Resisting the Backlash: Feminist and LGBTQ+ Responses to Anti-Gender Politics in Serbia

Since 2017, Serbia has witnessed a sharp rise in anti-gender discourse fueled by political elites, conservative organizations, and religious actors. While existing scholarship has extensively examined the actors, networks, and narratives of anti-gender movements, far less attention has been paid to the responses of those targeted by these campaigns. This paper addresses that gap by exploring how women-led, feminist, and LGBTQ+ organizations in Serbia conceptualize, resist, and adapt to the growing anti-gender mobilization within an increasingly illiberal political environment. Drawing on semi-structured interviews with representatives of these organizations, the study investigates whether their responses are reactive or strategic, how they define allies and adversaries, and to what extent they cooperate across movements. The analysis situates their practices within the broader framework of democratic backsliding and the politics of knowledge production, examining how feminist and LGBTQ+ actors navigate shrinking civic space and discursive delegitimization. By foregrounding the agency and strategic capacity of the “attacked side,” this paper contributes to a more comprehensive understanding of anti-gender politics in Serbia and highlights the resilience, innovation, and limitations of feminist and LGBTQ+ resistance under autocratizing conditions.