“Gender ideology”: reactionary offensive, panic and moral crusade in Mexico (2016)

Abstract

A reactionary offensive, anchored in principles such as family morality and values, has touched social imaginary, ignited debates, spreading world views and produced moral panic. This is the anti-gender discourse, recognized by the phrase “gender ideology”, a very expressive concept in documents published by movements that are organized around the defense of the “natural family” and that seek to mobilize devout and lay individuals. Mexico, since the year 2016, due to the sending to Congress of the bill to approve same-sex marriage, by President Enrique Peña Nieto (2012-2018), has experienced intense movement of pro-family and pro-life groups, and the internet - social networks - has become an important tool for mobilizing the moral crusade against gender. In this article, we analyze the production and dissemination of antigenic discourse from the Facebook pages of some Mexican pro-family organizations, namely ConFamilia (Consejo Mexicano de la Familia) and the National Front x la Familia, whose views and shares of posts by antigenic content reaches a significant number of users of social networks, contributing to the formation of the intelligibility of individuals, creating moral panic and reactionary social movements.