Damas da luxúria? Práticas educativas sobre o corpo e a sexualidade feminina na imprensa humorística/pornográfica do Rio de Janeiro (1908-1916).

Abstract

This dissertation problematizes the educational discourses about the feminine, body and sexuality of public and white women in the pornographic/humorous press in Rio de Janeiro between 1908 and 1916. In a context marked by the desire to build a Republic forged by values such as progress, civility and hygiene, female sexuality was the target of micropowers for the elaboration of bodies economically and politically useful to the motherland. At that time, the aim was for a country immersed in the European scene as civilized, modern and increasingly white. Methodologically, this dissertation is based on the discourse analysis proposed by Michel de Foucault. As a theoretical framework, we appropriated Judith Butler to think about concepts such as gender and subjection of bodies; and concepts such as biopower proposed by Michel de Foucault. For this theoretical-methodological bias, the following sources will be analyzed: newspapers O Riso (1911-1912) and O Rio Nu (1908-1916). Through poems, novels, anecdotes, advertisements, illustrations and photographs of nude women, including famous women such as Jane Delyane, the periodicals demonstrated to women which body was considered beautiful and desirable through the perspective of civilized, hygienic and pleasant. Thus, educational practices for subjecting the body and female sexuality were instituted. It is possible to observe that discursively the different mechanisms of power create and places for the subjects, including women. Thus, if discourse means power, it is crucial to denaturalize and historicize these statements that appear as legitimate truths, but which are culturally and historically constructed in power networks. That said, this research is anchored in Cultural History, as it understands that sexuality and the body are also historical constructions, constituted by discursive practices that create and institutionalize places for the subjects.