In March 2025, the workshop “LGBTIQ+ Feminist Resistance and Empowerment Against Conservative Ideologies” will bring together scholars, activists, and practitioners at the Complutense University of Madrid, unfolding in a hybrid format that will bridge physical and virtual participation. Organized by the European Association of Social Anthropologists (EASA) Networks for Anthropology and Social Movements and for the Anthropology of Gender and Sexuality, in collaboration with the Centre for Transforming Sexuality and Gender at the University of Brighton and the Anthropology, Diversity and Integration Group in Madrid, the event will create a dynamic space for critical engagement and exchange.
Set against a global climate in which conservative and right-wing ideologies will continue to gain momentum, the workshop will confront the intensifying backlash against gender and sexual equality. Participants will examine how these movements will seek to challenge and dismantle long-established rights, targeting not only women and LGBTIQ+ communities but also broader frameworks of social justice. Issues such as reproductive rights, social protections, and anti-discrimination policies will be at the center of these discussions, as contributors will trace how exclusionary agendas will reshape political and social landscapes.
The workshop will offer a critical platform to analyze these developments while foregrounding resistance. It will explore how feminist and LGBTIQ+ movements will mobilize across different contexts, developing strategies to counter oppression and envision more just and inclusive futures. By highlighting diverse forms of activism, solidarity, and knowledge production, the event will emphasize both the challenges and the possibilities that will emerge in response to contemporary conservative pressures.
A dedicated panel on “Mobilizing against Anti-Gender” will deepen these conversations through a series of case studies. The contribution of Dr. Piotr Goldstein ‘Local and Transnational Sisterhood and Solidarity: Polish-Argentinian-Ukrainian Networks and Inspirations in Berlin’ will examine transnational networks and inspirations connecting Polish, Argentinian, and Ukrainian actors in Berlin.