“The authoritarian fight against democracy and pluralism has many battlefields. But the war against women, it seems, is not just a tradition. It is a priority.” Tobias Ginsburg
On Friday, November 29, 2024, the CID, together with Luxembourg City, invites the German author Tobias Ginsburg to a reading from his book “Die letzten Männer des Westens” (“The Last Men of the West”) at 18:00 at the Cercle Cité.
Tobias Ginsburg spent a year travelling undercover in various men’s movements in Germany, Poland, and the USA. He sought to understand where the fear and, above all, the great hatred of these men come from and reveals in his book how well networked, well resourced, and dangerous these movements are. Racism, misogyny and anti-Semitism go hand in hand.
Anti-feminist attitudes and statements are also becoming increasingly common in public discourse in Luxembourg. Arguments put forward by men’s rights activists, Christian fundamentalists, and right-wing populists are reaching far into the centre of society. This is also demonstrated by the rapid success of the petition to ban LGBTIQ+-related content in public schools in Luxembourg. Many people do not realise that the arguments they are reproducing originate from misogynistic men’s movements.
Anyone who wants to gain a better understanding of these connections should not miss the reading with Tobias Ginsburg.
“It is no coincidence that the attack on democracy and open societies is so often directed first and foremost against women, sexual minorities and feminism. This is about the agitation of aggrieved men, of a promise of toughness and power! The ideas of a “crisis of masculinity” and the “feminist threat” are not only suitable for the masses and easy to connect with, they also appeal so beautifully to the emotional world of insecure men. Those who buy into such ideas are not only afraid of losing their privileges–their own identity and existence are at stake! Social progress itself becomes the enemy–and the reactionary counter-offer from the radical right suddenly seems appetising: “At some point, you can be the man you want to be again–but for that to happen, this country has to become as tough as it used to be.” (Excerpt from an interview with Tobias Ginsburg with Rowohlt Verlag: www.rowohlt.de)