
Sonia Ligia Angelico
Doxa: Rev. Bras. Psico. e Educ., Araraquara, v. 27, n. esp. 1, e026020, 2026. e-ISSN: 2594-8385
DOI: 10.30715/doxa.v27iesp.1.21492 11
According to Bourdieu (2010), so-called symbolic violence constitutes a social practice
through which power relations shape behaviors and identities. Meanwhile, the systemic family
therapist Bowen (2004) asserts that gender-based violence is associated with family patterns
that span generations and can be transmitted as relational models within the family system.
In the clinical practice of family therapy, this argument typically means that violence is
viewed as a learned relational pattern; it can be unlearned and transformed; the therapeutic
focus includes communication, emotional regulation, beliefs about masculinity, and
intergenerational family dynamics. In other words, therapy does not view male violence as
‘human nature,’ but rather as behavior constructed within specific social and family contexts.
Furthermore, violence perpetrated by men constitutes a serious social and public health
problem in Brazil, as we can see from data in the Atlas da Violência 2024, which indicate that
more than 90% of intentional violent deaths in the country victimize men, and the majority of
perpetrators are also male (Cerqueira & Bueno, 2024). In the context of domestic violence, men
predominantly act as perpetrators, especially in marital and family relationships.
Data from the Mapa da Violência 2025: Homicídio de mulheres no Brasil indicate that
Brazil ranks fifth worldwide in femicides, highlighting the persistence of conservative and
patriarchal social structures (Waiselfisz, 2015). Furthermore, the country has the highest rates
of murders of transgender and gender-diverse people. According to data from Transgender
Europe (TGEU), cited by Nogueira (2024), this violence is associated with a patriarchal logic
that privileges hegemonic models of masculinity and marginalizes those who do not conform
to heteronormative expectations
2
.
In Brazil, men are predominantly the perpetrators (domestic violence, family violence,
rape) and victims of violence, including lethal incidents (firearms, robberies, homicides),
accidents (car accidents, fights), and risky health behaviors. Male socialization remains strongly
marked by emotional repression and a glorification of risk. Men are less likely to seek health
services, take fewer preventive measures, and are more resistant to seeking care—all of which
are directly linked to cultural patterns of masculinity (Brasil, n.d.).
From a theoretical perspective, authors such as R. W. Connell (1995b) and Connell and
Messerschmidt (2005) demonstrate that hegemonic masculinity is organized around attributes
2
Heteronormativity (from the Greek hetero, ‘different’, and norma, ‘rule’ in Latin) is the norm, the standard, or
what is considered normal in a society in which a person is heterosexual—that is, feels attraction to the opposite
gender. It is a term used to describe situations in which sexual orientations other than heterosexuality are
marginalized, ignored, or persecuted by social practices, beliefs, or policies. This includes the idea that human
beings fall into two distinct and complementary categories: male and female; and that sexual and marital
relationships are normal only between people of different sexes.