Uma escolha feminina? Mulheres e contracepção na cidade do Recife (1970-1979)

Abstract

The present study seeks to analyze female contraception in the city of Recife, especially on the contraceptive pill, based on the editions of the newspapers Diário de Pernambuco, Diário da Manhã e Jornal da Cidade, during the 1970s. This work is inserted on a historical context characterized by changes in terms of women’s attributions. With the construction of a feminine ideal at the beginning of the century, the behaviors and spaces defined for women were restricted. It was from the 1960s onwards, with the repercussion of the so-called Sexual Revolution and the feminist movements, that this began to change in the West. Among the issues that contributed to a transformation in gender relations, the popularization of modern contraceptive methods can be highlighted. The possibility of a sex life not tied to procreation changed not only heterosexual relationships, but also other aspects of everyday life. Despite this, these changes occurred differently depending on the racial issue and social inequality experienced by women. In Brazil, this process is marked by an authoritarian political moment, which began with the civil-military coup of 1964. This scenario interfered in the way the pill arrived in the country and in the performance of the Brazilian feminist movements. In this perspective, based on the works of theorists such as Michel Foucault and Paul Preciado and on the selected documentation, the main themes related to the discussion of this modern contraceptive in the capital of Pernambuco are presented, bringing as result an overview of the behavior of women in the city of Recife, disputes concerning the female body and the presence of family planning entities in the state. Through the newspapers, it is possible to understand the imaginary about the pill and its side and behavioral effects took place, along with the press promoted attempt to silence the connection between the pill and female sexual freedom, strengthening the association between contraception and population control, authorized by masculine discourses.