ABSTRACT

In contrast to the wealth of studies on progress towards gender equality, opposition to gender equality is rarely studied, which makes it difficult to understand the positive and negative dynamics of gender equality as a political project.

The first of its kind, this timely collection examines the potential and challenges of our current scholarship on understanding opposition to gender+ equality in Europe. Divided into three parts, Mieke Verloo and her team of international experts begin Varieties of Opposition to Gender Equality in Europe by theorizing the dynamics of opposition to gender equality policies in Europe. Part Two highlights oppositional actors (politicians, governments, citizens, policy makers, churches) and political arenas (parliament, courts, Internet), as well as different and opposing visions of gender+ equality. Part Three concludes with a framework for understanding oppositional dynamics on gender equality change.

Setting the agenda for future research, this book will be useful for students of gender and politics, social movements, European integration, and policy studies, as well as for high-level policymakers, students, and feminist activists alike. It will be an inspiration to thinkers and doers and to scholars and political actors.

part 1|54 pages

Conceptualizing Opposition and Oppositional Dynamics

chapter 1|16 pages

Introduction

Dynamics of Opposition to Gender+ Equality in Europe

chapter 2|19 pages

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

Making Sense of Opposition to Feminisms from a Social-Movement Perspective

chapter 3|17 pages

Understanding the Dynamics of Opposition to Gender-Equality Change

Lessons from and for Social Complexity Theory

part 2|158 pages

Varieties of Opposition to Gender+ Equality in Europe

chapter 4|20 pages

Patriarchy Fights Back

Violent Opposition to Gender Equality in Online Contexts

chapter 5|21 pages

Indirect Opposition

Diffuse Barriers to Gender+ Equality in the European Union

chapter 6|19 pages

Contesting Gender Equality in Domestic-Violence Policy Debates

Comparing Three Countries in Central and Eastern Europe

chapter 7|18 pages

A Feminist Opposition to Gender Equality?

Making Sense of the Social Democratic Party’s Internal Struggle over Extending Parental-Leave Quotas in Sweden 1

chapter 8|19 pages

Subversion from Within

Opposition to Gender Equality in the Court of Justice of the European Union

chapter 9|18 pages

Unpacking Oppositional Success

The French Laboratory

chapter 11|18 pages

Suspending Democracy, Harming Gender Equality

The 2013 Law on Pregnancy Termination in Macedonia

part 3|18 pages

Conclusions and Discussion

chapter 12|16 pages

How to Study Varieties of Opposition to Gender+ Equality in Europe?

Lessons from this Book, Conceptual Building Blocks, and Puzzles to Address