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Gender as a Battleground: Affective Polarization and Right-Wing Populism

Populism
Social Movements
Feminism
Comparative Perspective
Mobilisation
Esra Kazanbas
University of Toronto
Esra Kazanbas
University of Toronto

Abstract

This paper examines the central role of gender in right-wing populist movements in Canada and Turkey, focusing on how these movements deploy gendered rhetoric to intensify gender-based violence and foster a climate of fear and hate. Building on Stuart Hall’s (1985) concept of "punishing the norm violators," I argue that gender is not a subsidiary concern in populist discourse but a key element that unites diverse groups by presenting feminism, gender equality, and LGBTQ+ rights as existential threats to national identity and social cohesion. Contrary to political theory perspectives that downplay gender’s importance in populist movements (Abi-Hassan, 2017), this study demonstrates how gender acts as a metaphorical glue that brings together disparate groups with a shared opposition to "gender ideology." Recent protests, such as The One Million March 4 Children in Canada, where Muslim immigrants, Christian groups, and neo-Nazi factions joined forces, highlight how anti-gender rhetoric galvanizes support across ideological lines. This paper argues that right-wing populist leaders use gender as a strategic tool to create moral panics, reinforcing traditional notions of family and masculinity while positioning those who defy these norms as deserving of punishment. Through an analysis of political speeches and digital mobilizations, this research reveals how populist movements use affective polarization to legitimize gender-based violence and cultivate a “permission to hate” (Perry & Scrivens, 2018). Furthermore, the politics of emotions are central to populist rhetoric, as leaders manipulate fear, resentment, and moral outrage to reinforce divisions and create enemies of “norm violators.” This rhetoric not only amplifies fear and division but also provides a framework through which populist leaders can assert control and suppress emancipatory claims about gender and sexuality (Corredor, 2022). Ultimately, this paper demonstrates how gendered discourse is integral to understanding the rise of right-wing populism and its impact on gender-based violence in contemporary landscape.