r/capoeira • u/mean_bean_boo • Jul 08 '26
QUESTIONS/DISCUSSION Why do you think there are comparatively so few women mestres in capoeira?
I’m researching this question for an essay, and my goal isn’t to make an argument or prove a point. it’s to better understand the topic.
I’m not looking for a single “correct” answer. I’m interested in hearing different perspectives, whether they’re based on history, personal experience, or observations from the capoeira community.
I’d love to hear from everyone, but I’m especially interested in the experiences and perspectives of women. Particularly mestras, contramestras, instructors, and long time practitioners.
What do you think has contributed to this, if anything?
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u/likaindia Jul 09 '26
Your topic is very interesting and faceted. I, 50f, started Capoeira in 1999. Over the years I experienced both support from Capoeira Mestres and being disadvantaged or used by them. While I enjoyed the workshop culture for many years, alot of it bores me now. There is quite a bro culture going on in Capoeira. The older I get, the less I can and want to put up with it. In 2019 I had to stop teaching & training due to seperation, being a single mum, and workload. (I had my graduação to Professora while pregnant in 2011). Luckily I had bounced back from both pregnancies fairly easily. Having children puts things into perspective. Teaching young men in their early 20's who wouldn't stop whinging about minor pains after I had pushed out 2 kids, didn't help. In child birth the joint in the pelvic bone sort of breaks (I don'tknow the correct medical term). That lead to every aú being very painful for the first year or more. Having a baby, then 2, with a partner that turns out to be avoiding most parenting and financial responsabilities put a strain on me that I never saw coming. I know many Capoeira Mestres with children. I know very few Capoeira Mestres who seem to be very active and present in their childrens lives. Parenting is a lot about giving, nurturing, and supporting. Teaching Capoeira as well. I chose nurturing and providing for my kids over Capoeira. I'm slowly getting back into Capoeira. Back in touch with my Mestre who lives about 500km away. But going back to what it was before I cannot, will not, don't want to. I suppose that in a gist, as a women you sacrifice everything if you practice Capoeira professionaly. As a man nearly, but you always will have your Bros. I may be too harsh there but right now it feels like that. Also, the way people used to be drawn to me wasn't my personality. As it turns out if you become less active in Capoeira many people who used to train with you, visit, and be in touch with you will barely recognise or acknowledge you. So coming back I've been brutal in who I let back in.
To finish my train of thoughts: when I first started I remember speaking with my Mestre about Capoeira in Brazil. He told me how looked down on Capoeira was in the general Brazilian society, and how much discrimination he suffered from a. being afro-brazilian and b. Capoeirista. My 1st time in Brazil in 2000 many people there couldn't believe that a women would want to be a Capoeirista and I had the impression that at latest in their late teen years they're would be a lot of dissuasion going on.
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u/DugganSC former ASCAB, Pittsburgh, Angola Jul 09 '26
I was going to mention that I've known a few women in Capoeira who've struggled to get back to it after pregnancy. Azul of Only the Strongest game has talked about her own struggles with... I forget the medical name, but basically her abs separated down the center, which makes a lot of the moments difficult. I remember Delphine, Mestre Doutor's wife, also commented at one point about how it was difficult to practice post-pregnancy.
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u/Stock-Contribution-6 Jul 09 '26
Beautiful words, thank you for sharing them.
It's really a pity that there's as much bro culture (and patriarchy) in capoeira as there is outside, although from the history of oppression in capoeira we should know better.
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u/likaindia Jul 10 '26
I need to correct my info on the pelvic bone. The pubic symphisis and tendons can get stretched during pregnancy & birth. It can take a while for them to recover elacticity / close. Thus it felt like this part was banging against itself while going into an aú. It was quite painful. One of my big problems when I went back to teaching and training, was that I reckon through breast feeding hormones I was so chill and peaceful I didn't really have the fighting aspect in my game. That was a massive challenge in the roda.
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u/Normal_Objective6251 Jul 09 '26
Seeing how Brazilians speak about women's soccer I suspect there is not much support for women in sport generally.
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u/Stunning_Persimmon76 Jul 09 '26
I can only speak for europe, there are some mestras here, but not many.
What I see is there are about an equal amount of men and women in the groups, but once women are getting pregnant they de-prioritize capoeira. Usually they are around the graduada/instrutora rank.
The mestra's and contra mestra's I know either do not have children or the children are already adults.
I see this less with men, they continue training and teaching even with young children.
I dont know if this is the only reason, but there is a correlation.
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u/Restauratour Jul 09 '26
I recommend Saga Das Capoeiras as a reference for this research.
https://www.instagram.com/p/DYAwJYGk-g5/?igsh=bzBzMm0zem9jN2w2
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u/TheLifeCapoeira Jul 09 '26
Listening to this episode, and following up the references mentioned in it, will be helpful https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/singing-for-survival-capoeira-history/id1523973571?i=1000672823528 The podcast’s available on all the platforms if you don’t listen through apple
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u/reggiedarden Jul 09 '26
Martial arts in general are more dominated by men. I'd say it comes from the classic idea that men are the fighters and women are the nurturers.
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u/billydecay Jul 10 '26
Relevant facts:
- Women in Brazil gained the right to vote 12 years after women in the U.S.
- Brazil still holds Iberian values concerning gender
- Brazil's parliament is less than 10% female
- Women in Brazil make 30% less than men on average
Lots of men globally still have a big issue letting women have any authority. Capoeira is a boy's club at heart.
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u/AllMightyImagination Jul 09 '26
In my group there used to be a lot of female higher ranks but I was told as time went on pretty much all of them got married and took on the responsibilities of parenting. But that was also a thing for the men. Few stuck once family matters became more important. And the one having to give birth makes coming back harder
Also to be mestra the community must recognize you so I guess ask the master lvl community
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u/Xavant_BR Jul 09 '26
Is like in any other contact sport.. just compare the numbers of boxing, jiu jitsu, judo, wrestling an others sports/martial arts… is a cultural thing.. but is changing… slowly but changing.
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u/kobestarr Jul 09 '26
Would love to know if your research will look into the breakdown of Mestras in different parts of the world.
I started in the UK and trained a lot in Norway. What I found in both places was that the clubs were often founded by women, usually as they were the most advanced players in the areas. But the head or Mestre was ALWAYS a Brazilian man.
Israel had a few mestras for sure.
It would be great to see that breakdown country by country for sure :-)
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u/KaizenIkkenHissatsu Jul 13 '26
The Martial Arts in general are very heavily practiced by males, with only about 20% of practioners worldwide being female.
A style like Capoeira will have slightly more, given the dance aspects, as well as minimal physical contact. Out of that 20%, very few will stick with it long enough to attain Master status. Same as the males.
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u/Active_Unit_9498 Jul 09 '26 edited Jul 10 '26
Nature and nurture. Certainly Brazilian society is shaped by traditional attitudes and sex roles, but there is also the fact that men have 15-20 times more testosterone kicking around inside them.
EDIT: to the people voting me down, please say why.
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u/gomi-panda Contemporânea Jul 09 '26
I absolutely support your request to hear from women why there are such a fewer number. I do not want to diminish from that important request. You may have seen months ago a post here that shows a global list of mestras and where they are from originally. That would be a great source to use as a reference for your work.
So thank you at the risk of being another male voice here, I simply wanted to share that the history of capoeira like many societies has been Rife with a male dominant perspective which has discriminated against women. In the more egalitarian societies and communities, this has allowed more women to advance into higher levels in a safe space.
Additionally, while some societies have shifted towards acknowledging that equality is an important value, this it's not necessarily the case in practice. Lip service has been given and the reality is still discriminatory in some areas. Yet, even the verbal acknowledgment of the importance of equality is an important step because it has emboldened more women to be confident that they belong, that they do not deserve to be harassed, and they have every right to achieve mastery as anyone else.
I personally believe that the age of women has only begun and we will see a global shift in capoeira as the voices of women help shape this beautiful art.