Lesson 1.1: What is ‘Anti-Gender’ Politics? Origins, Uses & Controversies

2. ‘Anti-Gender’ & ‘Gender Ideology’

In academic research, anti-gender refers to political, religious, and civic mobilisations that target what is labelled ‘gender ideology’ – a term deliberately constructed to discredit feminist, queer, and trans movements (Kuhar & Paternotte, 2017; Grzebalska, Kováts & Pető, 2017; Graff & Korolczuk, 2022).

The phrase ‘gender ideology’ is intentionally vague. It gathers together many different fields – from reproductive rights to LGBTIQ+ recognition and gender studies – and reframes them as dangerous or illegitimate.

Scholars such as Kováts, Grzebalska, and Pető describe ‘gender ideology’ as a ‘symbolic glue’ – a flexible frame that unites actors with otherwise divergent worldviews: right-wing populists, conservative church networks, centrist nationalists, and trans-exclusionary feminists. Because the term is so elastic, it absorbs multiple fears, including anxieties about demographic decline, globalisation, secularism, or ‘elite’ cultural influence.

Key concepts
Moral panic: a social reaction in which a group is constructed as a threat to societal values.	Symbolic glue: how gender acts as a unifying narrative connecting otherwise unrelated political demands (e.g. nationalism, migration, education).
'Anti-gender 'mobilisations are sometimes described as a backlash: a reaction to perceived or real social change, and to the increased visibility of feminist, queer, or trans communities. However, the idea of backlash must be used carefully. In many contexts, there was little or no prior progress to ‘reverse’.	'Anti-gender' mobilisation can arise: • from imagined threats rather than concrete reforms; • in anticipation of possible future change; • as a political strategy during economic, cultural, or demographic crises; • when political actors deliberately construct gender as a threat to consolidate authority.
In other words, anti-gender campaigns do not always respond to progressive achievements – they frequently pre-empt them, producing a climate of fear or moral panic to justify restrictive policies.

Key concepts

Moral panic: a social reaction in which a group is constructed as a threat to societal values.

Symbolic glue: how gender acts as a unifying narrative connecting otherwise unrelated political demands (e.g. nationalism, migration, education).

'Anti-gender 'mobilisations are sometimes described as a backlash:
a reaction to perceived or real social change, and to the increased visibility of feminist, queer, or trans communities.

However, the idea of backlash must be used carefully. In many contexts, there was little or no prior progress to ‘reverse’.

'Anti-gender' mobilisation can arise:
• from imagined threats rather than concrete reforms;
• in anticipation of possible future change;
• as a political strategy during economic, cultural, or demographic crises;
• when political actors deliberately construct gender as a threat to consolidate authority.

In other words, anti-gender campaigns do not always respond to progressive achievements – they frequently pre-empt them, producing a climate of fear or moral panic to justify restrictive policies.