United in Misogyny: Male Supremacy, the Far-Right, and the Mainstream

Abstract

The rise of far-right and right-wing populist ideologies seems to go hand in hand with a backlash to gender equity and feminist movements. This becomes observable in the banning of gender studies in Hungary, in the mobilization against gay marriage in Germany and in concerted opposition on EU-level, such as in case of the Estrela-Report on Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights. Gender-essentialism and a sense of male superiority unite movements and groups across the right and reach into wider society. Their relationship to feminism is ambiguous: On the one hand, right-wing populist parties such as the AfD and groups such as the Identitarian Movement exploit feminist issues for their own xenophobic and racist agendas, a strategy termed femonationalism in recent research. This cooptation allows them to present themselves as being in favor of women’s rights, while simultaneously strictly opposing policies aiming towards gender equity, such as female quotas, abortion rights or gender-sensitive language. They thereby defend core elements of nationalist ideology, which bases on highly traditionalist gender roles. It thus becomes clear that misogyny serves both as a strategic and as a symbolic function within the far-right. Therefore, misogyny is a connecting link between far-right and male supremacist movements, whose ideologies cross-fertilize each other. The inter-connection of supremacist ideologies, as well as their transmission into the mainstream warrants academic attention. We thus ask: How do far-right extremism and male supremacism cross-fertilize each other? Which ideological elements of far-right extremism and male supremacism are able to connect to the wider societal and political mainstream? This panel brings together research on various strands of far-right and male-supremacist groups and their interactions not only among each other but also their extension to mainstream society. Since these movements are particularly active online, galvanized through events like ‘Gamergate’, we analyze far-right and misogynist groups and movements developing and seeping into the mainstream. We address issues such as (1) the role of violence, gatekeeping, and Identity in Online Incel Forums, (2) how (white) male rage fertilizes and connects both male-supremacist and far-right movement alike, (3) which commonalities in the framing of feminism can be found between the far-right and the mainstream, (4) the interconnection between male supremacist and white supremacist radicalization trajectories and (5) frames in secular male supremacist movements.

Title	Details
Populist Discourse on Gender	View Paper Details
White Male Rage – The Syncretism of The Misogynist Far-Right	View Paper Details
Discursive Alliances in Opposition to Gender Equity – Convergence of Right-Wing Antifeminism and Femonationalism with the Political Mainstream?	View Paper Details
Female Nationalism? Women’s Voice in Radical Nationalist Organizations in Poland	View Paper Details