Populism Is Always Gendered and Dangerous

Abstract

This article argues that populism is always gendered and dangerous to women and democracy. The distinctive reliance on the polarization of “us” and “them” in populism draws on nationalist notions of exclusive belonging, the need for closure to protect the “us” from would be infiltrators, and observance of proscribed gendered roles to ensure the continued rule of the majority (race/ethno-nation). The reproduction of the “us” is too crucial to leave unregulated, and gendered bodies are too vulnerable to violation and occupation to go without vigilance, that is, without surveillance and demographic policing. Gendered narratives support the anti-immigration features of populism and its curbs on democratic institutions, both in the service of national recovery and in its identification of potentially disloyal, suspect voices within the demos.

Why people vote for thin-centred ideology parties? A multi-level multi-country test of individual and aggregate level predictors

“…From demographics point of view, our results replicate previous research that shows males [ 54 , 55 ], those less educated, and right-wing or right leaning individuals support populist parties more [ 56 ]. In terms of individual and country level processes, our findings also suggest that support for populist and thin ideology parties is driven by a fundamental intergroup mechanism, i.e., social identity and status concerns, which in turn are influenced by country level processes, i.e., opportunities available for human development (HDI) and corruption perceptions (CPI).…”

Predicting the Patriarchal Politics of Pandemics From Mary Shelley to COVID-19

“…This fourth dimension of the definition of populism runs parallel to the insights of the political science fictions of Shelley, Butler, and Atwood. This is the view that populism poses distinct challenges for feminist politics and the realization of women's rights, women's democratic representation, and women's leadership (Abi-Hassan, 2017; Kantola and Lombardo, 2019;Ackerly, 2020;Hirschmann, 2020;Mostov, 2021). Mostov (2021) has contended that "populism is always gendered and dangerous for women and democracy" because of the ways that populist rhetoric, leadership, and political activity draws on gendered, racialized, classed, and nationalistic ideas to separate people into the opposing camps of "the elite" and "the people, " a blunt distinction that both encourages and relies upon crude ideological linedrawing that isolates and marginalizes vulnerable groups in society.…”

“…This is the view that populism poses distinct challenges for feminist politics and the realization of women's rights, women's democratic representation, and women's leadership (Abi-Hassan, 2017; Kantola and Lombardo, 2019;Ackerly, 2020;Hirschmann, 2020;Mostov, 2021). Mostov (2021) has contended that "populism is always gendered and dangerous for women and democracy" because of the ways that populist rhetoric, leadership, and political activity draws on gendered, racialized, classed, and nationalistic ideas to separate people into the opposing camps of "the elite" and "the people, " a blunt distinction that both encourages and relies upon crude ideological linedrawing that isolates and marginalizes vulnerable groups in society. Like Hirschmann (2020), Mostov distinguishes between populism (whether on the left or the right) and those leftist "popular movements, " such as the civil rights movement in the United States, which seek reform of society and laws without trying to overturn foundational democratic ideals and institutions of legitimate governance, such as the protection of equal rights and freedoms for each and every citizen.…”

“…Even when women (whether white or people of color, rich or poor) are agents, leaders, or short-term or selfish beneficiaries of it, populism poses both systemic and systematic dangers to all political minorities precisely because it seeks to manipulate society's gendered, racialized, classed, ableist, and nationalized expectations of them in the name of realizing the supposedly homogenous and pure will of the people (Love, 2020;Bracewell, 2021;Mostov, 2021). During the political and economic instability of the COVID-19 pandemic, patriarchal, and authoritarian forms of populism-most vividly and effectively led by the right-wing Republican U.S. President Donald Trump (Honig, 2018)-have taken advantage of the chaos to both target and control women and other political minorities, in different ways, while simultaneously undermining public "enjoyment" of equal civil rights and liberties guaranteed under the U.S. Constitution and reinforced by international human rights standards (Ackerly, 2016, p. 26).…”

“…If the current U.S. President Joe Biden is correct to say in his 2021 inaugural address that we must work to end "this uncivil war" that plagued American democracy under the right-wing populism of Trump, then it is high time to recognize the danger of our divisive "words" dealt in the political realm (Armitage, 2017, p. 67, 162-163;Biden, 2021). Sharp binary constructions of "us" vs. "them" only generate and exacerbate a cascade of divisions-between people of color and whites, poor and rich, rural and urban, plebes and elites, women and men, conservative and liberal-that threaten the very possibility of democracy, ironically, in the purported name of "the people" (Mostov, 2021).…”