SILVA, Lawerton Braga da    ALESSIO, Renata Lira dos Santos. Hate networks: Homophobia on Facebook. []. , 19, 1, pp.07-27. ISSN 1808-4281.

Homophobia is a relevant phenomenon that is present in social relations, through beliefs, emotions, ideologies, and opinions. This article has analyzed the different forms of homophobic expressions from a post on a fanpage called "Quebrando o tabu" (Breaking taboos) in the light of the Social Representation Theory. The intergroup relations, present in the heart of the theory, guided the discussions. From a video about homosexuality we selected 1.592 comments. The data were analyzed by the software IRAMUTEQ by means of a downward hierarchical classification that resulted in four classes of discourses. Class 1 (40%), named, "Respect"; the Class 2 (22.1%), "the political-ideological debate"; the Class 3 (12.9%), "the Influence of homosexuality on children and; finally, Class 4 (25%), called "Accusing homosexuals of misrepresenting the church." The results evidenced in all the classes the existence of conflicts between groups; differences among the expressions of homofobia; a discourse that justified their opinions by means of equal rights, in addition to showing that the expressions against homosexuals were anchored in three explanations, namely, the bio-religious, ethical-moral and psychosocial.

: prejudice; homosexuality; Facebook; social representations; intergroup relations.

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