Spaces of Risk, Practices of Care: Anti-Gender Politics and Queer-Feminist Resistance across Divergent Political Contexts

Description

Abstract

This paper draws on two national case studies - Switzerland and Belarus - conducted as part of the RESIST research project to examine how anti-gender politics are articulated, experienced, and resisted in distinct political and cultural contexts. Situating the analysis within the broader conference theme of “deviance” and “rebellion,” the paper explores how feminist and queer actors navigate the shifting boundaries of normativity, visibility, and dissent in times of intensified political contestation.

In Switzerland, a country often associated with liberal democratic values and institutional stability, gender and sexual rights are increasingly framed as symbols of ‘progressive excess’ or ‘wokeness’ by conservative actors. Despite recent legal gains, queer and feminist activists face growing backlash, marked by a normalization of anti-gender discourse, digital harassment, and subtle forms of silencing. Here, “deviance” is not overtly criminalized but politically stigmatized, casting those engaged in gender justice work as promoters of gender ideology.

In Belarus, anti-gender politics are embedded within broader mechanisms of state repression, where expressions of feminist and queer activism are framed as politically subversive. Most human rights, feminist, and queer organizations have been dismantled or forced into silence, leading many activists to continue their work from exile. In this context, resistance takes on dispersed and transnational forms, grounded in practices of care, encrypted knowledge-sharing, and collective survival.

The paper discusses these cases to consider how those labelled as “deviant” or “rebellious” negotiate visibility, belonging, and survival in hostile environments. It also reflects on how care and collective practice can function not only as coping mechanisms, but as everyday forms of resistance.