Antifeminism as a countermovement: a literature review of the main theoretical perspectives and current debates

Abstract

This article presents a systematic review of the literature on contemporary Western Antifeminism in the field of social sciences, with the objective of identifying the main theoretical approaches, current lines of research, new debates and advances in knowledge. A review of the main academic databases (Web of Science, Scopus and Redalyc) was conducted to identify the primary authors and the organization of the field of study. The results show the multidisciplinary nature of antifeminism and its current relevance in the social sciences. It is also evident that the research agenda of antifeminist studies has become increasingly diversified in recent years in order to account for new expressions of the phenomenon, which include: intersectional antifeminism, religious antifeminism, masculinist movements and cyber-antifeminism. This also shows how the focus of the debate has moved from organizational forms of antifeminism to its causes and impacts.