Philosopher Judith Butler visited Brazil to launch two books and participate in the International Colloquium on the Ends of Democracy at SESC Vila Mariana in São Paulo. On this occasion, conservative forces mobilized against her presence in the country. They made Butler an icon of “gender ideology” and a political target, even when in none of the events in which she participated, she would speak about the subject. In a protest organized at SESC on the day of the Colloquium, an effigy of Butler represented as a witch was burned, and a few days later the philosopher and his companion Wendy Brown were victims of aggression at the Congonhas airport. Butler, however, was not intimidated but engaged in a dialogue with this complex national context.
Judith Butler speaks and writes about what happened in Brazil
“Who’s afraid of talking about gender?” – Interview to the Boitempo Editing House website
The Phantom of Gender: Reflections on Freedom and Violence – Supplement Ilustríssima of Folha de São Paulo
Other articles on the Brazilian context and the Butler episode
Judith Butler on being attacked in Brazil – Inside Higher Ed
Brazil Is on Track to Get Its Own Trump – Bloomberg
‘This exhibition contains nudity’: the front line of Brazil’s culture wars – The Guardian
Death Threats, Intimidation, Censorship: Inside the Far Right’s Assault on Brazil’s Art Scene – artnet News
The rising repression of social protest in Latin America – Equal Times
Emilia Sanabria on Bodily Plasticity in Brazil – CASTAC
In Spanish:
En el sigo XXI seguimos quemando brujas – Noticieros Televisa
A compilation of articles in Portuguese: