"The End of Gender? The Global Anti-Gender Movement" A Talk by Dr. Annie Wilkinson

On April 23, 2026, the Department of Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies hosted a public lecture by Dr. Annie Wilkinson, Senior Research Analyst at Political Research Associates. The event drew an engaged audience of students, faculty and community members for a timely and thought-provoking discussion on the intersections of authoritarianism and anti-gender political agendas.

Dr. Wilkinson’s talk addressed critical questions at the heart of contemporary politics: “Why do authoritarians consistently make gender a central target? And what does it mean that a movement once dismissed as fringe has become governing policy?”

The lecture examined “the phenomenon of anti-gender movements as both an ideological project to uphold cisheteropatriarchy and as a political strategy deployed by authoritarians seeking to capture and consolidate power.” Dr. Wilkinson situated these developments within historical and transnational contexts, offered conceptual tools for understanding the trajectory of anti-gender politics and concluded by assessing contemporary politics in the United States, where the movement has gained significant influence and moved into governance.

The event was co-sponsored by multiple departments and units, including Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies; Anthropology; Political Science; Sociology; Emergency Management & Homeland Security; Africana, Latin American, Caribbean, & Latinx Studies; the Institute for Research on Women and the Women’s Resource Center.