Feminist praxis: Heleieth saffioti’s presence in studies and struggles in brazil

Abstract

Heleieth Saffioti was an intellectual who, throughout her career, maintained a posture based on feminist praxis: if, on one hand, her theoretical contributions served as inspiration and elucidation for the understanding of inequalities that impact, especially, Brazilian women; on the other hand, feminist and women’s movement guidelines were her objects of study and nurtured her work. We can say that Saffioti established, in her production, a symbiotic relationship to the theoretical field in which her work is referenced, to seek syntheses to transform reality. In this article, we reflect on her contributions to feminist studies and struggles in Brazil, revisiting her pioneering book, The Woman in Class Society, at the time of its release and also seeking to understand how her theoretical instrumentality collaborated to analyze and confront social hierarchies.