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Lesson 5.3: Creative resistance

5. Creativity under attack

Creative expression is often attacked because it is effective. ‘Anti-gender’ actors understand that art and culture shape public imagination.

Examples include:

  • the disruption of drag story time events in Switzerland by neo-Nazi groups
  • hate campaigns against feminist festivals in Greece
  • media attacks on queer art exhibitions in Germany

These attacks show that culture is not a neutral domain. It is a battleground where meaning, identity, and legitimacy are contested. That creative spaces are targeted underscores their political importance – and the threat they pose to exclusionary ideologies.

But importantly, communities consistently respond by producing more art, expanding networks, and using creativity to reclaim narrative space.