Exploring 'Gender Ideology'. A Study of Contemporary Antifeminist Mobilisations in Spain

Since the early 90s the Vatican started to develop a strategy to counter demands of feminist movements which it considered to go against the 'natural order'. In the 2000s this developed further into organised campaigning which would also be taken on by other religious and non-religious groups to oppose what is considered a direct threat to the traditional family and social order in general. The research explores these contemporary mobilisations which question key feminist demands in Spain and the wider international context. Often, this materialises in the opposition to so-called 'gender ideology' and covers topics such as sexual education, LGBT politics and policy, or abortion. Likewise, the use of the umbrella term anti-gender is commonly used to refer to movements that challenge the favouring of gender - understood as a social construction - over the term sex - as biological.

The project aims to gain a better understanding of antifeminist movements by speaking to both activists engaged in these causes, and actors who either reject their premises or who have engaged with their claims and actions as third parties. In this way, Spain will serve as a case study to understand the wider international context, since this country already witnessed mass mobilisations against same-sex marriage in the early 2000s and houses the headquarters of CitizenGo, a key international anti-gender campaigning platform.

In this way, Spain represents a key and pioneering case to understand the shaping of what would become a European and worldwide movement opposing certain aspects of feminism. Hence, the research will include an in-depth nine-months long ethnographic fieldwork in Spain. The project will use an explorative approach and draw on a number of methods such as interviews, participant observation and visual methods - to gain a better understanding of the strategies and motivations of antifeminist mobilisations. Participants will not only include antifeminist activists and groups but also other sectors of society who have had to react to their demands, such as city councils. The key part of the fieldwork will take place in Madrid - considered a central organising place which houses the headquarters of many organisations involved in antifeminist campaigning. However, it will also include fieldtrips to other parts of Spain to attend events and interviews as required.