Banca de DEFESA: AÍLLA KÁSSIA DE LEMOS SANTOS

A FEMALE CHOICE? WOMEN AND CONTRACEPTION IN THE CITY OF RECIFE (1970-1979)

Contraception; Women; Pill; Recife.

The present study seeks to analyze how the debate on female contraception in the city of Recife took place, especially the contraceptive pill, from the editions of the newspapers Diário de Pernambuco, Diário da Manhã and Jornal da Cidade, during the 1970s. it is part of a historical context characterized by changes in terms of women's attributions. With the construction of a feminine ideal, still 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 associated with 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 was 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 Brazilian feminist movements. In this perspective, from the work of theorists such as Michel Foucault and Paul Preciado and the selected documentation, the main themes related to the discussion of this modern contraceptive in the capital of Pernambuco are presented, bringing as a result an overview of the behavior of women in the city of Recife. , disputes over the female body and the presence of family planning entities in the state. Through the newspapers, it is possible to understand how the construction of the imaginary about the pill and its side and behavioral effects took place, in addition to the attempt to silence the pill promoted by the press about the relationship between the pill and female sexual freedom, strengthening the association between contraception and population control, authorized by masculine discourses.