Feminist and LGBTQIA+ movements continue to reclaim public space and language — reframing resistance through solidarity and care.
Photo by Claudio Schwarz on Unsplash
Across Flanders (Belgium), feminist and LGBTQIA+ civil society organisations are working together to challenge anti-gender movements. A central part of this resistance involves how Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) communicate, how they talk about equality, build alliances, and counter misinformation. This also includes how CSOs talk about anti-gender movements and the threats they pose to equality. Researching the impact of anti-gender mobilizations on the communication strategies of feminist and LGBTQIA+ CSOs in Flanders, can contribute to the further development of such strategies. For their thesis, Yanni interviewed eight feminist and five LGBTQIA+ organizations in Flanders about their communication strategies.
Interestingly, many of these organisations say their communication strategies have not been directly affected by the rise of anti-gender movements, yet subtle shifts reveal otherwise. We believe these evolving strategies are not coincidental and that they reflect a growing awareness and adaptation to a changing landscape. We highlight two communicative practices that can offer CCINDLE valuable insights into how to speak about anti-gender movements and feminist activism today.
One practice is the reframing and renaming of words or events. For example, one organization sometimes frames LGBTQIA+ topics as “discussing love” in order to avoid backlash when promoting an event. This strategy is also applied to frame individual instances of misogyny (for example within anti-gender mobilizations) within a structural frame of patriarchal oppression. Two of the interviewees consider this strategy a reaction to anti-gender mobilizations, and it is adopted by almost all of the interviewed organizations: “I actually do [strategic renaming and reframing situations] a lot. But I can’t say whether that’s because of the backlash, or because I find that it simply more useful in my work.” The reframing of individual anti-gender instances as being part of structural oppression rooted in the legacies of European democracies is a crucial part of feminist actors fighting against anti-gender mobilizations, including the CCINDLE research project.
Another key practice is solidarity. Many organisations are incorporating solidarity into their communications, amplifying one another’s messages, working together in coalitions, and reminding their communities that “it might not always be about you, but it is about your society.” As one activist noted, anti-gender movements ultimately target everyone who believes in equality. At the same time, maintaining collective communication within coalitions can be challenging, as breakdowns in coordination can weaken the sense of shared purpose. As highlighted in a previous CCINDLE blog, building solidarity across diverse groups remains both essential and difficult. This happens especially when social and political systems encourage working one-dimensionally, even though CSOs attempt to work more intersectionally. These reflections invite CCINDLE to consider how we can practise solidarity more intentionally with those most targeted by anti-gender attacks, including racialized and trans communities.
Feminist and LGBTQIA+ civil society organizations are crucial actors in fighting anti-gender mobilizations and strengthening equality. While few organizations explicitly report experiencing an impact of anti-gender campaigns on their communication, their strategies have changed in response to the growing presence of these campaigns. This shapes the possibilities for talking about gender and sexual equality and urges us to reflect about how we talk about our research results. Reframing anti-gender mobilizations as tapping into structural oppressions (instead of individual instances of discrimination) is a crucial strategy to expose its colonial, patriarchal, and cissexist character. It urges us to reflect on how we can practise solidarity without reproducing these legacies.
Authors: Yanni Deneweth and Rylan Verlooy. 24th October 2025
*This blogpost is based on Yanni Deneweth’s master thesis, submitted for their degree in the Master Gender and Diversity, UGent*