Silencing feminism? Gender and the rise of the nationalist far right in Spain

Abstract

Feminism in Spain is experiencing a paradox. On the one hand, the March 8 movement has held two feminist strikes, attended by multitudes. On the other hand, the far Right has entered representative politics, announcing a battle against feminism. With the rapid ascendency of the nationalist far-right party Vox, Spain joins other European countries where the far Right is on the rise. This article’s aim is to analyze the crucial role of gender in the rise of the nationalist far Right in Spain, arguing that gender is not a secondary issue but a primary field in which this political process is being articulated. The article examines the ways Vox mobilized gender during the national electoral campaign of April 2019 and during their first steps in the Andalusian Parliament. The analysis is twofold: it begins by exploring the framing of Vox’s electoral campaigns, including the national myth of the Reconquista of a Catholic Spain from Muslim rule and the militaristic representation of masculinity within this holy-war frame. It then examines Vox’s relentless antigender discourse, focusing on two prominent issues: first, the far-right opposition to gender violence policy through a variety of strategies, such as denying the gendered nature of violence against women and reversing the roles of victim and perpetrator, and second, the party’s representation of feminism, ranging from its straightforward delegitimization of feminism as an enemy of the Spanish nation to a parasitic-opportunistic appropriation through the defense of a “Spanish feminism.” The case study concludes that the Spanish far Right is gender dependent and that antagonism toward feminism is one of its key features.