The refuse of life and the poetics of virility: the social construction of hegemonical masculinity in João Antônio’s work

Abstract

The present study aims to contribute to the discussions and reflections on the fictional construction of sexualities in Brazilian literature. The contribution of this work is given through considerations about how aspects of the social construction of hegemonic masculinity in the work of writer João Antônio are verified. This is a study of the short story “Paulinho Perna Torta”, a text integrated with the work “Leão de Chácara”, the writer’s second book, published in 1975. The narrative takes place in Boca do Lixo, São Paulo, in the 1950s, and exposes the trajectory of the narrator-character of the same name, from the beginning of their formation to adulthood, which allows us to verify in the experience and behavior of the character elements that contribute to the formation of a masculine profile that is based on the expression of virility and violence as (re) affirmation of the very condition of marginalized man. Paulinho Perna Torta is one of the most expressive characters in the work of João Antônio, so we developed this research conducted by the researches of authors of gender and sexuality such as Connell & Pearse (2015), Nolasco (1996), and Baubérot (2013), which contribute to provide an argumentative basis for this work.