Index

Antifeminism

Antifeminism takes a stance against feminist approaches to gender and sexual equality and self-determination and against all efforts to gain emancipation and implement equal opportunities. Some of the topics criticized by anti-feminism include:

  • Policies concerning women, equal opportunities and the queer community
  • General feminist concerns such as combating sexism, misogyny, and transphobia
  • Encouraging gender and physical diversity and self-determination
  • Gender-sensitive language
  • Measures to protect against gender-based violence

Antifeminist activists specifically focus on structures and institutions that encourage sexual and gender diversity and health, e.g chairs for gender studies, equal opportunity and counseling services, and projects aimed at education and prevention. However, increasingly marginalized and politically active people are becoming the target of antifeminist attacks in the real and digital worlds.

Antifeminist statements and debates focus on the allegedly biologically determined relation between the genders, in which there is only ‘female’ and ‘male’, and a refusal to recognize queer gender identities or trans people. This also leads to a stereotypical understanding of roles that assigns particular traits and types of behavior to ‘women’ and ‘men’; see misogyny, sexism and patriarchy. Antifeminism is particularly rife in right-wing extremist, right-wing populist and religious fundamentalist ideologies. However, allegedly liberal or conservative positions may also harbor antifeminist ideologies and behavior. Rejecting sexual and gender diversity and pluralist lifestyles is an element that links various antifeminist movements. Furthermore, from an ideological point of view there are close links to other forms of discrimination towards certain groups of people such as racism, antisemitism, ableism, classism or lookism.

Since 2023, the Amadeu Antonio Foundation’s Anti-Feminism Reporting Office (only available in German) has offered the opportunity to submit anti-feminist incidents and contribute to the documentation and visualization of anti-feminism.

Source: antifeminismus-melden.de