Anti-gender movement

This article is about the movement often associated with conservative or religious views. For the anti-trans movement with roots in radical feminism, see Gender-critical feminism. For opposition to the concept of binary gender, see Postgenderism.

Anti-gender march in Lima, Peru
"Gender no more": demonstrators from Con mis hijos no te metas ("Don't mess with my kids") during a pro-life march in Lima, Peru, 2018
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Anti–gender protest in Warsaw, Poland
"Gender is death — it kills identity, soul and body": picketing against "gender ideology" in Warsaw, Poland, 2014

The anti-gender movement is an international movement that opposes what it refers to as "gender ideology",[1] "gender theory",[1] or "genderism",[2] terms which cover a variety of issues,[2] and do not have a coherent definition.[3] Members of the anti-gender movement are largely on the right-wing and far-right political spectrum, such as right-wing populists, social conservatives, and Christian fundamentalists.[4][5] It has been linked to a shift away from liberal democracy and towards right-wing populism.[6] Anti-gender rhetoric has seen increasing circulation in trans-exclusionary radical feminist (TERF) discourse since 2016.[7] Different members of the anti-gender movement variously oppose some LGBT rights, some reproductive rights, government gender policies, gender equality, gender mainstreaming, and gender studies academic departments.[2][8][9] The Canadian Security Intelligence Service has linked the anti-gender movement to the risk of "extreme violence" against the LGBTQI+ community.[10] UN Women has described the anti-gender, gender-critical and men's rights movements as extreme anti-rights movements that "use hateful propaganda and disinformation to target and attempt to delegitimize people with diverse sexual orientations, gender identities, gender expressions, and sex characteristics."[11]

The term gender ideology has been described by academics Stefanie Mayer and Birgit Sauer as an "empty signifier",[3] and by Agnieszka Graff as a "great name for all that conservative Catholics despise".[12] The idea of gender ideology has been described by some as a moral panic,[13][14] or a conspiracy theory,[1] as it alleges that there is a secret cabal out to undermine society.[15][16] 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.[17]

The movement derives from Catholic theology and can be dated to the late 20th century, but the protests that brought the movement to attention did not start until around 2012–2013.[18] Besides Roman Catholics, anti-gender rhetoric is used by other Christians, Confucians, Hindus, Jews, and Muslims.[19][24] 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".[25]

  1. ^ a b c Salvati, M.; Pellegrini, V.; De Cristofaro, V.; Giacomantonio, M. (January 2024). "What is hiding behind the rainbow plot? The gender ideology and LGBTQ+ lobby conspiracies (GILC) scale". British Journal of Social Psychology. 63 (1). Wiley-Blackwell on behalf of the British Psychological Society: 295–318. doi:10.1111/bjso.12678. ISSN 2044-8309. PMID 37606152. S2CID 261062493.
  2. ^ a b c Kováts 2016, p. 175.
  3. ^ a b Mayer & Sauer 2017, p. 23.
  4. ^ "The transnational anti-gender movement in Europe | Gunda-Werner-Institut". Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung. Retrieved 3 September 2022.
  5. ^ Kováts & Põim 2015, p. 126.
  6. ^ Walton, Kate. "Opposition to gender equality around the world is connected, well funded and spreading. Here's what you need to know about the anti-gender movement". CNN. Retrieved 29 March 2024.
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference Pearce was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ Kováts & Põim 2015, p. 11.
  9. ^ Rawłuszko 2019, p. 2.
  10. ^ Cite error: The named reference cbc was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  11. ^ Cite error: The named reference unwomen was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  12. ^ Graff 2016, p. 268.
  13. ^ Careaga-Pérez 2016, p. 251.
  14. ^ Żuk & Żuk 2019, p. 1.
  15. ^ Marchlewska et al. 2019, p. 766.
  16. ^ Zottola, Angela; Borba, Rodrigo (2022). ""Gender ideology" and the discursive infrastructure of a transnational conspiracy theory". Conspiracy Theory Discourses. John Benjamins. pp. 465–488 [473].
  17. ^ Cite error: The named reference Disinformation was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  18. ^ Kuhar & Paternotte 2017, p. 12.
  19. ^ Corredor 2019, p. 620.
  20. ^ Gannon, Thomas M. (July–September 1981). "The New Christian Right in America as a Social and Political Force". Archives de sciences sociales des religions. 26 (52–1). Paris: Éditions de l'EHESS: 69–83. doi:10.3406/assr.1981.2226. ISSN 0335-5985. JSTOR 30125411. Archived from the original on 2 June 2018. Retrieved 7 July 2022.
  21. ^ Fetner, Tina (August 2001). "Working Anita Bryant: The Impact of Christian Anti-Gay Activism on Lesbian and Gay Movement Claims". Social Problems. 48 (3). Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society for the Study of Social Problems: 411–428. doi:10.1525/sp.2001.48.3.411. hdl:11375/21175. ISSN 1533-8533. S2CID 144876642.
  22. ^ Ibrahim, Nur Amali (October 2016). "Homophobic Muslims: Emerging Trends in Multireligious Singapore". Comparative Studies in Society and History. 58 (4). Cambridge and New York: Cambridge University Press: 955–981. doi:10.1017/S0010417516000499. ISSN 1475-2999. JSTOR 26293235. S2CID 152039212.
  23. ^ Rehman, Javaid; Polymenopoulou, Eleni (2013). "Is Green a Part of the Rainbow? Sharia, Homosexuality, and LGBT Rights in the Muslim World" (PDF). Fordham International Law Journal. 37 (1). Fordham University School of Law: 1–53. ISSN 0747-9395. OCLC 52769025. Archived from the original on 21 July 2018. Retrieved 30 October 2021.
  24. ^ [20][21][22][23]
  25. ^ Pető 2021, p. 42.