TY  - JOUR
PY  - 1999//
TI  - Subjectivity, social suffering, liminality and suicide among prostitutes in Brazil
JO  - Urban Anthropology
A1  - De Meis, C.
SP  - 65
EP  - 101
VL  - 28
IS  - 1
N2  - This paper shows how Brazilian women cross the line that divides the social space of the 'good women' from that of the prostitutes, a dichotomy that corresponds to two different sets of goals and urban spaces. Women's social roles and space in a Catholic culture like Brazil are those of the mother (the good woman), and the prostitute (the wretched woman). The former has as her space, home, a holy place, and the latter the underground, a cursed place. When a woman leaves the path of a good woman and becomes a prostitute she experiences a crisis that may lead to suicide attempts. Therefore, this rupture with the goal of being a good woman is not complete because, even when the woman stays in prostitution for many years, she remains attached to her former dream of being a good woman. In order to deal with these contradictions, the prostitute creates several defense mechanisms to separate her life in prostitution from her real and true essence, the one of a good woman.<p /> <p>Language: en</p>
LA  - en
SN  - 0894-6019
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/
ID  - ref1
ER  -