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ABSTRACT
Football in most parts of the world is historically associated with men and cisheteronormative masculinity. The virility demanded and valued in it is often accompanied by an endorsement of chauvinism and homophobia. The engagement of those who do not fit the standard is surrounded by obstacles. In view of this scenario, the Brazilian organized fan group Coligay, formed predominantly by men identified as homosexuals, was an unusual and transgressive initiative. The group was founded in 1977 and for approximately five years it was present in the stadiums supporting the traditional club Grêmio Foot-Ball Porto Alegrense. With demonstrations that explore aesthetic elements traditionally associated with homosexuality, they destabilized the legitimate and predominant model of a fan, and the norm that naturalizes football as a stronghold of cisgender and heterosexual men. From the crossing of oral sources and records from periodicals, we analyse such performance from the perspective of gender studies.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).
Notes
1. The acronym LGBTQI+ refers to lesbians, gays, bisexuals, transvestites, transsexuals, transgender, queer, intersexuals and other possibilities of collective identification of people who do not insert themselves into the cisgender and/or heterosexual reference.
2. Brackenridge et al., ‘Driving down participation’; Griffin, Strong women, deep closets; Pronger, The arena of masculinity.
3. Anderson, In the game; Anderson, Inclusive masculinity; Cashmore and Cleland, ‘Fans, homophobia and masculinities in association football’; Cashmore and Cleland ‘Glasswing butterflies’; and Velez and Piedra, ‘Does sexuality play in the stadium?’.
4. Anderson, In the game; Anderson, Inclusive masculinity; and Camargo, ‘O armário da sexualidade no mundo esportivo’.
5. Cashmore and Cleland, ‘Glasswing butterflies’.
6. Camargo, ‘O armário da sexualidade no mundo esportivo’.
7. Caudwell, ‘Does your boyfriend know you’re here?’; and Parrish and Nauright, ‘Fútbol cantitos’.
8. Caudwell, ‘Does your boyfriend know’; Hughson, ‘The boys are back’, Parrish and Nauright, ‘Fútbol cantitos’.
9. Camargo, ‘O armário da sexualidade’.
10. Anjos, ‘Representações sobre homossexualidades e esportes’.
11. Anjos, ‘De “São bichas mas são nossas”’.
12. From now on, I will only call it Grêmio.
13. Anjos, ‘De “São bichas mas são nossas”’.
14. Butler, ‘Gender as Performance’; Butler, ‘Gender Trouble’.
15. Butler, ‘Bodies That Matter’.
16. Salih, Judith Butler e a Teoria Queer, 91.
17. Butler, ‘Gender Trouble’; and Louro, ‘Heteronormatividade e homofobia’.
18. Bento, ‘Na escola se aprende’; and Grindstaff and West, ‘Cheerleading and the Gendered Politics of Sport’
19. Butler, ‘Bodies That Matter’.
20. Borillo, Homofobia.
21. Meyer, ‘Gênero e educação’.
22. Vigarello, ‘Virilidades esportivas’, 271. Here I take a generic and broad view of sports. I do not suppose, however, that the mark of virility and masculinity thus crosses all sports, being well known that there are some practices associated with femininity.
23. Anderson, ‘“I used to think”’.
24. Cunha Júnior and Melo, ‘Homossexualidade, educação física e esporte’.
25. Moraes e Silva, ‘Entre a ilha deserta’; Prado, ‘“Fica no gol”’; Santos, ‘Corpo, gênero e sexualidade’.
26. Mattos and Cidade, ‘Para pensar a cisheteronormatividade’.
27. The periodicals of the time identified that the group brought together homosexuals, but little used the expression ‘gay cheering group’. Of a total of 207 times in which Coligay was mentioned in some note, matter or charge of several periodicals consulted, the term appeared nine times.
28. Warner, ‘Introduction’.
29. Dantas, ‘Cartografias de um campo invisível’.
30. Osborne & Segal (1996).
31. Wellard, ‘Exploring the limits’, 85.
32. Bessa, ‘Os festivais GLBT de cinema’, 259.
33. França, ‘Sexualidade e política’.
34. Caudwell, ‘Introduction’, 2.
35. Schechner, Performance Studies.
36. Butler, ‘Bodies That Matter’, 178.
37. Zumthor, ‘Performance, recepção, leitura’.
38. Huizinga, Homo Ludens.
39. Damo, ‘Das palavras e dos palavrões’.
40. Sérgio Cunha, a member of Coligay, interviewed by Luiza dos Anjos, 8 June 2017.
41. Camargo, ‘Dilemas insurgentes no esporte’; Davidson, ‘The necessity of queer shame’; Jarvis, ‘Ten men out’; Wellard, ‘Exploring the limits’; Willis, ‘Kicking down barriers’.
42. Camargo, W. X. 'Por uma etnografia dos vestiários', 57.
43. Olympic Stadium, in Porto Alegre (Brazil), where Grêmio had its matches at the time. The images mentioned were published in: Zero Hora, 7 October 1977, 24; Zero Hora, 10 September 1977, 4.
44. Anjos, ‘De “São bichas mas são nossas”’.
45. Gérson Vieira, Grêmio fan, interviewed by Luiza dos Anjos, 15 August 2017.
46. Lauro Quadros, jornalista, entrevistado por Luiza dos Anjos, 18 March 2016.
47. Fernando Bueno, Grêmio fan, interviewed by Luiza dos Anjos, 2 December 2017.
48. Sérgio Cunha, a member of Coligay, interviewed by Luiza dos Anjos, 8 June 2017.
49. ‘Torcida’, Zero Hora, 26 September 1977, 42.
50. Divino Fonseca, ‘Para o que der e vier’, Placar, 27 May 1977, 50.
51. Eduardo Bueno, ‘Grêmio está recebendo’, Zero Hora, 16 May 1977, 44.
52. Eduardo Bueno, ‘Grêmio está recebendo’, Zero Hora, 16 May 1977, 44-45.
53. Divino Fonseca, ‘Para o que der e vier’, Placar, 27 May 1977, 50.
54. Gerchmann, ‘Coligay’, 166.
55. Rosa Foresti, Grêmio fan, interviewed by Luiza dos Anjos, 6 November 2015.
56. Quoted by Gerchmann, Coligay, 142-143.
57. David Coimbra, journalist, interviewed by Luiza dos Anjos, 16 June 2016.
58. Diogo Olivier, journalist, interviewed by Luiza dos Anjos, 17 March 2016.
59. Eduardo Bueno, ‘Grêmio está recebendo’, Zero Hora, 16 May 1977; Divino Fonseca, ‘Para o que der e vier’, Placar, 27 May 1977, 50.
60. Miguel Ribeiro, a member of Coligay, interviewed by Luiza dos Anjos, 31 August 2016.
61. Hélio Dourado, former chairman of Grêmio, interviewed by Luiza dos Anjos, 30 November 2015.
62. ‘Nosso colega’, Zero Hora, 18 September 1979.
63. Goellner and Fraga, ‘A inominável Sandwina’.
64. Ibid., 78.
65. Volmar Santos, leader of Coligay, interviewed by Luiza dos Anjos, 18 March 2016.
66. Trevisan, Devassos no paraíso.
67. At that time, Brazil was under the control of the military dictatorial government and artistic works were submitted to censorship bodies.
68. Trevisan, Devassos no paraíso.
69. João Mascarenhas, ‘Noticiário Esportivo (2)’, Lampião, 25 July/25 August 1978, 5.
70. Lopes, ‘Seja gay … ’. Currently, this rejection of feminization in men has not been extinguished, but it is not as openly defended as at that time.
71. João Mascarenhas, ‘Noticiário Esportivo (2)’, Lampião, 25 July/25 August 0197, 5.
72. Sérgio Cunha, integrante da Coligay, interviewed by Luiza dos Anjos, 8 June 2017.
73. Wellard, ‘Exploring the limits’.
74. ‘Torcida’, Zero Hora, 26 September 1977, 42.
75. Prado, ‘“Fica no gol”’, 120.
76. Richardson, ‘Effeminophobia, misogyny and Queer friendship’.
77. Anderson, ‘“Being Masculine is not”’; Grindstaff and West, ‘Cheerleading and the Gendered Politics of Sport’.
78. Garriga Zucal, Nosotros nos peleamos; Bandeira, ‘Eu canto, bebo e brigo’; Parrish and Nauright, ‘Fútbol cantitos’.
79. Garriga Zucal, Nosotros nos peleamos; Parrish and Nauright, ‘Fútbol cantitos’.
80. Coelho, ‘Voleibol’.
81. Oliveira, ‘O jogo dos gêneros’.
82. Brito, ‘“Afeminada! Afeminada!”’; Oliveira, ‘O jogo dos gêneros’.
83. Oliveira, ‘O jogo dos gêneros’.
84. Brito, ‘“Afeminada! Afeminada!”’, 102.
85. It is necessary to point out that professional volleyball shows greater restrictions on dissonant gender expressions.
86. Salih, Judith Butler e a Teoria Queer.
87. Preciado, ‘Manifesto contrassexual’.
88. Sedgwick, A epistemologia do armário.
89. Dornelles and Wenetz, ‘Educação Física Escolar’, 51.
90. Preciado, ‘Manifesto contrassexual’, 29.
91. Camargo, ‘Dilemas insurgentes no esporte’.
92. Camargo, ‘Dilemas insurgentes no esporte’, 1346.
93. Anjos, ‘Representações sobre homossexualidades e esportes’.
94. Rosa, ‘Enunciações afetadas’.