Brazil's Racy Telenovelas Inspire Drop in Birth Rate, Rise in Divorce

This news article evaluates the use of telenovelas, or televised soap operas, to shift attitudes, transform social mores, and shape behaviour around family planning decisions in Brazil. It describes the findings of a study of population data stretching back to 1971 which revealed that "Brazil's popular and often fanciful soap operas have had a direct impact on the nation's divorce and birth rates, as the main channel that broadcast them gradually extended its reach across the country."

According to the report, prepared for the Inter-American Development Bank, the rate of marriage break-up rose and the number of children born to each woman fell more quickly in areas receiving the TV Globo signal for the first time. Women living in areas covered by the Globo signal were found to have "significantly lower fertility." Over the 2 decades that were studied, an estimated 3 million fewer Brazilian babies were born than would have been if telenovelas had never been broadcast, and 800,000 more couples separated or divorced. If the effect continued to the present day, the study's authors note, the numbers would be even greater.

"We find that exposure to modern lifestyles as portrayed on television, to emancipated women's roles, and to a critique of traditional values, was associated with increases in the share of separated and divorced woman across Brazil's municipal areas," the report's authors said. Alberto Chong, one of the study's authors, also highlighted the "aspirational ethos" of the country's soaps, which tend to portray the upper levels of Brazilian society. That generally means the characters are wealthier and better educated, have fewer children, and are more likely to be separated or divorced. If the leading female character of a telenovela was divorced or separated, the divorce rate rose by an average of 0.1 percentage point, Chong said. Women in areas reached by the Globo signal had 0.6 per cent fewer children than those in areas with no signal, he added - an apparently small impact, but equating to millions fewer babies born over 2 decades.

TV Globo reacted by arguing that the soaps' portrayal of divorce and smaller families reflected the trends of the time, rather than causing them. "Our dramas are attuned to the questions being asked in society. While we don't doubt the novelas make people think, we don't believe they influence their opinions or choices," said Luis Erlanger, Globo's communications director. "Our novelas are there to entertain, we do journalism to inform."

Chong disagreed, pointing out that the chances of a newborn baby being named after a soap star were significantly higher in areas where the soaps were broadcast. "Novelas in Brazil take on a greater importance than a simple drama because they move people," said Mauro Alencar, the author of several books about the genre. "But the novela is above all a reflection of society. It feeds off what is exposed in day to day life and recreates a fictional version."