Pode mulher sem útero ser mulher? construção de ser mulher na cidade de Maputo

Abstract

This study, "Can a Woman Without a Uterus Be a Woman? The Construction of Womanhood in the City of Maputo," seeks to understand the construction of womanhood in the city of Maputo, starting from the question of whether a woman without a uterus can be a woman. The study aims to address themes involving gender, sexuality, and the female body. The research begins with the central question of whether the absence of a uterus invalidates the social recognition of a woman as a woman.

Through a qualitative approach that seeks to explore and understand the meanings and contexts attributed to the construction of womanhood, and through interviews and observations conducted with seven participants, including women with and without uteruses and men, the work discusses how the female body is socially constructed and associated with motherhood. It reveals that, in the dominant view, women are often reduced to their reproductive function. For some interviewees, not possessing a uterus compromises female identity, being seen as a social flaw or curse.

However, the research also reveals resistance and alternative discourses that recognize women beyond biology, valuing gender identity as a social construct.