Banca de DEFESA: JOSÉ ELTON DANTAS DE CARDOSO

Uma banca de DEFESA de DOUTORADO foi cadastrada pelo programa.
STUDENT : JOSÉ ELTON DANTAS DE CARDOSO
DATE: 23/02/2026
TIME: 14:00
LOCAL: Google Meet
TITLE:

The Representation of Hegemonic Masculinity and the Distortion of Homosexual Identity in Jean Genet's Querelle de Brest

KEY WORDS:

Hegemonic masculinity; Toxic masculinity; Homosexuality; Jean Genet; Querelle of Brest.

PAGES: 269
BIG AREA: Lingüística, Letras e Artes
AREA: Letras
SUBÁREA: Literatura Comparada
SUMMARY:

Debates surrounding heterosexual masculinities have been present in academia for a long time; after all, heterosexual men are typically the ones who dictate the rules of how all social institutions function. However, debates involving homosexual masculinities are not yet as frequent. From this starting point, over time, social constructs have established a concept that serves as a foundation to determine how heterosexual men should be and act, under penalty of social exclusion and the invalidation of their masculinity and virility. Thus arises the concept of Hegemonic Masculinity, popularly known as toxic masculinity, which aims to reinforce behaviors regarded as masculine and virile. However, this theory excludes gay men from its influence because they do not compete for the desire and attention of women — who are the ones who validate the masculinity and virility of heterosexual men. This exclusion is harmful on several levels, as it imposes the idea that to be a man, one must be masculine, virile, and straight. Consequently, being a gay man already carries the assumption of being effeminate, thereby also excluding the existence of masculine gay men. In order to engage in this debate, we analyze how these hegemonic behaviors are represented in the male characters of the novel Querelle of Brest (1986 [1947]) by Jean Genet, as well as the fundamental role that literature plays in denouncing these issues so pertinent to our society. We will address Jean Genet’s literary trajectory, as well as the peculiar treatment this author attributes not only to homosexuality but also to other aspects of marginality which, in his case, is confessed both in his work and his life. Through his characters, we will discuss the manifestations of hegemonic masculinity, given that in this novel, the men are all represented with high traits of masculinity and virility, yet they constantly seek sexual pleasure among other men and still fail to see themselves as gay men. This will allow us to glimpse the toxicity of hegemonic masculinity even in an almost exclusively homosexual environment, where the only woman who receives any relevance is treated as a "bargaining chip." Finally, to analyze how these characters develop and the context in which they find themselves throughout the narrative — and their correlation with male hegemony — we draw upon the following theorists: R. W. Connell (2005), Connell and J. W. Messerschmidt (2013); B. W. Sculos (2017); Mike Donaldson (1993), Michel Foucault (1984, 1988), Sigmund Freud (2016), Márcio Venício Barbosa (1998), Hélio Dias Furtado (2018, 2021), Judith Butler (2019), João Silvério Trevisan (2021), Jean-Paul Sartre (2002), Edmund White (2003), and other scholars who proved relevant to the writing of this research.

COMMITTEE MEMBERS:
Interno - 1496892 - MARCIO VENICIO BARBOSA
Interno - 3546280 - SAMUEL ANDERSON DE OLIVEIRA LIMA
Externa ao Programa - 1169325 - VALDENIDES CABRAL DE ARAÚJO DIAS - UFRNExterno à Instituição - WELLINGTON JUNIO COSTA
Externa à Instituição - ASTREIA SOARES BATISTA