Strange tropes of salvation: populist rhetoric and violence against women in Croatia

ABSTRACT

The article revolves around notions of feminism and populism in the contemporary Croatian context. It analyses the domestic celebrity feminism initiative and the populist discourse some Croatian political figures employ. The structural similarity of the two public examples of rhetoric mentioned is correlated with the testimonial discourse of gender violence survivors. The comparative interpretation results in critical notions regarding the dubious collaboration between the populist feminist initiative and the political establishment, with emphases on domestic populist political actors.

KEYWORDS:

• Celebrity feminism
• civic activism
• populism
• private – public
• social networks
• testimony
• violence against women

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Brigita Miloš

Brigita Miloš is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Cultural Studies and the Coordinator of the Centre for Women’s Studies at the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Rijeka.