An anti-gender rhizome: unearthing transnational anti-genderism in Africa

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ABSTRACT Anti-gender mobilizations targeting reproductive justice, gender and sexuality diversity, and sexuality education have appeared in many parts of the world in recent years. Yet, there are still very few empirical studies on anti-genderism and its transnational dimensions in African contexts. This article examines transnational anti-gender mobilizations in Eastern and Southern Africa, describing backlash dynamics, social movements and advocacy networks at work. Theoretically, we argue that ‘backlash’, ‘social movements’ and ‘advocacy networks’ should be applied as complimentary rather than competing concepts within analyses of how anti-gender mobilizations spread and grow. We propose the notion of a ‘rhizome’ as a prompt that can bring together this conceptual trilogy and promote precision in understanding anti-gender phemomena. In doing so, we argue that the metaphor of the rhizome serves as a fruitful method for capturing the various dimensions of anti-gender mobilization and for mapping the multiple directions and scales in which it moves.