When and How Do Politicians Use Gender to Promote Nativism?

• In Event: Gender and Political Backlash

Abstract

When do politicians use femonationalist appeals – speech which invokes the rhetoric of gender equality to promote nativist views? Previous studies suggest that femonationalist speech is on the rise across Western European democracies (e.g., Farris 2017; Gul 2024; Meguid et al. ND), but so far scholars lack a systematic understanding of the prevalence of femonationalist appeals across parties and countries, the national and party-level conditions under which it appears, and the role politician gender plays in its use. As a first step, in this analysis we examine the degree to which politicians from parties across the political spectrum - including, but not limited to populist radical right (PRR) parties - employ femonationalism. We analyze the legislative speeches of members of parliament in seven European parliaments from 2014 through 2023. Plenary debates represent one high-profile way for politicians to make their voices heard in the public proceedings of the legislative process. In addition, they offer an opportunity for parties to cater to specific subconstituencies and to build a nuanced brand, without the reputational costs associated with voting behavior. Our approach combines dictionary methods with topic modeling in order to effectively identify: 1) the conditions under which politicians employ femonationalist rhetoric, 2) the specific issues being discussed within such rhetoric, and 3) how the nation, party, and gender of the speaker influences both 1 and 2. The findings add to our understanding of when and how political parties use gendered speech as a tactic to promote nativism and xenophobia, a contribution which sets the stage for investigating whether femonationalism is an effective strategy for attracting different types of men and women voters.

Authors

• Jorge Fernandes, Spanish National Research Council

• Bonnie M. Meguid, University of Rochester

• Ana Catalano Weeks, University of Bath