le, while women are supposed to have a lesser sex drive, be less experienced, and be responsible for controlling sexuality and reproduction (Barker and Loewenstein, 1997).
In terms of the affective life, women are expected to be the feeling ones. Women are expected to deal with emotions and intimacy, while men are expected to repress their feelings. Their relationships with each other and with their families is to be characterized by sternness and distance, rather than warmth and affection. Women are to be the nurturers and caretakers, while fathers are to be the providers.
Furthermore, men are almost expected to be violent. While women's expression is primarily emotional in character, men's is physical. There is support for male violence, and expectation that men will respond violently in certain situations. Domestic abuse is common and men feel justified in expressing their frustration and anger in this way (Barker and Loewenstein, 1997).
Much of this is changing, of course, particularly under the influence of feminism. Feminism has been a current in Brazilian political and cultural life throughout the 20th century, and the modern feminist movement began here during the 1970s. It has provided great impetus to change in gender expectations and created openings for women to move into new roles (Brazil, 1987). However, that is always affected by issues of race and class.
The elite classes in Brazil, comprising less than ten percent of the population, control much of the wealth. There are great disparities in wealth and position in Brazil, with some of the old land-owning families and the new professionals and businesspeople at the top of the hierarchy. There is a growing middle class, increasing in size since the 1960s. However, there is also a huge lower class, or underclass, comprising the
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