The Conservative Backlash against Gender in Latin America

2020 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Flávia Biroli ◽  
Mariana Caminotti
Keyword(s):  
Latin America ◽  
Costa Rica ◽  
Gender And Sexuality ◽  
Natural Order ◽  
The Political ◽  
Far Right ◽  
Popular Support ◽  
The Public ◽  
National Values ◽  
The Family

Gender is central to the political disputes in Latin America today. Although conflicts concerning women and LGBTQ rights are not new, only recently have they become a dividing line in the public identities of parties, politicians, and candidates. The second decade of the 2000s brought the opposition to gender forward in the platforms of far-right movements and leaders, raising popular support as they mobilized conservative frameworks and antagonized feminist and LGBTQ activism. Their promises to protect the family from a supposed moral disorder made gender a popular category, strategically presented as an “ideology” threatening children, marriage, the natural order, and national values. Elections such as those in Brazil and Costa Rica in 2018 indicate that conflicts concerning gender and sexuality can also produce new electoral cleavages.

Race, Religion, or Culture? Framing Islam between Racism and Neo-Racism in the Online Network of the French Far Right

2018 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
pp. 696-709 ◽  
Author(s):  
Caterina Froio
Keyword(s):  
Mixed Method ◽  
Political System ◽  
The Political ◽  
Far Right ◽  
The Public ◽  
Political Discourses ◽  
National Values ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Public Sphere ◽  
Method Approach

When debates about Islam acquire importance in the public sphere, does the far right adhere to traditional racist arguments, risking marginalization, or does it conform to mainstream values to attain legitimacy in the political system? Focusing on the aftermath of the 2015 terrorist attacks in France, I explore the framing of Islam, discussing how the far right’s nativist arguments were reformulated to engage with available discursive opportunities and dominant conceptions of the national identity. By looking at actors in the protest and the electoral arenas, I examine the interplay between the choice of anti-Islam frames and baseline national values.I offer a novel mixed-method approach to study political discourses, combining social network analysis of the links between seventy-seven far-right websites with a qualitative frame analysis of online material. It also includes measures of online visibility of these websites to assess their audiences. The results confirm that anti-Islam frames are couched along a spectrum of discursive opportunity, where actors can either opt to justify opposition to Islam based on interpretations of core national values (culture and religion) or mobilize on strictly oppositional values (biological racism). The framing strategy providing most online visibility is based on neo-racist arguments. While this strategy allows distortion of baseline national values of secularity and republicanism, without breaching the social contract, it is also a danger for organizations that made “opposition to the system” their trademark. While the results owe much to the French context, the conclusions draw broader implications as to the far right going mainstream.

New Forms of Antisemitism, the Law, and the Politics of Gender and Sexuality in Contemporary France

2018 ◽  
Vol 39 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-17
Author(s):  
Natacha Chetcuti-Osorovitz ◽  
Fabrice Teicher
Keyword(s):  
Public Space ◽  
Modern Society ◽  
Gender And Sexuality ◽  
Far Right ◽  
Post Colonial ◽  
Political Actors ◽  
The Public ◽  
Same Sex Couples ◽  
Political Traditions ◽  
Lgbt People

Abstract Since 2012, hundreds of thousands of people mobilized and demonstrated against a French law that made both marriage and adoption possible for same-sex couples. In these demonstrations, seemingly heterogeneous groups and political traditions came together against those they saw as common enemies, namely Jews, LGBT people and feminists. Are these paradoxical alliances new? How have they transformed the public space and the imaginary of citizenship? The analysis of these activist repertoires shows that the ethos of anti-modernism, which has historically characterized reactionary groups, expressed itself through an obsessive focus and fear of the alleged undoing of gender, which is seen as emblematic of a post-modern society. Whether online or in demonstrations, a collection of political actors, ranging from the far-right to post-colonial second-generation groups, join forces in denouncing mass media, capitalism, and human rights, which they believe to be avatars of the decadence of their postmodern world. Their activism has reshaped the French political landscape.

Misguided Ancients

2021 ◽  
pp. 79-94
Author(s):  
Kathleen Wellman
Keyword(s):  
Public Sphere ◽  
Religious Right ◽  
Family Values ◽  
The Political ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Family ◽  
The World ◽  
Moral Arguments ◽  
The Public Sphere ◽  
Political Right

Although the ancient Greeks and Romans have long been appreciated as foundations for Western civilization, for these textbooks, the Greeks’ philosophy, gods, and immorality tar them as godless humanists. Nonetheless, the Greeks and the Romans allow these curricula to introduce several key social, political, and moral arguments. They assess whether ancient civilizations implemented the “family values” of the political right as it emerged in the 1970s. Thus the Greeks were commendable in excluding women from the public sphere and the Romans for their strong patriarchal families. But Rome fell when it failed to maintain family values. These textbooks disparage the Romans to downplay their influence on the American founding. Furthermore, the rise of Islam reveals the presence of Satan in the world. These curricula’s repudiation of the classical tradition reflects not only contemporary concerns of the religious right but also American anti-intellectualism.

Second Generation Reform in Latin America: Reforming the public sector in Uruguay and Mexico

2005 ◽  
Vol 37 (4) ◽  
pp. 667-691 ◽  
Author(s):  
FRANCISCO PANIZZA ◽  
GEORGE PHILIP
Keyword(s):  
Latin America ◽  
Public Sector ◽  
Significant Role ◽  
Second Generation ◽  
Political Context ◽  
The Political ◽  
The Public ◽  
Reform Legislation ◽  
The Way

Uruguay and Mexico have both passed laws aiming to professionalise the public sector bureaucracy according to what might be considered ‘second generation’ reform principles. They did so under what might initially have seemed to be politically unpropitious circumstances. The reforms might have been vetoed by interests that feared that they would lose out from the changes, but were not. They might have been blocked by conditions of minority presidentialism, but were not. This article seeks to explain the successful passing of this reform legislation. Framing issues played a significant role in reducing opposition. Notably important was the way in which the reforms were presented, and specifically the ability of their proponents to avoid presenting them as market-friendly reforms. The political context also provided the reformers with arguments that in the end proved persuasive.

scholarly journals Mecanismos de representación política en las democracias latinoamericanas: las cuotas electorales de género

2016 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 39
Author(s):  
Roberto Álvarez San Martín
Keyword(s):  
Latin America ◽  
Costa Rica ◽  
Political Participation ◽  
Latin American ◽  
Political Representation ◽  
The Political ◽  
Gender Quotas ◽  
Participation Of Women ◽  
Las Mujeres ◽  
America Latina

Resumen: A partir de cifras y hechos planteados por PNUD, CEPAL, FLACSO Chile e INSTRAW sobre la participación política de las mujeres, se realiza una revisión de los debates, aplicaciones y efectos de las cuotas electorales de género en América latina. Se toman en cuenta las diferentes barreras que deben sortear las mujeres en la arena política, y se analizan la definición, alcances y argumentos en pro y en contra de las cuotas electorales de género. Se analiza este mecanismo a partir de los casos de Argentina y Costa Rica, los más exitosos en términos de resultados; mientras México evidencia el impacto incremental de las cuotas en la representación femenina, Perú pone en evidencia la influencia de la fuerte tradición presidencialista. Brasil es un caso paradigmático, que representaría el fracaso de las cuotas de género. Se concluye que, salvo Argentina, las otras democracias sólo han podido acelerar el proceso de inclusión real de mujeres en los procesos eleccionarios, pero sin que los resultados sean realmente compatibles con lo esperado. Las mujeres latinoamericanas, con cuotas o sin ellas, siguen estando sub-representadas en los espacios de participación política.Palabras clave: Participación política femenina, cuotas electorales de género, mecanismos de representación política.Abstract: On the basis of data and facts put forth by UN, CEPAL, FLACSO Chile e INSTRAW about the political participation of women, this article analyzes the debates about the application and effects of electoral gender quotas in Latin America. The barriers to women’s political participation are taken into account, analyzing the definition, reach and arguments for and against gender quotas. The cases of Argentina and Costa Rica, the most successful in results, are analyzed. While Mexico shows the increased impact of quotas, Peru makes evident the influence of the strong presidential tradition. Brazil is a paradigmatic case, representing the failure of gender quotes. In conclusion, save for Argentina, other democracies have only accelerated the process of women’s inclusion in election processes, but without results compatible with expectations. Latin American women, with out without quotas, are underrepresented in the spaces of political participation.Key words: feminine political participation, electoral gender quotas, mechanisms of political representation.

scholarly journals On the Concepts of the “Family” and the “Household” in the Political Theory of Jean Bodin

2019 ◽  
Vol 18 (4) ◽  
pp. 130-148
Author(s):  
Gulnara Bayazitova
Keyword(s):  
Political Theory ◽  
The Political ◽  
Ancient Rome ◽  
The Public ◽  
Secondary Sources ◽  
Jean Bodin ◽  
The Family ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Difference ◽  
The Republic

The article examines the tradition of formation of the concepts “family” (famille) and “household” (ménage) in the political theory of the French lawyer, Jean Bodin. The article looks into different editions of Six Books of the Commonwealthto explore the connotations of the key concepts and the meaning that Bodin ascribed to them. As secondary sources, Bodin uses the works by Xenophon, Aristotle, Apuleus, and Marcus Junianus Justin, as well as the Corpus Juris Civilis. Bodin examines three different traditions, those of Ancient Greece, Ancient Hebrew, and Ancient Rome. Each of these traditions has its own history of the concepts of the “family” and of the “household”. Bodin refers to ancient traditions for polemics, but eventually offers his own understanding, not only of the concepts of “famille” and “ménage”, but also of the term «République», defined as the Republic, a term that (with some reservations) refers to the modern notion of state. The very fact that these concepts are being used signifies the division of the political space into the spheres of the private and the public. Furthermore, the concepts of the “family” and of the “household” are key to understand the essence of sovereignty as the supreme authority in the Republic. The author concludes that the difference between Bodin’s concepts of the “family” and the “household” lies not only in the possession of property and its legal manifestation, but also in the fact that the “household” is seen by Bodin as the basis of the Republic, the first step in the system of subordination to the authority.

Rivalries of proximity beyond the household in Niger: political elites and thebaab-izeypattern

Africa ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 87 (1) ◽  
pp. 120-136 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jean-Pierre Olivier de Sardan
Keyword(s):  
Party Politics ◽  
The Political ◽  
Social Perceptions ◽  
Political Elites ◽  
Structural Components ◽  
The Public ◽  
Political World ◽  
Political Conflicts ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Family

AbstractIn Niger, there is an increasing rejection ofpolitik(a term with highly pejorative connotations): that is, party politics and the politics of democracy, characterized by personal rivalries and power struggles between clans and factions. But there is a direct link (albeit not a causal one) between the social perceptions of intra-familial rivalries and the social perceptions of political rivalries. The archetypical relationship among thebaab-izey(children of one father but different mothers) is characterized by competition and jealousy. This is a product of the latent rivalry that pits co-wives against each other. Polygamy is clearly at odds with a number of received ideas and clichés about ‘the African family’ as primarily a locus of support and solidarity. Such formal social norms may reign in public situations, but in private de facto practical norms give rise to subtle discriminations and the omnipresence of more or less hidden conflicts within the family. The same is true for the political microcosm of Niger. While the public norm of the concern for the public good is supposed to regulate political behaviours, rivalry and jealousy are structural components of the political world. Thebaab-izeypattern is frequently used in reference to politicians. Political conflicts are above all personal/factional conflicts in which friends and supporters are implicated, and are rivalries of proximity. In the familial space as in the political space, ‘magico-religious entrepreneurs’ (i.e. experts in the occult) are merely an ‘accelerator’ of these conflicts: they reinforce suspicions about the familial or political entourage, which, in turn, intensify rivalries.

scholarly journals „DET KRÆVER NU ENGANG EN MAND OG EN KVINDE“: Køn, seksualitet og slægtskab i den politiske debat om homoseksuelles forældreegnethed

2004 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maruska la Cour Mosegaard
Keyword(s):  
Gender And Sexuality ◽  
The Political ◽  
Homosexual Men ◽  
Heterosexual Intercourse ◽  
Political Debates ◽  
The Family ◽  
Controversial Topic ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Kinship Ties ◽  
Point Of Departure

In Denmark same sex parenthood is a highly controversial topic. Taking this controversy as a point of departure the article discusses kinship as a negotiated and politicised field. While homosexual men are increasingly becoming fathers and parents, their fatherhood is still surrounded with silence in political debates, which focus mainly on lesbian motherhood. By exploring how notions of kinship, gender and sexuality are intersected in the political debates regarding homosexuals’ access to parenthood, the article explores this apparent invisibility of homosexual fathers. The political debates provide a window on the contemporary negotiation of kinship ties and obligations, and touch upon the boundaries of “the family”. The article concludes that the silence surrounding homosexual fathers is a question of both their (homo)sexuality and their gender. Both homosexual men and women have difficulties in access to parenthood and are excluded from the definition of family contained in Danish law, because they cannot uphold the notion of kinship as symbolized by heterosexual intercourse. In addition the wishes of fatherhood held by gay men are – because of their being men – ignored since parenthood in a Danish context still is synonymous with motherhood.  

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