The “Anti-gender” Frames and the Spanish (Far)right. Focus Groups with Vox and Partido Popular Voters

Abstract

One of the hallmarks of Vox, a far-right political party associated with both the Latin American new right and the European radical right, is its anti-feminist discourse. Despite the media prominence of the “anti-gender” stance taken by the elites of this party —in other words, of its opposition to gender justice and sexual diversity—, we know little about how this frame resonates among the broader right-wing electorate, where Vox gains support. To address this gap, we conducted three focus groups with voters from Vox and Partido Popular, the main right-wing parties in Spain. We analyzed how the anti-gender interpretation of reality is expressed in four discursive fractions: (1) androcentric liberalism; (2) patriarchal conservatism; (3) misogynist reactionaryism; and (4) feminist-nationalist radicalism. Despite significant differences between these discursive fractions, there was a transversal resonance of the anti-gender frame that mobilized right-wing voters against gender equality and feminism. Patriarchal conservatism was the only discursive fraction that showed ambivalence, dissociating itself from the anti-gender frame at some points. Conversely, the androcentric liberal faction was consistent in its opposition to gender justice, aligning with misogynist reactionaryism and feminist-nationalist radicalism. It is important to note that androcentric liberalism poses a threat to feminist politics as it denies the inequality between men and women through legal arguments that are legitimized within democratic discourse.