This review is an attempt to provide a holistic, but by no means exhaustive, picture of gender roles in Brazil. We begin by tracing the historical-political role of women from colonial Brazil through the modern women’s movement, highlighting three current issues: family planning, child care, and violence against women. Next, we examine the cultural norms of machismo and marianismo. Finally, we discuss the strides women have made in Brazil in the last decade (since the Consitution of 1988), calling attention to one issue that has been largely ignored: sexual harassment.
Discrimination; power; gender roles; sexual harassment