The Perfect Misogynist Storm and the Electromagnetic Shape of Feminism: Weathering Brazil's Political Crisis (original) (raw)
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CONTEMPORARY FEMINISMS IN BRAZIL: ACHIEVEMENTS, CHALLENGES, AND TENSIONS
Revista Feminismos Especial Issue, 2014
In this paper, our purpose is to address issues regarding the major achievements as well as the shortcomings and challenges of feminist struggles in contemporary Brazil. In so doing, we hope to show that meeting these challenges will not be an exercise free of tensions; they have been an integral part of the outstanding capacity of feminism in Brazil to “diversify,” thus the need to use always the plural and speak of Brazilian “feminisms.” Plurality in this case does not pertain only to the incorporation of different segments of women’s movements into the ranks of feminism; carving new spaces of action, be they in the state apparatuses or in institutions of civil society at large (the NGOs, unions, and political parties, for instance), and whether in local, national, or “global” spaces, has also been equally important and mutually reinforcing. This process has demanded and promoted the “professionalization” of feminist activists and the development of what we may regard as new “feminist careers”, including academic ones. Yet, as it will be seen ahead, the exercise of “agency” in all of these different spaces and fields of action has not unfolded without “tensions”, both within feminisms as well as between feminists and other segments in the wider women’s movement. Originally published in A.Basu (eds), Women's Movements in the Global Era. First Edition, Westview Press, 2010.
Anti-gender politics and the authoritarian turn in Brazil
Brasiliana: Journal for Brazilian Studies
In 2018, Jair Bolsonaro, a former captain and congressman known for his racist, sexist, and homophobic remarks, was elected president of Brazil. His election shocked political analysts, representing the major setback in the Brazilian democracy since the end of the military rule in the 1980’s. The present work analyses the social actors and the political processes behind the rise of Bolsonaro to power. It focuses on the role of anti-gender politics in the recent authoritarian turn. Borrowing some insights from the Protest Event Analysis methodology, the work explores the dynamics of the anti-gender protest events, their main social and political actors, repertoires of actions and demands. It also review the recent debate on the crisis of democracy and the rise of extreme right-wing movements and parties, focusing on the centrality of opposition to gender equity and LGBTQI+ rights in the rhetoric and action of conservative and far-right groups.
Signs: Journal of Women in Culture and Society, 2019
From resistance fighter against Brazil’s military dictatorship to its first female president, Dilma Rousseff’s biography follows the historic arc of democratization in Brazil. Her 2016 impeachment was also the culminating event of numerous crises that polarized Brazilian society. To supporters, Rousseff’s removal without evidence constitutes an abrogation of democracy. To critics, Rousseff had to answer for an economic recession and widespread corruption (though she was not implicated in any investigation). This article examines the social imaginaries of the rightward turn that made Rousseff’s removal possible. Moving across diverse sets of public culture—street protests, journalistic accounts, political observations, and Rousseff’s speeches—the article uses sexism against Rousseff as an analytic to deconstruct the cultural narratives of Brazil’s rightward turn. A first section considers conservative efforts to paint Rousseff as a political subversive. These accusations drew on long...
2018 at the RINGS CONFERENCE AND ANNUAL MEETING, 2018
In this chapter we provide an overview of the themes and theoretical lines that have been predominant in gender studies in Brazil, paying particular attention to recent work. Brazil is considered one of the first Latin American countries in which feminist studies were consolidated. In the 1980s, research centers dedicated to women and gender were created at universities, the theme of women was included in relevant social sciences congresses and meetings, and the number of studies, dissertations and theses with a feminist orientation increased. Academic feminist and gender studies literature continued to be produced during the following decades, but they acquired an impressive rise and effervescence in the decade of 2010. Our main argument is that the recent production around gender in Brazil is intimately linked to the flourishing of feminisms that arose as a reaction to the destabilization of rights that has recently culminated in demonstrations of hate, attacks on so called "gender ideology" and the alteration and elimination of public policies directed towards gender equality. We also affirm that these new studies have important differences from previous work. These differences are related to both recent transformations in feminist fields in Brazil, which experienced unprecedented democratization, expansion, and new forms of organization and to the present political context marked by ideas and actions related to a far-right government that is deeply conservative and religious.
Social Movement Studies, 2013
This study examines the trajectory and consolidation process of the Black Women's Movement (BWM) in the Brazilian public sphere since the 1980s. Our objective is to understand the processes that underlie the constitution of this social movement, as well as its points of convergence and divergence with the black and feminist movements. Furthermore, this study discusses the movement's process of institutionalization/bureaucratization, its articulation with the Brazilian state and the relationship between gender and race in its internal structure and external claims. The study is based on two research projects conducted between 2005 and 2011. The first, carried out between 2005 and 2007, deals specifically with the consolidation of the BWM, while the second, a four-year study completed in 2011, focuses on the relationship between the black movement and the adoption of racebased public policies in Brazil and Colombia. Data for this research were collected from the BWM's internal documents (a compilation of pamphlets, newsletters and proposals), government documents and informal conversations and semi-structured interviews with 12 black women activists from different regions of the country. Throughout the work, we consider the BWM's internal processes of creating an autonomous movement as well as its external processes of bureaucratization and interconnection with the state. Focusing on these parallel processes allows us to better understand the movement's internal conflicts, its articulations with other social movements, its challenges and methods of navigating political/institutional spaces and the ways in which the emergence of black women as political actors has impacted Brazil's public sphere.
Dilma Rousseff is the first woman elected head of state of Brazil. Although her election carries symbolism for Brazilian women, claims of women's emancipation through representation must be questioned through an analysis of the Brazilian patriarchal state. This paper examines the claim that Rousseff"s election opens doors for all Brazilian women. The research involves analysis of electoral statistics, media frames, and government documents, which show that, in spite of a woman president, women's representation in Brazilian government is still low in numbers and in the state agenda. The literature suggests that masculine gender hegemony and the presence of a patriarchal state undermine the creation of possibilities through women"s political representation. Rousseff's weak campaign positions on gender issues indicate that her election"s potential for substantive representation is still limited.
2004
What are the major challenges facing feminists working to achieve gender justice in the context of development today? How are we to go about facing them? These were two of the major questions addressed by the ‘Gender Myths and Feminist Fables’ workshop participants, but to which no single solution was to be found. My own reactions are best conveyed by outlining current circumstances in Brazil. These reflect my close involvement in recent developments which, I believe, should foster the forging of a more equitable Brazilian society.
Christians, Homemakers, and Transgressors: Extreme Right-Wing Women in Twentieth-Century Brazil
Journal of Women's History, 2004
M any photographs in a recently published collection of images of Ação Integralista Brasileira (Brazilian Integralist Action, AIB), the Brazilian fascist movement of the 1930s, depict women. 1 We see them in their green blouses holding meetings, giving speeches, voting, celebrating their children's baptisms, distributing food to the poor, and raising arms in the fascist salute. The snapshots capture the proud look on women's faces as they go through initiation rites. In one photograph, a newly married Integralist couple walks down the aisle of the church between lines of saluting comrades. In other pictures, some of the women appear to be of lower-class origins; even more intriguing is the presence of women of color. These photographs suggest a wealth of themes for historians to explore. Why did women of varying ethnic and class backgrounds become fascists, particularly when such movements are usually racist? How did women reproduce and strengthen the AIB? Considering that fascists have usually opposed feminism, which in Brazil at this time was linked to suffrage, how does one account for Integralist women casting votes? Relatively few scholars have addressed these kinds of tantalizing questions for Integralism or other extreme rightist movements in Brazil. Thus, the following historiographical review is as much a study of gaps as of work completed. Preparing this survey reminds me of the potential of women's history to transform narratives, as well as the insights missed when historians ignore women. That women had participated in Latin American rightist movements yet were absent from the histories of them became clear to me when I began my dissertation research in 1977. I was surprised to find that Argentine group I was studying contained women, for nothing in my readings had prepared me for their presence. These rightist women tried to woo workers from leftist parties and unions through charitable and educational projects, activities previously unknown. These insights led me to search for women in kindred groups in other countries, including Brazil. This essay will concentrate on two principal moments of women's activity in extreme rightist groups in Brazil. The first was the 1930s, when Integralism and other fascist groups flourished. The second consisted of women's mobilization in the early 1960s against President João Goulart. 2 Sociologist Hélgio Trindade wrote the classic study of Integralism, and