Gender of/in men: strands of a proto-genealogy O gênero dos/nos homens: linhas de uma proto-genealogia

In 1998, when we published “Homens e masculinidades: outras palavras” (“Men and masculinity: other words”), we took care in the introductory essay to call attention to two aspects which were important at the time and are now considered fundamental for studies of men and masculinity in Brazil. Our first observation was that, in taking men and masculinity as our theme, from the standpoint of gender, we were not “reinventing the wheel,” but, on the contrary, travelling a road already indicated previously by other social activists, either in the academic field or in political militancy, in Brazil and in other countries. The second point we made stressed that the interest in the study of masculinity has its origins in the 1960s, more particularly in the beginnings of the feminist movement, which encouraged a critical examination and a defined position with regard to social inequalities based on sexual differentiation, but also in the movements in defense of sexual rights (identified at the time as the gay and lesbian movements) which confronted fixed sexual identities. These two points still seem to us fundamental in considering the questions raised by Márcia Couto and Romeu Gomes with regard to gender equality in the field of studies and actions with regard to men, health and public policies; this discussion has been given fresh impetus by the recent establishment of the National Comprehensive Healthcare Policy for Men (PNAISH), announced in 2005, finalized in August 2008 and launched in 2009 by the Ministry of Health. If we wish to outline, albeit superficially (given the limitations of a text debate), a genealogy for the National Comprehensive Healthcare Policy for Men in Brazil, we need to consider at least three historically important strands, which have produced distinct concepts and traditions with regard to gender. One of them, very well described by Margareth Arilha, in her doctoral thesis O masculino nas conferências e programas das Nações Unidas: para uma crítica do discurso de gênero (“The male in United Nations conferences and programs: towards a crit2579