This is the idea of family that is an important basis for ideologies behind horrors like Bolsonarism, for example. Gender roles are defined a priori. Anyone trying to escape this rigidity can be given correctives. Women usually receive it. Some – a few – end up going to the police station.
But, of course, this family organization is not just a right-wing agenda; she lives comfortably on the left too. The difference is that the right centralizes the agenda and the left pretends they don’t care but reproduces many of these concepts in their homes.
It’s worth taking a look at the new data on violence against women released this Monday by the Brazilian Public Security Forum. These are the numbers of a war whose enemy is the feminine and the woman’s body.
In this rigidity you can’t have cleavage, you can’t talk to a man in a restaurant, you can’t not cook dinner, you can’t have fun, you can’t laugh too loudly, you can’t be a subject. You can take care of the house, the children, stay quiet and be an object.
This idea of family is fundamental to the far right here and around the world. This is why the feminist, trans-feminist and LGBTQIA+ movements are so bothersome. That’s why we should ridicule the attempt to change language and adapt pronouns, that’s why they try to reduce feminism to a fight for hair under our arms.
Destroying this idea of family is essential to disrupt the far-right concepts of domination, concentration of power, wealth and exploitation. This is the core of the issue and, not surprisingly, it involves women’s right to reproductive health.
