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Nature, nationalism and affect in Spanish anti-gender narratives
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Obst, Marcel (2022) Nature, nationalism and affect in Spanish anti-gender narratives. PhD thesis, University of Warwick.
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Official URL: http://webcat.warwick.ac.uk/record=b3883073
Abstract
‘Anti-gender’ actors constitute a loosely connected network of mobilisations with a transnational dimension. They seek political goals through their opposition to common feminist and LGBTQ+ issues, including sexual and reproductive rights, gender-based violence legislation, same-sex marriage and adoption, and progressive sex education at schools. However, not all anti-gender actors defend the same issues; furthermore, these movements do not occur in isolation but are mostly part of wider neoconservative and (far-)right movements with often authoritarian aims. In this thesis, I provide an in-depth qualitative account of anti-gender mobilising in the Spanish context, based on extended empirical research carried out over a period of nine months in Madrid and beyond. During my research, I spent significant time at different types of events – including seminars, conferences, demonstrations, and film screenings – as well as carrying out in depth interviews. Given the ethical implications of doing research with groups towards which the researcher harbours a personal dislike, I provide a detailed reflection on what I argue is a crossroad between ethics and safety. In light of my findings, I commence by unpacking the Catholic framing of an opposition to gender and sexuality via references to ‘nature’ and ‘tradition’, as well as argue that behind such oppositional practices there lies an aim to preserve the ‘traditional’ family. I then analyse how Spanish anti-gender movements interact with other exclusionary narratives and suggest that the Spanish Right turns toward a monopolisation of nationalism at the hands of the (far-)right to construct an enemy within. Shifting then to the role of affect, I suggest that anti-gender actors create collective moods of anxiety, love and hate through an appeal to both nostalgic contemplations of the past as well as a temporality of decay projected into the future. I conclude that Spanish anti-gender actors generate a national rhythm that dictates what is both morally acceptable, ‘traditional’ and in the ‘interest’ of the nation.
Item Type: | Thesis (PhD) | ||||
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Subjects: | H Social Sciences > HM Sociology H Social Sciences > HN Social history and conditions. Social problems. Social reform H Social Sciences > HQ The family. Marriage. Woman J Political Science > JC Political theory |
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Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH): | Anti-feminism -- Spain, Sex discrimination against women -- Spain, Sexism -- Spain, Homophobia -- Spain, Transphobia -- Spain, Sex role -- Spain, Social movements -- Spain, Nationalism -- Social aspects -- Spain, Conservatism -- Spain, Conservatism -- Religious aspects -- Catholic Church | ||||
Official Date: | September 2022 | ||||
Dates: |
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Institution: | University of Warwick | ||||
Theses Department: | Department of Sociology | ||||
Thesis Type: | PhD | ||||
Publication Status: | Unpublished | ||||
Supervisor(s)/Advisor: | Pereira, Maria do Mar ; Valluvan, Sivamohan ; Lambert, Cath (Catherine Ruth), 1971- | ||||
Sponsors: | Economic and Social Research Council (Great Britain) | ||||
Format of File: | |||||
Extent: | ix, 216 leaves | ||||
Language: | eng |
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