Naslov
Discursive Shifts and Gender Issues in Right- Wing Populist Rhetoric in the United States

Autori
Jurković, Irena

Vrsta, podvrsta i kategorija rada
Sažeci sa skupova, neobjavljeni rad, stručni

Skup
CAAS 2021 Workshop – Tracing Populism in the U.S. and Comparative Perspective

Mjesto i datum
Zadar, Hrvatska, 25.09.2021

Vrsta sudjelovanja
Predavanje

Vrsta recenzije
Domaća recenzija

Ključne riječi
gender, populism, retrotopia

Sažetak
When it comes to gender-related issues and sexual politics, populist right parties typically place great emphasis on traditional heteronormative family, excluding those groups and individuals who seem to violate fundamental family values. However, it has been observed that in discussions on immigration and foreign workers, right-wing populists tend to hold a more liberal stance towards gender equality. Such a seemingly liberal approach has been explained by shifts in meaning in the dichotomy of “us” versus “them” and the constant repositioning of “others” who are not “us” (Mayer et al., 2014). In this presentation, I will discuss discursive shifts in terms of gender equality and freedom of choice in contemporary right- wing populist rhetoric in the United States. Special emphasis will be placed on Republican communication patterns during the 2016 and 2020 presidential campaigns and the rhetoric of their presidential nominee, Donald Trump. While the (re)negotiations of gender equality have so far been recognized in conjunction with the exclusion of racialized Others, in this presentation we will see how in the US social context gender equality and women's rights are being (re)framed at the intersection with transgender issues while following the logic of the construction of inner enemy. This can be seen, for example, in the Republican rhetoric that, on the one hand, is marked by anti-emancipatory and misogynistic claims (e.g. Women who have had an abortion must be punished) while, on the other hand, the same actors also advocate women’s rights in debates on transgender women in sports and the military (e.g. We must defend women and women’s sport). Relying on Bauman’s concept of retrotopia, I will argue that such a discursive pattern and redefining of gender equality are an essential part of right-populist strategies of rewriting traditional values into a new narrative of nostalgia for an idealized past.

Izvorni jezik
Engleski

POVEZANOST RADA