The rise of the anti-gender movement in Europe is well documented by now (see Kovats and  Poim, 2015; Korolczuk and Graff 2018), but what does this mean for actors within the  democratic spectrum? To answer this question and set a starting point to develop counter strategies, our research is asking: How did democratic parties in Germany (CDU and the  Greens) change their discourse on gender and sexuality in party manifestos between 2009  and 2025, following the rise of the anti-gender movement in Germany? To respond to this question, we are analyzing the discourse on gender and sexuality as  expressed in the party manifestos of the center-right CDU party and the center-left Green party between 2009 and 2025. We are conducting a quantitative content analysis in R, focussing on  how the parties are approaching the topic of queerness, in particular. Starting from a word  frequency analysis, we are identifying key terms used to talk about topics associated with  queerness, as well as a change in terminology and frequency over time. Following up with a  dictionary analysis, we are comparing the discourse on queerness expressed by both parties.  In order to tackle issues of comparability, we built an 'indirect' dictionary that analyses the the  frequency of words associated with diversity and inclusion in general.   Our preliminary results hint at not only a change in the terms used by the individual parties but  also the introduction of new terms into the discourse. While the Green party seems to adapt  their terminology to be more inclusive and sensitive towards queer realities, the CDU makes  use of new terminology related to anti gender discourse, indicating a shift to the the right.  Moreover, the results of the dictionary analysis reveal how there has been a general  downwards trend when it comes to talking about topics of diversity and inclusion.   Session: 'Backlash Against Gender: Comparative Perspectives on Global Anti-Gender Politics' Abstract: 1/3.