Parada do orgulho LGBT de Duque de Caxias - RJ: traçados, percursos e perspectivas de um espaço educativo de luta por direitos

Abstract

LGBT Pride Parades carry historical signs of struggle. In Brazil, they started along with the need to highlight the HIV-AIDS battle. Although in one of the most dangerous countries for LGBT people, those parades served as an instrument to combat homophobia, space for identity affirmation, and space for resistance. This research aims to investigate the Duque de Caxias’LGBT Pride Parade as a spacetime where educational processes take place. The methodology used is based on a Post-Structuralist perspective, where Studies of Gender and Sexualityresembles concepts of gender, gender identity, and sexuality. We distanced ourselves from the need to construct universal and absolute truths. However, we are committed to analyze in context their contingencies and insufficiencies. We began with inquiries to guide our research strategy, such as: what educational processes take place since the beginning stages of organization of the event? With which intentionality do they happen? How do participants perceive these processes? In order to answer these inquiries, we observed, in a participatory manner, the entire process of organization in which meetings of organizers as well as other parties allowed for conversations that that helped us understand the entire process and purpose of the event. Furthermore, we accompanied and participated in the twelfth Duque de Caxias’LGBT Pride Parade, taking into accountthe planned outcomes and speeches by representatives of institutions and various social movements. The data obtained by this researchwere analyzed with the theoretical contribution of the concepts of gender/sex, sexuality, education and social movements, from the following authors: Guacira Lopes Louro, Michel Foucault, Jaume Trilla, Maria da Gloria Gohn. As the main results of this research, we emphasize that there are strong indications that educational processes, both informal and non-formal, take place in the LGBT Pride Parade of Duque de Caxias, providing elements for a citizen education. In the same extent, we identified that the event presents elements for rethinking practices and attitudes in the field of formal education, indicating possibilities for inserting discussions about sexual diversity and people’s rights to citizenship, health and education.