One of the main literary genres produced and consumed in the world is advice literature, more specifically self-help books. In Brazil, masculinist movements are part of the far-right support base and have shown themselves to be politically active in attracting young men to strengthen reactionary bases that helped sustain Bolsonarism. This seminar aims to present how this self-help literature constructs resentful subjectivities, offers a worldview and support networks for atomized boys, and appropriates the systemic helplessness of neoliberalism, transforming them into anti-feminist (and often authoritarian) political practices.

Foto: Privat

Vinícius Machado Miguel is a PhD student at Fluminense Federal University (PPGCOM - UFF/Brazil) and a visiting researcher at Stockholm University. He specializes in the intersection of emotions, politics, and society in Media Studies.