Does Gender Matter? Current Academic and Public Discourses in Bulgaria
Does Gender Matter? Current Academic and Public Discourses in Bulgaria

Author(s): Ana Luleva
Subject(s): Gender Studies, Education, Sociology, Higher Education
Published by: Етнографски институт САНУ
Keywords: gender; gender studies; anti-gender campaign
Summary/Abstract: After the collapse of the communist regime in Bulgaria, the issue of gender equality disappeared from the public discourse. It was considered by the mainstream political parties that the equality between men and women was achieved, and that the struggle for it was unimportant and even destructive for the “normal” gender order. The rejection and insensitivity to gender issues escalated and resulted in many aggressive anti-gender campaigns. Nowadays the (neo)traditionalist discourse dominates the publicity and directs the social policies regarding women and family. Two important documents – the Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence and the National Strategy for the Child 2019–2030 − were withdrawn after disinformation and anti-gender campaigns. The aspirations of the conservative neo-traditionalist influencers are directed also to the academia, university curricula and school education. The paper explores the current situation in Bulgarian academia regarding gender studies and the position of women scholars in the context of the public discourses about gender and family.

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