State antifeminism

Abstract

State feminism is a concept that refers to the integration of feminists and feminist issues into the state apparatus. Yet, while the feminist movement must regularly contend with an antifeminist counter-movement, it is worth considering whether a 'state antifeminism' is also present or emerging, and how this presence or emergence is affecting efforts by feminist organizations to address the needs of women and advance women's equality. With this objective in mind, this article focuses chiefly on two Western countries and is based on more than twenty semi-structured interviews with feminists in Belgium and Quebec, Canada.