Doing Feminism Beyond Sisterhood? Feminist Circulations and Local Reappropriation in Anti-Gender Mothers-Led Activism

Since the COVID-19 pandemic, a wave of parents–particularly mothers–has embarked on activist careers aimed at protecting their children from what they perceive as state overreach in their intimate sphere. Initially mobilized against mask mandates in schools and vaccination campaigns, these networks have progressively expanded their scope to issues such as comprehensive sex education. This evolution can be understood as a case of social movement spillover, where tactical repertoires, framing strategies, and organizational models circulate across movements (Meyer & Whittier 1994). The encounter between anti-COVID activism and anti-gender campaigns is facilitated by the latter’s plasticity and ability to cross both ideological and geographical borders (Corrêa 2022; Corrêa, House & Paternotte 2023). Yet, their reterritorialization in specific local contexts produces configurations shaped by existing political cultures and activist practices. While research has documented the transnational circulation of anti-gender frames and repertoires (Corrêa, House & Paternotte 2023 ; McEwen 2024), less attention has been paid to feminist frameworks within anti-gender movements–with the notable exception of Beck, Habed and Henninger’s Blurring Boundaries (2023). In our case, even though the mothers involved rarely identify as feminists–and often position themselves in opposition to–, concepts and practices rooted in feminist struggles nonetheless shape these mothers-led movements. This raises the following question: how do feminist frameworks circulate, and how are they appropriated or rejected by movements that define themselves as antagonistic to feminism? Drawing on interviews with women engaged in anti-COVID activism in southeastern France, this presentation analyzes how feminist “ways of doing” and “ways of saying” circulate and are reappropriated within networks opposing public health and education institutions. It focuses on three key notions–bodily autonomy (Reich 2018; Baker and Walsh 2023; Challier 2024), consent (Campion-Vincent 2006), and parental alienation (Friedli 2024)– to illustrate distinct dynamics of feminist circulation. By unpacking these hybridization of frames and repertoires of collective action, the presentation reflects on the blurring of boundaries between feminists and anti-gender mobilizations, and highlights how transnational circulations are reinterpreted through local activism.