What Are Affective Relationships? Violence and Gender in the Narratives of Rural and Urban Teenagers From the South of Brazil

Abstract

The objective was to investigate gender violence in affective relationships and how gender issues are presented in the narratives of 11 teenagers between 15 and 16 years old conveniently recruited from 2 public schools of rural and urban contexts from the countryside city of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. Six focus groups were formed. Through an analysis of thematic content, the results pointed out the difficulty in delimiting different modalities of relationships, as well as the impact of romantic love on the invisibility of violence. While some teenagers advocated for feminism, they also antagonized and pathologized homosexual relationships. Despite the fact that most adolescents were heterosexual, they presented heteronormative, monogamous conceptions of romanticism and sexist gender views. In conclusion, the imaginary of romantic love, on the one hand, is fascinating due to the idealization of the relationship; on the other hand, it limits relationships and the ability to perceive situations of gender violence. Thus, the ideal of romantic love facilitates narratives of prejudice regarding sexual orientation.