Quem somos nós? Homossexualidades masculinas e os regimes de verdade no Canal das Bee

Abstract

This study investigates the constitution and transformation of homosexual subjectivities in Brazil between 1980 and 2020 to question which truths and ways of being a homosexual man emerged in the 2010s in the Canal das Bee videos published on YouTube. To this end, Michel Foucault's ideas on power, subject, and truth are presented, in addition to post-structuralist discussions on communication and language. In view of these concepts, Foucault's genealogy is used, which divides the research into two methodological movements. First, the patriarchal and neoliberal gender origins that constituted a homonormative ideal in male homosexual practice between 1980 and 2010 are described based on the discussion on masculinity and transgenderism. Then, in the 2010s, the emergence of a regime of truth is described in which homosexuals are driven by Canal das Bee to question themselves about homonormative gendering. Based on these methodological movements, it is possible to say that Canal das Bee brings forth a homosexual who strategically uses essentialist and constructionist perspectives to free himself from violence and establish himself as a man who is no longer grounded in homonormative ideals, but in a universe of possibilities previously limited to women. Through this displacement of male homosexuality, the channel encourages care for others, since a selfish and solitary experience does not match the collective need imposed today by social and political movements. In this way, the research highlights the importance of understanding the articulations, promotions and pedagogizations about gender and sexuality that are conveyed, and how these practices influence the subjectivation of individuals