The spectre of genderism is haunting: The rise and strengthening of anti-gender mobilization in Serbia

The objective of this presentation is to comprehensively analyze the discursive and mobilization strategies employed in the anti-gender campaigns in Serbia, shedding light on the evolving dynamics and key elements that characterize them. The prominence of anti-gender mobilization has increased significantly in the Serbian context since 2017. Throughout various campaigns, representatives of the anti-gender discourse have successfully imposed their ideas. Also, over a period of 6 years, both the number and the types of actors involved in anti-gender campaigns have expanded. In addition to conservative intellectuals, representatives of the Serbian Orthodox Church, and far-right parties and movements, who were initially the main proponents of the anti-gender movement, the discourse has been taken over by online activists and centrist politicians and government representatives. The analysis will cover issues such as opposition to educational packages against sexual violence, resistance against same-sex partnerships, attempts to cancel Pride events, rejection of biology textbooks that include the notion of gender, and efforts to influence language policy. Secondly, we will investigate the discursive strategies employed by representatives of the anti-gender mobilization, focusing on the ideological framing of gender as a contemporary threat. Tracing the evolution of this mobilization, the analysis reveals a shift from early phases of mobilization when the term “homosexual ideology” was predominant to the later emphasis on “gender ideology.” In examining this, we will stress the idea of “cultures of rejection” in relation to the legitimization of “othering” and “exclusion” done by anti-gender actors highlighting the role of “anti-colonialism” and “anti-neoliberalism” as crucial for understanding the appeal of these mobilizing strategies.