XVII Congress of the Brazilian Studies Association

“João Silvério Trevisan enquanto intérprete queer do Brasil”

• In Event: Intérpretes do Brasil IV

Abstract

With over a dozen books published, Brazilian LGBT rights activist, journalist, playwright and novelist João Silvério Trevisan founded the organization SOMOS in 1978, the first group for homosexual liberation in Brazil. In the 1970s, in spite of the struggles with the Brazilian dictatorship, he was also one of the founding editors of the Lampião da Esquina, the first newspaper focused on the LGBT community in the country. In 1982, Trevisan published the first edition of Devassos no Paraíso: a homossexualidade no Brasil, da colônia à atualidade (Perverts in Paradise), which is internationally celebrated as one of the most compelling studies about the history of homosexuality in Brazil. In 2018, the fourth edition of Devassos no Paraíso was published by Editora Objetiva as an updated and broader version. As an author, he has received multiple awards, including three Prêmio Jabuti (the highest Latin American literary honor) and three awards from the Association of Art Critics of São Paulo (APCA).
In addition to devoting special attention to Trevisan’s most recent work, including the novel A idade de ouro (Alfaguara, 2019) and its metaliterary dialogues with the second edition of his iconic study of gender in Brazil, Seis balas num buraco só: a crise do masculino (Objetiva, 2021), this presentation performs a close reading and critical reflection on a recent talk Trevisan delivered in April 2021, “Da Santa Inquisição a Jair Bolsonaro: a resistência LGBT na história do Brasil.”

Author

• Steven Butterman, Professor of Luso-Afro-Brazilian Culture and Gender