“God is more pro-woman than anyone in this world”: Fundamentalist evangelical influencers as an anti-feminist defensive public

Abstract

Counterpublics provide space for marginalised groups to voice opinions and experiences neglected by hegemonic discourse. This paper highlights publics that present themselves as counterpublics but which in actual fact reinforce existing hierarchies, particularly patriarchal structures. The case study of Girl Defined Ministries, a fundamentalist evangelical influencer duo based in Texas, links the research fields of digital religion and anti-feminist defensive publics, revealing parts of anti-feminism online that have hitherto been the reserve of digital religion studies. A consideration of the national history and religious developments of recent decades in the United States allows for a deeper understanding of this type of religious influencer. Girl Defined post content about their concept of “Biblical womanhood” on multiple platforms. In the present study, 56 blog articles by Girl Defined were analysed using qualitative content analysis through the analytical lens of the Social Identity model of Deindividuation Effects (SIDE), which reflects on how group identity is formed by simultaneously enhancing in-group and devaluing out-group norms. The findings demonstrate that Girl Defined portray the out-group, feminism, as an anti-God ideology responsible for the collective misery of women in Western societies, and hold women responsible for their own discontent by choosing the wrong path. Girl Defined therefore promote their in-group values, gender roles for women defined by God, and submission to men as the only way to live a joyful life. Presenting themselves as a persecuted and ostracised counterpublic to a feminist mainstream is central to Girl Defined’s argument. The paper adds to the existing literature on women anti-feminist and religious influencers as a development of mediatization