Eroticism as Resistance and Subversion

This chapter explores New Portuguese Letters (1972), a groundbreaking work by Maria Isabel Barreno, Maria Teresa Horta, and Maria Velho da Costa, which emerged as a powerful act of resistance during Portugal’s Estado Novo dictatorship. Framing their work as a bold reimagining of the 1669 Portuguese Letters , the authors combined epistolary writing with poetry, diary entries, and political commentary. Through candid depictions of women’s sexuality, domestic violence, rape, forced incest, and colonial war, the book challenged the regime’s ideological foundations and led to its censorship and the authors’ prosecution. The chapter examines how the text uses female sexuality, desire, and eroticism to subvert patriarchal discourse, positioning these elements as instruments of political resistance. It situates the work within historical, literary, and sociological contexts, while also engaging relevant theoretical frameworks. Additionally, the chapter considers the book’s continued relevance in light of contemporary threats to women’s rights and reinterprets it through a gender-critical and LGBTQ+ lens. By highlighting the collective nature of the writing and the embodied experience it expresses, the chapter argues that New Portuguese Letters offers an enduring model of feminist resistance rooted in solidarity, shared experience, and the radical potential of the written word.