation to mobilization of affects. The analysis draws upon empirical data obtained through a critical frame analysis of activist documents addressing abortion, covering the period from 2010 to 2023. Preliminary findings indicate a prevalent framing of abortion as a matter of human rights and fundamental freedoms, embraced by both feminist and anti-feminist/anti-gender actors, albeit with significant differences. While feminist actors frame abortion largely using assertive language, as women's right to self-determination and bodily autonomy, anti-feminist/anti-gender discourses accentuate abortion as harmful for women, framing it as the right to life of unborn children. Unpacking these discoursive shifts we show how anti-feminist/anti-gender actors depart from arguments about the sanctity of life and strategically mobilize affects such as empathy, anger, frustration, and sadness, as mechanisms to legitimize and sustain pro-life positions. We point out that these emotionally charged discoursive redefinitions are underpinned by deeply gendered hierarchies. Reinforcing exclusionary social and cultural norms such as essentialism, nationalism, and heteronormativity, they also appear as inherently anti-feminist. This study contributes to contemporary scholarship by unravelling how anti-feminist/anti-gender actors strategically employ an emotionally charged appropriation of discourse commonly associated with liberal movements.