Masculinity in Brazil: the man, the he-goat and the scapegoat
This article is also available in Brazilian Portuguese here.
Masculinity in Brazil is like everywhere else. It is astounding how familiar one can feel reading about it in the USA, UK, Spain, South Africa, South Korea, and so on. I would need a full article to give the details, but anyone who has read or watched something regarding Men’s Right Movements (MRM) will see a lot of similarities with my reviews of men’s condition in Brazil. As a matter of fact, Farrell’s The Myth of the Male Power and Nolasco’s O Mito da Masculinidade (The Myth of Masculinity) are incredibly similar. The biggest difference in my opinion is that Nolasco’s book is more philosophical and platonical while Farrell is more detail-oriented and pragmatic.
Brazil is a giant country, full of contrasts. This is shown by our ethnic and ecological diversity, and masculinity is no different, ranging from the hypermasculine cabra macho (translated literally as male nanny-goat) in the caatinga to the deconstructed profeminist who believes masculinities to be social constructs in our megalopoli. Traditionally, men are strong, fearless, breadwinners, sexually active (heterosexually), sport-loving, and never complain because they are problem-solvers. However, the idea that masculinity is toxic and needs to be fixed seems to have become widespread. Nolasco describes the Brazilian social representation of men as having changed from Tarzan (a strong, wild and independent man) to Homer Simpson (a dumb, lazy and drunk man, useless without his wife and super-intelligent daughter).
People hardly question the idea that Brazil is one of the most sexist countries in the world. Oppression of women begins as soon as we hear the first words because, having lost the neuter gender, Portuguese language treats the masculine gender as an indefinite gender, i.e. if you are talking about a mixed-sex group or sex is unknown, you must use the masculine gender, and this, according to feminists, is machismo estrutural (structural sexism).
“An example is law 11340/06 (aka law Maria da Penha), which punishes domestic violence, but only if the victim is female.”
Even more senseless are repetitions of arguments imported from the USA and UK that are untrue in Brazil. Two examples of this are the idea that women had to fight for the right to vote and to work. As far as voting is concerned, in Brazil, voting is not a right, but a duty, and there was no fighting required to achieve it for women. Women were actively encouraged to vote as part of a political campaign. As far as the right to work is concerned, work in Portuguese is trabalho, which comes from Latin tri palium, three sticks, a torture instrument. This emphasises the sense that work is Adam's punishment for eating the forbidden fruit, and that work is the fate of slaves, not a right to be fought for.
In order to liberate women, a series of laws and governmental campaigns were created to fight against gender violence (by “gender violence”, read “anything that may hurt women, physically or emotionally”). An example is law 11340/06 (aka law Maria da Penha), which punishes domestic violence, but only if the victim is female. Another is law 13104/15 (aka the law of femicide), which is supposed to be about homicides committed against women “because they are women”, but in practice, is used any time a woman gets killed, whether intentionally or accidentally, whether by a man or a woman. However, when data is presented in the media, it is always assumed that women were killed by men (supposedly, a violent husband) just because he couldn’t stand the victim’s independence.
“…violence against men is less important because “it is men who are killing men” and that any criticism of these laws are attempts to promote violence against women. In academia and politics, to criticise these laws may be professional suicide.”
Outside academia and politics, these laws are constantly criticised and seen as unconstitutional. Critics argue they are in opposition to the 5th article in the Federal Constitution (“men and women are equal in rights and duties”) and a fair law would punish any kind of domestic violence as well as recognise gender violence against men “because they are men”. Defenders claim that violence against men is less important because “it is men who are killing men” and that any criticism of these laws are attempts to promote violence against women. In academia and politics, to criticise these laws may be professional suicide. An example would be when the judge Gilvan Macêdo dos Santos published a book titled A Discriminação do Gênero-Homem no Brasil em Face à Lei Maria da Penha (Discrimination against the male gender in Brazil in Front of the Law Maria da Penha), but the publication was delayed due threats and protests depicting the book as promoting violence against the women - despite the fact that the book was still being released, thus nobody has ever read it up to that point to know it.
This episode may remind those from English-speaking countries of when the documentary The Red Pill screening in Palace Kino cinema was cancelled. Talking about documentaries, Brazil has its own documentary about men: O Silêncio dos Homens (The Silence of Men). The documentary vows to be “A movie about the pain, qualities, omissions and processes of change in men”
Unfortunately, unlike The Red Pill, which shows both sides of the coin - those in favor and against MRM - o Silêncio dos Homens starts with men saying things like “I couldn’t allow my girlfriend to drive. I had to drive, even if I was drunk” or “my father never talked to us, except to beat us”. Positive attitudes are the result of adhering to feminist ideals. I recognize the problems presented are important and must be addressed, and are true in many cases. The problem in my view is that the movie depicts these scenarios as the only ones that existed until then. All the fathers, grandfathers and other men from previous generations were abusive, violent and emotionally distant. There is no loving father without feminism.
The movie talks about the pain, omissions and processes of change of some men, but there is nothing about their qualities. Curiously, the same professionals that vow to talk about the pain, qualities, omissions and processes of change in men interviewed Aldir Gracindo, the leader of Brazil’s MRM, but he doesn’t appear even a single time in the whole movie.
“The Church preaches that God is a Father, but his love is maternal. Mother’s Day is a day to thank your mother for her love, while Father’s Day is a day to criticise bad fathers.”
In the past decade, we have seen a rise in interest regarding men and boys. Unfortunately, gamma and delta bias are the norm. Health campaigns say that it’s men’s own fault that men die younger and need to be in touch with their weakness. Education portrays boys as alunos problemas (problem students), who need to be medicated. Politicians talk about men as oppressors, rapists and wife-killers. Academia and the media “prove” men are the problem with unfalsifiable data. The Church preaches that God is a Father, but his love is maternal. Mother’s Day is a day to thank your mother for her love, while Father’s Day is a day to criticise bad fathers.
As I said in the beginning, Brazil is plural and this is not the only view. There are those who still see masculinity as a Tarzan archetype, which must be rescued. There are MGTOWs and MRAs. But these people are not the ones in power (at least, they do not hold long). Many people (especially women) criticise traditional masculinity, but reinforce it. I guess Nolasco was right when he said men in Brazil are like Homer Simpson (and boys are like Bart). He may suck, but everybody loves him.
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Disclaimer: This article is for information purposes only and is not a substitute for therapy, legal advice, or other professional opinion. Never disregard such advice because of this article or anything else you have read from the Centre for Male Psychology. The views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of, or are endorsed by, The Centre for Male Psychology, and we cannot be held responsible for these views. Read our full disclaimer here.
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