RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
A1 Balutet, Nicolas
T1 The repressed desire: expressions of self-homophobia in some Latin American works
JF Romanica Olomucensia
YR 2015
VO 27
IS 2
SP 227
OP 242
DO 10.5507/ro.2015.019
UL https://romanica.upol.cz/artkey/rom-201502-0006.php
AB The causes of homophobia - rejection and hatred of homosexuals by certain individuals - are plural. They seem nevertheless to reflect the hetero-centrism of society, that is to say, the supremacy of the patriarchal heterosexual social model, constantly reinforced by the bodies of power (political parties, trade unions, constituted bodies, churches, etc.) on behalf of demographic issues and the defense of a certain conception of morality, often inherited from religion. This "social homophobia", in the words of Francis Courtray in Normes sociales, droit et homosexualité (1996), not only legitimates collective homophobia but also leads to "self-homophobia", that is to say, refoulement, a form of conduct that is a way of refusing to face a desire that could be expressed freely in a society that considers homosexuality for what it is: a "natural" part of human sexuality.Self-homophobic characters are quite common in Latin American literature and cinema. They are found, for example, in the following works: the movie Fresa y chocolate (1993) by Tomás Gutiérrez Alea (Cuba), the novel Grande Sertão: Veredas (1956) by João Guimarães Rosa (Brazil), the short story "La intrusa" (1966) by Jorge Luis Borges (Argentina), and the short novel Conversaciones con Aurelia (2007) by Daniel Torres (Puerto Rico). Using these works, this article intends to present some manifestations of self-homophobia and the strategies implemented by some of the characters, often unconsciously, to satisfy their homosexual desire while also denying it.