“O meu nome é Cu-ne-gun-des!”

identidade, poder e gênero em Êta Mundo Bom! (2016)

Abstract

Telenovelas, previously marginalized by Brazilian historiography, came to be recognized as legitimate sources for historical analysis with the advent of the New History. These audiovisual products not only reflect ideologies and socio-cultural practices, but also preserve and reinterpret the collective memory of a given temporal and spatial context. However, their evaluation requires a critical approach, considering the social, cultural and political representations, as well as the possible ideological bias inserted by the scriptwriters. Against this backdrop, this research aims to analyze the character Cunegundes, from the telenovela Êta Mundo Bom! from the perspective of gender studies, with an emphasis on her authoritarian behavior and her constant clash with her husband. Characters like Cunegundes challenge stereotypical constructions of the feminine, making it possible to reflect on power relations and gender dynamics in television fiction. To support this analysis, we draw on theorists such as Joan Scott (2019) and Teresa de Lauretis (1994), whose studies contribute to understanding the implications of these representations in the construction of gender identities in telenovelas.