Gender, populism and anti-populist resistance: the political construction of women and gender in Italy

Abstract

The relationship between gender and populism provides a significant lens through which to examine contemporary transformations of political representation, political subjectivity, and democratic conflict. This article examines how gender is constructed within Italian right-wing populist discourse and how feminist mobilisation challenges these constructions through alternative forms of political subjectivity and collective action. The analysis focuses on Giorgia Meloni, leader of the right-wing populist party Fratelli d’Italia, examining her political communication during her time in opposition (2020–2021) as a discursive precursor to her subsequent government agenda and, in comparative perspective, on the political communication and practices of Non Una di Meno, an Italian intersectional feminist movement. It draws on political communication data concerning Meloni and on Non Una di Meno’s communication and interviews with activists. The analysis shows that Meloni’s discourse constructs women and gender through representations centred on motherhood, family, reproduction, and national belonging, contributing to a conservative and relatively homogeneous conception of the national “people”. By contrast, Non Una di Meno challenges the homogenisation of women and political subjects by addressing gender-based violence, reproductive rights, work, migration, and motherhood through an intersectional perspective grounded in plurality, self-determination, and participation. The comparison suggests that the relationship between gender, populism, and anti-populism concerns not only competing positions on gender issues, but also different ways of constructing political subjects and defining the boundaries of the political community. Intersectional feminist mobilisation may thus operate as an anti-populist form of democratic resistance by challenging homogenising representations and developing alternative forms of participation and collective subjectivity. While the Italian case reflects broader patterns of contemporary right-wing populism, their articulation remains shaped by national political, cultural, and institutional specificities.