“Beatriz era mais fêmea que mulher”: feminilidade e masculinidade pela imprensa de Belém (1940)

Abstract

In this work we will try to analyze the speeches about femininity and masculinity, using the articles from the newspapers from Belém and other capitals, which reported and updated their constituents daily with information about the crimes, imprisonment and death of a woman named Beatriz da Conceição, during 1940s. The society of the time defined spaces and behaviors for women and men, from which they could be in the order or disorder line, according to values and conducts. So, using control mechanisms - medical and legal guidelines - in order to keep an eye on the subjects and their bodies, the speeches about feminine and masculine standards were daily disseminated through the newspapers. It was so important to follow the imposed rules that the newspapers of large or small circulation - Folha Vespertina, Folha do Norte, O Estado do Pará, A Província do Pará, A Vanguarda, and O Liberal - when reporting the proceedings about Beatriz, brought in their narratives partial perspectives, value judgments about what was allowed or condemnable to women and men. And in this discursive dynamics about the standards in the public and private areas - woman of modesty, mother, prostitute, working man, murderer, and others - the complexity of the subjects allowed us to understand the multiple femininities and masculinities, considering the social markers of the individuals, also going through issues related to sexuality, crimes, honor, morality and violence.