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Paper short abstract

This paper interrogates gendered moralities as policy in Portugal, examining how authoritarian ideologies reshape family and reproduction, and how feminist resistance contests struggles over bodies, citizenship, and democracy in a time of growing authoritarianism.

Paper long abstract

This paper examines the recent rise of far-right politics in Portugal through the anthropology of policy, analyzing how gender equality, reproduction, and family emerge as central sites of power and cultural production in a time of authoritarianism. Long perceived as a society of “mild manners,” Portugal has undergone rapid political transformation with the parliamentary ascent of Chega, whose policy agendas mobilize narratives around the “traditional family,” reproductive rights, gender identity, and education.

Drawing on feminist anthropology and critical policy studies, I analyze how these initiatives exemplify post-evidentiary governance, in which ideological claims increasingly displace scientific knowledge in debates over abortion, sexuality, and gender diversity. Far-right gender policies operate not merely as legal instruments but as cultural projects that reorganize social hierarchies by naturalizing patriarchy, heteronormativity, and nationalist imaginaries, revealing how authoritarian power is produced through policy domains.

At the same time, feminist and LGBTQIA+ movements mobilize to defend gender-egalitarian frameworks, reproductive autonomy, and inclusive education, underscoring the relationship between gender equality and democratic governance. Gender-egalitarian policies have long served as indicators of democratic consolidation, while their erosion signals authoritarian shifts. These struggles unfold across institutional and public arenas, where policy becomes a site of contestation and resistance.

Situating Portugal within wider transnational patterns of far-right resurgence, this paper contributes to anthropological debates on policy as cultural production. It foregrounds anthropology’s critical role in interrogating how power is enacted through gendered policies and how these processes reshape citizenship, bodies, and democratic life.