Sexuality, motherhood and gender: socialization experiences of underpriviledged young women / Sexualidade, maternidade e gênero: experiências de socialização de mulheres jovens de estratos populares

AUTOR(ES)
DATA DE PUBLICAÇÃO

2007

RESUMO

This is an empirical qualitative research, which purpose is to analyze, under gender relations perspective, the singularities of love, sexual and reproductive trajectories of underprivileged young women living in the city of São Paulo, Brazil, considering their socialization experiences. Six young women between the ages of 16 and 20, four among which had teen pregnancy experience, were interviewed, with the purpose to understand, first, the learning process of the social "rules" of sexuality shaped and advocated by the many socialization agents, as well as the way young women articulate and incorporate these teachings and how they build their knowledge about sexuality. Second, the investigation tried to identify and to analyze which elements are perceived by the young women as the most important in their decision-making process to become a teenage mother or to postpone this project. The study aims to emphasize the importance of the heterogeneity of the profiles and the diversity of the situations experienced by young women, considering that health and education public policies tend to homogenize them under the age criterion, ignoring the meanings and their representations of sexuality and motherhood. The concept of socialization developed by Peter Berger and Thomas Luckmann and the concept of gender elaborated by Joan Scott are applied as theoretical basis for the analysis. The field research was carried out in Cidade Tiradentes, in east São Paulo, among the young clients of the Sexual and Reproductive Health Center Maria Auxiliadora Lara Barcelos, a specialized public health unit which provide health services and counseling to women living in the neighborhood, with pioneering and innovative characteristics, working under the perspective of gender relations. The interviews were carried our for about one year, during which it was possible to follow some important events in the lives of the young, for example, the birth of their children, job hunting experiences, their perceptions about past events and future prospects. As main results, it was evidenced that the young women construct their repertoire of sexuality knowledge on the basis of discourses and models shaped by different socialization agents; all agents are important to them in the process; the young women participate actively in the search for information that help them make choices about their sexual lives. It was also evidenced that gender models, especially those in their family socialization and love relationships influence strongly the way the young women think about motherhood, and are more relevant than the discourses from families and other socialization agents.

ASSUNTO(S)

sexuality gender educação sexual youth socialização gênero sex education sexualidade teen pregnancy and motherhood gravidez e maternidade na adolescência socialization juventude

ACESSO AO ARTIGO

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