Hypochondriac Identities: Gender and Nationalism in Germany

The fierce political debates around ‘gender’, typically derided as ‘gender ideology’ by opponents, have become a focal point for political alliances between the political mainstream and the far-right. To the extent to which ‘gender’ bothers classical conservatives and liberals, populists and the far-right are able to use the topic to make themselves appear less extremist. For them, gender is a gateway to political respectability and influence. At the same time, nationalist rhetoric paints ‘gender ideology’ as an existential threat to the fabric of modern societies and thus panders to the traditional support base of these movements. In this context, ‘gender ideology’ has a function similar to that of ‘immigration’. It evokes images of eradicated borders and irreparably damaged value systems; of an outside threat to a supposedly pure national and moral identity in dire need of protection. This contribution will look at these developments in the German context, with specific attention to the role of the new far-right party AfD in bringing together religious, nationalist, and conservative voices.