Choice Feminism and the Opt‐Out Phenomenon: Is It Possible to Speak of Free Will?
通过对五位巴西大学毕业女性的职业轨迹进行叙事分析，研究发现她们自愿退出劳动力市场的决定受到劳动力市场条件和性别劳动分工的结构性制约，挑战了选择女性主义的自由意志假设。
ABSTRACT The aim of this research was to question choice feminism in the light of the opt‐out phenomenon, through a thematic narrative analysis of the professional trajectories of five Brazilian women with university degrees. As a result of the research—and the main contribution to the advancement of knowledge in the field—it was found that although the interviewees chose to opt out of the labor market voluntarily, this decision was conditioned by two structural factors: (1) the conditions of the labor market and (2) the sexual division of labor. The interviewees' accounts revealed that they left their successful careers not only because they wanted to devote themselves to their children full time, as the literature describing the opt‐out phenomenon portrays, but also for reasons related to excessive working hours, macho work environments, lack of flexible work alternatives, long commutes, lack of parental participation in social reproduction activities, and the desire not to outsource childcare. Finally, by questioning the assumptions underlying the so‐called choice feminism and the opt‐out phenomenon, the article also contributes to broadening our understanding of the difficulties experienced by Brazilian women trying to reconcile work and family life.