Gender as “Ebola from Brussels”

Chapter 4 looks closely at anti-genderism as an ideological construct and a cohesive discourse, focusing on its affinity to right-wing populism, i.e. the way it constructs a division between “pure people” and “corrupt elites.” It examines closely the massive discursive appropriation at the heart of anti-gender discourse: the conservative version of anti-colonial rhetoric, employed among others by Pope Francis . This discursive strategy is effective especially in Eastern Europe and in the Global South. Through its use of the anti-colonial frame , anti-gender discourse manages to combine ultraconservatism with a critique of neoliberalism: it vilifies both global and local elites accusing them of “ideological colonization.” Feminism is presented as an integral part of neoliberalism, while “the traditional family” becomes the last frontier of resistance, a source of hope and a reservoir of solidarity. The use of the anti-colonial frame has allowed the populist right to undermine the left-wing monopoly on voicing critique towards capitalism. Anti-colonialism is a populist meta-discourse that trumps many particularisms and conflicts by stressing the need to defend ordinary people, the poor, the helpless, the abused against a network of corrupt global elites . Today, anti-genderism has become the new language of anti-capitalist mobilization, with profound consequences for the left.

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