Papéis sociais das mulheres em memórias de Ruth Escobar e Leonor Xavier

Abstract

: The gender debate appeared in the lives and works of Ruth Escobar and Leonor Xavier, Portuguese women who renewed their views on the social roles of women after emigrating to Brazil in the 20th century. Ruth Escobar (1935-2017) settled with her mother in São Paulo at the age of 16 and was an actress, theater producer, politician, and feminist. Leonor Xavier (1943-2021) immigrated with her husband and children in 1975-1987 in São Paulo and in Rio de Janeiro, where she became a writer and journalist for vehicles in Brazil and Portugal. A content analysis of their autobiographies Maria Ruth and Casas contadas allows to approach them as examples of “mediating intellectuals” of new perspectives on women’s social roles. When dealing with the intellectual trajectory and adherence to feminism of relevant Luso-Brazilian intellectuals, the importance of the immigration of both is noted for the break with a masculine and conservative legacy and insertion in the reflection on gender.