Abstract:
The aim of the article is to analyze Catholic discourses on sex education during the 1950s from readers’ letters sections with readers in the journals Lar Católico and Família Cristã. We consider that these sections, written and kept by Maria Madalena Ribeiro de Oliveira and Father Videns, respectively, were privileged spaces for lay mediation and evangelization. The 1950s are a period marked by significant institutional transformations in the Catholic church, specially by a closer approach to scientific discourses and the growing evangelization through the lay apostolate. Among the prescriptions for ‘good sex education’ was the recommendation of the practice of reading, which served as a guide not only to incorporate the scientific precepts considered valid but also to reaffirm the value of morals and preserve sexual differences.
Keywords:
sex education; catholicism; press; reading