SYRI The crisis that never changed: anti-gender and masculinity in crisis discourse in political speech

This article explores how anti-gender discourse in a political debate developed over 30 years. Expanding scholarship on the transnational anti-gender movement and connecting it to the “crisis of masculinity” centuries old discourse, we examine how political actors across the ideological spectrum have contributed to the persistence and normalization of anti-gender narratives. Using a discourse-historical approach, we analyze speeches delivered in the Chamber of Deputies of the Parliament of the Czech Republic between 1993 and 2025, answering two research questions: How has anti-gender discourse developed over time in political speech? and What are the threats to patriarchal male gender? Our longitudinal analysis reveals a remarkably stable discursive pattern: since the early 1990s, three overarching discursive themes consistently appeared - threat to the heteronormative family, threat of gender equality and demise of society and humankind. Politicians have repeatedly framed gender equality and LGBTQ+ rights as endangering traditional male roles, evoking fear to back their arguments. These findings demonstrate not only the continuity of anti-gender rhetoric but also its diffusion beyond extremist or religious groups into mainstream political discourse.