Assuming that sexual division of labor is determinant for both gender identities and distinct social perspectives that carry political impacts, this research has captured representations on gender and politics through qualitative interviews with a group of men and women who live in different neighborhoods of Brasilia/the Federal District - a middle class neighborhood and a lower class neighborhood. The importance of gender socialization for understanding how political discourses are articulated is evidenced by the way home and politics are interrelated, that is, how family/moral values and roles are used to think of politics. The views underlying sexual division of labor guide not only family relations but also the entire social world. The political participation of women is seen through stereotypes related to their alleged moral superiority stemming from maternity.
Gender; representations; political participation; sexual division of labor; maternity; family.