Gabriela, Cravo e Canela: echoes of the reception and transformations in the lives of portuguese women

Abstract

Gabriela, Cravo e Canela, produced by Globo and broadcast on RTP1 in 1977, established new television consumption habits and brought themes such as female emancipation, patriarchal power relations and gender issues to Portuguese society. This research analyzes how Portuguese women and their families perceived the telenovela, listening to them about the “feminine transgressions” it proposed. Eight women were interviewed, and they shared their enjoyment of the narrative. Three years after the April Revolution, their families, especially those of a rural and religious nature, remained resistant to the novelties proposed by the soap opera. The interviewees associated Brazilian women with the stereotype of freedom illustrated by the protagonist.