On 22 April, the Human Rights Colloquium hosted Jenna Birnbohm-Kaminski to present her research on norm contestation and gender norms within the European Parliament’s FEMM and LID committees. Having recently commenced her PhD on this topic, Jenna expressed her gratitude for the valuable feedback and positive resonance she received from the senior scholars in attendance.
Event recap
Jenna argues that gender functions as a political “meta-language,” linking localized struggles over equality to broader conflicts surrounding democracy, elite governance, and supranational authority. Her framework treats institutional norms as interpretive and fluid rather than fixed, analyzing how right-wing actors use strategic delegitimization and dilution to challenge either the core validity or the practical application of these norms. The project highlights that while these actors mobilize anti-gender narratives to narrow the boundaries of individual rights, their contestation can counterintuitively trigger a reaffirmation that stabilizes the existing norms.
The subsequent discussion focused on the “us-vs-them” mechanics of populism and the complexities of mapping right-wing networks. Participants debated how nationalist parties utilize the parliament to enforce their political views. The scholars also examined the “logic of consequences,” discussing how political agendas and systemic legitimacy shift when actors move between the supranational arena and domestic state levels.
Speaker bios
Jenna Birnbohm-Kaminski is a doctoral fellow at the Bamberg Graduate School of Social Sciences, University of Bamberg. She holds an M.A. in Human Rights from FAU (2023 batch). Her research focuses on international organizations, norm contestation, and gender politics. Her dissertation analyses the contestation and reinterpretation of gender and sexual equality norms in the European Parliament through right-wing populist actors.
About the FAU CHREN Human Rights Colloquium
Organized by the FAU Research Center for Human Rights Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU CHREN), our inter- and transdisciplinary brings together scholars and practitioners to discuss current issues in human rights research and practice.
Colloquia are organised on a rolling basis and are co-convened by Dr. Janina Heaphy and Prof. Dr. Eva Pils. Events are invitation-only. Enquiries should be directed to the co-conveners and/or to humanrights@fau.de.
