Research project Contemporary expressions of anti-gender mobilization in Sweden and South Africa
Over the past decade, movements opposing sexual and reproductive rights (SRHR) and gender equality have gained ground and become increasingly interconnected globally. This mobilization, and how it affects and is responded to by feminist and SRHR movements in Sweden and South Africa, is explored in this postdoctoral project.
The value-conservative actors who make up this disparate ‘anti-gender movement’ generally frame their agendas as a defence of so-called ‘traditional values’ or ‘natural families’. This translates into attacks on activism, research and political processes aimed at strengthening the rights of girls, women and LGBTQ persons to control their bodies and sexuality, thus impacting on the work and vulnerability of feminist and SRHR movements. Parallel to this, polarised intra-feminist debates are taking place in many contexts, where conflicting interpretations of the concepts of gender, sex and gender identity create divisions. This project takes as its starting point these complex and parallel trends: a growing value-conservative anti-gender mobilization, and a split within and between feminist movements. Through an empirical focus on Sweden and South Africa, the project explores these phenomena from different angles.
Project members
Project managers
Åsa Maria Eriksson
Fil. Dr
