Moral panic and neoconservative activism

an analysis of the public hearing in the chamber of deputies on transgender children and adolescents

Abstract

https://doi.org/10.1590/2179-8966/2026/92622

This article analyzes the public hearing held on June 21, 2023, by the Commission on Social Security, Social Assistance, Childhood, Adolescence, and Family of the Brazilian Chamber of Deputies, which focused on the topic of transgender identity in children and adolescents. It is based on the premise that the event was transformed into a platform for conservative activism, staged through discourses that promote moral panic. The study adopts a qualitative analysis of an emblematic case, which is situated within a systemic architecture of enemy production and the marginalization of LGBTQIAPN+ individuals. By combining case analysis with critical literature on anti-gender policies and conservatism, the article concludes that the hearing functioned as a vector of disinformation and moralization of public debate, by naturalizing certain forms of existence to the detriment of others. Moreover, the research reveals the connection between local parliamentary practices and the global dynamics of radical right-wing movements, which instrumentalize affects to justify exclusionary policies.