Thus, if a young man felt sexual desires for another man he faced what seemed to be two options. The “real” men could maintain their sense of masculinity if they played the “active” role in sexual intercourse. Green: Generally, people thought, and largely still think, that men who like to have sex with other men were all effeminate or even “women in men’s bodies.” On the other hand, the men who had sex with these supposedly effeminate men (“bichas,” as they are pejoratively known in popular parlance) were not homosexuals, but rather “real” men, who have sex with bichas because women were not available to them. It is a vehicle that can help the reader understand the multilayered and complex lives that these men fashioned for themselves.īrazzil: What kind of stereotypes are you referring to?
Beyond Carnival is a window into that world.
In the midst of it all, they managed to create lives for themselves that were full of passion, pain, love, happiness, and a bit of drama. It is a story of how they found a way to survive in a society laced with petty prejudices, stereotypes, and violence. The truth is that Beyond Carnival is the first systematic historical study of how Brazilian men who enjoyed sex with other men coped in a rather hostile environment over the course of the twentieth century.
Soon after the book had come out, I conducted a kicked-back interview with the author to understand some of the ways in which he analyzes Brazil’s past and present economy of sexuality.īrazzil: How would you describe your book to a potential reader? The openness with which he embraces the topic of homosexuality equals his sympathy and respect for Brazilian society, its people and their cultures.Īn associate professor of Latin American History at California State University, Long Beach, “Jimmy”, as he is affectionately called in Brazil, has also led a revolution as the president of the Brazilian Studies Association (BRASA), an international academic association, by transforming the organization into a dynamic intellectual forum for discussion and debate.
Green, the author of Beyond Carnival, at a rather serious editorial board meeting of the scholarly journal Latin American Perspectives in 1996, and it was love at first sight. Now available in paperback in English, it is simply a great read for praticantes, simpatizantes, and the curious alike. This award-winning work, published by the University of Chicago Press in 1999, debuted to rave reviews in Rio and São Paulo in August 2002 in a superbly translated version entitled Além do Carnaval: a homossexualidade masculina no Brasil no século XX (Editora da Unesp).Īcademics and activists have given the thick tome exuberant praise for the depth of analysis, the extensive and meticulous research, and the sophisticated way in which Green has woven the history of gay men’s lives into the overall narrative of twentieth-century Brazil. The merger and mixture of bodies – costumed and bare – spoke to an unleashed freedom, familiar during Carnaval, but generally repressed during the rest of the year.īeyond Carnival: Male Homosexuality in Twentieth-Century Brazil is a colorfully written and unorthodox history that tells the story of the tensions between openness and repression, desire and distain that mark Brazilian attitudes toward those who enjoy same-sex love and passion. Following and mingling among a fleet of floats and sound trucks, they radiated sexuality, joy, and ecstasy about the nation’s victory and their own visibility as women and men openly and unashamedly proclaiming their sexual desires. They were joined by over a hundred thousand gays, lesbians, and travestis (transvestites), who were commemorating Brazil’s fifth World Cup success and the annual Gay Pride Celebration.Īs local Carnaval street bands beat out samba rhythms amidst flag-waving soccer fans, a tidal wave of sweating bodies, rainbow flags, drag queens, and buffed up male beach beauties slowly pulsated along Avenida Atlântica. Last June, thousands of Cariocas poured onto the streets of Copacabana to celebrate the World Cup victory. gays and straights live freely with each other." (2) This is followed by personal comments by a native gay Brazilian who says "The laws here are very fair towards gays. In the midst of it all, they managed to create lives for themselves that were full of passion, pain, love, happiness, and a bit of drama."
Green who wrote Beyond Carnival,-"a story of how gays found a way to survive in a society laced with petty prejudices, stereotypes, and violence. (1) A long candid talk with author James N.