What do women of the ultra-right think? Understanding nationalist women's perspectives on womanhood and femininity

The paper I wish to present is my master’s thesis. This research project, that I have been working on for a year, is supervised by Professor J. W. Duyvendak, as part of my studies in the research master in social sciences at the University of Amsterdam. I have only recently finished the fieldwork phase of my thesis, my effort on this paper is still ongoing and will end in June 2024, at the end of the academic year. In short, the paper is an explorative research project studying the framing of gender, femininity and womanhood within an ultra-right French feminine movement. This research draws upon the analysis of interviews conducted online with members of the movement and the analysis of essays and opinion pieces published on the movement’s website. The organization of which this paper is the focus, is the feminine branch of a bigger far-right social movement. The overarching organization’s focus is on nationalism, openly endorsing a nationalist revolution in France. Members acknowledge their fascist and, sometimes, national-socialist inspirations along with their appreciation of totalitarian governments. The feminine branch aligns closely with the main organization’s principles but wishes to discuss more feminine topics like the safeguarding of the family and children, the caring for the home or the role of women in the nationalist movement. The spotlight is given to the traditional woman standing against modern feminism and the LGBTQ+ movement. The purpose of this project is multifaceted: to listen to the stories of individuals who distrust researchers and social scientists, to understand the position of women in the male-dominated world of far-right movements, to explore these women’s unconventional understanding of their gender, its meaning and implications but, above all, to highlight how these women’s discourses intertwine their discussion of womanhood with their seemingly unique and radical political opinions. This paper builds on two strands within the academic literature: delving into analyses of French far right and ultra-right movements from the past century while also engaging with recent scholarship discussing the intersection of gender dynamics and modern far-right movements. For this project, I have thus conducted a series of interviews with members of the organization, attempting to acquire a comprehensive knowledge of their political opinions and perspectives on questions relating to womanhood and gender. Beyond these initial interviews, the project also draws on the analysis of over 20 articles authored by members of the organization. A second set of interviews was conducted with these authors to discuss their analysis of contemporary political and social events in France and Europe. As anticipated, this master’s thesis grapples with challenges due to its sensitive nature: in accessing the field, establishing (or not) trust, framing the topic of interest and addressing the researcher’s positionality and mental well-being.