Antifeminism as a political identity: the case of congresswoman Chris Tonietto

Authors

  • Luis Felipe Miguel Universidade de Brasília
  • Alana Fontenelle Universidade Federal do Ceará

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.11606/issn.2176-8099.pcso.2024.222385

Keywords:

antifeminism, gender issues, far-right, social media, parliamentary behavior

Abstract

The article discusses the relevance of gender issues in the political agitation of the extreme right in Brazil, addressing the virulent reaction against the advances of the feminist and LGBT+ movements. “Gender disorder” is a central theme in the agenda of a radical right that has unified under the leadership of Jair Bolsonaro, alongside corruption, criminal punitivism, gun ownership, climate denialism and others. For some of them, gender is the dominant issue – as in the case of ultraconservative Catholic congresswoman Chris Tonietto (PL-RJ). Analysis of her Instagram account shows the predominance of an anti-feminist agenda, in particular the fight against the right to abortion. Tonietto not only reacts when the issue appears on the public agenda, but also actively addresses the issue and invests in content aimed at forming activism against women's rights. It is a use of the parliamentary mandate with the objective, not exclusive, but important, of ideologically instructing. This is a characteristic of part of the new extreme right, one that presents Antonio Gramsci as its arch-enemy, but which has absorbed his lessons about the need to conquer hegemony – and how the dispute over values and representations of the social world is central to this process.

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Published

2024-10-07

Issue

Section

Dossiê "Feminismos e antifeminismos na política "

How to Cite

Miguel, L. F., & Fontenelle, A. (2024). Antifeminism as a political identity: the case of congresswoman Chris Tonietto. Plural, 31(1), 183-209. https://doi.org/10.11606/issn.2176-8099.pcso.2024.222385