Time: Monday, 01/Sept/2025: 2:00pm - 3:30pm Session Chair: Victor Hugo Ramirez Garcia |
Gender and Identity In Socio-political Spheres
An intersectional analysis supports the exploration of the ways that various elements of “identity” – such as gender, sexuality, class, race, and ethnicity – contribute to a multitude of phenomena, including policy development, legal framework, social acceptance, political representation, etc. This panel seeks to engage with the theme of belonging as it exists across political conversations, contemporary crises, features of identity, and tenets of community. Experiences of this nature, especially for those whose social and/or political memberships are challenged by conventional minority/majority power systems, are far from isolated and surpass the traditional definitions of citizenship, belonging, and agency. As such, exploring these themes through marginalized identities offers new ways to address the common and often systemic processes that contribute to experiences of both discrimination and, conversely, a reclamation of agency. The papers in this panel approach this space from a variety of subjects and geographic locations, applying a global focus to an interrogative discussion of autonomy and membership in themes of gender, religious, sexual, political, and cultural/community identities. This panel therefore engages with contemporary discussions of belonging, asking both, in what ways can identity, in its myriad meanings, negatively impact a community or individual’s sense of socio-political membership, and what ways are these same communities and individuals resisting conventional mechanisms of marginalization and exclusion?
Presentations of the Symposium
Real, Imagined, And Perceived: Identity And The Power Of Belief When Creating "Reality"
Identity as it is viewed today is built from myriad elements while also broken down into more specific types, such as political identity, gender identity, and community identity. Specifically, individual identity is connected to our sense of self in ways critical to social and psychological development; in essence we define to understand and enact a sense of ownership over ourselves. Crucial to the understanding of the self is the agreement that we are not finite entities existing in a vacuum, but rather influencing and being influenced by those events, people, and opinions surrounding us. In Wendy D. Roth’s work “The Multiple Dimensions of Race,” she highlighted the difference between self-identity, the identity others give us, and the identity we believe others have given us, pointing out that belief itself often plays a larger part in legitimizing and actualizing identity than do experience and personal opinion. Building on this claim, it is then worth exploring the impact that belief has on “truth,” and the more tangible outcomes of such a relationship seen in socio-political decisions on identity. Using theories of intersectionality and analysis of recent ECRI reports, this paper speaks to the difference between self-identity, given identity, and perceived given identity in the case examples of minority socio-political belonging. By approaching the topic through this lens, this paper seeks to answer the following questions: 1). What is the difference between each of these versions of specific identity and what are their impacts and 2). What can such a relationship tell us about belief and reality’s roles in lived experiences of non-normative identities?
The Performance Of Elitism In The Populist Radical Right And Instrumentalisation Of Gender And Sexuality
This paper examines the populist radical right (PRR) in Italy, France, and Germany—specifically Fratelli d'Italia (FdI), Lega, Rassemblement National (RN), and Alternative für Deutschland (AfD)—to highlight a paradox: these parties, often portrayed as anti-elitist champions of 'the people', can instead be seen as elitist. The study explores how PRR discourse, particularly during the 2021–2022 general elections, uses gender and sexuality to construct exclusionary hierarchies that reinforce this elitism.
The analysis draws on social media content (X, Facebook, TikTok) and the four parties’ electoral manifestos to examine how they instrumentalise gender and sexuality to promote a 'normative' vision of 'the people' (traditional, cis-heteronormative families) while marginalizing 'the Other' (e.g., LGBTQ+ communities, women who seek abortions or surrogacy).
By integrating biopolitical perspectives with elite and intersectional feminist theory, this paper reveals how PRR parties deploy strategies to regulate bodies and identities. It contributes to scholarship on biopolitics by uncovering the exclusionary and disciplinary discourses that underpin contemporary populist politics in Europe, challenging conventional populism-elitism binaries.
Geographies Of Grievance: Identity, Sense-Making, And Nationalism Among Congolese Diaspora Communities
Diasporas emerging from violence-affected countries engage in complex behaviors to preserve identity, maintain grievances, and construct a sense of belonging and meaning distinct from those residing in their home countries. This study explores the experiences of Congolese diaspora communities, highlighting the ways their physical and psychological distance from the conflict shapes their perspectives and actions. Drawing on the theoretical insights of Alexander Betts and Will Jones, this research uncovers how diasporas sustain and amplify grievances over extended periods, challenging the assumption that displacement diminishes connections to home-country conflicts. For instance, Congolese individuals in the diaspora often display a heightened sense of nationalism compared to their counterparts in the Congo, where immediate survival and compromise temper ideological positions.
Through comparative analysis, this research emphasizes the significance of geographical distance in shaping how diasporas engage with violence, identity, and national belonging. Diasporic individuals undertake "home-making" and "sense-making" behaviors that reconstruct their relationship to the homeland, often reframing their narratives in ways that diverge from those in conflict zones. By examining these dynamics, the study contributes to a deeper understanding of how displacement transforms identity and underscores the distinct positionalities that diasporas occupy in global discussions of violence and nationalism.
The Orange Order And Women: Understanding The Challenges Of Connection Through The Symbolic Landscape Of East Belfast
My paper examines how women in post-conflict East Belfast connect to the symbolic landscape, focusing on the performative aspects of gender and rituals in public spaces. Drawing on theories of gender performance from the works of Judith Butler, my paper investigates whether the heightened gender performances observed during periods of violent conflict persist in the symbolic landscape and public rituals after the conflict ends, and whether the ways in which women can connect to the symbolic landscape around them has an impact on the women themselves. Another part of the analysis will include observations from my fieldwork, which include looking at the importance of Orange Halls within Loyalist communities as a social hub and exploring the positive impact that this has for social engagement but the challenges it also has through the repetition of gender roles in social spaces.
My research will specifically analyse the gendering of public spaces and rituals within East Belfast, a predominantly working-class and Loyalist area of Belfast. This includes exploring whether women prioritize male beliefs and identities in spaces associated with the Orange Order and examining how gender influences women's identities within the Orange Order and other ritualistic spaces. By adopting a gender lens, it acknowledges the complexity of post-violent conflict identity, and the role of women in public spaces.