Inheritance and Gender Identity Among Brazilian Farming Families

Inheritance and Gender Identity Among Brazilian Farming Families

Maria José Carneiro

To understand the rules by which family estates are transmitted among farming families,particularly in the case of land and taking into account gender differences, it is necessary toidentify the distinct roles reserved to men and women in the dynamics of social reproduction. Theunderstanding of these distinct logics requires the investigation of the different meanings that theterritorial patrimony itself has in each social and cultural context.Although inheritance is based on the notion of shared blood, common law rules do not recognizethe same rights for all children. It is precisely these differences that we will deal with in this article,particularly in respect to those differences derived from gender identity. We will be seeking tounderstand the logic of different forms of transmitting inheritances and their relationship with thesocial reproduction of farming families in two different regions: in southern Brazil (state of RioGrande do Sul), among descendants of Italian colonists, and in the mountainous region of thestate of Rio de Janeiro, among descendants of Swiss and German colonists.

2001

Agricultura Familiar, herança, identidades de género, reprodução social

Revista Estudos Feministas

Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina

Women. Feminism