Development Begins at Home: Women and the Domestic Economy in Brazil, 1945-1975

A number of historians of twentieth-century Latin America have identified ways that national labor laws, civil codes, social welfare programs, and business practices contributed to a gendered division of society that subordinated women to men in national economic development, household management, and familial relations. Few scholars, however, have critically explored women's roles as consumers and housewives in these intertwined realms. This work examines the Brazilian case after the Second World War, arguing that economic policies and business practices associated with “developmentalism” [Portuguese: desenvolvimentismo] created openings for women to engage in debates about national progress and transnational standards of modernity. While acknowledging that an asymmetry of gender relations persisted, the study demonstrates that urban women expanded their agency in this period, especially over areas of economic and family life deemed "domestic." This dissertation examines periodicals, consumer research statistics, public opinion surveys, personal interviews, corporate archives, the archives of key women’s organizations, and government officials’ records to identify the role that women and household economies played in Brazilian developmentalism between 1945 and 1975. Its principal argument is that business and political elites attempted to define gender roles for adult urban women as housewives and mothers, linking their management of the household to familial well-being and national modernization. In turn, Brazilian women deployed these idealized roles in public to advance their own economic interests, especially in the management of household finances and consumption, as well as to expand legal rights for married women, and increase women’s participation in the workforce. As the market for women's labor expanded with continued industrialization, these efforts defined a more active role for women in the economy and in debates about the trajectory of national development policies.

A NARRATIVE CASE STUDY EXAMINING THE EXPEREINCES OF MEN TEACHING SPECIAL EDUCATION IN THE ELEMENTARY GRADES

Over the past several decades, the landscape of the workplace has changed in many industrialized nations. In the United States this time period has seen the outright elimination or outsourcing of well-paying “blue collar” jobs. The workforce continues to evolve, change, and become more global, and men and women are making nontraditional occupational decisions, whether by choice or necessity. The traditional views of men and women have begun to shift. However, gender assumptions about masculinity have failed to keep pace with the shift. There are approximately 1.8 million elementary grade level teachers in United States public schools; of these, a mere 9% are male. The paucity of male teachers in the elementary grades has been a concern for many years. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, roughly 86% of all special education teachers are female. In 2012, 86.2% of all special education teachers were female, and by the following year, the number had dropped to 80.4%. The evidence indicates that more men are embarking on nontraditional career paths. Despite theses changes there is minimal research looking at the experiences of men working as special education teachers My goal in this study was to obtain a better understanding of the influences on and the process by which men make the decision to pursuing a career teaching special education in the elementary grades. The study utilized social role theory (Eagly, 1987), and Stead’s (2014) social constructionist theory as well as Williams’ (1992) glass escalator proposition The findings of this study confirm some of the factors related to career choice, experiences and barriers faced by men in nontraditional careers detailed in the literature. Three themes emerged for each research question: Experiences, advocacy, and benefits. Three themes emerged around the second research question exploring the experiences of men in a female-concentrated profession: The male body, communication, and perception. Three themes arose around the third research question: administration, My Masculinity, and pay. The findings run counter to Williams’ glass escalator proposition, which posits men working in female-concentrated professions are at an advantage. The findings advance support for Buschmeyer’s theory of (2013) alternative masculinity.

Pathways to adulthood and their precursors: Roles of gender and race

Research on the transition to adulthood dates back nearly four decades, but a growing body of research has taken a new approach by investigating multiple demographic markers in the transition to adulthood simultaneously. Using the life course perspective, this dissertation is built on the literature by first examining contemporary young adults’ pathways to adulthood from ages 18 to 30 and their differences by gender. Data for this study were drawn from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997; the final sample included 2,185 men and 2,086 women. The college-educated single workers pathway, the college-educated married working parents pathway, and the high-school-educated single parents pathway were identified in both genders. For men, the study also identified the high-school-educated single workers pathway and the high-school-educated married working parents pathway. For women, the study also identified the high-school-educated workers pathway and the high-school-educated married parents pathway. Not only did the definitions of some pathways differ by gender, but even in the pathways with the same definition, gender differences were found in the probabilities of being married, of being a parent, or of being employed full-time. Based on the pathways to adulthood identified, this research examined the family and adolescent precursors and whether race moderates the associations between family structure experiences and young adults’ pathways to adulthood. Parental education, family structure, GPA, delinquency, early sexual activity, and race/ethnicity were the family and adolescent precursors that distinguished among pathways taken by the youth. Two interactions between race and family structure/instability were identified. The positive association between growing up in a single-parent family and the odds of taking the high-school-educated single workers pathway compared to the college-educated married working parents pathway was weaker for Black males than for White males. The positive association between family instability and the odds of taking the college-educated single workers pathway compared to the college-educated married working parents pathway was weaker for Black females than for White females. This dissertation accounted for changes in the multiple statuses related to becoming an adult by following contemporary young adults for 12 years. More research on contemporary young adults’ pathways to adulthood and subgroup differences in the effects of precursors are recommended. Limitations and implications of this study are discussed.

VERSATILITY IN THE MODERN PERFORMER: THREE DIVERSE OPERA ROLES

This dissertation project consisted of performances of three diverse operatic roles. The goal was to examine the challenges and benefits of performing diverse repertoire (baroque, classical, and romantic opera, in this case) and to observe how vocal and acting techniques might adjust to different styles and voice classifications. On December 3, 5, 11, and 13,2003, I performed a composite role in Fatal Song, directed by Leon Major, in the Robert & Arlene Kogod Theatre. This opera pastiche, premiered in 1996, contains spoken dialogue, and the music originates from famous eighteenth and nineteenth-century operas. I explored the challenges and benefits of playing three different, well-known opera characters within the same opera, performing four different languages within the same opera, and performing spoken dialogue in an opera. My roles in this pastiche of famous opera included Lucia from Lucia di Lammermoor by Gaetano Donizetti, Manon from Manon by Jules Massenet, and Pamina from Die ZauberJlote by W.A. Mozart. On January 28 and 29, 2005, I performed the role of Nice in Eurilla e Alcindo, a serenata by Antonio Vivaldi, in Homer Ulrich Recital Hall; musical direction by Joseph Gascho and stage direction by Kate Vetter Cain. I explored the challenges and benefits of preparing baroque ornamentation, singing without a conductor, performing an unknown work, staging a work that is not traditionally staged, singing with minimal sets and costumes, and singing with period instruments. On April 16,20, and 24,2005, I performed the role of Musetta in Giacomo Puccini's La BohBme, directed by Pat Diamond and conducted by Jeffrey Rink, in the Ina & Jack Kay Theatre. I examined the challenges and benefits of singing with a large orchestra of modem instruments, singing Puccini rubato and coordinating this with the conductor, and singing a role in one of the most well-known operas in today's repertoire. As a result of this investigation, I concluded that singing different styles, and singing outside one's voice classification, within reason, is beneficial. The knowledge, skill, confidence and insight I acquired by becoming more versatile benefited me as a performer and as a teacher.

Achieving Gender Equality

This essay asserts that both men and women must work together to break the ubiquitous glass ceiling in the sciences.