Feminismo do Extremo Norte: trajetórias e reivindicações do Departamento Paraense pelo Progresso Feminino (Belém/PA, 1931-1937)

Abstract

The dissertation aims to analyze the trajectories and demands of the Paraense Department for Female Progress (DPPF), in Belém, between 1931 and 1937. Specifically, its central argument is the formation and characterization of an extreme-northern feminism, based on diversity and the particularities of the group and its members. Understand it in its complexity, based on the strategies employed, the challenges faced and the internal diversities, in addition to problematizing the themes propagated and the rights claimed. State branch in Pará of the Brazilian Federation for Female Progress (FBPF), a feminist organization from Rio de Janeiro, the group from Pará presented similar characteristics to the parent institution and local singularities, in accordance with the experiences and opportunities experienced, defining an Extreme Feminism North. The period marks the years of greatest activity and publicity of the Department, from its foundation in 1931 until the political restructuring with the installation of the New State, in 1937, which caused the weakening and emptying of national feminist mobilizations. In this way, the movements of the DPPF at multiple levels, national/local and individual/collective, are put into perspective. With this in mind, the research seeks to undertake a political micro-history of Belenese feminists, represented in the Paraense Department, by analyzing the socio-political configurations, choices and ambiguities in the experiences and perceptions of DPPF members. Based on the critical cross-referencing of documents, mainly newspapers and correspondence, the group’s participation in national campaigns was identified, with emphasis on the moments of legislative reformulation, the expansion and consolidation of women’s rights: the Electoral Code (1932) and the National Constituent Assembly (1933/1934). At the same time, with their local activities and demands, in the consolidation and propagation of feminism in the capital of Pará, the individuality of the members is highlighted, through their feminist, political and professional writings and actions. These issues become intrinsic to the collective, as they demand the triad of feminism – voting, education and work – linked to their demands and other axes pleaded; demonstrating the feminist diversity in the composition of its members, the themes demanded and the conflicts experienced.