Representation of homosexuality and sociopolitical representation contexts. From punishment to validation and from validation to resistance

Abstract

This work proposes a limited overview of the ways of representing sex-gender minorities in general and in particular, male homosexuality, using examples from theatre, movies and television, in order to analyse the link between these representations and the social contexts, determined by political situations, regulatory frameworks and current legislation. The aim of this work is to propose thinking collectively about how relationships of validation or resistance to the dominant thought on sex-gender dissidence are produced. In this way, we propose to open a line of discussion about the current context in which there would be an attempt to re-establish debates that seemed to be settled, such as, for example, the pathologisation of homosexuality, or the supremacy of the cis heterosexual male over any other sex-gender identity. How does the performance art react to this new context of aggression towards minorities?
To take this issue, we will consider, on the one hand, some regulatory frameworks that have determined not only the lives of dissident people, but also the possibility of making their existence visible in representations, implying assessments that range between challenge and validation, between mockery and respect. On the other hand, we will see the changes produced, regarding the conception of homosexuality, considering both local and international historical events and changes in position, in relation to the depathologization and decriminalization of non-heteronormative sexual practices. For the historical framework, we will resort to the contributions of Osvaldo Bazán (2016) and Carlos Jáuregui (1987), among others. In addition to general frameworks on sex-gender positions and their link to social contexts provided by Pierre Bourdieu (2000), Ernesto Meccia (2021) and Mikel Herrán (2024), among others. The return of stigmatising discourses once again challenges us to position ourselves both ideologically and artistically through representation. At this point, we will take some statements by current political figures to speculate on a possible impact on the ways of representing, that is, whether they once again enable representations that oscillate between new validations or new resistances to stigmatising discourse.