Women who love women: perspectives on the process of self-recognition and social visibility

• Autor(a) principal: Piason, Aline da Silva
• Data de Publicação: 2012
• Outros Autores: Strey, Marlene Neves
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: por
• Título da fonte: Temáticas (Campinas. Online)
• Texto Completo: https://econtents.bc.unicamp.br/inpec/index.php/tematicas/article/view/11542
• topic: Género; Orientación sexual; Lesbianas; Genre; Sexual orientation; Lesbians; Gênero; Orientação sexual; Lésbicas

This article is the result of some reflections of the research carried out with women who identify themselves as lesbians, aged over 19 years and living in the city of Porto Alegre. The objective of this study is to know the process of recognizing themselves as a lesbian and the experience of this sexual orientation, as well as to know the participants' perception regarding the visibility or invisibility of this sexual orientation in the family and in society. In this research, the focus of gender studies based on post-structuralist theories is used. Data collection was carried out through narrative interviews which, after being transcribed, were subjected to discourse analysis. The results show that assuming their sexual desires for another woman for themselves involves a process of struggles and negotiations between external pressures and internal resistances; they consider it necessary to overcome the invisibility experiences of the family and society, aiming to be respected in their rights as persons and citizens. Finally, suggestions are made regarding the realization of psychosocial interventions that aim to promote the empowerment of these women.