Autonomia, preferências e assimetria de recursos*

Abstract

The article discusses the notion of individual autonomy with focus on preferences formation and the contexts in which the choices take place. The definition of the problem is oriented by contemporary feminist critiques to the limits of the liberal approaches based on the opposition between voluntary choices and coercion. Two recent and distinct cases are analyzed: the ADI 4,424/2010, approved by the Brazilian Supreme Court (STF) in 2012, determining the unconditional character of representation in cases of domestic violence, and the Law 5.146/2013, which regulates sale and consumption of food in schools within the Federal District. The first case allows a discussion about the limits of women's autonomy in societies where their rights have been significantly broadened. The second makes possible to understand the relationships between individual choices, authority within the family, and the market. Both cases expose contexts in which preferences and choices are defined by asymmetrical resources and structured power relations.