RESIST Project Press Release. Research Findings from Stage 1: Mapping 'Anti-Gender' Discourses Released

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Abstract

Headline: Europe-wide research reveals how transgender rights and LGBTIQ+ advocacy are systematically attacked in European politics and media.

Lead: A project researching so-called ‘anti-gender’ politics across Europe shows how politics attacking the idea of gender have taken root internationally.

The RESIST project has released research results demonstrating how transgender rights and LGBTIQ advocacy have become key targets for ‘anti-gender’ politics internationally.

Prof Gavan Titley, principal investigator at Maynooth University said, “Our research demonstrates that an intensive attack on LGBTIQ+ people across Europe is advanced through attacking the very idea of ‘gender’. While so-called ‘anti-gender’ politics have been attacking feminism and reproductive rights for decades, this politics is not static, and ‘anti-gender’ actors are always on the look-out for new targets. 
Anotable addition right now is to try to marginalise any form of LGBTIQ+ visibility and advocacy as ‘aggressive activism’ that is accused of wanting to impose ‘minority’ ideas and values on ‘majority populations.’ Once you do this, you can declare that you are defending children’s rights, parent’s rights, freedom of speech and even democracy against them”.