This article presents a conceptualization of action research which articulates Paulo Freire's pedagogy with feminist methods of consciousness-raising. It aims to contribute to wider comprehension of the problems which affect Brazilian youth by presenting questions of daily life as they are experienced by young men and women who live in the Complexo da Maré, an extensive area of favelas in the city of Rio de Janeiro. These questions were identified through a process of action research which articulated young people in consciousness-raising groups that adopted the 'generating themes' of gender identity, sexuality and reproductive health. These themes were connected to other significant questions which gradually emerged from the wider sociocultural and political dimensions that affect the lives of young people, particularly those who live in contexts of poverty, violence and exclusion from basic rights. An attempt is made to conceptually and empirically consolidate an outlook that transversalizes gender in social class and a paradigm of knowledge that legitimates new subjects of knowledge who are engaged in transformative social action.
Youth; Reprodutive health; Research-action; Citizenship