Profile

I am an Honorary Fellow at the Centre for the Study of Women and Gender and a former doctoral researcher in the Department of Sociology.

My research focuses on ecosystems of harm, with an emphasis on hate dynamics, gender, and far-right movements. I am interested in mapping the occurrence of these harms and developing strategies to mitigate them in support of affected communities. I specialise in qualitative research methods, with a strong interest in feminist methodologies, and currently work on several projects examining anti-gender movements across Europe.

I hold master’s degrees in Sociology and Gender Studies from the University of Leeds and the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. I went on to complete an ESRC-funded PhD at the University of Warwick, where I explored Spanish anti-gender movements through an ethnography of religion, nationalism, and affect. In 2021, I worked with the Counter Extremism Unit at the Home Office as part of a UKRI-funded role, and in 2022, I was an ESRC-funded visiting researcher in the Faculty of Political and Social Sciences at the Universidad Complutense de Madrid.

Recent Publications

OBST, M. 2024. Methodology for the disliked: a call for situated ethics in close-up research with anti- gender groups. Qualitative Research, 0(0).

OBST, M. 2024. Not in the mood for gender and feminism. Exploring affect and expertise through Spanish anti-gender movements. Women’s Studies International Forum, 104, 102892.

OBST, M. and ABLETT, L. 2024. ‘They Put You in a False Dichotomy’: In Search of Conceptual Diversity and Situated Knowledges in the Spanish ‘Anti-gender’ Landscape. In: A. Holvikivi, B. Holzberg and T. Ojeda, eds. Transnational Anti-Gender Politics. London: Palgrave Macmillan.