Are Men and Women Members of Right-wing Populist Parties Because of Anti-Feminist Party Positions? Analyzing the Motivations, Motives and Backgrounds of Men and Women in The FPÖ and The AfD

The proportion of female members in right-wing populist parties is steadily increasing (AfD: 15 percent in 2015, 19 percent in 2021, and 21 percent in 2024). This development seems paradoxical, as these parties represent political views that challenge feminist achievements and restrict women's autonomy. Are party members convinced of the parties' anti-feminist attitudes? Did they perhaps join the party because of these attitudes? This article examines how men and women explain their membership in the AfD and the FPÖ, with a particular focus on anti-feminist discourses and ideologies. An online questionnaire conducted with party members of the AfD and the FPÖ (N=167) containing open-ended questions allows for an in-depth analysis of the personal backgrounds of party members and their underlying motives and reasons for party membership. The majority of female participants emphasized that they joined and remained members of these parties because they fear (male) migrants or immigration in general and because the parties represent conservative family values, which means that women should take care of the family while the husband earns money for the family. The male participants mostly emphasized nationalism and rejection of migration as their main motives for joining the party. Regardless of gender, the survey participants mostly reflected conservative to anti-feminist attitudes toward gender roles. The results suggest that women's membership in right-wing populist parties is not at odds with anti-feminist values, but rather represents an active positioning within these parties. The results show an overlap between anti-feminist and anti-immigration narratives, which become gender-specific strategies of belonging. The article contributes to the debate on anti-feminism in right-wing populist parties by emphasizing that it is not anti-feminism per se that mobilizes women politically, but rather narratives about female identity and security that motivate women to become politically active within these parties.