Gender and fascism are political categories that seem to be closely intertwined if not coconstitutive of each other. They are in any case not separate and isolated phenomena and so the one cannot be fully undone without undoing the other. Both gender and fascism are relational and highly contentious categories, entrenched with power dynamics and multifaceted in their appearances. “Gendering fascism” therefore denotes a paradigmatic lens into the genesis, configurations, strategies and technologies of fascist imaginaries.

We invite contributions to an edited volume titled “Gendering Fascism” and hope for
theoretically grounded empirical case studies within the time frame of the 1920s through the 1940s. Taking gender seriously means asking questions about the functions that gendered individuals, institutions and imaginaries fulfil in the emergence and the politics of fascisms, and how these politics in turn shape ideas and manifestations of gender. This includes but also goes beyond highlighting the presence or absence of women in fascist movements or regimes. We encourage contributors to trace the sometimes contradictory representations of gender as they appear in imaginaries, media and political strategies, in ways that suit the advancement of power.

We hope for a wide range of analyses of the cultural and political tools applied by fascist regimes, movements, or individual promoters of fascism, from anywhere in the world. We also hope for papers that address the transcultural trajectories of fascist modernities across different regions.

In July 2021, we held the first workshop on “Gendering Fascisms”, where we discussed fascisms in China, Japan, Hungary, Romania, Greece and Spain. Our second workshop will be held on 12 November 2021 (online), and we now invite papers presenting case studies from countries which were not covered in the first workshop, such as Germany, Italy, Poland and others. Contributors are invited to participate either through a paper presentation or by joining our discussions. The workshops and publications are funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG)

Date and time: 12 November 2021 (Tue.), 10:00-17:00 MET (online). Interested scholars may submit abstracts (of up to 250 words) to the organizers (rueckej@hhu.de) by 30 September 2021.