“What is bello is to see, just the ugly is immoral”: the disciplinarian process of actresses´s bodies in media press in the last eight decades

Abstract

Currently, much is said about feminine aesthetics, especially in media. There are many publications and television programs dedicated to this subject, in addition to reporting on celebrities which often discuss the (good or bad) physical form of celebrities. But does this concern is as recent as generally imagined? During a survey conducted in the archives of O Globo, we were faced with the special Um inquérito esthético, published in 1926, which reproduced texts with derogatory remarks about the forms of the female actresses of the time. This article aims to identify the similarities between the imaginary on the woman’s body published in the series Um inquérito esthético and in latest materials, mainly by Veja magazine, between 2007 and the first quarter of 2008. To better understand the issue of body and perform the desired analysis, we will use theoretical concepts such as body techniques from Marcel Mauss; the docile bodies, from Michel Foucault and the male domination, from Pierre Bourdieu.