CEU Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2018
| Author | Olsen, Mette Christine Risom |
|---|---|
| Title | Playing the Gender Card: Femonationalism in Norwegian Immigration and Integration Discourse |
| Summary | From the early 2000s onwards, Western European populist radical right parties have begun “playing the gender card” and talking of the importance of gender equality. It is puzzling that this party family, which traditionally is family conservative and sometimes even blatantly anti-feminist, has begun preaching for the emancipation of female Muslim immigrants. The most prominent explanation for why these parties employ gender equality rhetoric revolves around bordering who belongs to the nation and who does not, and establishing difference between what is represented as the gender equal majority population and the patriarchal (Muslim) immigrant population. In other words, scholars propose that these parties “play the gender card” in order to further their anti-immigration agenda. An interesting contribution to the scholarly debate is Sarah Farris’ political economy approach to the phenomenon. This thesis looks at how gender equality and anti-immigration discourse operate together in the Norwegian context by analyzing discourse by the Norwegian Progress Party, as well as discourse in Norway’s civic integration program and discourse by anti-Islam feminists and femocrats. My analysis is informed by Farris’ approach, and the findings are discussed in light of her findings. Overall, I find little evidence of Farris’ political economy explanation for exclusionary gender equality rhetoric, which might be explained by the fact that Norway significantly differs from the countries she has studied. I find that in Norway, gender equality rhetoric is used for anti-immigration and assimilationist purposes. |
| Supervisor | Krizsan, Andrea; Pareja Alcaraz, Pablo |
| Department | School of Public Policy MA |
| Full text | https://www.etd.ceu.edu/2018/olsen_mette.pdf |
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