Abstract

NICOLINO, Aline da Silva. Primacy of feminine beauty and impoverished youth: notes on a conflicting relationship. Interface (Botucatu) [online]. 2012, vol.16, n.40, pp. 83-94.  Epub Apr 12, 2012. ISSN 1414-3283.  http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S1414-32832012005000013.

This study investigated the worries relating to physical appearance and the representative implications of an ideal body model, among fifty-three impoverished students, aged between thirteen and eighteen years. The field research was conducted over an eight-month period; participative observation and a questionnaire were used as data-gathering instruments; and the content analysis technique was used to code and interpret the information obtained. It was observed that the students attributed high value to their bodies, but they also demonstrated less rigid care and less aggressive interventions than expected, thereby revealing dispositions of civility that is not thought of, experienced and materialized homogeneously, but plurally.

Keywords : Body; Female gender; Body culture.