Revista da Semana

The present article aims to analyze how Revista da Semana, between the years 1900 and 1959, constructed models of modern elite women as a response to the advance of suffragist and feminist demands. As an integral part of the set of sources that compose an ongoing postdoctoral research project at the State University of Montes Claros (UNIMONTES), Revista da Semana, under the theoretical-methodological guidance of Gender Studies, presents throughout its 60 years of weekly publications possibilities for studies that encompass the socioeconomic, political, and cultural spheres of both Brazil and abroad, with regard to understanding how models of modern elite women were elaborated. The justification for undertaking this study, especially this specific focus within the broader research, lies primarily in the statement by June Hahner (2003, p. 22), when she observes: “male resistance to women’s suffrage proved difficult to counteract. Much of the opposition centered on the conception of male sovereignty over the family and the traditional duties of women.” In this sense, the family centered on patriarchal power clearly and evidently displayed its traditional divisions, and the presence of a feminist threat, which could invert social roles, caused great alarm. The press of the period, composed mainly of male writers and editors, increasingly devoted itself, through its printed materials, to the dissemination and reinforcement of the “true” role of elite women in society. It is precisely with this purpose that Revista da Semana emerged. The periodical, which apparently held a conservative position regarding women’s suffrage, condemned the more effective and fervent actions of women in the struggle for their rights. In response to these advances, Revista da Semana printed in its pages models of behavior deemed appropriate for elite women, imposing limits and restrictions on knowledge, reading, and sociability. Thus, understanding how these actions took place and how choices were made in the creation of bodily standards, behavioral principles, and representations of social values—considered correct and disseminated by the periodical between 1900 and 1959—motivates and justifies the importance of carrying out this study

Elite · Feminism · Sovereignty · Suffrage · Gender, Sexuality, and Education · Historical Gender and Feminism Studies · Race, Identity, and Education in Brazil