Mobilizing Motherhood: Maternal Activism in Far-Right Groups and the Case of the Czech Far-Right Movement “Angry Mothers”

Motherhood has often radicalized women into fighting for peace, social justice, political change, and societal improvement. This identity has played a critical role in social movements, with women leveraging the symbolic power of their role as mothers to legitimize their activism, garner support, and motivate others to join their cause. However, the positive connotations of motherhood have created an opportunity for exploitation. As such, this research analyzes the Czech far-right social movement Angry Mothers, which has used maternal activism to its advantage. Using the core diagnostic, prognostic, and motivational framing processes, this research conducts discourse analysis of Angry Mothers' 111 blog posts ranging from 2009 to 2023 to understand their meaning-making processes. The research reveals their cooptation of the "mother" label as a justification for attacking a panoply of out-groups, primarily focused on Islam, immigration, and multiculturalism in the Czech Republic, and the deliberate dissemination of alarming hypothetical scenarios and urgent solutions that instill a sense of urgency and necessity for individuals to align with them to prevent perceived negative outcomes. This research contributes to the understanding of the misuse of symbolic identities within activism, emphasizing the importance of critical analysis in discerning the genuine intentions of movements that invoke motherhood.