Anti-gender politics in the populist moment / Agnieszka Graff and Elżbieta Korolczuk

Includes bibliographical references and index

Introduction : demonization of "gender" and the crisis of democracy -- Gender, anti-gender and right-wing populism : recasting the debate -- Mapping the anti-gender campaigns as a global movement : from religious trend to political struggle -- "Worse than communism and Nazism put together" : Poland's anti-gender campaigns in a comparative perspective -- Gender as "Ebola from Brussels" : the uses and abuses of the anti-colonial frame -- Anxious parents and children in danger : the family as a refuge from neoliberalism -- Counteracting anti-gender movements : towards a populist feminism? -- Conclusions : gender in the populist moment

"This book charts the new phase of global struggles around gender equality and sexual democracy: the ultraconservative mobilization against "gender ideology" and feminist efforts to counteract it. It argues that anti-gender campaigns, which emerged around 2010 in Europe, are not a simple continuation of the anti-feminist backlash dating back to the 1970s, but part of a new political configuration. Opposition to "gender" has become a key element of the rise of right-wing populism, which successfully harnesses the anxiety, shame and anger caused by neoliberalism and threatens to destroy liberal democracy. Anti-Gender Politics in the Populist Moment offers a novel conceptualization of the relationship between the ultraconservative anti-gender movement and right-wing populist parties, examining the opportunistic synergy between these actors. The authors map the anti-gender campaigns as a global movement, putting the Polish case in a comparative perspective. They show that the anti-gender rhetoric is best understood as a reactionary critique of neoliberalism as a socio-cultural formation. The book also studies the recent wave of feminist mass mobilizations, viewing the transnational revolt of women as a left populist movement. This is an important study for those researching in Politics, Cultural Studies, Gender and Sexuality Studies and Sociology. It will also be useful for activists and policy makers"-- Provided by publisher