Gender Ideology as Political Strategy: Anti-Gender Backlash, Democratic Coalition-Building, and Progressive Governance in Brazil

Latin America's feminist movements have achieved unprecedented victories yet simultaneously, far-right leaderships have emerged and "conservative feminism" and femonationalist movements strategically appropriate women's rights agendas for electoral appeal. This reconfiguration raises critical questions: How does anti-gender mobilization operate when it weaponizes women's agency itself? Where do possibilities for defensive coalition-building against authoritarianism AND affirmative progressive campaigns emerge when "women's rights" becomes contested across the political spectrum? This paper traces how religious, moral, and nationalist narratives construct "gender ideology" as political enemy while women themselves become divided actors. Using quantitative public opinion analysis, qualitative interviews across the political spectrum, and digital discourse mapping from Brazil, we demonstrate that anti-gender framing obscures shared material anxieties—safety, care infrastructure, economic security—that transcend ideology. The paper identifies defensive strategies: how civil society, media, educational institutions, and rule-of-law defenders can build counter-coalitions against authoritarian appropriation of feminist discourse. Simultaneously, it demonstrates how gender and sexuality rights become affirmative campaign platforms that win. By translating shared concerns into bold policy agendas—reproductive autonomy, paid care work, violence prevention—progressives build campaigns around what people tangibly need. Finally, we analyze governing strategies: how winning coalitions institutionalize gender rights through education, healthcare, labor, and justice systems while preventing democratic backsliding. The paper argues democratic renewal requires deploying gender justice as both shield against authoritarianism and sword for progressive governance—building coalitions and campaigns to protect rights and deliver tangible improvements in women's lives.