Gender rights and gender equality have always been contested fields in modern (Western) history. Claims for sexual self-determination and bodily autonomy, reproductive rights, protection from violence, recognition of care work, and diverse forms of families are just some of the topics that are currently at the heart of (queer)feminist struggles. But all those topics are also urgently addressed and contested by conservative, right-wing nationalist and religious fundamentalist groups and parties, men's rights activists/masculinists. Although the divisions appear to be precise, it must be emphasized that there is no one feminism and that feminist issues and demands have always been diverse and vary according to historical time and context. However, in recent history, unusual alliances have been forming for supposed "women's rights," but their anti-democratic potential is a cause for concern. For example, right-wing populist (female) actors and parties place "women's" issues at the center of their programs and create racist threat fantasies. Topics such as gender, child welfare, and family are affectively charged to address people in their everyday lives.
Another example is the so-called trans*-exclusive radical feminists ("TERF"), who were already demanding that trans* people not be accepted in feminist spaces in the 1970s and 80s. TERFs are currently radicalizing their rhetoric, creating gates to various conservative and right-wing movements. But also, the connections of feminists to the diverse milieu of "anti-vaxxers" show "new" constellations by connecting supposed women's concerns with (anti-Semitic) conspiracy myths. All these efforts mobilize hate campaigns against trans*people, people of color, Jewish people, and migrants and contribute to social polarization dynamics. How can these tendencies be explained? Who advocates in the name of whom addressing which rights? Which similarities and differences can we identify by comparing (trans)national actors? And – which kind of feminism is needed to counter the appropriations?
The participants of the two-day workshop will attempt to approach this phenomenon based on three local case studies from the Baltic Sea region (Northern Europe, Eastern Europe, and Germany). Three to four speakers from activist and academic contexts will be invited to a broad public panel discussion (evening event on January 17, 2023) to debate and illuminate the context-bound goals, strategies, and contradictions of an actor constellation/case study. In the second part, workshops with the speakers will be offered the following day for a broader audience to deepen the topics.
Weitere Informationen und eine Registrierung finden Sie unter folgendem Link
Place: Public Panel Discussion at Rubenowstr. 3, Hörsaal / Workshops at Internationales Begegnungszentrum (IBZ), Bahnhofstr. 2/3
Please note: Make sure to register for the workshops in advance via Beate Heß: hessuni-greifswaldde
This event takes place in cooperation with the IZfG.
Organizing team:
Prof. Dr. Cordelia Hess (Department of History, University Greifswald)
Prof. Dr. Annelie Ramsbrock (Department of History, University Greifswald)
Prof. Dr. Clemens Räthel (Department of Finnish and Scandinavian Studies, University Greifswald)
Dr. Maria Mayerchyk (Philipp Schwartz Fellowship, Alexander von Humboldt Foundation)
Dr. Olga Plakhotnik (Department of Slavic Studies, University Greifswald)
Dr. Heide Volkening (Department of German Philology, University Greifswald)
Dr. Annalisa Martin (Department of History, University Greifswald)
Anna Efremowa (Interdisciplinary Centre for Baltic Sea Region Research, University Greifswald)