Rosalina Coelho Lisboa: The Transnational History of a Right-Wing Feminist in the Americas

This paper will offer a close analysis of the complex politico-ideological commitments of Brazilian writer and poet Rosalina Coelho Lisboa (1900-1975). The purpose is to explain the enduring connection between a particular version of feminism that coexists with right-wing thought in the Americas, and how feminist discourse can be simultaneously used to advance gender equality and conservative ideals. Lisboa was easily recognized as a right-wing conservative woman, working closely with Brazil’s fascist-inspired Integralista movement of the 1930s. Simultaneously, she was a defender of women’s rights and transnational feminism in the Americas. A Pan-American enthusiast, Lisboa lived and traveled frequently throughout the hemisphere, forging South-South alliances between right-wing movements, feminist activists, and governing elites. Lisboa’s participation in international politics also granted her a status of foreign policy expert. She acted as a Brazilian delegate in several Inter-American and United Nations conferences, representing the state on topics such as world peace, women’s rights, culture, and international law. Lisboa’s personal and political experiences challenge broader scholarly understandings about women in international politics, conceptions of feminisms, and transnational right-wing networks in the Americas in the twentieth century. Methodologically, I employ a global microhistory approach, based on primary archival sources from Brazil, Argentina and the United States. As an actor in lively dialogue with key social and political currents of the Americas at the time, Lisboa serves as a microcosm: I explore her whereabouts, writings, and interactions to reveal previously unobserved events and recover the multiple motivations of agency.