Between Pillars and Micro-foundations: Digging Deep into Italian Anti-gender Rhetoric on Social Media

Over the past decade, scholars have extensively examined the rise of anti-gender politics in Europe. In this context, Italy is considered as a prominent battleground in the so-called «anti-gender crusade» against reproductive rights, LGBTQIA+ issues, self-determination, and bodily autonomy. However, few studies have addressed the everyday digital labor that supports the widespread circulation and eventual normalization of anti-gender rhetoric in the country. Against this background, this article looks more in depth at anti-gender rhetoric on social media and examines the specific contributions that actors in the «anti-gender galaxy» bring to its construction. We focus on Facebook and Instagram contents produced by actors from the four sectors of the Italian anti-gender galaxy – i.e., right-wing politicians, anti-gender and ecclesial organizations, and anti-trans groups – and investigate similarities and differences in the ways in which they articulate anti-gender claims and arguments. Our results show that, across all four sectors, the main concerns pivot around three main pillars – i.e., "gender ideology", traditional family, and trans* rights. At the same time, our results invite further reflection on the progressive internal reorganization of the Italian anti-gender galaxy in a dynamic tension between consolidation and expansion.