Instrucciones para lograr un “buen divorcio”: trabajo emocional y género en Mar del Plata (Argentina), 1987-2015

Abstract

In 1987, a legal reform was approved in Argentina which granted absolute divorce. The figure of the “good divorce”—previously seen as an oxymoron—gained support as part of the process of defining guidelines to be followed to control the damage divorce could cause, especially to children. Based on a documentary corpus composed of oral sources and mass circulation publications, among others, this article shows that a “good divorce” required emotional work on the part of those involved, but with differences that resulted in gender inequalities with important material implications. To achieve a “good divorce” it was important to accept the pain divorce could cause, overcome anger towards the former spouse, and guarantee a continued relationship between both parents and their children. However, the article shows that these recommendations implied important differences between what was expected from men and women.