Problematization of gender relations at the first Brazilian eugenics conference: The status of women, determination of biological gender and reproductive control

Abstract

This article problematizes gender relations during the first Brazilian Eugenics Conference, held in Rio de Janeiro in 1929. Seen as the largest public manifestation of the eugenics movement in Brazil, the Atas e Trabalhos do Congresso (Conference Minutes and Proceedings) were analyzed in terms of gender issues expressed through the spectrum of intrinsic conceptions of hereditarianism and reproduction. The problematizations make an effort to discuss, through the works of several participants in the conference, the role and status of women in Brazilian eugenics, reproductive control in Brazil and the relationship between studies involving determination of biological gender and improvement of the human race.