Equality campaigns, such as the #MeToo movement, have unintentionally sparked backlash, reducing both women’s political participation (e.g. from voting to running for office) and men’s support for women’s causes (both on a normative and a policy level). This study seeks to explain this phenomenon by addressing two interrelated research questions: Do equality campaigns that highlight women’s subordination in the political process inadvertently deter women’s political participation? And does the portrayal of men as antagonists in such campaigns diminish their support for women’s causes?

Using a survey experiment, this study tests whether content commonly featured in awareness-raising campaigns—such as cultural and material barriers to women’s political exclusion (e.g., anticipated discrimination, lack of time, and limited resources)—acts as a deterrent to women’s political engagement. It also investigates whether such content "others" men, thereby reducing their allyship with women’s causes. Furthermore, adopting an intersectional lens, this research employs BART methods to identify campaign narratives less prone to backlash, and tailored to different population subgroups.

The findings will contribute to understanding the mechanisms underlying political campaigns, advance the literature on gender and political exclusion, and provide actionable insights for designing equality campaigns that minimize risks of backlash while fostering inclusivity and engagement.