Anti-feminism as an Intersectional Ideology: Nationalism and Conspiracy Thinking in the Crusade against Equality

Anti-feminism, which currently mainly takes the form of anti-gender campaigns targeting sexual and gender diversity, can be understood as a political ideology, which is always deeply intersectional (Stögner 2017). It is intertwined with other ideologies of inequality (i.a. racism, antisemitism) and in this bundled-up form is one key component of current anti-liberal, anti-modern and anti-democratic political campaigns that strive to redefine societal values, norms and discourses as well as institutions. These campaigns take various forms, depending on histories and contexts. Among other functions, anti-feminism is used to promote nationalist agendas by conservative and right-wing political governments – often in the disguise of anti-elite discourse or even anti-colonial rhetoric, which are stripped of their emancipatory agenda and used to delegitimise local feminist and queer movements. It is also used by oppositional right-wing groups, both secular and religious, to mount fundamental attacks against liberal democracy. Right-wing (extremist) actors interweave anti-feminism with racism, antisemitism and nationalism (i.a. in the narrative of the “Great Replacement”), thereby constructing a conspiracy narrative picturing an existential threat to their audiences and promoting their own agenda as the only possible solution. Taking conceptual work on the role of anti-feminism in current crusades against liberal democracy and its role in right-wing extremism (Sauer 2017; Dietze/Roth 2020; Goetz/Mayer 2023) as our starting point we explore how these relations play out on the individual level. The paper is based on an empirical research project, which uses a mixed-methods design to explore conspiracy world-views and conspiracy narratives in Austria. We use data from a quantitative survey and narrative interviews to analyse the role of anti-feminism in shaping conspiracy beliefs and how anti-feminism intersects with other ideologies of inequality to coalesce into politically viable world-views. Dietze, G./Roth, J. (2020). (Eds), Right-wing populism and gender: European perspectives and beyond. Transcript. Goetz, J./Mayer, S. (2023). (Eds), Global Perspectives on Anti-Feminism. EUP. Sauer, B. (2017). Gesellschaftstheoretische Überlegungen zum europäischen Rechtspopulismus. Zum Erklärungspotenzial der Kategorie Geschlecht. Politische Vierteljahresschrift, 58(1), 3–22. Stögner, K. (2017). »Intersektionalität von Ideologien«—Antisemitismus, Sexismus und das Verhältnis von Gesellschaft und Natur. Psychologie & Gesellschaftskritik, 41(2), 25–45.