Improváveis relações: produção de sentidos sobre o masculino no contexto de amizade entre homens homo e heterossexuais

Abstract

This dissertation is a study about the production of meanings of masculinity and its relationship to homophobia. It is based on the premise that both masculinity and homophobia are socially constructed phenomena. The formation of friendship between men of distinct sexual orientations provides a basis for problematizing the gender dynamics present in these homosocial relationships and their interrelations with different conceptions about masculinity, homosexuality, and homophobia. Homophobia is understood here in two perspectives: (1): as a form of prejudice that generates discrimination and violence against non-heterosexuals; and (2) as a regulatory tool in relationships between men, constituting one of the pillars in the construction of heterosexual masculinity. The field work for this study included individual interviews with middle-class, heterosexual men in Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo who maintain friendships with homosexual men. The group of respondents is heterogeneous in terms of age (between 25 to 47 years old), profession, and life experiences with homosexuals. The analysis focuses on the tensions, dilemmas and reframing that help to produce different meanings about masculinity. The results point out the coexistence of conventional and liberal meanings about gender and sexuality.