Myths, problems and signals: the rudimentary gay press, the historical process and activism before 1978

Abstract

The literature on the Brazilian Homosexual Movement (MHB) is based on the idea of a founding myth. It does not integrate the artisanal gay press, the ephemeral actions and those prevented by the dictatorship. Thus, it neglects the historical process and the challenge of overcoming a deteriorated identity (COLAÇO-RODRIGUES, 2022). Understanding that the social movement category encompasses all phases, including the embryonic one (GOHN, 2008, p. 259), this article examines national and international gay journals, the debate about this press in Lampião, the reference literature on the subject and demonstrates that it was not “limited to good-natured parody […]” (MACRAE, 2018, p. 165), but participated in building the political awareness of homosexuals, thus integrating the MHB.