Pedagogias de Lifestyle: educação, aparência e performance feminina nas revistas O Cruzeiro (Brasil) e Ladies’ Home Journal (EUA) – 1946-1953.

Abstract

"The women's press in Brazil, from its beginnings in the 19th century to the 21st century, has been a disseminator of practices and representations of what is considered ideally feminine (Buitoni, 1990, 2009). While reflecting the aspirations and views of social imagination regarding women, it constructs representations of what they should be, how they should think and act; prescriptions and advice that are often conveyed through a language of 'friendship' and communicated by influential voices, such as columnists. In light of this, we developed the research entitled 'Lifestyle Pedagogies: education, appearance, and feminine performance in the magazines O Cruzeiro (Brazil) and Ladies' Home Journal (USA) – 1946-1953,' to critically examine how the Brazilian magazine O Cruzeiro, through its Women's Issues section, and the American magazine Ladies' Home Journal sought, through their counseling content and advertisements, to educate readers about ways of being and existing in the world, what we call lifestyle pedagogies. The magazines O Cruzeiro (Brazil) and Ladies' Home Journal (USA) were selected as sources of analysis for being prints of great relevance in the social history of 20th-century press in their respective countries. Additionally, they present similarities in their texts, images, means, and purposes. The chosen temporal scope, from 1946 to 1953, is justified for several reasons: the periodicity of the Women's Affairs section in O Cruzeiro, which was regularly published with the columns From Woman to Woman, Elegance and Beauty, and Home, Sweet Home; this period is considered the consolidation phase of O Cruzeiro until it reached its editorial zenith; it represents a significant moment in women's history, considering the post-war context and especially the 'golden years' of the 1950s. In this period, previously defined limits to women's experiences would be relaxed, changing conceptions of emancipation and freedom, even if still in an incipient way. Such ideals would emerge more forcefully in the following decades in the United States, influencing Brazil through the cultural and media industries. We contemplate the role played by these prints in educating women in light of the assumptions of Cultural History (Certeau, 1988; Le Goff, 2003; Prost, 2019; Pesavento, 2004), the History of Education of the body and feminine sensibilities (Cunha, 2007; Lipovetsky, 2000; Luca, 2013; Perrot, 2015; Pinsky, 2013; Sant'Anna, 2013; Vigarello, 2006), Social History of the Press (Burke, 1992, 2005; Darnton, 1990; Buitoni, 2009; Scanlon, 1995; Damon-Moore, 1994), and the philosophy of language (Bakhtin, 1979, 1997; Brait, 2006; Discini, 2012; Fiorin, 2020). Through this qualitative, documentary, and bibliographic research, we understand that the press in the 20th century is one of the most relevant cultural artifacts to be analyzed by historians of education. We conclude that O Cruzeiro and Ladies' Home Journal were periodicals of great relevance and prominence in the time and spaces in which they circulated, contributing to the creation of fashions, ways, and fads that influenced and were influenced by the culture of their time. Instruction focused on living a life based on two main pillars: consumption and performance. Education was provided to be beautiful and elegant, to stay young and slim, and to be tidy and healthy. Additionally, it taught to love and be loved, manage the home, and be a mother. These teachings served as shapers of feminine identity and directly impacted the female presence in the private sphere and social life. These discourses are still very present in 21st-century women's press. They are lifestyle pedagogies that, amid ruptures and updates, are evident, especially on the internet. Through social media, consumption and performance become central themes in the creation of numerous contents published by digital influencers – influential voices that address these elements, mainly with the purpose of building dreams, businesses, and brands.