Images of women and non-formal education: body representations in the illustrated press

This investigation analyses photographic images in the press from the beginning of the 20th century and explores the contemporary non-formal education of women in Portugal and Brazil. The study reflects on the diffusion of representations through photographic language, and on its role in the non-formal education of women. The theory of social representations offers theoretical and methodological support to the study. The data obtained with the analysis of scenarios, facial expressions, accessories, ornaments and body postures were treated by content analysis. The results indicate that these elements spread both existing conventions and new ideas, expressed by the coexistence of different aesthetic and compositional elements in the same image. This study contributes to the debate about the role of body images in the diffusion of social representations and the re-signification of these representations, and the implication for contemporary non-formal education.