Abstract

SILVA, Welligton Magno da; TONDIN, Celso Francisco  and  QUEIROZ, Isabela Saraiva de. Family Experiences of Gay Men: Care and Protection as Mechanisms for Maintaining Heteronormativity. Estud. pesqui. psicol. [online]. 2021, vol.21, n.spe, pp. 1395-1415. ISSN 1808-4281.  http://dx.doi.org/10.12957/epp.2021.63947.

In this article we analyze the prejudice experiences lived in the family context by self-declared university students who are gay men. The qualitative research involved the participation of five students, selected intentionally through the Snowball technique. Narrative interviews and focus groups were used as data collection instruments, and data produced were subjected to critical discourse analysis. It was found that, even if the family, in its various configurations, plays an active role in protecting its members, this does not necessarily reflect in the promotion of their individual and/or collective well-being. It occurs because when the family does not problematize the heteronormative logic, ends up reproducing it, configuring itself as a space of control and violence, albeit under the guise of care and protection. We conclude that such families (re)produce mechanisms of power based on heteronormativity and collaborate for the maintenance of hierarchies that produce subaltern modes of existence, leading to the non-acceptance, concealment and silencing of the experiences of gay men and can bring numerous losses to their mental health.

Keywords : family; heteronormativity; prejudice; homophobia.

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