This presentation will give a detailed account of the peculiar version of authoritarianism with which we are threatened in the Trump era. Focusing on the misogynist and trans-phobic rhetoric and policies, I will review consequences of the actions Trump himself has taken, but also those taken by state legislatures and other governing bodies. My aim is to interpret the significance of these particulars with reference to feminist theorizations of the state, governance, and politics as masculinist projects and spaces. Insights from this train of feminist theory are helpful in creating and assessing strategies for countering, resisting, refusing, or stopping our slide into a one-party, authoritarian political order. They are also important if we are to build something better than the purported democracy Trumpism is taking apart.
Renee Heberle is professor of Political Science and the co-director of the Program in Law and Social Thought at the University of Toledo, Ohio. She received her Ph.D. from the University of Massachusetts Amherst in 1996. Her publications include “Rethinking the Social Contract: Masochism and Masculinist Violence” in the volume Theorizing Sexual Violence (2009) that she co-edited with Victoria Grace. Her essay, “Sexual Violence” was published in the Oxford Handbook on Gender, Sex, and Crime. She is also editor of Feminist Interpretations of Theodor Adorno (2006) and has published numerous other peer reviewed articles. She was the coordinator of the Inside-Out Prison Exchange program at the University of Toledo from 2010 to 2024.
The CGC strives to make its events as accessible as possible. If you require assistance to participate in our event, please let us know your support needs by January 12, 2026, by emailing cgcentrum@soz.uni-frankfurt.de. We will then endeavor to reduce any barriers within the scope of our possibilities.
The room is accessible via elevators. There are two accessible toilets on the first floor (1.G40s and 1.G40h).
There is an all-gender toilet (1.G40n) with standing and sitting toilets on this floor. There is also a FLINTA* toilet (2.G40q) on the 2nd floor of the CGC.
