Gender, Power and Social Contract

a sinalagma until then extorted

Abstract

Feminist critiques have been advancing through a perspective in which the liberation of women is sought from its historical subjugation, resulting from systemic inequality in all spheres. Inequality is related to unpaid domestic work as well as to hegemonic positions of power, occupied by those who have seized a seat at the decision-making table. Gender studies have developed discussions that also include other forms of oppression, such as heteronormativity. In regard to these questions and to the discrimination women endure in the workplace, the purpose of this paper is to reveal that this inequality is based on the sexual division of labor. To this end, we will turn to the philosophical perspectives of the original contract in order to elucidate the existence of a sexual contract – the hidden half of the original contract that nurtures domination and exploration of women by men – and to point to possible escape routes from this uneven structure. Thus, we will follow through four points: I) The inequality between men and women in the Brazilian labor market - some data; II) The duplicity of the original contract: freedom and subjugation; III) Heterosexuality as a norm and the contra-sex proposal; and IV) Preliminary considerations.