ABSTRACT

This article argues that the legal prosecution of fertility control, defined here as abortion and infanticide, reshaped both governmental and individual patriarchal structures in turn-of-the-century Brazil. The article uses its then-capital region of Rio de Janeiro as a case study to explore the patriarchal parameters of the state during important political transitions in Brazilian history. Analyzing cases of incest that resulted in abortion or infanticide, the article shows that the Brazilian criminal justice system only prosecuted incest in conjunction with fertility control. Fertility control, unlike incest, undermined the patriarchal pattern because it threatened a societal order that limited women’s bodies to reproducing the nation. The article argues that only when incest was followed by fertility control did the state’s patriarchal goals of controlling women’s sexuality and reproduction supercede those of the male head-of-household. The courts only prosecuted men for fertility control when their actions threatened patriarchy more generally.

摘要

本文认为，对生育控制的法律起诉（这里定义为堕胎和杀婴）重塑了世纪之交巴西的政府和个人父权结构。本文以当时的首都里约热内卢地区为例，探讨巴西历史上重要政治转型期间国家的父权制参数。文章分析了导致堕胎或杀婴的乱伦案件，表明巴西刑事司法系统只起诉与生育控制相结合的乱伦。与乱伦不同，生育控制破坏了父权制模式，因为它威胁到限制女性身体繁殖国家的社会秩序。文章认为，只有在乱伦之后进行生育控制时，国家控制女性性欲和生育的父权目标才能超越男性户主的目标。法院仅在男性的行为更普遍地威胁到父权制时才起诉控制生育的男性。