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“Fighting ‘Gender Ideology’” – A critical discourse analysis of the anti-feminist discourse by the Alternative für Deutschland (AfD)

Nithammer, Amelie Elisa LU (2025) SIMZ11 20251
Graduate School
Abstract
The rise of right-wing populism in Western democracies has been accompanied by a backlash against gender equality and a nostalgia for a return to traditional gender roles; a movement known as anti-feminism. The Alternative for Germany (AfD), a far-right political party in Germany, is also linked to this movement by attacking advances in gender equality and LGBTQ+ rights in its political discourse. This thesis aims to conduct a critical discourse analysis on the anti-feminist discourse of the AfD in parliamentary debates in the German Bundestag. The thesis will apply concepts of ontological (in) security, social identity theory, intersectionality, and feminism, and examine how they shape the populist discourse. The critical discourse... (More)
The rise of right-wing populism in Western democracies has been accompanied by a backlash against gender equality and a nostalgia for a return to traditional gender roles; a movement known as anti-feminism. The Alternative for Germany (AfD), a far-right political party in Germany, is also linked to this movement by attacking advances in gender equality and LGBTQ+ rights in its political discourse. This thesis aims to conduct a critical discourse analysis on the anti-feminist discourse of the AfD in parliamentary debates in the German Bundestag. The thesis will apply concepts of ontological (in) security, social identity theory, intersectionality, and feminism, and examine how they shape the populist discourse. The critical discourse analysis is structured according to Norman Fairclough’s three-dimensional model, which examines the discourse at word level, how the discourse is produced and consumed, and its sociocultural implications. The material includes parliamentary speeches on feminist issues from the legislative period from 2021 until 2025. It was found that the AfD's discourse aims to polarize society into two binary camps, to consolidate the hegemony of certain privileged groups by portraying them as endangered, and to strategically emotionalize political debates to create ontological insecurity and generate sustained political support. (Less)
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author
Nithammer, Amelie Elisa LU
supervisor
organization
course
SIMZ11 20251
year
type
H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
subject
keywords
anti-feminism, right-wing populism, ontological insecurity, social identity, discourse
language
English
id
9197686
date added to LUP
2025-06-27 12:44:51
date last changed
2025-06-27 12:44:51
@misc{9197686,
  abstract     = {{The rise of right-wing populism in Western democracies has been accompanied by a backlash against gender equality and a nostalgia for a return to traditional gender roles; a movement known as anti-feminism. The Alternative for Germany (AfD), a far-right political party in Germany, is also linked to this movement by attacking advances in gender equality and LGBTQ+ rights in its political discourse. This thesis aims to conduct a critical discourse analysis on the anti-feminist discourse of the AfD in parliamentary debates in the German Bundestag. The thesis will apply concepts of ontological (in) security, social identity theory, intersectionality, and feminism, and examine how they shape the populist discourse. The critical discourse analysis is structured according to Norman Fairclough’s three-dimensional model, which examines the discourse at word level, how the discourse is produced and consumed, and its sociocultural implications. The material includes parliamentary speeches on feminist issues from the legislative period from 2021 until 2025. It was found that the AfD's discourse aims to polarize society into two binary camps, to consolidate the hegemony of certain privileged groups by portraying them as endangered, and to strategically emotionalize political debates to create ontological insecurity and generate sustained political support.}},
  author       = {{Nithammer, Amelie Elisa}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{“Fighting ‘Gender Ideology’” – A critical discourse analysis of the anti-feminist discourse by the Alternative für Deutschland (AfD)}},
  year         = {{2025}},
}