Tempo de viver: uma análise dos significados do climatério na mulher favelada

Abstract

Climateric corresponds to a relatively long period in a woman's life. It may last several years and come to an end one year following menopause. The menopause is but one event in this process. Our purpose was to study the climateric through a psycho-social and cultural perspective focusing on its signification for the shanty town woman (a mulher favelada), considering her specific social insertion, her poverty and her struggle to survive (inclusion by exclusion). Thus, we can understand the health concept as a cultural, social and psychological process, going beyond the biological dimension. The most remarkable themes were: body, activities (roles) and emotions, sexuality, housing conditions, personal project and attitude towards life. The main signification units found were: the body as a place for symptoms (in the biological dimension) and as work-force (in the ideological dimension), surprisingly, the aesthetic dimension is not accentuated, the predominant signification unit is that of the "good body". In terms of activities (roles) and emotions the role of mother comes first, followed then by the role of wife. The main signification in the first role reveals a contradiction: tear x satisfaction and recognition. As a worker she suffers discrimination trem employers, leading to a lack of professional perspective. As a woman and a wife the signification units reveal frustration and disappointment. In the sexuality we find a lessening of the libido due to a conflicting relationship with the partner. In the housing conditions we find tear and concern. In the personal project, however, we find hope and her attitude towards life is positive; "life is good". Our conclusion is that the climateric in the life of the shanty towrn women has little significance as a life meaning-giver. It is overshadowed by the socio-economic context: the miserability. Contrarily to the current literature that suggests that the climateric is a time for "Iosses", they understand this temporality as the "Iiving time" (Sawaia; 1994), they are ready to act, or are in the "the acting power" as put by Espinoza (Deleuze; 1975-1976:39)