Gerais : Revista Interinstitucional de Psicologia
ISSN 1983-8220
SILVA, Odacyr Roberth Moura da MENANDRO, Maria Cristina Smith. "How is a homosexual produced?: the origin of homosexuality in the perception of individuals who claimed to have changed their sexual identity. []. , 12, 1, pp.62-78. ISSN 1983-8220. https://doi.org/10.36298/gerais2019120106.
This article analyzes the social representations about the origin of homosexuality presented by men who claimed to have changed their sexual identity. This is an exploratory, cross-sectional study with a qualitative approach. Four men over the age of eighteen years were interviewed. The instrument was based on a semi-structured interview script. Data were systematized based on a thematic content analysis, revealing four categories: 1. Poor family structure. 2. Sexual abuse in childhood. 3. Pleasurable homosexual experiences. 4. Action of spiritual entities. All discourses sought to justify and/or delegitimize homosexuality by arguing that it is unnatural and/or exclusively caused by environmental factors. In addition to the appropriation of elements of psychoanalytic and psychological theories, a strong anchoring of religious values about homosexuality was observed. It is believed that the search for the legitimization of this discourse may pretend to justify the positions and behaviors related to the decision to change sexual orientation.
: Homosexuality; Ex-gay; Social representations.