Gender and ethnolinguistic lawfare

Abstract

This article treats the concept of lawfare in relation to gender and ethnolinguistic identities, examining how legal systems are employed to perpetuate power imbalances and suppress marginalized communities. By focusing on various case studies and theoretical frameworks, the study explores the role of ideologies and how moral panic and moral injury manifest in legal responses to gender nonconforming individuals, women, and ethnolinguistic minorities. The article critiques how the law is weaponized as a tool of oppression, particularizing in areas such as language rights, gender equality, and access to justice. Through an interdisciplinary approach, the authors demonstrate how legal frameworks and institutional actions often reinforce societal norms that exclude vulnerable groups, rather than protecting them. As a framework to the special issue Gender and Ethnolinguistic Lawfare, this article offers a critical perspective on the relationship between law, identity, and power, contributing to a deeper understanding of how the rule of law perpetuates or challenges social hierarchies.