Abusive Feminism

The language of gender equality is increasingly popular worldwide. Yet, it is used both to advance women’s rights and justify the rollback of commitments to equality and democracy. This kind of “abusive feminism” is also arguably on the rise: would-be authoritarian actors today often attempt simultaneously to appeal both to conservative anti-feminist and feminist voters. In one breath, authoritarian actors condemn feminist ideas, and in the other, they selectively and opportunistically advance the language, if not substance, of women’s rights and ideas about women’s descriptive representation. This Article explores this phenomenon, and its prevalence in democracies under strain today—including in the United States, Europe, and Africa—as well as its logic and preconditions. In addition, it explores potential responses on the part of feminists and those committed to electoral democracy. Ultimately, the Article suggests, the safest defense against abusive feminism lies in a general shift toward greater human rights realism over formalism, together with a more careful, anti-essentialist approach on the part of feminist scholars and practitioners. But achieving this shift is likely to involve a range of real-world challenges.