Gender and the anti-gender offensive in two educational policies: The cases of Brazil and Spain

Abstract

This article aims to examine the controversies surrounding the gender debate, the anti-gender movement, and their implications for education, by identifying recent tensions and disputes within educational policies in Brazil and Spain. To this end, the article conducts a documentary analysis of two public education policies: Brazil’s Base Nacional Comum Curricular (BNCC) (Brazil, 2018) and Spain’s Organic Law Amending the Organic Law on Education (LOMLOE) (Spain, 2020). Initially, based on a literature review, the article contextualizes the disputes surrounding the gender and education debate, providing a brief overview of developments in Brazil and Spain between the 1990s and 2020. Subsequently, the analysis focuses on how these two policies address the categories of gender and sexuality in their official texts. The findings reveal that the Spanish policy explicitly incorporates the categories of gender, gender identity, and sexuality, whereas the Brazilian policy excludes these discussions—despite their importance for an education committed to equity and human rights.