Conservative Movements and Identity Movements: An Analysis of Clashes in The Public Sphere in Contemporary Brazil

Abstract

The book "Batalhas morais: política identitária na esfera pública técnico-midiatizada" (2021) by Richard Miskolci addresses one of the most effervescent themes of our time: the debate in the public sphere about the moral agenda, especially concerning sexual and reproductive rights. Miskolci analyses in depth the rise of conservative movements in Brazil in recent decades, most visibly manifest with the electoral victory of Jair Bolsonaro in 2018. He also examines so-called identity movements, highlighting their ambivalent character. The background of his analysis could not be other than social media, which amplifies the existing debate and rescales the ability of agents to impact other subjects.The book is based largely on the defense of his degree as Full Professor, at the Federal University of São Paulo in 2020, however, he has reflected on clashes involving so-called "gender ideology" 1 before. In previous studies, Miskolci reflected on how this phenomenon emerged as a moral panic in Brazil. He has highlighted how these issues directly involve sexual and reproductive rightsand their strengthening, at least since 2010, which reoriented conservative moral entrepreneurs 2 from the fight against communism to the fight against gender ideology 3 . Miskolci, brings a new angle of analysis when highlighting the fact that the moral panic over gender ideology has been intensified by the advance of identity activism in Brazil. Although his observation can be questioned, mainly for the way he includes so-called "identity movements" in this phenomenon, since in my perspective these 