"The ghetto is over, darling": emerging gay communities and gender and sexual politics in contemporary Brazil.

PIP: This article examines how "gayness" and the "gay community" have been conceived and experienced by participants in Porto Alegre's homosexual/gay subcultures. The objective of this article is to map out some of the key tensions and power dynamics involved in the apparent consolidation of gay communities/culture in Brazil and to explore what might be gained and lost and for whom in these recent transformations of Brazilian male homosexualities. The data was obtained from ethnographic fieldwork among a group of transvestite sex workers based out of GAPA, Porto Alegre's largest AIDS-related organization and out of Nuances, Porto Alegre's principal homosexual/gay rights group. Male-male sexuality has become increasingly visible in Brazil. Additionally, homosocial/sexual commercial establishments and homosexual/gay political organizations now exist in nearly all Brazilian cities, and there is a growing gay press as well as increasingly regular mainstream press coverage of gay cultural and political issues. The current atmosphere provides a wide range of spaces in which Brazilians of different gender and sexual subjectivities can discuss and argue about what kind of "ghetto" culture or political movement they would like to create.^ieng

Psychosexual characteristics of male university students in Brazil.

Male freshmen (N = 268) at the State University of Campinas (UNICAMP) in the state of Sao Paulo in Brazil responded to a questionnaire concerning aspects of their sexuality from the onset of adolescence. Topics such as physical changes, first ejaculation, masturbation, homosexual manifestations, and sexual practices were investigated, as well as present attitudes toward virginity, intercourse, birth control, abortion, and prevention of AIDS. The quality of the relationship established with parents and the possibilities for dialogue about sex in the family circle were also surveyed. The majority of the subjects revealed satisfactory development in most areas of their sexuality, as well as a good relationship with their parents. Nevertheless, great difficulty was found in dialogue about sex within the family circle. Of these young men, 32% were still virgins at the end of their freshman year, but a considerable number of those already sexually active reported behavior which was inappropriate for the prevention of pregnancy and AIDS. The results are analyzed using psychoanalytic theories of psychosexual development.

PIP: A random sample of 268 male freshmen of mean age 19.6 years at the State University of Campinas in the state of Sao Paulo, Brazil, responded to a questionnaire in 1990 on aspects of their sexuality from the beginning of their adolescence. Topics such as physical changes, first ejaculation, masturbation, homosexual manifestations, and sexual practices were investigated, as well as present attitudes toward virginity, intercourse, birth control, abortion, and AIDS prevention. The quality of their relationships with parents was also surveyed. The sample comprised 31% of the entering students for that year. 32% were living with their parents. Most respondents reported satisfactory development in most areas of their sexuality, as well as a good relationship with their parents. However, they found it very difficult to discuss sex within their family circles. 32% were still virgins at the end of their freshman year. 28% and 20% had homosexual manifestations during childhood/early adolescence and currently, respectively, including fantasies, attraction to men/boys, physical contact with men/boys, and sexual intercourse with men/boys. 38% of the sexually active men reported taking no measures to prevent pregnancy and HIV transmission.