Authors

Roxana Dumitrache¹;  ¹ NSPAS, Bucharest, Romania

Discussion

”Sexo-marxism” or even  “neo-sexo-marxism” has been an ideological hybrid that is  less an academic term and more a catch-all political / ideological label coined in recent Romanian public discourse having a main function:  to create division, to enhance social polarization. It is closest to,, neo-marxism sexual” – used in Spanish and Portuguese conservative discourse and also has similarities to other terms used in conservative and illiberal discourse (Woke ideology” / “gender ideology”, Gayropa” – used by the Russian nationalist rhetoric referring to the EU as morally corrupted by feminism and minority rights or  even “Western decadence” – used to denounce feminism and queer rights as foreign impositions by Russian conservative politicians.

       The term Marxist it is not referring to classical Marxist economic theory, but rather to a more  metaphorical sense, signaling a revolutionary, progressive and subversive concept, it is rather a cultural critique referring by its critics to ideologies, political practices and ideas such as: feminism, LGBTIQ+ rights, gender theory and, ultimately, any political theory or liberating  social movement. It is part of a broader backlash against progressivism, tapping into anxieties  about demography,  religion, national identity - heavily used in the 2024 parliamentary and  presidential elections.

This paper is mapping the evolution of the label, how it is used in the public discourse and with what aims, asserting that it has a profound role in political mobilization. The identity loss and the fear of change are weaponized by the illiberal discourse in Romania, reflecting the current tensions within the society: women and minorities rights, religious - secular values, modernity -tradition, lumping together very different ideas under a conspirational label.