Anti-gender politics in Finland and Romania

Abstract

This study examines the articulation of anti-gender politics in the parliamentary debates centred on two citizens’ initiatives in Finland and Romania. Although different in their endeavours (in Finland, supporting equal marriage rights; in Romania, attempting to legislate pre-emptively against them), these citizens’ initiatives resulted in significant defeats for the wider anti-gender campaigns in these countries. Examining closely the parliamentary debates ensuing these proposals, we evidence how anti-gender politics developed in ways specific to each examined polity and served as a key vehicle for different manners of retrogressive mobilisation, which bypassed left–right ideological cleavages and party loyalty. We scrutinise critically the discursive scenarios that coalesce in anti-gender politics in the two countries, and we map out both the commonalities and differences between the antithetic narrative scenarios, which hinge on the position of the child within a heteronormative nuclear family and the depiction of marriage equality as a harbinger of an impending societal collapse.

Vernacular constructions of the relationship between freedom of speech and (potential) hate speech: The case of Finland

“…'In my opinion, freedom of speech is such an important freedom that it is absolutely necessary to get a neutral interpretation by the judiciary as to where the right of other groups of people, for example, gays and asylum seekers, not to be subjected to unjustified defamation (hate speech) begins' (24 July 2020). This comment is also indicative of the retrogressive mobilisation engaging the PS and KD -as evidenced earlier by their common efforts to stop equal marriage legislation (Norocel & Pettersson, 2023) -and its articulation as potential hate speech against two minoritised groups (namely 'gays' and 'asylum seekers') was decoded by ordinary citizens to be targeting social cohesion in Finnish society (cf. Askola, 2015;Ellis, 2022).…”

“…Furthermore, we expand our awareness to incorporate other minoritised groups that are negatively impacted by this derogatory and dehumanising language, in particular the LGBTQ+ community (Carnaghi & Maass, 2007;Coyle & Wilkinson, 2002;Ellis, 2022;Fasoli et al, 2016;Kitzinger & Coyle, 2002). We connect these to the expanding field of research linking the rapidly changing sociopolitical landscape -marked by increased visibility of prejudiced and speech promoting hate in the public domain -to the growing impact of anti-gender campaigns (Ayoub & Stöckl, 2024;Norocel & Paternotte, 2023;Paternotte, 2023;Paternotte & Kuhar, 2017), which collect a complex assemblage of political parties, conservative religious entities and far-right groups, entangled into opportunistic synergies of retrogressive mobilisation (Graff & Korolczuk, 2022;Norocel & B ȃluţ ȃ, 2023;Norocel & Pettersson, 2023).…”

“…the study's social and discursive psychological theoretical framework concepts and insights that have been developed in the adjacent research field examining anti-gender campaigns(Ayoub & Stöckl, 2024;Graff & Korolczuk, 2022;Norocel & Paternotte, 2023;Paternotte, 2023;Paternotte & Kuhar, 2017), we have provided novel insights into the vernacular constructions of hate speech, which is a topic that to date has remained under-explored in social psychological research. In so doing, we have evidenced that ordinary citizens have decoded the retrogressive mobilisation engaging the PS and KD(Norocel & Pettersson, 2023), and its purpose to polarise and undermine the social cohesion in Finnish society. Based on our interdisciplinary theoretical perspective, we were able to discern the remarkable similarity of the discursive accusations and defences among ordinary citizens of both politicians, who represented different ideological leanings and whose words targeted different minoritised groups.…”

“…These contemporary uses of hate speech against minoritised groups (racialised migrants and LGBTQ+ people) reflect the growing prominence of radical-right populist parties in the mainstream politics in many polities across the globe including Finland (Askola, 2015;Norocel & Pettersson, 2022;Pettersson, 2019Pettersson, , 2020Pettersson & Sakki, 2020;Sakki & Pettersson, 2016) as well as the mounting impact of anti-gender campaigns manifest in different regions of the world mobilising against the rights of women and LGBTQ+ community (Norocel & Paternotte, 2023;Paternotte, 2023;Paternotte & Kuhar, 2017). In this context, we pay particular attention to the latter, by bringing into our social psychological approach to hate speech the concept of 'retrogressive mobilisation' (Norocel & B ȃluţ ȃ, 2023;Norocel & Pettersson, 2023). The concept synthesises the observations of a growing number of studies, which indicate that anti-gender campaigns engage in opportunistic synergies a complex assemblage of political parties (both conservative as well as radical-right populist parties); religious entities (various churches with either national jurisdiction like the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland or international jurisdiction like the Catholic Church); conservative civil society organisations (militating against equal marriage rights, or women's reproductive rights); and farright entities (guided by the imperative to preserve the polity's racial purity and enforce heterosexuality as the only acceptable norm) (cf.…”

“…As such, through factual language, the use of liberal arguments (appeals to equal treatment and freedom of expression), discursive minimisation and hyperbolic formulations, the commentator presented Räsänen's statements as condemnable, although simultaneously packaging them as 'necessary ills' in a democratic society like Finland. In this context, the commentators cataloguing both Mäenpää's and Räsänen's statements as shameful (Extract 3) and 'stupid' (Extract 4), thus in equal part as morally troublesome manifestations of the freedom of expression, emphasise the polarising purpose of these statements and decode them as part of a common retrogressive mobilisation endeavour (Norocel & Pettersson, 2023).…”