The ethical-political implications of the concept of loose knot in Heleieth Saffioti

• Grant number: 24/23136-0
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Master
• Start date: May 01, 2025
• End date: February 28, 2027
• Field of knowledge: Humanities - Philosophy - Brazilian Philosophy
• Principal Investigator: Yara Adario Frateschi
• Grantee: Massilânia Bezerra de Oliveira
• Host Institution: Instituto de Filosofia e Ciências Humanas (IFCH). Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Campinas , SP, Brazil

Abstract

In this research project, my goal is to investigate the ethical-political implications of the concept of the loose knot developed by Heleieth Saffioti. My initial hypothesis is that this concept leads her to defend a particular position on the strategies of struggle aimed at the destruction of the patriarchy-racism-capitalism system and the construction of a fully democracy, opposing both white and liberal feminism on one side, and 'orthodox Marxism' on the other. To verify this hypothesis, in the first phase, I propose to analyze the concept of the loose knot in order to investigate the implications of the inseparability of its components. In the second phase, I propose to examine the strategies of struggle against the patriarchy-racism-capitalism system proposed by the author, seeking to understand the transformative potential she attributes to social movements. Finally, I aim to understand the feminism upheld by Saffioti, which implies investigating the critique she directs at certain types of feminism. Throughout this process, I will analyze, primarily, the following texts: O poder do macho (1987), 'Movimentos sociais: face feminina' (1988), 'O estatuto teórico da violência de gênero' (1999), 'Contribuições feministas para o estudo da violência de gênero' (2001), Gênero, Patriarcado, Violência (2004), 'Ontogênese e filogênese' (2009)