What You Feel, Who You Are - the Emotional Fabric of Anti-Gender Movements in Belgium

This paper examines the emotional dynamics within anti-gender movements in Belgium, with a specific focus on how emotions contribute to the formation of collective identities. Drawing on the affective turn in social sciences, I argue that emotions such as disgust, righteousness, and pity are not only mobilization tools but are also central to shaping how activists perceive themselves and their struggles. Further, I explore the "character work" (Jasper, 2018), that activists engage in, which involves assigning positive or negative emotional associations to both allies and adversaries.

Despite the significant attention to collective identities in the study of social movements, this framework has rarely been applied to anti-gender activism. Most research on these movements has focused on discourses, strategies, and opportunities (Graff & Korolczuk, 2021; Kuhar & Paternotte, 2017), often overlooking the role of emotions and identity work. This perspective surely draws from a new tradition in the study of the radical right: the necessity to understand the rationality of those actors. However, I contend that by examining the emotional ties within these groups, we can gain a deeper understanding of their collective reasoning and the sense of belonging that sustains their activism.

This study relies on ethnographic fieldwork and focus group data with field-recruited participants within three anti-gender organizations: a radical right LGB group, a Catholic traditionalist organization, and an anti-trans medical advocacy group. Reflexively such an approach poses challenges, both intellectually and emotionally for the researcher (Bellè, 2016). Yet, by embracing the researcher’s sensitivity as a tool, we can better grasp the affective dynamics of anti-gender mobilizations (Hemmings, 2020). Deeming emotions as central to both identity formation and mobilization, this paper seeks to offer new insights into the emotional infrastructure of anti-gender movements and their capacity to engage and sustain their members.