Special issue introduction: Contemporary international anti-feminism

Abstract

In recent years, conservative governments and their civil society allies have undermined international women’s rights treaties and SOGI rights initiatives and challenged domestic rights protections. The articles in this special issue grapple with these trends by analysing the ideologies, discourses, and strategies of contemporary anti-feminism in global and comparative contexts. Several prominent patterns emerge: the core significance of social hierarchy and biological essentialism to anti-feminist conservative thought; the polarizing demonization of feminists by religious conservatives and populist nationalists; the appropriation of rights discourses and advocacy tactics by anti-feminist campaigns; and the strategic importance of law and legal language as a terrain of rights contestation. Taken together, this research suggests that anti-feminism is not incidental to reactionary anti-democratic politics, but instead a constitutive element of political movements that seek to naturalize inequality and legally enforce conformity with conservative social norms.

Liberal-democratic norms under contestation: Norm relations and their decoupling in the US Supreme Court’s decisions on abortion

“…Accordingly, pro-choice advocates fear the decision not only seriously exacerbates gendered, social and economic inequalities, but further jeopardizes liberal-democratic norms (Democratic Erosion 2022; The Guardian 2021). This interpretation seems to align with the literature on the contestation of liberal democracies through norm collision (Gholiagha, Holzscheiter and Liese 2020;Sanders and Jenkins 2022b;Wunderlich 2020) or norm co-optation (Björkdahl and Gusic 2015;Dixon and Landau 2019;Garcia Holgado and Sánchez Urribarri 2023: 351).…”

The Feminism and Activists’ Plethora in Contemporary Era: An Analysis in Pakistan’s Context

“…There are a number of noteworthy trends that come to light, including central role that biological essentialism & social order play in anti-feminist conservative thought, demonization of feminists by religious conservatives and populist nationalists. When considered collectively, the data indicates that anti-feminism is a component of political groups that oppose conservative, anti-democratic policies rather than being an accidental byproduct (Sanders, & Jenkins, 2022). This research will go into more detail on how women were granted emancipation, but only as a societal advantage.…”

“I Am A Feminist, But . . .” Practicing Quiet Feminism in the Era of Everyday Backlash in South Korea

“…However, existing research has focused predominantly on how antifeminist backlash emerges in response to feminist advancements. Specifically, studies on backlash have emphasized its emergence as a reaction to feminist movements, rather than exploring how individual feminists respond to such backlash (Colpitts 2020; Cullen 2021; Sanders and Jenkins 2022). For example, Cullen (2021) examined resonant frames with which to counter opposition from right-wing populists within the European Union.…”

“…However, little is known about how antifeminist backlash impacts the everyday practice of feminism among individual women. Previous studies have focused primarily on the reaction of women’s movements or institutions to antifeminist backlash, rather than examining the private sphere and the everyday actions of individual feminists (e.g., see Colpitts 2020; Cullen 2021; Sanders and Jenkins 2022).…”