Moças de bons costumes e moças de mau proceder: o crime de defloramento na cidade de Ponta Grossa (1920-1929)

Abstract

This dissertation discusses, from a gender perspective, the crimes of defloration that were recorded in the city of Ponta Grossa (PR) during the 1920s. The objectives are to understand the characteristics that define this crime, which was part of Article 267 of the 1890 Penal Code, and how it was applied in practice in the city; to problematize the values and behaviors present in the analyzed criminal cases; to identify elements that shaped the sociability of the involved individuals; and to connect these discussions with gender-related questions. According to Butler (2020), gender is understood as social constructions linked to a specific historical period around femininity and masculinity, delineating behavioral standards and stigmas based on the oppositional principle between genders. Since these documents describe practices of the period, as well as the perceptions of the involved individuals about these practices, it is possible to raise questions regarding social ideals about the women and men involved in these cases. The sources for this research are thirteen criminal cases of defloration from the 1920s, available at the CDPH of the State University of Ponta Grossa. The adopted analysis methodology was qualitative, aiming to understand, through content

analysis, the particularities and regularities of the selected cases around pre- established themes. It was concluded that in the analyzed cases, gender inequalities

were evident in different areas, such as in affective relationships, family relationships, witness testimonies, and especially in the judgments of the behaviors of the women who reported the defloration.