Os pavões na terra das araras: homossexualidades masculinas em Aracaju – SE (1974-1985)

Abstract

It would be a mistake to claim that the dictatorship inaugurated homotransphobia as a state policy in Brazil; however, it is evident that, starting with the military government (1964–1985), there was a more articulated concern to align these two spheres, repressing gender “dissidence” and sexuality. The objective, therefore, is to understand to what extent homosexualities were perceived as a threat to hegemonic powers and how sexual politics was mobilized in the organization of prohibitive rules against these citizens, as well as how this repression was carried out during the civil-military dictatorship. From this perspective, we investigate how a homosexual culture was organized in the country and whether there was a broad politicization of this identity, particularly with the emergence of the Brazilian Homosexual Movement (MHB). Considering the emphasis of previous research on central regions, this study seeks to expand these boundaries, given that the state of Sergipe lacks more specialized studies. Thus, this research aims to examine how the memories of male homosexualities in the city of Aracaju were constructed, based on the formation of its “ghetto” and its tactics of opposition during the period of political opening (1974–1985), when the dictatorship began its process of political liberalization and the MHB was organized. To achieve this objective, concepts such as power, sexual politics, memory, and homosexualities, among others, are mobilized, and testimonies are analyzed through the Caderno de Memórias Transviadas, produced by homosexual individuals who lived in the capital, experiencing not only military violence but also the emergence of an identity and its organized movements. In addition, written documents produced by the government, by homosexual organizations, and by the press of the period are examined, available at the Edgard Leuenroth Archive (UNICAMP), the National Archives (Brazil), and the Sergipe Newspapers Collection (Historical and Geographical Institute of Sergipe).