Catholic Values and Gender Politics in the Colombian Mass Media: Acción Cultural Popular (ACPO) in the 1970s

Abstract

The 1970s were a decade of huge change for women in Colombia, from the legalisation of divorce to increased access to education, labour market participation and contraception. This article examines how the Catholic non-governmental organisation Acción Cultural Popular (Popular Cultural Action, ACPO) responded to women's changing roles and political protagonism through its radio station “Radio Sutatenza.” Through close attention to recordings and programme scripts of the 1979 radio series Curso La Familia, it analyses the construction and performance of gender on the radio and draws attention to Catholicism's continued influence over Colombian society in the latter twentieth century.