Genders roles are a big part of Brazils culture, whether good or bad.

Stereotypes are very

common not only in America and other countries, but also in Brazil. Gender roles are also very
prevalent in home life, as the women do the cooking, cleaning, and take care of the family. While
the men so the more physical outside jobs such as doing home repairs. This is a very
stereotypical family picture of life. A surprising study shows that 84% of Brazilians find
marriage more satisfying when both husband and wife work and share household tasks and
responsibilities for children (Gender Roles). I agree with this statistic, especially relating to
my family. My mom is a nurse so she would work long hours when I was growing up, and
sometimes I would not see her at all that day. When she was at work my dad would take over the
responsibilities at home of feeding my brother and I, cleaning the kitchen, and doing the laundry.
And then days where my mom was off from work she would cook. It was equally balanced, and
they both felt equally involved.
Research shows that 42% of people in Brazil believe that men have a better life. This
statistic is surprising to me; I would have thought that women would think they have a better life
since they did not have to go to work, and would stay home take care of the family. White middle
class women who live in large urban areas tend to have more job choices than poorer women or
African American Women. Although, men typically are the primary providers for salary in the
families. The amount of women who have jobs in Brazil has tripled since 1970, the jobs are low
paying and are in places where low skills are needed, such as textiles and electronics. 70% of
African American women living in Brazil are employed in low level factory, domestic, and
agricultural jobs (Brazil).
Women is Brazil are not able to do the same things as women in other countries. For
example, it was not until around 1960 that women gained some rights. Before this time, women
were not allowed to own bank accounts, they had to be owned and operated by either their father
or husband. It is surprising to me how controlling male figures are in the womens lives. Women
were not given the right to vote until 1932, as equality has been slowly coming for women. It
seems to me that women are gaining many more rights especially since a female president
currently is running the country. Schooling is one aspect that women seem to more successful at
in Brazil. Although Brazil schools have low funding levels, the number of Brazilians attending
school is increasing along with the literacy rates. Females are more likely to go to school and are
usually more literate than men (Brazil).
The male Portuguese settlers of Brazil used the concept of machismo. This means that
men are in authority and have the strength, while women are the weakness and the subordinate.
This term is still used in Brazil today, although not as much, but it is still very shocking to me.
Also, the ruling father of the Catholic Church laid the foundation for male dominance. There are
many stereotypes in Brazil culture (Brazil). For example, during the Carnival it is common for
men to dress is different female figured outfits such as Disney characters. While women are
always dressed in stereotypical female outfits like princesses or fairies. It is socially acceptable
for the males to wear more female oriented costumes, but then women can not dress in male
dominated costume, which is a double standard. Another example of gender roles is while on the
beach, it is considered feminine for women to sit on beach towels, while males have to sit on the
sand to show manliness.

Throughout my research I have learned many different thinks about the male and female
culture in Brazil. Men are perceived as stronger while women are shown to be weaker. Brazils
culture is making improvements to make equality better for men and women, such as having a
female president, which to me which is a big aspect of equality. Even with new laws being
passed, stereotypes and gender roles will still exist in Brazil.

References
Brazil.(n.d.).RetrievedFebruary25,2016,fromhttp://www.everyculture.com/Bo
Co/Brazil.html
CarnivalRevealsMuchaboutGender,Sexuality,andCultureinBrazil.(n.d.).Retrieved
February25,2016,fromhttp://berkleycenter.georgetown.edu/letters/carnivalrevealsmuch
aboutgendersexualityandcultureinbrazil
GenderRoles.(n.d.).RetrievedFebruary25,2016,from
http://brazilcultureproject.weebly.com/genderroles.html