Exorcising a ghost: The interests behind the war on “gender ideology”

Abstract

The persecution of philosopher Judith Butler during her visit to Brazil in late 2017 revealed the power of the ghost of the so-called “gender ideology”, a specter that serves as an articulating focus of various interest groups that struggle against the advance of sexual and reproductive rights. This article seeks to identify these groups and their interests, analyze their alliances and the political grammar of their action. The article presents historic elements to retrace the emergence of the campaign against sexual rights in Brazil and to sociologically analyze the conditions that permit its dissemination as a moral crusade.