5th ISA Forum of Sociology (6-11 July 2025)

In the context of the global rise of authoritarianism and undermining of democracy, China, as arguably the world’s most powerful authoritarian regime, presents us with an object lesson in the threats these trends pose for feminism and their wider consequences for gender relations and LGBTQ+ rights. China has become increasingly authoritarian in the last decade under Xi Jinping, dashing earlier hopes of a loosening of party-state control over civil society. Feminists are among those who have suffered from intensified repression, while the CCP seeks to reinstate/reinforce so-called ‘traditional’ gender arrangements. Yet a feminist movement still survives and everyday resistance to gendered heterosexual norms is also evident. Meanwhile, in Hong Kong, the defeat of the democracy movement and the Beijing government’s tightening control raise new challenges for feminism. The invited papers in this session will address both party-state propaganda and the everyday lives and struggles of women. Issues to be covered include: the gendering of Chinese nationalism; the politics of sexuality; motherhood, (dis)empowerment and China’s pro-natalist turn; state-led and grass roots feminism; and issues of gender (in)justice in the aftermath of Hong Kong’s democracy protests.

We see this session as fitting into theme 1 of the RC32 call: Gender, Feminism and the Worldwide Assault on Democracy.