Anti-Gender and Representative Democracy

Abstract

Anti-gender actors often refer to ’democracy,’ claiming to act on behalf of the ’majority’ and the ’people.’ In practical politics, they frequently advocate for forms of direct democracy, such as referendums (Kuhar & Paternotte 2017; Graff and Korolzuk 2022; Fassin 2016; Kahlina 2020). This panel examines the conceptions of democracy underlying these calls for direct rather than representative, democracy. The panel raises questions about different concepts of the ‘people’ involved in anti-gender campaigns, as well as attempts to locate the legitimate source of law outside of representation. These can range from appeals to ‘natural law’ to shifts towards ‘audience democracy.’ Foregrounding Nadia Urbinati’s work on representation and populist politics, the panel will examine anti-gender mobilizations relationship to representative democracy and consider whether feminist political theory should rethink democratic representation in the context of resistance to anti-gender movements. Overall, the panel will address the relationship between democracy and gender as implied in anti-gender campaigning and ask why has gender, exactly, become such a central concept in the contemporary struggles over the value and meaning of democracy.

Title	Details
From Marriage to Electoral Reform: Anti-Gender Mobilization and Direct Democracy in Croatia	View Paper Details
“Natural Law” Arguments in the Finnish Parliamentary Debate on the Trans Act	View Paper Details
Audience Democracy and Anti-Gender Trouble: Understanding Pushback Against Gender Equality Through the Political Theory of Nadia Urbinati	View Paper Details
Representation in Feminist Political Theory in the Times of Anti-Gender	View Paper Details