Abstract

GOMEZ-SANCHEZ, Darío. Heterosexism and Homophobia in Latin American Homosexual Novel. Folios [online]. 2018, n.47, pp.37-50. ISSN 0123-4870.

Based on Michel Foucault's views on sexual identity, this paper provides a comparative reading of a group of Latin American novels published over the last century and featuring "homosexual" characters, with the purpose of analyzing the literary development of such identity. The paper shows that these novels reiterate the dichotomous discourse of heterosexuality-homosexuality and, thus, reproduce the ideology that sees sexual practices between men as inferior or abnormal. The analysis highlights some narrative constants that contribute to this, such as the lack of questioning of institutional or personal homophobia, the discursive egocentrism of the main characters, the use of stereotypes of masculinity and femininity and, therefore, sexism and misogyny. It is concluded that what is ultimately represented in these novels are the mechanisms of exclusion and discrimination of the subjects of such practices, thus contributing to the perpetuation of dominant homophobia and heterosexism.

Keywords : Homosexual identity; gay literature; latin american novel; queer theory; heterosexism; homophobia.

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