Anti-gender Campaigns in Contemporary Bulgaria

Abstract

Anti-gender campaigns are widespread in Bulgaria. Organisations and individuals who support gender rights are called "liberals", "tolerants" and "eurogays". Mass media and social networks amplify those voices that incite intolerance, misogyny and homophobia, and suppress their opponents. From 2018 onwards, social media has played a key role in the propaganda wave of negative reactions towards the Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence (known as the Istanbul Convention) and the National Child Strategy (2019-2030). Social media, and in particular Facebook, have been used as the main channel for attacks on activists and civil society organisations who support women's rights and the LGBTI community. This thesis aims to present possible approaches to the wave of negative reactions against gender rights in Bulgaria by analysing the main discourses and types of attitudes on social media opposing women’s rights and LGBTIQ rights in times of anti-gender campaigns.