Circulation of Antifeminist Discourses on Masculinities across Political and Digital Fields

In recent years, antifeminism has sought to (re)articulate itself as a political project through the production of knowledge and strategies. Across much of Europe, data reveal a growing mobilisation of men in favour of antifeminist agendas. To understand this rising phenomenon, it is essential to examine the discourses and meanings disseminated by antifeminism, including intersectional and political violence perspectives. This article analyses one of the key antifeminist strategies related to knowledge production: the construction of imaginaries of masculinities. The study focuses on Spain and, specifically, on the representations of masculinities that emerged around the Organic Law 10/2022, commonly known as the ‘Only Yes is Yes’ Law. This case offers a particularly revealing context due to the intense political polarisation it provoked, the strong antifeminist backlash across both institutional and digital arenas, and the prominence of Vox—the Spanish far-right party leading the country’s anti-gender movement and exhibiting one of the largest gender gaps in voter support in Europe. Using Critical Discourse Analysis, this research explores antifeminist discourses and imaginaries of masculinities through two fields: institutional debates in the Spanish Parliament and YouTube videos. It examines how narratives circulate and interact between institutional and digital spheres. Findings show that antifeminist discourses construct masculinities around three main axes: 1) the white heterosexual man as a victim; 2) racialised migrant men as aggressors; 3) and the call for male mobilisation. Political violence is central to these narratives, particularly through the ‘racialisation of sexism’ and delegitimization of feminist policies. Moreover, the study identifies strong discursive alignment between anti-egalitarian YouTubers and conservative political actors, especially in antifeminist attacks. Overall, the research demonstrates that imaginaries of masculinities and political violence are co-produced across an online-offline continuum, indispensable to comprehend the current mobilisation of many men around antifeminist ideologies.