Paper short abstract:

In the last years, gender has been central in the reactivation of the Spanish far-right (Vox). As the European far-right, Vox has updated its discourse to social media. The goal is to explore how Vox’s antifeminist revivals are affectively constructed, lived, and felt by Vox and its supporters.

Paper long abstract:

In the last years, the Spanish far-right (Vox) has been growing within public institutions. Along with a centralist-nationalist viewpoint, gender has been central in the political, ideological, economic, and affective (re-)activation of the Spanish far-right. At the same time, like its European counterparts, Vox has been able to update its discourse to new technologies. Vox, positioning itself outside the media system, discards all traditional political communication to become an influencer/meme-creator. Vox looks for likes, views, and sponsors. Thus, the goal of this work is to explore how Vox’s antifeminist revivals are affectively and politically constructed, lived, and felt (in the online and offline world) by Vox and its supporters.

This paper, based on ethnographic work and an affective analytical perspective, focuses on Vox’s political act/festivity (VIVA21) held in Madrid on October 9th-10th, 2021, specifically focusing on its ‘meme booth’.

This ‘meme booth’ was set up for people to see the most viral images, take pictures and post them back on social media. Vox, thus, builds a communicative strategy of prosumption of political and affective discourses, especially antifeminists, through a de-digitalization and re-digitalization of the meme. This circulation of memes online and offline also allows an affective circulation of love, fear, hatred, and courage between Vox and its sympathizers. The exploration of this affective atmosphere of memetic relations presents not only Vox’s political constructions but also how they are experienced by its supporters.