The rise of conservatism in Brazil and the discourses on "gender ideology" at school

Seminar session of the research initiative Social Movements in the Global Age of Geoffrey Pleyers with Amana Mattos, State University of Rio de Janeiro.

This presentation will focus on the ultraconservative agenda in Brazil. The latter asserts that discussing gender and sexuality issues at schools would promote "gender ideology" and impose ideas to students against their families' values. Amana Mattos will present a brief review on how the term "gender ideology" and the idea of "ideological indoctrination" have been used to label educational practises that, in fact, discuss oppressions and social inequalities. Then, she will discuss the naturalization of gender norms and the invisible practices that (re)produce them at schools. In order to do so, she will debate the heterogeneity of everyday school experiences, reaffirming the importance of critical perspectives in the ultraconservative political scenario in Brazil.

Speaker

Amana Mattos is professor of Social Psychology at the State University of Rio de Janeiro (PPGPS/UERJ). She is the coordinator of the Network for research and deconstruction of gender (DEGENERA). Her research focuses on Gender and Sexuality Studies, Feminist Theory, Youth Studies and Education.