Article by Beatrice Aitken

Photo by Vlad Zaytsev on Unsplash

With the rise of right-wing populism, we are seeing an increase in the rhetoric of protecting women and families. At first glance, this may be interpreted to align with feminist ideals by emphasising women’s safety. But in reality, this right-wing ideology instils traditional gender hierarchies and promotes the idea that women are vulnerable and require protection from men in society. It also reinforces traditionalism, praising the nuclear family, a structure where patriarchy and heteronormativity thrive. And this so-called ‘protection’ of women is often used to support anti-immigration arguments, painting male immigrants as a threat to women’s safety.

We are currently experiencing extreme political polarisation: the gap between the left and the right is widening and people are adopting extremist views. With this come a rise in right-wing populism. (Anti-Gender Politics in the Populist Movement)  Far-right political parties are growing to power in Europe and overseas. Alison Phipps argues that this means reasserting borders, white supremacy, class privilege, ‘abled’ bodies, masculinity, and binary gender. This growing agenda of traditionalism coincides with increased racism, sexism and homophobia. These right-wing ideologies portray growing progression as a threat against societal function, specifically women’s safety.

This right-wing ideology praises the traditional nuclear family, prioritising women’s subordination by confining them to a conventional expressive role. Nancy Love mentions the significance of the subsection of extremist far-right women named TradWives. They aim to return to orthodox family values and male authority and argue that progressiveness causes a threat to women. With growing social media influence, TradWives use platforms such as Instagram and TikTok to spread their traditional values, marketing the community as a safe space for women who feel left behind by modern-day feminism. “These alt-right women claim feminism has failed white women, robbing (them) of the opportunity to have a male provider, a happy family and a happy home,” writes Nancy Love. Like much far-right ideology, TradWives pose their views as ‘protecting women and families.’ The increasing support of right-wing rhetoric from women contributes to right-wing popularity. If you were to think of a stereotypical right-wing audience, you would probably think of a mainly male audience, right? But with women appearing increasingly visible in right-wing online spaces, their support is becoming more widespread and diverse. This contributes to right-wing populism.

Queerness also threatens the traditional heterosexual nuclear family. Right-wing ideology argues that exposure to ‘gender ideology’ poses a threat to young children. The article: ‘Tory MP criticises extreme sex education material in schools’, reflects the right-wing belief that sex education and LGBTQ+ inclusion is harmful to children, exposing them to a gender ideology. The framing of this article suggests LGBTQ+ education in school is ‘pushing’ children towards an unnatural ‘agenda.’ This disguises homophobia as protecting the traditional nuclear family, reinforcing heteronormativity. Again, we see the repetitive rhetoric of progressiveness posing a threat to society, specifically the safety of women and children.

With the current moral panic around migration, right-wing political parties also stir up anti-immigration rhetoric, fuelling racism by suggesting (white) women’s safety is at risk. This is achieved through media representation: “Women and girls facing ‘public safety crisis’ due to number of migrants crossing Channel” (LBC news). This article uses fear instead of fact to provoke public panic. It poses immigrants as a collective rather than individuals, fuelling nationalist ideology. Far-right political leaders also feed into this narrative. As the Brexit referendum loomed, Farage claimed that women could be at risk of ‘sex attacks’ from gangs of migrant men if Britain remained in the European Union. In his presidential campaign, Trump made similar comments about Mexican men crossing the border (Alison Phipps). This weaponisation of women’s safety allows right-wing agenda to appeal to white women, growing their supporters through fear-mongering of immigration, supplying an outlet for white women to redirect their anger and frustration. This argument is clearly skewed, as according to the UK GOV strategy documents, 84% of victims (of rape) from 16-59 said their perpetrator was known to them; this directly weakens far-right fear mongering of immigrants posing a danger to women. This makes it fundamentally clear that right-wing anti-immigration propaganda is merely to legitimise racism and patriarchal control.

It is undeniable that the right-wing narrative uses emotion to promote fear around growing progressiveness in society. They disguise hateful propaganda as ‘protection,’ contributing to right-wing popularity. So, next time you read about women’s protection, I would urge you to read between the lines, is this ‘protecting’ women and children or is it racism, sexism and homophobia in disguise?

References:

Graff, A and Korolczuk, E. (2022) Anti-Gender Politics in the Populist Movement – https://library.oapen.org/bitstream/handle/20.500.12657/50542/9781000413298.pdf?sequence=1

Phillips, A. (2020) Chapter: Gender in a right moving world. Me not you, the Trouble with Mainstream Feminism – https://www-jstor-org.manchester.idm.oclc.org/stable/pdf/j.ctvzgb6n6.5.pdf?refreqid=fastly-default%3Acb72bde38601b26e6c846e03ee259310&ab_segments=&initiator=&acceptTC=1

Love, N. (2020) Shield Maidens, Fashy Femmes, and TradWives: Feminism, Patriarchy, and Right-Wing Populism – https://doaj.org/article/7f56c86f2b2848afaac67c2045e758d8

Independent. (2022) Tory MP criticises ‘extreme’ sex education in schools – https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/conservative-westminster-hall-b2113195.html

LBC News. (2025) Women and girls facing ‘public safety crisis’ due to number of migrants crossing Channel – https://www.lbc.co.uk/article/women-girls-migrants-channel-crossing-5Hjd7cH_2/

HM Government. (2021) Tackling Violence against women and girls – https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1033934/Tackling_Violence_Against_Women_and_Girls_Strategy_-_July_2021.pdf

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