Zika virus and microcephaly in women’s speeches in journalism and Facebook

Abstract

The Zika virus epidemic that hit Brazil at the end of 2015 brought challenges and serious consequences for the population in different regions and contexts of the country, gaining prominence in the media coverage at the time. Women, especially pregnant women and mothers, were strongly affected by the epidemic, especially after the confirmation of the relationship between Zika infection and the birth of babies with microcephaly. Despite this, these women were made invisible in the media coverage of the health emergency, having been not enough heard about a topic that directly affects their experiences and those of their sons and daughters. In this sense, the article reflects on the public speech of women, based on discussions of feminist political theory and the empirical analysis of two online communication spaces: the Folha de S.Paulo newspaper and the Facebook page of a women’s association, the União de Mães de Anjos (UMA). We observed how different silences are present in the media spaces, how the dynamics of care are manifested and are permeated by situations of inequality, and how resistance, despite these scenarios, is built daily among women.