Sob o espelho de Oxum: afetos, maternagem e ações sociopolíticas de Mulheres Lésbicas Negras e Afro-indígenas em Manaus/AM (1992-2020)

Abstract

This thesis investigates the life trajectories and sociopolitical actions of Black and Afro-Indigenous lesbian women in Manaus/AM, from 1992 to 2020. Oral History was employed as the methodology. It contributed to the tracing, collection and analysis of the individual and collective memories narrated by the participants, as well as to the recording of their personal impressions and participation in historical events. The study touches upon themes such as daily life, education, social relations, forms of activism, dissident motherhood, and the presence of affective-sexual relationships. In doing so, it recognizes the harmful effects of patriarchy, compulsory heterosexuality, and racism, which hinder these women's self-affirmation and perception of themselves as historical subjects, and highlights Black lesbianism as a component capable of destabilizing oppressive structures. Thus, this research aims to contribute to a turning point in the history of the forgotten lesbians, especially Black and Afro-Indigenous lesbians, whom the modern/colonial capitalist system attempted to silence through the intersection of social oppressions. The stories of Francy Junior, Antônia Barroso, Sebastiana Silva, Izabel Cristina da Costa, and Andria Paula Rodrigues unveil the possibilities for other individuals to narrate their individual memories, and for these to be analyzed in the light of a public, democratic, and dissonant history from cisheteronormativity.