Politics are biographical. and gendered. Life stories of dropouts from the far right

Politics are biographical. And gendered.

Life stories of dropouts from the Far Right.

The right-wing scene in Germany represents a very dangerous and to a lot of people threatening political context. Yet again and again people devote their energy to the right-wing bodies of thought and translate it into action. Both men and women. A few of them back out of the scene after a certain period of time.

Research up to date allows the conclusion that turning towards the far right and also turning ones back to it does not happen merely by coincidence. Different biographical patterns of action are associated with entering and backing out of the right-wing scene.

Based on case reconstructions of biographies of dropouts from the far right, collected by biographical narrative interviews, I want to illustrate this theory. The question at hand is, however, in which formation we find the association of biographical and political circumstances. In order to answer this question, I present selected biographies which demonstrate personal experiences and stories that had lead to “becoming a neonazi” – and also to dropping out of the scene after a certain while. An outstanding role plays the family. Concluding, I would leave to discuss to what extent life courses differ as a result of gender and at which point gender dimensions are of particular relevance.