Exposing Fascism: The Rise of Bolsonarismo and the Naked Politics of Brazil’s First Trans Men’s Football Team

From 2016 to 2019, the backlash in Brazil against so-called gender ideology framed gender dissidence as a reason for the country’s perceived decline, playing a central role in the rise of Bolsonarismo, a movement increasingly identified as fascist. In this gender-hostile environment, I examine Brazi...

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Main Author: Cara Snyder
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Cambridge University Press 2023-09-01
Series:Latin American Research Review
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S154242782300024X/type/journal_article
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author Cara Snyder
author_facet Cara Snyder
author_sort Cara Snyder
collection DOAJ
description From 2016 to 2019, the backlash in Brazil against so-called gender ideology framed gender dissidence as a reason for the country’s perceived decline, playing a central role in the rise of Bolsonarismo, a movement increasingly identified as fascist. In this gender-hostile environment, I examine Brazil’s first trans men’s soccer team, the Meninos Bons de Bola (MBB), and its use of nudity as a response to the political shift rightward and to tell a story about the precarity of minoritized groups across the Americas. The team’s changing approach to trans representation exposes the period as a watershed in Brazilian politics. The MBB’s naked protest during this time of governmental change reveals resistance to the machinations of Brazilian fascism, including censorship, backlash, and shaming. By asserting that the MBB were never just about futebol, the team uses the national sport to enact trans politics and to claim belonging beyond the bounds of normative citizenship.
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spelling doaj.art-909103caf5f14c6eab402094fba1fdc12023-08-17T10:00:43ZengCambridge University PressLatin American Research Review1542-42782023-09-015851953810.1017/lar.2023.24Exposing Fascism: The Rise of Bolsonarismo and the Naked Politics of Brazil’s First Trans Men’s Football TeamCara Snyder0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2392-5888University of Louisville, Louisville, Kentucky, USFrom 2016 to 2019, the backlash in Brazil against so-called gender ideology framed gender dissidence as a reason for the country’s perceived decline, playing a central role in the rise of Bolsonarismo, a movement increasingly identified as fascist. In this gender-hostile environment, I examine Brazil’s first trans men’s soccer team, the Meninos Bons de Bola (MBB), and its use of nudity as a response to the political shift rightward and to tell a story about the precarity of minoritized groups across the Americas. The team’s changing approach to trans representation exposes the period as a watershed in Brazilian politics. The MBB’s naked protest during this time of governmental change reveals resistance to the machinations of Brazilian fascism, including censorship, backlash, and shaming. By asserting that the MBB were never just about futebol, the team uses the national sport to enact trans politics and to claim belonging beyond the bounds of normative citizenship.https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S154242782300024X/type/journal_articletransfootballBrazilBolsonarismofascismtransfutebolBrasilBolsonarismofascismo
spellingShingle Cara Snyder
Exposing Fascism: The Rise of Bolsonarismo and the Naked Politics of Brazil’s First Trans Men’s Football Team
Latin American Research Review
trans
football
Brazil
Bolsonarismo
fascism
trans
futebol
Brasil
Bolsonarismo
fascismo
title Exposing Fascism: The Rise of Bolsonarismo and the Naked Politics of Brazil’s First Trans Men’s Football Team
title_full Exposing Fascism: The Rise of Bolsonarismo and the Naked Politics of Brazil’s First Trans Men’s Football Team
title_fullStr Exposing Fascism: The Rise of Bolsonarismo and the Naked Politics of Brazil’s First Trans Men’s Football Team
title_full_unstemmed Exposing Fascism: The Rise of Bolsonarismo and the Naked Politics of Brazil’s First Trans Men’s Football Team
title_short Exposing Fascism: The Rise of Bolsonarismo and the Naked Politics of Brazil’s First Trans Men’s Football Team
title_sort exposing fascism the rise of bolsonarismo and the naked politics of brazil s first trans men s football team
topic trans
football
Brazil
Bolsonarismo
fascism
trans
futebol
Brasil
Bolsonarismo
fascismo
url https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S154242782300024X/type/journal_article
work_keys_str_mv AT carasnyder exposingfascismtheriseofbolsonarismoandthenakedpoliticsofbrazilsfirsttransmensfootballteam