COMMUNICATIONS-BRAZIL: Women Invade the Internet

By Mario Osava Reprint | | Print |

Mario Osava

RIO DE JANEIRO, Mar 17 2000 (IPS) - The number of Internet portals targeting women is multiplying rapidly in Brazil, further proof that, in the end, women will dominate the nation’s global computer network market, to the detriment of television.

A survey conducted by the Internet search engine Cadé in conjunction with the polling firm Ibope revealed that by last December women already made up 37 percent of Brazil’s Internet- using population.

But this is a global trend. In the United States, half of the nation’s 110 million “Inter-nauts” are women, following a 32 percent increase over the course of 1999 – compared to a 20 percent growth in Internet use among men, says Nielsen Ratings, a US-based company that measures public use of telecommunications.

Given this projection, by the end 2000, women will likely be the majority when it comes to computer web use in the United States.

Television is the biggest loser, as its audience shifts toward “surfing” the Internet. In Brazil, 29 percent of new Internet users polled had reduced the amount of time they spent in front of the TV, according to the Cadé-Ibope survey.

This phenomenon is especially affected by the rapid expansion of Internet use among Brazilian women, as they have traditionallly been television’s most loyal audience.

But just 4.5 percent of the new computer enthusiasts polled said they spent less time reading newspapers and 12 percent said they had cut back on their hours of sleep.

The “feminisation” of the Internet has meant the proliferation of web-sites directed at this new audience, and major portals now include special women’s sections in an attempt to consolidate themselves as mass communications media, competing with newspapers, magazines and television.

Taking advantage of International Women’s Day, the new portal “She” (www.she.com.br) was launched March 8, with information and guides about personal care, sex, fashion, entertainment and other issues traditionally considered to be women’s territory.

Ten reporters and six columnists are responsible for the material at the site and managing the dialogue with the women – and occasional man – who visit the site.

The first article to appear on “She” stated that pregnancy does not impede sexual activity, while another story listed the inconveniences of using the female condom.

Experts in nutrition, decorating, art, women’s rights and even specialists in “the macho mind” sign columns that hone the portal’s competitive edge, says the site’s editor, Luciana Stabile.

In recent weeks other sites have appeared in response to women’s demands, such as sales of cosmetics and products for the home. Some, such as ‘Mulher Actual’ (Today’s Woman), reproduce the traditional printed magazines on the Internet.

Internet Gratis (‘IG’ – www.ig.com.br) targets women’s irreverence and their relationships with men in a project inaugurated in January under the sponsorship of two investment banks. IG has its sights set on becoming a telecommunications force within Brazil and internationally.

Other web-sites are dedicated to adolescent girls, or provide personal information on television and film stars in an attempt to capture the female audience.

But IG also seeks an audience interested in more serious subjects. Among the portal’s many sections is the ‘Wmulher’ (Wwomen) site, which has been a pioneer in seeking out the female Brazilian audience by providing up-to-date information and multiple services.

Wmulher was launched in January 1998, though it was designed in 1997 by Flavia de Quieroz Hesse, who abandoned her promising financial law career to begin an adventure in the virtual world. Though she lacked experience, she was confident in the “large growth of the feminine audience.”

Quieroz Hesse calculated that the increase in visits to this Internet site in recent months would be the equivalent to 300 percent annual growth.

She believes the arrival of new competitors on the Internet scene is “healthy” and reflects the “maturity of the market and the greater presence of women.”

Wmulher, with its feminist nuances, has a staff of nearly 50 women and offers economic and legal information, interviews and biographies of important women figures in Brazil’s history, as well as news stories and services along traditional feminine lines.

The profile of Brazil’s principal Internet audience is women who work in the home and have a higher educational level than the average man, even though they often earn less and are excluded from power, explained the former attorney.

Because it is “interactive and less cold” than other communications media, the Internet better meets women’s needs, affirmed Quieroz Hesse.