The “best interest of a child” in anti-gender mobilizationsKuhar, Roman (Avtor) Alnıaçık, Ayşe (Avtor) Altan-Olcay, Ozlem (Avtor) Gregersen Beyer, Andreas (Avtor) Fernández-Vázquez, Guillermo (Avtor) Lavizzari, Anna (Avtor) Muszel, Magdalena (Avtor) Smrdelj, Rok (Avtor) anti-gender mobilizationschildrengender ideologydiscursive framingchild protectionsex educationResearchers of anti-gender mobilizations emphasize the central role of child well-being narratives, yet this aspect remains underexplored. This article addresses that gap by focusing on how the “best interest of a child” is strategically used in anti-gender campaigns across Denmark, Italy, Poland, Slovenia, Spain, and Turkey. Using framing theory, we analyze how this frame is constructed, emotionally charged, and politically instrumentalized. Based on a critical frame analysis of 128 documents, we show that the “best interest of a child” frame shifts across contexts and is mobilized to serve different ideological aims while retaining a stable rhetorical core: the assertion that children must be protected. A child appears as a rights-bearing subject or passive object, biologically fixed or easily influenced, and at risk of sexualization or brainwashing. Our findings highlight the narrative’s flexibility and internal contradictions, offering a novel lens for understanding the discursive dynamics of anti-gender mobilizations.20262026-05-14 15:35:26Neznano182522sl