The Fashion Industry and Women in Brazil, by Kat Wallace and Maranda Jordan

Kat Wallace (Writer)

Maranda Jordan (Editor)

POR/BWS 383

10/28/2015      

   

The Fashion Industry and Women in Brazil

            The fashion industry is one that would normally be considered a female dominated industry. In the United States, that is a primarily true statement with designers such as Betsey Johnson, Donatella Versace, and Stella McCartney gracing positions in the top ten fashion designers. However, in Brazil[1] , the idea of the fashion industry as a female dominated field is a different story.

            During the research of famous fashion designers in Brazil, the only results were those of men and their designs. In the article, Top Ten Brazilian Fashion Designers to Watch, nine out of the ten were men with only one female making the list of top designers.[2]  This is a surprising article for many reasons, the first being that women outnumber men in Brazil about 100 to 86.5, meaning for every ”100 ladies…there are a mere 86.4 males” (Brones 1)[3] , on average. Given this information, the United States is only fifty-one percent female, but the number of women fashion designers greatly outnumbers those in Brazil. Before understanding gender roles, we must first understand the industry itself. The fashion industry in Brazil, “encompasses over 30,000 formal companies that together move BRL 50 billion per year. The employee count is more than 1.7 million, of which 75% are women” (Farah 1). Additionally, cost of production is very high in Brazil, which serves as a deterrent to domestic textile production. Most production of textiles takes place in China, leading to higher rates of imports rather than domestic production. Furthermore, Brazilian brands are partnering with Programa de Exportação da Indústria da Moda Brasileira, which helps to export the brands created by Brazilian companies including nine different target markets and over 321 companies registered. Among those companies are Havaianas and Osklen. Havaianas is a sandal company owned and created by Robert Fraser and operates in Brazil; Havaianas is widely considered the most successful Brazilian company abroad. Osklen is a brand created by one of the designers on the Top Ten Designers to Watch, Oskar Metsavaht. This company produces sportswear and is advertised by models like Gisele Bunchden. Designers that are considered successful in Brazil [4] include Carlos Miele, Alexandre Herchcovitch, Reinaldo Lourenço and Ronaldo Fraga, all men; the only female fashion designer that appeared in the research was Barbara Casasola, who is not yet internationally acclaimed.

            Though male designers are the ones with their names on the labels and brands, women are involved in the fashion industry, just not at the forefront. In the article by Jorge Grimberg, Three Women Behind the Scenes of Brazil’s Fashion Industry, he notes three women who are highly successful, not in the fashion industry, but more for supporting the fashion industry. Alice Ferraz is the first woman listed and she’s made her money in the public relations of fashion. She handles over seventy different brands and is described in this article as “the connector”. Natalie Klein is woman number two and her claim to fame [5] came from collecting pieces of fashion for fashion shows; she is known as “the curator”. Last, but not least, is Constanza Pascolato who writes a fashion column for Brazil Vogue and she is known as “the muse”.[6]  Additionally, the article states, “For many, Brazil’s body culture, eternal summer, and supermodels — not to mention its successful bids to host both the 2014 World Cup and the 2016 Olympic Games — make it the sexiest of all the BRIC countries” (Grimberg 1), which leads to the support the industry receives from supermodels. Of course, everyone knows Gisele, but other Brazilian supermodels include Adriana Lima, Cintia Dicker, Camila Alves, and Alessandra Ambrosio. These beautiful ladies spend their days walking the runways of the world’s top brands, including the brands born in Brazil. Though they have become their own brands, these models still lend their faces and their names to the brands created by the designers. In this way, the male designers in Brazil are still the ones receiving the attention for the fashion.  

            The fashion industry is an industry that many see as a woman’s industry. However,[7]  this idea is the opposite with men dominating the entire fashion industry of Brazil.[8]  More often than not, men are responsible for designing the brands and clothing in Brazil, and many of them are internationally known. These designers and the fashion industry are supported by women in fields such as public relations, purchasing, writing, and modeling. Although these women are heavily involved in the industry, they are not often household names, lending their hard work to the success of the male designers. The supermodels who model these designs become icons and their success only bolsters those of the designers themselves. Throughout this research, it has become apparent that the fashion industry is a male dominated field supported by women behind the scenes.

Works Cited

Brones, Anna. “Rio: Women outnumber men on the beaches of string bikinis.” Brazil. Gadling, 21 Jan. 2008. Web. 27 Oct. 2015. <http://gadling.com/2008/01/21/rio-women-outnumber-men-on-the-beaches-of-string-bikinis/>.

Farah, Ana. “The Fashion Industry in Brazil.” The Brazil Business. The Brazil Business, 22 Jan. 2014. Web. 27 Oct. 2015. <http://thebrazilbusiness.com/article/fashion-industry-in-brazil>.

Freeland, Lucy. “Top 10 Brazilian fashion designers to watch.” The Culture Trip. 2015. Web. 27 Oct. 2015. <http://theculturetrip.com/south-america/brazil/articles/top-10-brazilian-fashion-designers-to-watch/>.

Grimberg, Jorge. “Three women behind the scenes of brazil’s fashion industry.” Global Currents. The Business of Fashion, 11 Apr. 2012. Web. 27 Oct. 2015. <http://www.businessoffashion.com/articles/global-currents/three-women-behind-the-scenes-of-brazils-fashion-industry-2>.

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Beauty Standards, Ariana Carver, Julia Rivera

Ariana Carver, Julia Rivera

Prof. Gandara

WGS/BWS 383

28 October 2015

Beauty Standards

            Beauty comes in all shapes and sizes, colors and hues, and lengths and widths. Each culture and society has their own unique standards of of beauty.  In Asian countries, it is considered beautiful to have extremely pale skin.  In African countries, heavy set women are considered more desirable.  History and literature have repeatedly reminded us that European standards of beauty have infiltrated many cultures and have dominated the beauty market.  Media surrounding beauty has caused many women of color to doubt their worth and beauty because of these standards.  Women have turned to cosmetic plastic surgery to alter their appearances.  The ideas and culture behind cosmetic plastic surgery in the United States and Brazil is changing they way women feel about their bodies.  In today’s society there are physical differences in white, African American and Afro-Brazilian bodies, however, these differences are perceived and valued differently in their perspective countries.

When you imagine the most beautiful woman, how does she look?  Many would argue that it depends on which ethnicity you are picturing. When asked to imagine the ideal body of a woman, the current desires are long lean legs, flat stomach, moderate hip width, a petite rear end and a proportional bust.  Tracey Owens Patton, author of Hey Girl, Am I More than My Hair says, “Beauty is subject to hegemonic standards of the ruling class.  Because of this, ‘beauty is an elusive commodity’” (Patton 25).  In American history black beauty has struggled to find its strength in society.  Society tells African American women that they are only beautiful if they are, “nearly indistinguishable from a woman…” (Patton 26).  This means straight hair, smaller facial features and lighter skin.  The bodies of black women are starkly different as well, being larger in most areas such as hips, thighs, and butt.  Throughout the ages black women have struggled to define their own beauty and be recognized as beautiful.  They are overly sexualized in the media and are often disregarded when one thinks of standard American beauty.  

As we have discussed in class, white western culture has also infiltrated Brazilian women and their beauty standards.  The article about top model Emanuela de Paula is an example how women of African descent struggle to find their beauty.  De Paula talks about how she had to prove her beauty to her country because she did not fit the fair skin/straight hair mold of the typical Brazilian model.  On top of being black, she was also poor which was displayed in her appearance during the beginning of her career.  Even when she became more successful her peers continued to questioned or insulted her beauty.  She tells a story about how one of her colleagues called her a “macaca” meaning monkey, mocking her African features. She says in spite of “all of her experiences and everything that she was were reduced to ‘macaca’ (blackwomenofbrazil.co).  In American, often times African American women will buy products to straighten their hair because it’s not straight enough or lighten their skin because it’s too dark yet they are still not considered beautiful in the eyes of society.  This can be seen when African American women are told they’re “pretty for a black girl.” The addition of “for a black girl” shows how African American girls and women are not considered as beautiful as white women. People do not say “you’re pretty for a white girl” it’s simply “you’re pretty.”

Plastic surgery has become very popular with women who are not happy with the bodies they were born with.  Plastic surgery used to be used primarily for people with serious deformities and birth defects, but today cosmetic plastic surgery occurs more frequently.  Some women go to extreme lengths in order attain the features or bodies they desire.  There has been a rapid growth in the Brazilian cosmetic plastic surgery industry. Alexander Edmonds, author of The Poor Have a Right to be Beautiful, explains why he believes that more middle or lower class women are desiring plastic surgery.  He states that a run-down clinic offers free plastica,plastic surgery, and “a right to beauty is celebrated in a country where human rights are disparaged…”(Edmonds 365).  Edmonds notes that American media does not present Brazilian cosmetic surgery in a good way, but that Brazilians are excited about its recent growth in their country.  

Throughout the article Edmonds discusses about how he believes that the plastic surgery boom in Brazil is pushed by capitalism and the desire for “social mobility, glamour, and modernity” (Edmonds 366).  He attributes the shift in health care and “the feminization of the working class” to the desire the right to be beautiful (Edmonds 366).  The jobs that women do hold as maids, receptionists, and secretaries, places an emphasis on the appearance of the woman.  Sexual desire or youthfulness can add to the interaction between customer and worker.  Many women desire breast augmentations or nose jobs and these procedures are extremely inexpensive.  This idea of altering one’s appearance to attract sexual attention seems to be the same within American and Brazilian culture. The difference, however, tends to be that upper class women in the United States are more likely to undergo surgery than lower class women to attain the sexual desire.  

It is interesting to think about how beauty standards can be influenced and changed so quickly and how it affects the self-esteem of a population.  Women of color are continuously struggling to find define their beauty as well as make the world understand it. Plastic surgery has become a staple in some societies to enhance or alter appearance.  Some believe that it is beneficial while others believe that it is just a mask to cover up a bigger problem.  It will be interesting to see what the future hold for this population. Will the beauty standards continue to shift? If it does shift, will it have as big of an impact on women as it does today?

Works Cited

Alexander Edmonds. “'the Poor Have the Right to Be Beautiful': Cosmetic Surgery in Neoliberal Brazil”. The Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute 13.2 (2007): 363–381. Web…

Patton, Tracey Owens. “Hey Girl, Am I More Than My Hair?: African American Women and Their Struggles with Beauty, Body Image, and Hair”. NWSA Journal 18.2 (2006): 24–51. Web...

Three’s a Crowd?: Brazil, Women and Education, Emma Crowe and Grace Dahlman

Emma Crowe and Grace Dahlman

Professor Paula Gandara

FST 383

28 October 2015

Three’s a Crowd?: Brazil, Women and Education

            With a worldwide push for female equality sparked through conferences such as the United Nations’ World Education Forum, we have seen a revision of thought throughout the world when it comes to women’s education. However, it can become difficult, based on a country’s specific culture, to change their richly ingrained gender and educational systems. The role of the woman in Brazilian culture is one of constant struggle when it comes to equality, especially because of their very historical patriarchal society. By contextualizing the history of the education system in Brazil and Dilma’s role in women’s education especially incorporating class discussions, we can better understand the impact woman currently have on the Brazilian society and the gender system.

            The impact of women’s education in Brazil has increased an incredible amount throughout the last century considering the barriers they had to face for the past five hundred years since the Portuguese landed in Brazil. The implications of this change can be drastic to society in changing the roles of the classical Brazilian cultural housewife attitude. Prior to the 1800’s, education for both men and women was not considered a necessity. As we read in our reading Women and Society in Colonial Brazil, the traditional woman or “the white donzela and the lady of the ‘big house’ have been depicted as leading a secluded existence…immune to the harsh realities” (Russell-Wood, 1). These harsh realities included education and going outside the home like the patriarchal figure did. However, as time went on and because of the male dominated society of Brazil and the world, men were deemed worthy to learn how to read and write, as it was not seen as a necessity for the women's traditional household roles (Beltrão and Alves). Women were only allowed to attend school and work outside the home in jobs around the turn of the 20th century (Lewis). As a result of the increase in education, around the 1970’s and 1980’s, women's employment rose in Brazil. Even more women joined work sectors that had employed only men in the past rather than just “the informal and self-employed sectors” (Lewis). However, women tend to pursue higher education in areas such as education and health and continue to struggle to penetrate male dominated fields like engineering and law (Osava).

            Dilma Rousseff took over office as the first female Brazilian President in 2011. As we have discussed in class, Dilma often abuses her power and does not do enough to support women who are abused regularly in Brazil. Furthermore, we even discussed how she has closed schools and hired military police for schools she has not closed (class 10/2/2015). Education is a necessary tool women need to have in order to learn how to become independent. Closing schools will not help this. However, on the onset of Dilma’s presidential position, she spoke to the United Nations saying that this is “the century of women” and “I speak to you with a feminine voice. It’s the voice of democracy, of equality” (Torregrosa). Woman in Brazil have looked up to Dilma as a role model especially since she appointed a record number of women to her cabinet. There are now women holding strategic business positions in Brazil as well, including “Chieko Aoki, the head of Blue Tree, one of the largest hotel chains in Brazil; Maria Cláudia Oliveira Amaro, president of the board of TAM, the country’s leading airline; Maria Silvia Bastos Marques, the first chairwoman of C.S.N., the national steel company; and Vera Gaensly Cordeiro, a medical and social entrepreneur and founder of the worldwide Child Health Association,” (Torregrosa). Dilma has made incredible progress in terms of inspiring and publicizing powerful women, despite her horrific shortcomings with education reforms and creating militaristic school environments for both boys and girls. The image of the woman is clearly changing, but not as the progressive rates necessary to overcome all obstacles.

            However, education alone cannot change the Brazilian society. The rate at which women are entering educational institutions, although improved, is still not the same rate at which women are acquiring formal equal jobs as men. Changing long ingrained cultural perceptions of women is hard to do. Women are traditionally supposed to be in charge of all household activities, including taking care of the children and rarely even leaving the home. We discussed in class how although women have jobs, they are still responsible for this role (class 10/23/2015) and cannot generally hope to attain a lucrative career in addition to their domestic responsibilities. Fulvia Rosemberg of the Carlos Chagas Foundation argues, “as long as child care is not available for all families, there will be no structural changes in women’s participation in the labour market” (Osava). Although Dilma has brought many more women aboard her team than any other Brazilian President before and may create an idea to women throughout the country that they can rise to this, if the value system doesn’t change, it is very difficult to increase women’s importance in society. Though women can express their discontent, they inherently have less power to change the status quo.

            Many times through Brazilian literature, these important societal values are brought to light for the observant reader. Sometimes when the feminine woman leaves her role as the traditional housewife, she is punished. However, in The Ants, which we read for class, we see how the two Brazilian girls are staying in an attic of a house. They are students going off to college to study medicine and law—professions not totally in the ordinary for a Brazilian woman. In class we discussed how the dwarf that the ants were building acts as a symbol to the unconscious mind and the girls unconsciously are running away from the traditional role of the feminine (class 10/14/2015). Written during a time when education was slowly growing, this is very representative of the unconscious nervousness surrounding the allowal of women in Brazil into the educational realm. The nervousness surrounding of a possible feminine sexuality that could be lost if women entered into fields of medicine and law; this is an interesting observation if one is reading carefully. The author appeals to women’s subconscious obedience to the domestic sphere in Brazil.

            Women’s role in education in Brazil is steadily changing to this day. Females make up the majority of college enrollment and have a higher graduation rate than their male counterparts, and hold incredibly powerful business and governmental positions for their country. Despite these promising advancements, these women are still considered to be anomalies in the strong Brazilian patriarchal society and women are still suffering. Dilma’s education reforms are hurting all students, and women specifically still struggle to have influential jobs and careers while conforming to cultural standards of being a wife and mother. Women and their contributions are still qualified and defined by the men in their life, bearing those titles such as “mother,” “wife,” and so on. Even President Dilma, the most powerful woman in the country, is noted most commonly as “successor to Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.” Brazilian and world culture still has a long way to go before women of all classes can even hope to be considered equal to their male counterparts, and the rise in female education is a strong indicator that they are headed in that direction.

WORKS Cited

Beltrão, Kaizô Iwakami, and José Eustáquio Diniz Alves. "Reversal of the Gender Gap in

Brazilian Education in the 20th Century." Reversal of the Gender Gap in Brazilian Education in the 20th Century. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Oct. 2015. <http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?pid=S0100-15742009000100007&script=sci_arttext&tlng=en>.

Lewis, Jone Johnson. “Brazil Women.” Women’s History. About, n.d. Web. 27 Oct. 2015.

            <http://womenshistory.about.com/library/ency/blwh_brazil.htm>.

Osava, Mario. “RIGHTS: Women More Educated, Not More Equal.” Global Issues. N.p., 2 

Mar. 2010. Web 27 Oct. 2015. <http://www.globalissues.org/news/2010/03/01/4685>.

Russel-Wood, A.J.R.,. “Women and Society in Colonial Brazi.” Journal of Latin American

Studies 9.1 (1997): 1-34. Cambridge University. Web. 28 Oct/. 2015.

Torregrosa, Luisita Lopez. “Paving a Way for Women in Brazil.” The New York

Times. The New York Time, 16 Nov. 2011. Web. 27 Oct. 2015. <http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/16/world/americas/16iht-letter16.html?_r=1>.

Sayonara Salvioli; by Kaela Thomasson-Pavao and Anna Miller

                          

Sayonara Salvioli

Sayonara Salvioli is a female author from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Her personal website describes her as being a poet, short story writer, columnist, playwright, biographer, and novelist. She has published four novels, encompassing genres such as romance, biographical, and a children’s novel. Sayonara regularly publishes her writing on online blogs. The themes of these blog posts vary widely, and include fiction and nonfiction short stories, personal observations and reflections on her life and perceptions of the world, and philosophical thoughts. She explains her interest in diverse topics by saying "I investigate inexplicable things that caught my attention. For me, everything is ponderable and plausible (even when seemingly intangible) until proven otherwise."

Sayonara's Writings and Connections to Class Themes           

In reading several excerpts of Sayonara’s writing, we were able to make connections between some of the themes that she deals with, and the major themes that have been discussed in our class this semester. These pieces either deal explicitly with women, or else with topics that we have seen to be related to the lives of women.

First, her piece titled “The Pink Woman” talks extensively about the nature of women, an analysis that relates directly with our class on Brazilian women in literature. In “The Pink Woman”, Sayonara explores the urban myth that bad women never wear pink, and conversely, that any woman wearing pink must be a good person. She summarizes this thought, saying, "Better saying it is not that a good woman needs to always be in pink, but that the evil ones simply never wear it!" This piece gives a more in-depth look at the varied personalities of women than some of the other readings from this class.  Some of the other texts from Brazil’s past have the tendency to provide oversimplified, surface-level views of women, grouping their traits into one large “feminine” category.

            Second, Sayonara’s piece “The Threefold Theory” discusses her personal beliefs. She reveals that, although she doesn’t adhere to any specific religious doctrine, her view of the world is shaped by a combination of many faiths and philosophies. One major point she explores is the “Threefold Theory”, for which the text is named. This theory emphasizes the importance of the number three in a variety of different beliefs. This idea is explained by saying, "Everything that happens once may never happen again, but everything that happens twice with the probability and the occurrence of a third will repeat forever". Sayonara draws together examples from many major religions and belief systems, to show the pervasiveness of the number three throughout the world. Her personal beliefs can be seen as being related to the religions of Brazil as a whole. As discussed in class, many people in Brazil follow religious traditions that are a combination of Catholic beliefs, indigenous culture, and African religions. In our discussion of the reading on a woman named Conceicao, our class agreed that "Her values are guided by religion, but she interprets meanings into her own life" (Class summary, 4/4).  The blending of cultures and philosophies commonly seen in Brazilian culture is reflected in the beliefs of Sayonara expressed in “The Threefold Theory”.

            Finally, we read Sayonara’s short story “Queen of the Pigeons”. This piece describes a woman who lived in Sayonara’s neighborhood. Referred to as a stereotypical “pigeon woman”, she is often seen feeding and interacting with the pigeons. She is described as “one that does not follow the flow of humans”, and “hiding from the world”. The woman goes by the name “Queen Elizabeth”, and wears clothes from another time. She is rumored to have had her heart broken by a past lover, resulting in her strange behavior. As Sayonara says, she “has since begun to isolate herself from the real world and become a character in the kingdom she had imagined for herself”. Several themes from our class are apparent here. The first is that of women’s time, clearly illustrated in the pigeon woman’s non-linear approach to time and the world she lives in. Like many other women, she experiences time in her own way, disconnected from the world around her. This disconnection continues in her belief that she is Queen Elizabeth. As we have seen in other texts throughout this class, this carnivalization, or tendency of women to contort their view of the world, is a coping mechanism for the painful reality of their lives. When discussing the novel The Island of the Dead, we identified this "world existing upside down", saying that "All of the other characters are female, and can only survive in this carnivalized world" (Class summary, 3/21). The heartbreak and disappointment that the pigeon woman suffered in Sayonara's short story represents some of the many challenges that we have seen can cause women to flip their lives upside down, in order to help them survive.

Sayonara’s Thoughts in Relation to Specific Concepts Discussed in Class

           

            According to Sayonara, the craft of writing in Brazil has a great influence on the success of female writers. As mentioned earlier, she has written four novels and is about to publish her fifth novel. Her much anticipated new novel is set in the 19^th century and tells the story of five generations of African women. This novel could be particularly interesting in context with our class, for we have discussed various opinions on race relations in Brazil today. In order for her book to be successful, Sayonara must pick the publisher who will provide her with the greatest and widest distribution. The advantage of having a book on the “first shelf” of a bookstore, whether a male or female writer, is tremendous.

            Although printing provides a Brazilian writer with the means of spreading their work throughout the country, the easiest way to gain a wide readership, like in any country, is through the Internet. Sayonara has two blogs, one of which is through the well-known Internet Corporation, Yahoo. Her blogs give her the unique advantage of spreading her writing throughout the world to all audiences.

            Women’s rights have been one of the most pervasive topics throughout our course. We have read about some progress, but most discussions have revolved around a need for an even greater amount of progress for women’s rights in Brazil. Sayonara believes that women have made great progress in the workplace; however, more progress is necessary. This seems to be a trend among the opinions of all of the REBRA writers with whom our class conversed. Most of them believe there have been minor positive changes towards the rights of women; however, there is still so much to be done. In order to gain rights she believes that women need a strong leader to empower the movement. Sayonara notes that Rose Marie Muraro has been one of the greatest icons for the women’s movement in Brazil.

            In the introduction of an interview she conducts with Rose Marie Muraro herself, Sayonara says she is known as “The Godmother of Brazilian Feminism.” Throughout the interview one discovers that Rose was a writer, editor, and Brazilian economist who fought for women’s rights in the 1970s. She wrote over thirty feminist novels and led several movements. In fact, the Women Emancipation Movement got her fired and repudiated from the Church. Rose even gained international success in association with the women’s movement, for she lectured in many universities including Cornell and Harvard, and she brought American feminist, Betty Friedan to Brazil. When Sayonara asked Rose about the success of the women’s movement, she said that women’s suffrage is by far the greatest achievement to date; however, there is still much to be done. In the interview, Rose summarized her own role in the improvement of women’s rights by saying, “I wanted to set fire to the world and I got it. I have changed the thoughts of a generation and the generations after that.”

            Another recurring topic in our class discussions was the role of religion within women’s lives in Brazil. Despite the seemingly blatant inclusion of religious and philosophical topics in some of her stories, most specifically, “The Threefold Theory,” Sayonara argues that religion does not influence her writing. She is extremely spiritual and “seeks the inner light of faith,” while her writings merely explore the universal thoughts of various societies and religions. Most of the women we have discussed in class have been heavily influenced by both Catholicism and Candomble, so her lack of association with one of these is particularly interesting. Despite this, Sayonara does explore these topics in her writing in order to educate her readers on various practices.

            Although Sayonara’s writing is feminist in nature, the intended audience is not limited to women. Due to her Internet presence, her readership consists of both men and women of varying backgrounds and professions. In fact, some male readers have mentioned seeing characteristics of their mother in the older woman described in “The Queen of the Pigeons.” However, she does believe that her writings possess a strong female brand that would be clear to any reader.

With Sayanora serving as an example, it seems as if women writers have a widespread voice with the potential of making a great impact on the state of women’s rights in Brazil. We would like to thank Sayonara for her willingness to share her stories and opinions with us. She has given us the opportunity to hear first-hand what it is like to be a woman in Brazil. More importantly, she has shown us how impactful writing can be on a society and culture that still has much work to do in order to improve the rights of women.

Bibliography

"Lauda Eletrônica." Lauda Eletrônica. N.p., n.d. Web. 1 May 2014.

<http://sayonarasalvioli.blogspot.com.br/>

"Página não encontrada." Yahoo Rede de Contribuidores. N.p., n.d. Web. 2 May 2014.

<http://br.contribuidores.yahoo.com/usu%C3%A1rio/1692627/sayonara_salvioli.html>

"REBRA - Rede de Escritoras Brasileiras."REBRA - Rede de Escritoras Brasileiras. N.p., n.d.

Web. 1 May 2014. <http://rebra.org/escritora/escritora_ptbr.php?id=1165>.

Cristina Tranter & Haley Robertson

Dr. Gandara

POR 383

12 May 2014

Lina Vianna’s Life Through Her Story KQM-7900

Lina Vianna, a Minas Gerais native, later moved to Rio de Janeiro when married in 1971. She was born during World War II, and is today 72 years old and currently retired from her writing. Lina has two adult children, and one granddaughter that were all born in Rio de Janeiro. Lina was married for 41 years, until 10 years ago when her husband died, and Lina now is a widow. She told us that she enjoyed spending quality family time with her daughters and granddaughter. When asking Lina about certain issues in Brazil, such as prostitution, we received vague answers. However, we cannot assume her exact opinion because she could most definitely have a different perspective and opinion. The story that we focused on was KQM-7900. We believe that this story mimics a certain perspective of her own, and further analyzed the story referring to Lina’s life.

Her hometown, Minas Gerais (General Mines), is known as Deep Brazil. It is incredibly traditional than the more flashy Rio de Janeiro. Furthermore, Minas Gerais also is more so Portuguese than the South. Minas Gerais also consists of a large population of Italians and other Central Europeans. The North has an influx of Native Americans, while the Northeast has a heavy population of Afro-Brazilians. Minas Gerais is known as one of the most religious states in Brazil, which we definitely assumed with Lina. Growing up in Minas Gerais, she was surrounded by religious culture. Furthermore, Mineiros, people from Minas Gerais, are known to have an incredibly different accent setting them apart from the majority in Brazil. Haley and I considered this accent being easily identifiable for Lina once moving to Rio de Janeiro, because she would stand out in Rio for her unique accent. Minas Gerais is known as a family-centered state and the people are considered reserved. Once researching the culture of Minas Gerais, it became evident why Lina was so constrained when answering questions about certain issues in Brazil, such as prostitution.

As studied in class, prostitution in Brazil is at a breaking peak, and expected to spike in 2014 for the FIFA World Cup and the Olympics in 2016. The “happy being a prostitute” campaign ad was recently released in Brazil to subdue the stigmatism towards prostitution in Brazil. Also, the campaign wanted to promote safe sex for the prostitutes. In one of the campaigns, a prostitute is featured saying “I cannot be seen without a condom, my love.” However, both FIFA and the Olympics are taking place in Rio de Janeiro, which is currently Lina’s hometown though she acts more as if she is living in Minas Gerais. Her response to our questions regarding prostitution was, “I confess I’m a little surprised. Are prostitutes learning English to better attend their foreign customs during the world cup? I didn’t know anything about it…” In preparation for the upcoming sporting events, the government has been having Brazilian prostitutes attend classes and learn English. According to the President’s association, Cida Vieira, their goal for having prostitutes learn English is to enable better communication between the prostitute and the client so to learn how to work out financial deals and also use a specialized vocabulary with sensual words and fetishes,” says Vieira. However, when discussing this knowledge with Lina, she was interested in learning more about the prostitution spike, and why prostitutes were learning English.

I did not understand exactly why Lina would have no knowledge about the prostitution in Brazil, we wondered if she didn’t want to discuss something as decadent as prostitution, or if she actually had no knowledge on the prostitution in Brazil.

In class when discussing the various writers that students had, Lina had reminded me of a children’s writer we were discussing, Christina Hernandez. Both “appeared” to have no knowledge about prostitution in Brazil. However, this “happy being a prostitute campaign” ad has been all over Brazil, and even been featured in an article in the U.S. My fellow classmates with the children’s writer had told them she had heard about the prostitution campaigns, but didn’t want to talk about it.   We are not exactly sure why Lina did not respond, but I believe that maybe it was all about to come as too clear why she didn’t want to talk about prostitution. Unlike some of the other writers that were more outspoken on feminism, gay rights, and prostitution. I think that when being approached by college English students, Lina did not want to talk about the darker issues in Brazil, but instead keep the conversations light and happy. Much like the children’s writer, Lina did not want to discuss these aspects in Brazil.

KQM-7900 was Lina’s short story that Haley and I read and analyzed. The story portrays a couple living in Rio de Janeiro, whose car license has been cloned. Whoever is driving the cloned licensed car, keeps getting speeding tickets, but they are instead sent to the husband and wife with the other car. After repeatedly bringing this issue to the authorities, the couple is dismissed and is burdened by this constant speeding ticket. Finally, the husband sells the car to rid of this terrible burden. However, right after selling the car, the couple is called in to the authorities because they have now detected this issue, and address that they no longer have to pay these speeding fines. At the end before talking to the authorities, the wife says that this situation will either “end up in pizza” or “end up in blood.”

“To end up in pizza,” simply means that even as serious as the situation may be, nothing will be done, and the guilty people will just go out and eat pizza not caring about the serious situation. “To end up in blood,” insinuates that there will be a lot of drama and fighting. However, Mr. XXX, a policeman who has done a wrongdoing, ultimately frees the couple of this ongoing burden. The wife overjoyed after leaving the station, notices flamboyants, a red flower in Brazil. This beautiful flower symbolizes emancipation in Brazil. The flamboyants symbolized freedom and being emancipated from this terrible burden from the government. In the end, the wife says, “the story had ended up in blood, the beautiful blood of the flamboyant flowers.”

When analyzing KQM-7900, Haley and I wondered if this short story was relating to Lina’s life when moving from Minas Gerais to Rio de Janeiro when she had married in the early 1970’s. What Haley and I took from this story after analyzing was that the government was corrupted and the authorities were not helpful and also corrupted. The give away for my reasoning was when Lina introduced the character, Mr.XXX. Mr.XXX symbolizes a police officer that is corrupted and has done some wrongdoing. This character represents corruption and because Lina included this character, it made Haley and I question what message Lina was trying to get across to her reader.

Lina introduces an innocent couple living in Rio de Janeiro, just trying to get by and start a life. However, they soon become burdened by this ongoing driver that continues to speed and give the couple payments that they do not deserve. As the reader, I assumed that once going to the police station, their dispute would be figured out and the situation would no longer be a problem. However, it became evident that there was some sort of corruption or lackadaisical attitude amongst the policeman in Rio de Janeiro when the couple is ignored. They submit paperwork over and over, but they are never appeased until finally having to sell the car because it was the only to rid of this curse. The theme that was most clear was government control. The couple feels that they have no option in fighting this situation, but only to give in to the government. Their only way out was having to sell the car. Ironically, right after selling the car, then police officials call the couple in to address their problem. It is already too late for anything to be resolved now, but ultimately the couple is freed from this burden. The wife is appeased and calmed by viewing the flamboyants. She realizes there is nothing to be done or fought, but just to move on in life.

In KQM-7900, Lina makes it known through her writing that at this time when the story was written in the 1970s, there is some distaste towards the authorities and government. The couple knew that they would not be helped immediately, and it took some time until they were completely freed by these burdens. Haley and I wondered if this was Lina trying to illustrate herself through her writing as a young woman in the 1970s that had just moved to Rio de Janeiro with her husband. It all added up, and showed that Lina had a negative opinion of the government at that time.

However, as readers we cannot always assume and allow our initial judgments to determine the reality. Haley and I do not know exactly if this story is referring to Lina’s personal experiences or even her mindset about the government. Most female writers in Brazil that we have studied showed their ideals towards feminism, prostitution, and government through their writing. When analyzing Lina’s text, Haley and I noticed the negative representation of the government. However, the story exhibited a positive representation of husband and wife trying to solve this issue together.

At this time in Brazil from 1964 to 1985, a military government had been introduced. They addressed one of their goals to end government corruption. However, the people feared this new government because one of their main instruments of control was the fear of torture. Many people that that had been arguing against this new government, and thousands had been taken. Left-wing opponents were either kidnapped, imprisoned without trials, or the dictatorship used arbitrary arrests, thousands were taken. They were tortured, and many were raped or castrated. Many of these bodies were dismembered and hidden. To reinstate, this kind of military government, which utilizes torture stroke a fear amongst people in the 1970s. After doing research, one learns that in the 1970’s when KQM-7900 was written, there was an incredible fear from the civilians towards the government. No one wanted to be that next missing person who was being tortured by the government. In KQM-7900, we read how the couple consistently addresses the police, but the couple never becomes angry or annoyed towards the authorities. They remain respectful, which indicates they are not showing anger towards the government, in order to stay of the radar and just hope for the best with their situation. After meeting with police officials and resolving the issue, the wife feels a great deal of emancipation symbolized through the flamboyants. This is because now they no longer have to have any contact with the authorities and government for the time being, and she feels freed for the moment.

Through KQM-7900, Haley and I gained a great deal of knowledge about the military government in Brazil during the 1970’s. Our author, Lina Vianna exposed a piece of herself through her writing, which I really enjoyed. However, when confronting Lina directly with specific questions, she was vague. Doing research on Minas Gerais and the military government in Brazil during the 1970’s showed me more what Lina had lived through and what had ultimately affected her writing.

Resources

Benedetti, Ana. "Brazilian Prostitutes Prepare For World Cup 2014." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 18 June 2013. Web. 12 May 2014.

Dassin, Joan, and Jaime Wright. Torture in Brazil: A Report. New York: Vintage, 1986. Print.

Lispector, Clarice. The Hour of the Star. Manchester: Carcanet, 1986. Print.

Brocchetto, Marilia. "Brazil Drops 'happy Being a Prostitute' Ad Campaign." CNN. Cable News Network, 01 Jan. 1970. Web. 12 May 2014.

Lina and her daughter