Varieties of Opposition to Gender Equality in Europe
Gender and Comparative Politics Series

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: Conceptualizing Opposition and Oppositional Dynamics 1. Introduction: Dynamics of Opposition to Gender+ Equality in Europe [Mieke Verloo] 2. The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly: Making Sense of Opposition to Feminisms from a Social-Movement Perspective [Conny Roggeband] 3. Understanding the Dynamics of Opposition to Gender-Equality Change: Lessons from And for Social Complexity Theory [Mieke Verloo] Part 2: Varieties of Opposition to Gender+ Equality in Europe 4. Patriarchy Fights Back: Violent Opposition to Gender Equality in Online Contexts [Sofia Strid] 5. Indirect Opposition: Diffuse Barriers to Gender+ Equality in The European Union [Petra Ahrens] 6. Contesting Gender Equality in Domestic-Violence Policy Debates: Comparing Three Countries in Central and Eastern Europe [Andrea Krizsan and Raluca Maria Popa] 7. A Feminist Opposition to Gender Equality? Making Sense of The Social Democratic Party’s Internal Struggle Over Extending Parental-Leave Quotas in Sweden [Christina Bergqvist, Elin Bjarnegård, and Pär Zetterberg] 8. Subversion from Within: Opposition to Gender Equality in The Court of Justice of The European Union [Elisabeth Holzleithner] 9. Unpacking Oppositional Success: The French Laboratory [David Paternotte] 10. Popular Opposition to Economic Gender Equality and Homosexual Lifestyles [Niels Spierings] 11. Suspending Democracy, Harming Gender Equality: The 2013 Law on Pregnancy Termination in Macedonia [Ana Miškovska Kajevska] Part 3: Conclusions and Discussion: A Framework for Understanding Oppositional Dynamics on Gender-Equality Change and Possible Actions Against Opposition 12. How to Study Varieties of Opposition to Gender+ Equality in Europe? Lessons from This Book, Conceptual Building Blocks, And Puzzles to Address [Mieke Verloo]

Mieke Verloo is Professor of Comparative Politics and Inequality Issues at Radboud University in the Netherlands, and Non-Residential Permanent Fellow at the IWM, Institute for Human Sciences, in Vienna. She is the winner of the 2015 ECPG Gender and Politics Career Achievement Award. She was scientific director of large research projects on gender equality policymaking in Europe that designed methods to analyze the various meanings of gender equality policies across Europe, as well as their intersectional dimensions. She has extensive consultancy and training experience on gender mainstreaming and intersectionality for several European governments and institutions. Her latest research is on the rise and dynamics of opposition to gender+ equality in Europe.