RUI BEBIANO and ALEXANDRA SILVA
"Carta a uma jovem portuguesa": polemic and reconfiguration of the feminine.

In 1961, an "open letter" was published in Coimbra. It dealt with the place and role of the young woman within the youth and student community. The "letter" provoked huge polemic, of which echoes can still be heard today. The dispute was actually between antagonistic and mutually exclusive ideas about women's political and social role in society. Taking place at a time when democratic debate did not exist at all, this controversy was characterized by a high degree of extremism in view-points and attitudes.