Interpolations of gender: Similarities and differences in the role of gender grievances in right wing extremist, far right, and mainstream right-wing discourse Ninian Frenguelli (Swansea University) Abstract: This paper presents the results of a PhD project mapping right wing extremist websites on the surface web. Using hyperlink network analysis, extremists were found to connect to non-extremist and mainstream websites. Discourse analysis of these extreme, non-extreme, and mainstream websites was performed with the intention of understanding what different groups believed about gender and gendered issues. At the beginning of the project, the intention was to study the different attitudes towards the roles that men and women should play in movements and beliefs about gender roles in wider society. By the time of data collection in 2023, “gender” had become synonymous with transgender issues and the LGBT+ community in general. The findings of this study largely reflect this shift. Very little discussion of the rights, roles, responsibilities of women or children was seen without being in reference to trans people. Preliminary findings show that for the most extreme in the dataset, these gendered passages were subsumed into antisemitic conspiracy theories, whereas, as the actors got less extreme, this antisemitism was less overt. These findings suggest that antisemitism is still the defining element of right wing extremism and that gender performs different functions in discourse depending on a group’s agenda.
Digital Reconstruction: An Interdisciplinary Analysis of Ku Klux Klan Websites Over Time Dr Ashton Kingdon (University of Southampton) Dr Aaron Winter (Lancaster University)
Abstract: In response to the data revolution, academic research and media attention has increasingly focused on the technological adaption and sophistication displayed by the far right. The greatest attention is paid to Web 2.0, and particularly how groups and organisations are utilising technological advancements and growth in virtual networks to increase recruitment and advance radicalisation on a global scale. This presentation will argue that although the Web 2.0 platforms on which the far right operate can be considered as “gateways” into the promotion of more extreme ideologies, these platforms are the tip of an iceberg and what is needed is a longer-term historical view and analysis of the wider and more diverse far-right online ecosystem. Taking this into consideration, this article examines the less-well studied traditional and official white supremacist websites and their role and function as incubators for past, present, and future far-right recruitment, organisation, mobilisation, and violence. The case study is the Ku Klux Klan, the most established and iconic of American far-right organisations, and the evolution of its websites, from their emergence in the early 1990s to the present day. We examine the ways in which traditional printed communications and other ephemera have progressed with advances in technology, focusing on the following central elements of Klan political activism and community formation: Klan identity, organisational history, aims and objectives; technology and outreach, including online merchandise and event organisation; and the constructions of whiteness and racism.
5
Made with FlippingBook HTML5