Masturbation, menopause, femicide: are soap operas more feminist?

“I think a woman can do makeup, gymnastics, botox, plastic, whatever she wants, as long as it’s a choice, not an obligation.” This was one of the last lines of Rebeca, Andréa Beltrão’s character in “Um Lugar Ao Sol”, a soap opera that came to an end on the 25th. In addition to ageism, self-esteem, menopause and female masturbation, the plot written by Lícia Manzo dealt, also, obstetric violence, rape, femicide, compulsory motherhood, same-sex relationships, menstruation and an endless number of themes considered feminine.

“Pantanal”, although it has a different plot from the previous soap opera, has also already shown signs that it is attentive to gender issues: in a scene shown in the first week, Zé Leôncio (Renato Góes) tells Madeleine (Bruna Linzmeyer) that she was unable to consenting to a sexual relationship because he had drunk a lot, which could even be considered rape, but it has already been a common scene in several other serials.

Are soap operas more attuned to the advancement of discussions about women?

Everything points to yes, at least according to TV experts interviewed by Complete — Cristina Padiglione, journalist with 30 years of experience in television coverage, and Fernanda Friedrich, screenwriter and PhD in Popular Culture and Gender Studies.

According to them, the trend is not necessarily for soap operas to continue addressing themes considered feminist, but that they treat all themes from a female perspective — and this is thanks to the increase in women in script rooms, behind the scenes of the recordings and in the authorship of the soap operas.

“I don’t believe it’s a trend, but a reflection of two female authors interested in these subjects. We’ve had soap operas by Glória Perez in the last 20 years without discussing anything like Manuela [Dias, autora de “Amor de Mãe”] and lycia [Manzo, Um Lugar Ao Sol]”, do it Cristina Pavilion.

In other words: the changes are in the details. Not necessarily, for example, the plot needs to discuss sexual freedom, but there are more chances that, from now on, sex scenes will be recorded from the “point of view of female pleasure”, he believes.

“Once the conversation starts, it doesn’t stop”

“Um Lugar Ao Sol” came to an end with an audience well below expectations for prime time, especially for the first new soap opera after the pandemic. The low numbers, however, have nothing to do with the feminist tone of the plot – which, on the contrary, was well received by the public, Padiglione opines.

“When I heard that Lícia would talk about menopause, for example, I, who am in menopause, didn’t pay much attention. But when the subject began to be discussed with the character, I realized how this was such a shelved topic. of machismo is impregnated in women. There was a shame to talk about these subjects. The soap opera manages to give voice to this, to encourage this debate”.

Fernanda Friedrich, a researcher, also sees in these telenovelas a kick-start for new discussions that go beyond television.

She works as a screenwriter for a Canadian broadcaster and says that, in the United States, researchers have been producing reports on the representation of women, black and Asian people on television for decades, and that today this data is purchased by streaming services precisely because there is a charge. very strong audience. In Brazil, this movement took a while to pick up and only happened in mid-2010.

“But once the conversation starts, it doesn’t stop,” he believes. “The critical sense only increases and the public starts to look more and more at more and more details — representation in the cast, in the production of the soap opera, in the approach to more sensitive themes, etc. It is an evolution that happens together with the viewers. ten years, the discussion will be even better”

“Ways of dealing with menstruation, different formats of motherhood — themes like these, when written by men, do not portray reality, they fall into stereotypes. Therefore, it is very important that we cover this representation behind the camera, among authors, directors, screenwriters and cameras”.

From “Malu Mulher” to “Pantanal”

“There was always a look at the female viewer, because they are the majority in front of the TV, as they are the majority in the Brazilian population, but in a very futile way. This changed from “Malu Mulher”, shown between 1979 and 1980.

For the specialist, the soap opera was the first to “raise a big flag”, as it dealt with the right to divorce and domestic violence in a favorable way for women. “There’s a classic scene where she gets slapped and doesn’t let herself be humiliated like that, so she asks for a separation. That’s a very strong message in the 1980s”, she recalls.

She ponders, however, when stating that when a soap opera deals with a theme understood as feminist in its plot, it is not just the author’s or TV station’s desire to empower women that comes into the account, but trends that arise in social networks and issues that do well in the algorithms.

“Things are not that authorial, the soap opera is always trying to ‘fish’ the public. Everything is guided by research, the scripts obey the algorithms of the networks”, he says.

Therefore, as feminist as some soap operas claim to be, there are topics that are almost forbidden, such as the right to abortion. When the subject comes up, it usually involves death, repentance, or some other form of moral judgment about the character. “My dream would be to see a young woman have an abortion and go on with life in a good way, but there is a fear of losing audience when dealing with this subject”, Padiglione realizes.

“Pantanal”, a remake of Benedito Ruy Barbosa’s telenovela aired 32 years ago and Globo’s big bet for prime time, should not bring topics directly related to women to the table, but the bet is that it enters the logic of presenting a female perspective to the plot. “The agenda there is another: environment”.