Feminist, Women’s & Gender Studies in Brazil (1971-2019): the consolidation of the scientific field, lessons, and challenges

Abstract

Objective: To discuss the consolidation of Feminist, Women’s and Gender Studies (FS) as a scientific field in Brazil; identify social and academic intersections between the historical and political context of feminist struggles and the scientific advances that unfold from it; problematize challenges to be overcome in field production.

Method: In a quantitative and qualitative approach, we use metric analyzes of Brazilian articles published between 1971 and 2019 and indexed in the 1Findr database, emphasizing the main keywords that thematized the research developed in the field over each decade. Seeking to make the analysis of science produced in FS more complex, we add its own knowledge and perspectives to the scientometric discussion.

Results: There were findings on the (a) consonance of scientific movements with those outside the universities over the decades; (b) limitations of liberal, white and Eurocentric feminisms still persistent today; (c) prominence of plural feminisms – notably black feminism – and possible strategic coalitions; (d) relevance of the inclusion of the LGBTQIA+ movement in the field.

Conclusions: The academic production of the FS is an achievement of the social movement that gave rise to them and reflects their potential and limitations regarding their political subjects. We highlight the exponential character of the growth of interdisciplinary production interested in the feminist, women’s, and gender perspective in Brazilian science, although there are still relevant challenges and gaps to be dealt with. As an urgent task, we point the need to incorporate a plural, intersectional and relational perspective to research in the area, which combats hegemonic and homogenizing narratives also within a social and scientific movement of resistance.