Laerte dressed like a woman: a study of gender and sexuality representations in the media

• Grant number: 14/04586-2
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Master
• Start date: July 01, 2014
• End date: September 30, 2016
• Field of knowledge: Humanities - Anthropology
• Agreement: Coordination of Improvement of Higher Education Personnel (CAPES)
• Principal Investigator: Heloisa Buarque de Almeida
• Grantee: Tulio Heleno de Aguiar Bucchioni
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Filosofia, Letras e Ciências Humanas (FFLCH). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil
• Associated scholarship(s): 15/11509-7 - Laerte vestido de mulher: an investigation of gender and sexuality representations in the media, BE.EP.MS

Abstract

In 2010, the cartoonist Laerte Coutinho, a Brazilian well-known professional, publicly admits a process of transvestism and cross-dressing, already evident in his work at least since 2005. Laerte dressing like a woman: following this announcement, an enormous amount of contents involving Laerte and his revelation is published in the media, in the form of pieces of news, reports, interviews, public appearances on television of Laerte himself, documentaries and so on. Based on the concepts of hegemony and counter-hegemony (WILLIAMS, 1977), this project aims to investigate and to understand the construction process of gender and sexuality representations in the media by taking into consideration both what has been published about Laerte and the transformations in the cartoonist's work and its relation to his own lived experience and his interaction with the media, in the period between 2010 and 2012. Assuming that the social markers of difference are elements that are able to generate both semantic and pragmatic socially produced meanings addressed to people, bodies and behaviors, the research searches to think about gender and sexuality representations in the media from the perspective of the operation of naturalized codes and practices of coding (HALL, 2003) and their effects, as well as to think about the topics and approaches related to gender and sexuality that the discussion about Laerte has brought. (AU)

Academic Publications

(References retrieved automatically from State of São Paulo Research Institutions)

BUCCHIONI, Tulio Heleno de Aguiar. Laerte dressed as a woman: an investigation on gender and sexuality representations in the media. 2016. Master's Dissertation - Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Faculdade de Filosofia, Letras e Ciências Humanas (FFLCH/SBD) São Paulo.