Research Project: Feminist Movements Revitalizing Democracy in Europe
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Contributors
Funders
ID
EC.00163
Authors
Oder, Bertil Emrah
Faculty Member
Publications
The “best interest of a child” in anti-gender mobilizations: framing protection, mobilizing fear
(Bristol University Press, 2026) Alnıaçık, Ayşe; Olcay, Özlem Altan; Kuhar, Roman; Gregersen, Anderas Bayer; Vazquez, Guilermo; Lavizzari, Anna; Muszel, Magdalena; Smrdelj, Rok; Graduate School of Social Sciences and Humanities; KOÇ-KAM (The Center for Gender Studies); Yes; GRADUATE SCHOOL OF SOCIAL SCIENCES AND HUMANITIES; Research Center
Researchers of anti-gender mobilizations emphasize the central role of child well-being narratives, yet this aspect remains underexplored. This study addresses that gap by focusing on how the “best interest of a child” is strategically used in anti-gender campaigns across Denmark, Italy, Poland, Slovenia, Spain, and Turkey. Using framing theory we analyze how this frame is constructed, emotionally charged, and politically instrumentalized. Based on a Critical Frame Analysis of 128 documents, we show that the “best interest of a child” frame shifts across contexts and is mobilized to serve different ideological aims, while retaining a stable rhetorical core: the assertion that children must be protected. A child appears as a rights-bearing subject or passive object, biologically fixed or easily influenced, and at risk of sexualization or brainwashing. Our findings highlight the narrative’s flexibility and internal contradictions, offering a novel lens for understanding the discursive dynamics of anti-gender mobilizations.
