“Antivaxxers” as the embodiment of anti-science

This article deals with public discourse on the “anti-vaxxers”, who decline to vaccinate their children. We show that this term constitutes a delegitimizing label anchored in the symbolic realm of science. This anchoring comes both from the use of the rhetoric of science by health professionals but also by the mobilisation of pro-science movements on the subject of vaccines. The way vaccine critics respond to this stigmatisation contributes paradoxically to reinforcing this negative image of the “anti-vaxxers”. These various actors – including critics – contribute to reinforcing the idea that science is an important value that should be defended and to making the “anti-vaxxer” activist an epitome of anti-science.