Transphobic discourse and dispute for political protagonism marked mentions to International Women’s Day

Analysis by: FGV ECMI 

 

• Speech given by the congressman Nikolas Ferreira (PL-MG) at the Chamber of Deputies drove hate messages against trans women, but publications with similar content had already been circulating frequently on Twitter on that day;
• On Telegram, groups questioned the meaning of March 8 and raised Michelle Bolsonaro to the post of “ideal woman”. Nikolas Ferreira used the platform to encourage the transphobic mobilization;
• Actions announced by Lula in support of women and reflexive messages by Michelle Bolsonaro had a high level of repercussion and were at the center of the dispute for protagonism between both political fields;
• Soccer clubs and famous players had a high level of reach by paying homage to female players and supporters, attempting to mitigate the prejudice and stigma in the relationship between women and the sport.

The discussions around International Women’s Day drive a wide range of topics and political actors over March 8, with meanings associated with the date used as the object of dispute between antagonistic political fields. The topics with the most notable engagement in relation to the date was the issue of trans women, which was addressed both through an affirmation and pride point of view and through a bias of prejudice and intolerance. Those were the findings of a survey by the School of Communication at FGV, which analyzed publications on Twitter, Facebook and Telegram.

Although the statement given by the congressman Nikolas Ferreira (PL-MG) at the chamber of deputies against trans women contributed to “institutionalize” and drive transphobic messages, particularly at the end of the day, intolerant publications were already being disseminated on Twitter and Telegram since the morning. Allegedly scientific discourses were frequently used to delegitimize trans women, along with mentions to “gender ideology”. On Twitter, there was a significant reaction by the progressive field, particularly by trans people, to respond to the transphobic comments and demand visibility and respect for this population, with criticism against the congressman and endorsement of the request to impeach his candidacy issued by Tabata Amaral (PSB-SP).

The date was also the object of a fierce political dispute by the political fields supporting and opposing the Federal Government, whose central actors were Lula and Michelle Bolsonaro. A bill to promote pay equity and measures against gender violence prompted mentions to Lula, while Michelle was portrayed as an “ideal female type” within the conservative ideology, as well as a political leader with competence to compete with the PT president in the next presidential elections. Statements made by the First Lady Janja da Silva and the Minister Simone Tebet about President Lula also contributed to bring the president to the center of the discussion about the International Women’s Day.

 

Twitter

Map of interactions about March 8 on Twitter

Period: March 8, 2023

Source: Twitter | Elaborated by: School of Communication, Media and Information at FGV

 

Left wing (Red) – 9.6% of profiles | 14.5% of interactions

Group formed by political leaders, communication outlets and left-wing profiles. The highlights were the presence of President @LulaOficial and the congresswomen @ErikaHilton and @SamiaBomfim. The group emphasized the event carried out at the Palácio do Planalto to announce new public policies for women by the Federal Government, commenting on the presence in the event of former president Dilma Rousseff, who was applauded by the public, according to the profiles. There were significant messages remembering the importance of the date and highlighting the political nature of March 8, emphasizing the alarming rates of violence against women in the country.  The speech given by the congressman Nikolas Ferreira (PL-MG) at the Chamber of Deputies was criticized by the group, who reproduced requests for action against the congressman in the Board of Ethics of the Chamber and posted repudiation messages, indicating the misogyny and transphobia in Ferreira’s discourse. 

 

Right wing (Blue) – 6.8% of profiles | 8.4% of interactions

Group formed by right-wing political leaders and influencers and led by @kimpaim and @MichelleBolso22, emphasizing a differentiation between conservative women and “feminists”, who are allegedly not concerned with female interests. The highlights were posts paying homage to conservative women and highlighting women’s sensitivity and strength. Regarding the criticism of feminists, users said these women actually do a disservice and want to put their ideology above women's interests. The homage paid to the First Lady Janja da Silva and the Federal Government's initiative to promote an equal pay law were also criticized by the group. Offensive mentions to “women with penises” were present in the group even before the speech given by the congressman Nikolas Ferreira. The profiles criticized advertisements with the presence of trans women and regretted that they had been honored on this date, stating that cisgender women were “being passed over by men”, in a pejorative reference to trans women. The speech given by the congressman Nikolas Ferreira was not mentioned directly, but there was criticism of the congresswoman Tabata Amaral for having spoken against him.

Sports and Entertainment (Lilac) – 3.5% of profiles | 3.8% of interactions

Group formed by profiles of soccer clubs, who posted messages congratulating women for the International Women's Day, and by women, who made comic posts criticizing companies that, as a way of valuing women, put 100% female teams to work on the date. Other customary March 8 practices, such as giving flowers and chocolates, also prompted jokes and comments. Requests for a “bank transfer”, “treats” or “off days” were defended as ways of recognizing female challenges in everyday life;

Evolution of the debate about March 8 on Twitter

Period: March 8, 2023

Source: Twitter | Elaborated by: School of Communication, Media and Information at FGV

 

• The debate about International Women’s Day was a highlight on the platform and mobilized around 810 thousand tweets in 24 hours. Congratulations and varied comments related to the date were highlights among the users, while the speech given by the congressman Nikolas Ferreira (PL-MG) targeting trans women drove the political discussion and was prominent by the end of the day;

 

• The episode involving Nikolas Ferreira became the protagonist of the debate from 3 pm onwards, with a strong repercussion of the political fields supporting and opposing the Federal Government. Profiles of different political positions, such as @choquei, @eixopolitico, @UOLNoticias, @SigaGazetaBR and @o_antagonista, mentioned the speech and its ramifications, with a highlight for the video of the moment recorded by the TV Câmara and the impeachment requests, particularly the one by the congresswoman Tabata Amaral (PSB-SP);

 

• The speech by the congressman was strongly criticized in the progressive field, and there was endorsement of the discourse accusing Ferreira of the crime of transphobia, with direct demands addressing the president of the Chamber of Deputies, Arthur Lira (PP-AL), whose condemnation of the episode also had significant repercussion. The congresswoman Gleisi Hoffman (PT-PR), the journalist Vera Magalhães and the singer Filipe Ret stood out in the discussion due to the high reach of their criticism of Ferreira. In turn, the impeachment request issued by Tabata Amaral was a highlight both in profiles covering both entertainment (Choquei) and politics (Eixo Político), as well as institutional pages (PSB na Câmara);

 

• In the conservative field, Ferreira’s speech was endorsed by his supporters and prompted attacks against the fact that transsexual women were mentioned in homages related to March 8. Criticism of “gender ideology” was circulated by profiles of right-wing representatives, such as Bia Kicis (PL-DF) and Eduardo Bolsonaro (PL-SP), as well as the political influencer Leandro Ruschel. These political actors positioned themselves as defenders of “truly” female protagonism, questioning, like the congressman, the legitimacy of people who identify as trans women;

 

• The political fields were divided beyond the referred episode. Right-wing profiles paid homage to women identified with values such as strength and determination, as well as respect to Christian values. In this field, the highlights were figures such as the professor Heley de Abreu Silva Batista and Michelle Bolsonaro, who was mentioned due to her participation in an advertisement for the Partido Liberal (PL). In the progressive field, the initiatives announced by President Lula in an event celebrating International Women’s Day had a moderate level of repercussion, with a highlight for his position about unequal pay between men and women. However, the group mentioned advances in women’s rights, criticized regressions of the Bolsonaro administration in the area, and remembered Dilma Rousseff in a positive light.

 

Major topics related to March 8 on Twitter

Period: March 8, 2023

Source: Twitter | Elaborated by: School of Communication, Media and Information at FGV

 

• Comments congratulating women for International Women’s Day were central in the debate about March 8. Despite the predominance of positive and well-disposed tweets, messages with a political tone were associated with personalities such as the former first lady Michelle Bolsonaro and the Minister Simone Tebet, who also commented on the date. Messages supporting women published by Michelle Bolsonaro and by the PL, her husband’s party, had a high level of reach on the platform. Simone Tebet, who was mocked by the outlet O Antagonista, claimed that Lula is “a male president and a female soul”, in reference to the measures to gender equality signed by the president in an event celebrating March 8;
  
   
• Mobilizing more political debates, national figures such as Gleisi Hoffmann e Lula, as well as communication outlets such as Agência Brasil, used the date to share data and information on the reality of women in Brazil, indicating the alarming rates of violence and commenting on the measures announced by the Federal Government to promote more public policies for Brazilian women. The First Lady Janja da Silva was also a prominent number in this context, with mentions to her speech about receiving more threats on the internet than the president receives. These mentions were focused mostly on hashtags such as #8M, #DiaInternacionaldaMulher (International Women’s Day) and #DiadaMulherTrabalhadora (Working Women’s Day);
  
   
• Reverences to female orixás also had high repercussion under those hashtags, in association with demands for greater protagonism of black female figures. In addition, there was a relevant mobilization by large soccer clubs, such as São Paulo e Corinthians, to pay homage to female employees and supporters, indicating an attempt to mitigate the stigma and prejudice associated to women and soccer. The hashtags #futebolfeminino (female soccer) and #futebolnãotemgênero (soccer has no gender) were widely mobilized within this debate;
  
   
• The speech given by the congressman Nikolas Ferreira in which he questioned the legitimacy of trans women was widely commented on the network, mobilizing both political fields equally. In the progressive field, there was a predominance of messages denouncing Ferreira’s speech and endorsing the impeachment requests against the politician, particularly regarding the initiative by the congresswoman Tabata Amaral. The terms sexism, misogyny and transphobia were frequently attributed to the congressman’s attitude, while the conservative field sent messages supporting Ferreira and circulated violent hashtags against the trans and transvestite population, such as  #travequismocultural (cultural cross-dressing) and #empoderamentomasculino (male empowerment). In turn, the hashtag #marçodasmulherestrans (March of trans women) sought to promote more inclusion and visibility to this population on the date, while the #transfobiaécrime (transphobia is a crime) was mobilized as a direct response to Ferreira’s speech.

Source: Twitter | Elaborated by: School of Communication, Media and Information at FGV

 

• The term “Women” was a highlight on the platform throughout the day, entering the trending topics at 7:20 am and growing until 10:20 pm, mobilizing more than 705 thousand mentions at that peak. The term was associated with posts that celebrated and made general comments about March 8. In addition to this term, words and hashtags that mentioned International Women's Day also reached the list of most mentioned topics on the platform, especially during the morning and early afternoon;
  
   

From 8:20 pm onwards, the term “Nikolas” began to increase significantly in mentions as a reaction to the speech given by the congressman Nikolas Ferreira (PL) in reference to International Women's Day. The speech targeting trans women was widely criticized and prompted the term “transphobia”, which gained more momentum over the night as political leaders and celebrities repudiated Ferreira’s position.

Source: Facebook | Elaborated by: School of Communication, Media and Information at FGV

 

• A discussion about compulsory motherhood, actions prepared by companies, and topics involving political actors dominated the links about International Women's Day on Facebook. The prominent political actors included Nikolas Ferreira, Simone Tebet and Lula, as well as Michelle Bolsonaro;
  
   
• Congressman Nikolas Ferreira's speech at the Chamber of Deputies, classified as transphobic, was the subject of outlets such as UOL and Jovem Pan News. While Jovem Pan reported what happened descriptively, with no value judgement of the congressman, UOL classified Nikolas' statement as transphobic. In both cases, emphasis was placed on the request to impeach the politician by the congresswoman Tabata de Amaral. Milly Lacombe's article on UOL was more opinionated than the others, classifying the congressman as transphobic and endorsing the request for the impeachment of his candidacy;
  
   
• Other links also had a strong political tone. The election of a trans vice-director for the Recife College of Law was highlighted in G1, as an illustration of the increasing possibilities for trans women to act in society. In turn, Simone Tebet's statement about Lula being “a male president with a female soul” was published on the website O Antagonista, suggesting a probable circulation in networks opposing the president;
  
   
• With a smaller reach, protests in Planalto that remembered Marielle Franco and developments in the jewelry case involving Michelle Bolsonaro were also relevant subjects in the links shared on the social network;
  
   
• News about actions developed by companies to give visibility to the date also stood out. The exclusivity of women in conducting Detran operations, a homage by street sweepers to women on buses in Belo Horizonte, and an advertisement starring employees of the Havan store had a relevant impact on the network, with allegedly positive content in relation to the date;

• With the link with the greatest reach, the website Incrível.club raised a discussion about compulsory motherhood based on the case of journalist Ana Paula Padrão, who chose not to have children. The article criticized the pressure directed at women to have children and start a family.

 

Telegram

Messages about March 8 on Telegram

Period: March 8, 2023

Source: Telegram | Elaborated by: School of Communication, Media and Information at FGV

 

• Until the early afternoon on March 8, there were attempts to dispute the meaning of International Women's Day, with the circulation of messages that explain the supposed "truth" about the date; this point of view claims the date was created only for “Marxist political movements”, reverberating “self-sufficiency, sexual libertinism, abortion and hatred of men”;
• Trying to disqualify the date and its meaning, there were also attempts to pay homage to “good women”, who are allegedly those associated with the parameters attributed to support for Bolsonaro in some way. In this scope, Michelle Bolsonaro emerged as an “ideal type” of woman, with thoughts on her candidacy for president in 2026;

• In a secondary way, there were also debates around the notion of “gender ideology”, prompting arguments that are already solidified among some political fields. Therefore, a series of agendas defended by the left were questioned, especially in relation to feminism and the LGBTQIA+ struggle.

 

Messages on Telegram about the speech given by congressman Nikolas Ferreira

Period: March 8 and 9, 2023

Source: Telegram | Elaborated by: School of Communication, Media and Information at FGV

 

• However, after the speech by the congressman Nikolas Ferreira at the Chamber of Deputies, Telegram became the stage for a series of messages and comments about transsexuality;
• Most of the messages in this context had strong transphobic content and were published and shared by Nikolas himself on his official Telegram channel. The congressman, similarly to the behavior seen in his speech, questioned the legitimacy of the trans body, insinuating, through mockery and irony, that transsexual women cannot be considered “real” women. Throughout March 8 and 9, Nikolas also tried to start a mobilization on Twitter using the hashtag #SomosTodasNikole (we’re all Nikole);
• Similar content was observed beyond Nikolas' channel, based on the circulation of memes and cartoons that use humor to attack trans women. The arguments prompted biological questions, comparing the terms “woman” and “transsexual” as if they were opposites, antonyms and incongruent. Expressions such as “original women” were also found, disputing the meanings around “being a woman”;
• The episode also prompted attacks against the congresswoman Tábata Amaral after she asked for Nikolas' impeachment. Similar to the aforementioned messages, irony was used to attack Tábata, called the “Yellow Tablet” in some groups. In a secondary way, more left-wing groups endorsed the narrative calling for Nikolas to be held accountable.