FEMALE PIONEERING IN NINETEENTH-CENTURY BRAZILIAN MEDICINE: RITA LOBATO VELHO LOPES AND THE DISRUPTION OF A PROFESSIONAL FIELD
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.56238/arev8n4-016Keywords:
Women in Medicine, History of Education, Gender, 19th Century, Rita LobatoAbstract
This article analyzes the insertion of women into Brazilian medicine in the 19th century, focusing on the trajectory of Rita Lobato Velho Lopes, the first woman to graduate in Medicine in Brazil. It addresses the following research question: to what extent did the female presence in medicine represent a structural rupture in a historically male-dominated field? The study adopts a historiographical approach based on documentary and bibliographic sources, highlighting the Leôncio de Carvalho Reform (1879) as a key milestone in opening higher education to women. It also discusses Rita Lobato’s educational trajectory across Rio Grande do Sul, Rio de Janeiro, and Bahia, emphasizing the role of the Faculty of Medicine of Bahia as a pioneering institution. The article argues that women's insertion into medicine represented not only an educational advancement but also a reconfiguration of the relationships between gender, knowledge, and power. It concludes that female pioneering was decisive in transforming the medical field and expanding women's professional possibilities in Brazil.
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References
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