View in EDS

(Pseudo)Intellectualizing social conservatism: a critical account of anti-gender politics in Kerala, India.

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Title: (Pseudo)Intellectualizing social conservatism: a critical account of anti-gender politics in Kerala, India.
Authors: Vadakka Chandran, Rahul
Source: Journal of Gender Studies; Jul2025, Vol. 34 Issue 5, p684-698, 15p
Subject Terms: CONSERVATISM, GENDER, RELIGION, NATIONALISM, ANTI-gender movements
Geographic Terms: KERALA (India)
Abstract: Kerala, a Southern Indian state, has recently witnessed a new wave of religious and political opposition against 'gender politics', a term increasingly used to criticize progressive changes concerning gender and sexuality. This article positions the ongoing discursive shift around 'gender' in Kerala's public sphere as a distinctive anti-gender mobilization, emerging partly through ideological reliance on Western anti-gender movements and partly diverging from them. Through a critical discourse analysis of major events from the past 6 years, this paper traces the manufacturing of anti-gender mobilization in Kerala and its role as a new (pseudo)intellectual framework and vocabulary of social conservatism, emphasizing how trans-queer bodies and gender-just initiatives in educational spaces have become sites of 'gender debates'. Texts produced around these occurrences are analysed alongside insights from interviews with queer-trans student activists. By examining the ongoing interaction between numerous local and global agents of anti-gender politics, which surprisingly align with both fascist and anti-fascist, liberal and illiberal, secular and religious formations in Kerala, this paper suggests the necessity of rethinking the geo-political nuances involved in imagining liberatory political discourse. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Copyright of Journal of Gender Studies is the property of Taylor & Francis Ltd and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
Database: Complementary Index
Description
Abstract:Kerala, a Southern Indian state, has recently witnessed a new wave of religious and political opposition against 'gender politics', a term increasingly used to criticize progressive changes concerning gender and sexuality. This article positions the ongoing discursive shift around 'gender' in Kerala's public sphere as a distinctive anti-gender mobilization, emerging partly through ideological reliance on Western anti-gender movements and partly diverging from them. Through a critical discourse analysis of major events from the past 6 years, this paper traces the manufacturing of anti-gender mobilization in Kerala and its role as a new (pseudo)intellectual framework and vocabulary of social conservatism, emphasizing how trans-queer bodies and gender-just initiatives in educational spaces have become sites of 'gender debates'. Texts produced around these occurrences are analysed alongside insights from interviews with queer-trans student activists. By examining the ongoing interaction between numerous local and global agents of anti-gender politics, which surprisingly align with both fascist and anti-fascist, liberal and illiberal, secular and religious formations in Kerala, this paper suggests the necessity of rethinking the geo-political nuances involved in imagining liberatory political discourse. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
ISSN:09589236
DOI:10.1080/09589236.2025.2467883