Carceral diagonalism: the punitive safety politics linking left and right transnational anti-gender mobilisations

Lamble, Sarah (2026) Carceral diagonalism: the punitive safety politics linking left and right transnational anti-gender mobilisations. Signs: Journal of Women in Culture and Society , ISSN 0097-9740. (In Press)

Abstract

This article examines how carceral safety logics have driven cross-political, anti-transgender alliances within the global ‘anti-gender’ movement. While anti-gender politics are typically associated with right-wing, nationalist, and religious conservatism, this article traces how ‘gender critical’ strands of feminism on the left have joined these mobilisations by reframing opposition to trans rights as protective measures for women. Through the concept of ‘carceral diagonalism’, the article explores how divergent political actors – across left, liberal, and right formations – are sutured together through a shared vision of safety that relies on the identification, exclusion, and punishment of perceived dangerous others. This framing positions trans people, particularly trans women, as threats to non-trans women and children to justify the blocking and rollback of gender-based rights. Drawing on Britain as a key example, the article shows how carceral logics enable unlikely alliances to converge through affectively charged safety narratives that mask deeper structural violences.

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