Família, conservadorismo e políticas sociais no Brasil: entre a proteção social e a reafirmação das desigualdades de gênero

Abstract

This article critically analyzes the centrality of the family in contemporary Brazilian social policies, highlighting how conservatism and neoliberal logic contribute to shifting the responsibility for care and social protection onto families, particularly women. Drawing on the framework of Marxist feminist critique—especially the works of Saffioti, Federici, Teixeira, and Mioto—it discusses familism as an ideological pillar that reinforces the sexual division of labor, overburdens women, and reproduces gender inequalities. The study shows that, as the State retreats from the provision of social rights, it transfers the burden of care to families— especially to Black women and those from working-class backgrounds—reproducing traditional roles under the rhetoric of inclusion and protection. The article proposes, as an ethical-political horizon, the need to overcome this logic through the development of emancipatory, defamilialized, and universalist public policies guided by gender, racial, and class equity.