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Paper short abstract

Far-right conspiracies hinge not only on race but on gender. Using framing analysis of far-right influencers we show how birth rates, abortion, intermarriage and trans-issues become evidence of Western decline, casting feminists and LGBTQIA+ people as enemies.

Paper long abstract

Far-right conspiracies are often approached through race and ethnicity, yet their persuasive force also relies on gendered plots. This paper argues that gender, sexuality, and ideals of masculinity and femininity are not secondary motifs but core mechanisms through which far-right conspiratorial narratives render demographic anxiety intelligible and morally charged. Building on scholarship on hegemonic gender relations, we analyze how demographic discourse and policy talk are mobilized to translate declining birth rates, abortion, intermarriage, and gender transitioning into “evidence” of civilizational collapse. Drawing on qualitative discourse analysis of far-right propaganda, online texts, and selected extremist writings, we show how these narratives position feminists, progressive actors, LGBTIQ+ people, and gender scholars as existential enemies who allegedly engineer population decline and cultural decay. These targets are frequently woven into older antisemitic and anti-Muslim storylines, producing an integrated threat imaginary that links sexuality, reproduction, and racialized belonging. We further look into how gendered grievance, status loss, and promises of restored patriarchal order help move conspiratorial thinking from interpretation to justification, including in the language of far-right terrorists. By centering gender, the paper clarifies how demographic “crisis” talk becomes an affective and political hinge in contemporary far-right conspiracy ecosystem