The Termination of Parental Rights in Brazil from the Perspective of Matricentric Feminism

Abstract

This article examines the process of terminating parental rights in Brazil, contrasting its legal foundation with its practical application, which disproportionately affects low-income families—particularly poor, Black single mothers. Matricentric feminism is presented as a theoretical and political framework for understanding the historical subjugation of mothers and for interrogating how labels such as “transgressive mother” are applied by sociolegal actors in practices and discourses to reinforce an exclusionary maternal ideal. The article reveals that the reasons for placing children and adolescents in state care are often interpreted in ways that blame and stigmatize mothers, ignoring their social vulnerability and the lack of effective public policies. This interpretation is influenced by idealized social constructions of motherhood and by power discourses that penalize any deviation from the normative model, thereby perpetuating social inequalities.