Gender Ideology and USAID: A Test Case for American Authoritarianism?

• In Event: The US Empire in the Present

Abstract

Backlash against gender equality, and a tactic called “gender bashing” which weaponizes anxiety about gender to polarize constituents, are tools of governments to repress civil resistance and promote authoritarianism. These are increasingly evident in the United States, with implications for women’s and LGBTQ+ rights and democratic functioning One of the most visible manifestations of American gender backlash came when Trump signed an Executive Order condemning “gender ideology,” on the same day he paused all foreign aid work. The administration would subsequently dismantle the United States Agency for International Development, highlighting its gender equality work as "viral waste." To investigate how the Trump administration used gender not only to shutter USAID but also to trial unilateral leadership without the consent of congress or established protocols, we examine data from Gender Professionals (GPs) who worked within the American development ecosystem to design, implement and evaluate gender equality programming. Their stories reveal how traditional models of gender, including Trad Wives, are directly connected to anti-democratic governance strategies that use gender to divide and distract the populace. Specifically, we find that the targeting of gender equality initiatives in the US and through USAID has three, related effects: (1) it undermines the rights-claims and well-being of women and LGBTQI+ communities by emphasizing biological essentialism and binary gender roles, including a ‘return to tradition’ that is often tied to nationalist rhetoric; (2) it constrains gender initiatives on a global scale, emboldening anti-gender equality backlash and diminishing gender sensitive approaches that are essential to meaningful development; and (3) it erodes democratic processes by reducing civic space and hijacking gender initiatives to legitimize authoritarian behavior.

Authors

• Sophia Boutilier, Fresno State University

• Christina Gordon

• Liliane Eleni Claire Boch, California State University, Fresno