Gender and women in the Front National discourse and policy: from ‘mothers of the nation’ to ‘working mothers’?

Scrinzi, F. (2017) Gender and women in the Front National discourse and policy: from ‘mothers of the nation’ to ‘working mothers’? New Formations, 91, (doi: 10.398/NEWF:91.05.2017)

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Publisher's URL: https://www.lwbooks.co.uk/new-formations/91/gender-women-front-national

Abstract

This article explores the gendered dimensions of the populist radical right discourse and policy by considering the Front national in France. The article shows how the Front national has progressively moved from a ‘traditional’ to a ‘modern traditional’ approach to issues of gender, women’s work, and the family. The core of the Front national policy and ideology has remained stable over time, with regard to the interconnected issues of gender and of immigration. However, there is a significant move from the celebration of women as ‘mothers of the nation’, prevalent in the party until the 1990s, to an emphasis on ‘working mothers’ in Marine Le Pen’s discourse. The article also analyses the ambivalence of Marine Le Pen’s party discourse on gender, as well as the discrepancies between the party discourse and its political programme. This ambivalence mirrors the internal conflicts between the leadership and the conservative Catholic faction. This evolution of the Front national discourse on gender is linked to the party history and internal politics as well as to broader long-term social changes in French society.

Item Type:Articles
Additional Information:This paper is funded on data collected through an ERC Starting Grant, ‘A comparative study of women’s and men’s participation in the Northern League (Italy) and the National Front (France)’, University of Glasgow, 2012-2014. It was prepared/finalised while the author was holding a Marie Sklodowska-Curie Fellowship of the European Commission, ‘Migrant Christianity. Migration, Religion and Work in Comparative Perspective: Evangelical 'ethnic churches' in Southern Europe’, European University Institute, Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies, 2015-2018.
Status:Published
Refereed:Yes
Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID:Scrinzi, Dr Francesca
Authors: Scrinzi, F.
College/School:College of Social Sciences > School of Social and Political Sciences > Sociology Anthropology and Applied Social Sciences
Journal Name:New Formations
Publisher:Lawrence and Wishart
ISSN:0950-2378
ISSN (Online):1741-0789

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