Entre descobertas e enfrentamentos: vivências da maternidade bissexual no contexto amazônico

Abstract

The historical scenario of bisexuality is constituted by erasures and silences faced by bisexual activists and militants who, to this day, seek to combat the stigmas surrounding this sexuality. In the 2000s, bisexual collectives emerged, triggering a movement that gradually expanded to other Brazilian states, eventually reaching the virtual world in 2010. The hostile positions that bisexual activists faced contributed to the construction of a political bisexual identity, which denounces prejudices against non-monosexual people, biphobia, and the epistemic contract of bisexual erasure. Bisexual activism spaces have become a refuge and support network for movement members; however, the scenario is different when transitioning to parenthood: at the moment bisexual people become mothers or fathers through relationships with people of the opposite sex, they suffer stigmatization and exclusion from the LGBTQIA+ community. From this scenario, some questions arose: how does the ecological transition occur to assume parental roles in the face of the arriving child? In what way is bisexuality constructed together with the experiences of motherhood? How are the parental function and the relationship with the children characterized in bisexual parenting? To answer these questions, we use bioecological theory, focusing on the Process-Person-Context-Time Model and proximal processes—from the micro to the macrosystem. We delved into classic and contemporary bisexual studies in order to describe the coming-out process linked to the practice of motherhood. The research followed a qualitative approach, with a descriptive and exploratory bias. The recruitment of participants was carried out through the application of an online form on Google Forms, and subsequently, analyses were conducted based on the responses from 16 participants and semi-structured interviews with four bisexual mothers residing in the city of Manaus-AM. The data were subjected to thematic analysis, which highlights patterns and themes according to the participants' accounts. The results were divided into three topics:1) a literature review, which showed a concentration of works in the Southeast and South regions of the country, in addition to demonstrating a scarcity of studies exclusively on bisexual, trans, and intersex parenting; 2) an overview of LGBTQIA+ parenting in the city of Manaus-AM based on 16 responses in the forms, which demonstrates a predominance of recompositions and the choice of adoption in Manaus families; and 3) the conduct of semi-structured interviews with four bisexual women with at least one child. The results demonstrated the challenges faced in revealing sexuality to the family, leading to estrangements and questions about the legitimacy of bisexuality. The maternities were constituted through recompositions—relationships with current and past cis men—and through adoption, with dual motherhood. The relationship with the children is based on respect, affection, and the closeness to other dissident families, demonstrating the importance of support networks in the process of transitioning to parenthood.