Abstract

SCHMIDT, Rita Terezinha. Refuting feminism: Brazilian lettered culture's complacency/complicity.Translated byRita Hilgert. Estud. fem. [online]. 2007, vol.3Selected edition, pp. 0-0. ISSN 0104-026X.

In appraising the power of  antifeminist discourse in Brazil, I examine how this discourse appears in the realm of cultural journalism in order to make some connections to Brazilian social history, in the light of which it may be possible to understand why feminism as transforming praxis seems so alien to the habits of the country. To sustain my arguments I draw on the readings of Brazilian historical and cultural thinkers considered "leftists". At the same time, I point out the limits of their analyses, that is, their silence regarding  women's oppression and gender issues. Finally, I examine the persistence of various forms of antifeminism in the lettered milieu so as to understand the statute of feminist critique in the field of literary studies and the reasons for its invisibility, including considerations on its achievements and the limitations of its practices.

Keywords : culture; power; history; social class; literature; feminist critique.

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