‘Anti-Genderismus’: The German Case

In Germany, the statements and networks self-identifying as ‘anti-genderists‘ are firmly rooted in what may be called populist ultra-conservative, and partly libertarian contexts (Pegida, AfD, etc.). Thus, the German situation is far less marked by religious or catholic fundamentalist contexts compared to other European countries, although religious motivated fundamentalist constellations do exist in Germany. The paper will first describe the specific neo-conservative attacks on gender (and sexual pluralism) as they have become increasingly visible over the last years regarding gender studies, gender mainstreaming and sexual pluralism. Secondly, the paper will argue that ‘anti-genderist’ ideologies are part of a larger populist re-essentialism dynamic which itself responds to overall experiences and anxieties related to economic and cultural precarization. The hypothesis is that gender is a post-essentialist notion, which seems to trigger so far tacit notions of ‘nature‘ within citizenship and politics.