SONS OF THE CARNIVAL
Adriana Inácio – Social Scientist

The song ‘Girl from Ipanema’, well known worldwide, has contributed to disseminate the idea of Brazilian woman as a symbol of beauty. At what extent this is true; it is very difficult to say. What is certainly easy to verify is the fact that in hot countries the body tends to be much more exposed. Therefore, physical appearance has played a significant role in the lives of men as well as women. Unfortunately, most Brazilians are not aware that they are living under a ‘beauty dictatorship’ whose power gets stronger and more effective especially during the Carnival.

Having a beautiful body has become a major concern for many women nowadays. The reasons vary slightly. Some of them want to look more gorgeous than their girlfriends while others want to attract people from the same sex and there are even those who prefer to make money from their beautifully shaped body. In fact, even with these and other reasons, there is one main purpose in this ‘perfect body competition’: attract the opposite sex, that is, men.

According to a research carried out by the British scientist Gary Brase(1), from the Pro-World Institute, Brazilian men are considered to be the most chauvinist in the world ! He believes that countries with high incidence of jealousy show high rates of fertility making paternity a way to keep a woman under a man’s possession. What is more, 45,8% of the interviewees think that women should be housewives and 26% believe that men need to have an extra-marital relationship even when they are not going through difficult times with their partners.

Regarding casual sex, Veja magazine published an article showing that 50% of Brazilian women admitted to have an one-night stand, although most of them regretted it afterwards. By contrast, men rarely have any qualms about brief sexual encounters and just another half of them say that no-strings sex is better than that enjoyed in long-term relationships.

In Brazil, one of the consequences of one-night sex is the large number of women giving birth in November without having a partner(2) . These new- born babies are called ‘Sons of the Carnival’, because they were conceived in March, possibly during the Carnival, period when sex is exacerbated and women’s image (and body) are used indiscriminately. These children grow up without the presence of their real father, probably in a discouraged family environment, victims of the adult’s irresponsible attitudes towards sex and body.

The Carnival Parade is popular in Brazil for showing beautiful women nearly naked entitled as ‘The Muse of the Carnival’ or ‘The Queen of the Drums’. Nowadays, these women pump their body up with silicones and find their way to the glory through the ogling of chauvinist men.

Showing off the body during the Carnival parade is seen by many women as an opportunity to appear on TV or sign up a contract with a pornographic magazine, as most of TV cameras will be focused on them.

All things considered, I tend to think that most Brazilian women are still behaving in a submissive manner as generations did in the past despite all the changes that have occurred. I am also tempted to say that they are satisfying men’s desire without taking themselves into consideration and without thinking about the consequences of their attitudes. It might sound harsh, but the majority of women is still confused with the sexual freedom they have achieved and unfortunately they are using their achievements both against themselves and against the little ones brought into this world.

(1) www.sensualism.com/jealousy

(2) www.girassol.com/edicoesespeciais

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