In his research, Ronaldo Alexandrino carried out training activities, with the aim of building a school environment that values diversity
“May life have space to exist in our schools, with all its potential”, writes professor Ronaldo Alexandrino in the presentation of The alleged homosexuality, recently released. The work is the result of his master's research in Education, defended at Unicamp under the guidance of professor Ângela Soligo. In the book, he analyzed the social representations of homosexuality among a group of educators. For the research, he developed training meetings on the topic, revealing the importance of discussion for creating a school environment that welcomes diversity.
At school, different social groups coexist. An inclusive environment requires that teachers are trained to deal with the plurality of forms of existence and thought. On the cover of the book, an empty chair represents the fact that prejudices often keep students away from school.
Data from the survey “Prejudice and discrimination in the school environment”, carried out in 2009 by the Fundação Instituto de Pesquisas Econômicas (FIPE) with a national sample of 18,5 thousand students, fathers and mothers, directors, teachers and employees, reveal that 87,3 % of respondents are prejudiced regarding sexual orientation.
Based on his own experience as a gay man and noticing the suffering of children that teachers did not know how to deal with, the researcher defined his theme. “The research was born out of my pain and the possibility of working to reduce homolesbotransphobic practices within the school. Gender discussions in the school environment are incipient, and there is still little space to develop work on the topic,” he says.
Ronaldo began his master's degree in 2006. At the time, there was interest from schools in hosting the training practices, carried out by him with Elementary and Early Childhood Education educators from the municipal network of Hortolândia (SP). There were ten three-hour meetings, in which, by showing films and reading texts, social representations of homosexuality and its origins were identified and discussed.
“The first step was to observe the educators’ prejudices regarding the topic”, explains Ronaldo. After the film screening My pink life (1997), in which a boy presents himself as a girl, the participants asked questions such as: “Is this from God?”, “Is it right?”, “Is it normal?”, remembers Ronaldo. “These representations, linked to socially constructed prejudices, began to appear”, he says.
The idea was not to judge the educators, but to reflect on the construction of social representations. Throughout the meetings, some changed, some were relativized and others did not change.
“It was an interesting move. The perspective on school practice has changed for many of them. The main point was to realize that the problem is not in the other, but in looking at the other. We are the ones who need to change, the ones who have to deal with the subject outside of heteronormativity and our prejudices, not the other person. Others have the right to exist as they are”, he reflects.
Homosexuality as a social representation
Social representations are constructions about a certain subject. “It’s a way of turning what is strange, unfamiliar, into something known, familiar. It is to fit the other into some already socially established standard”, writes Ronaldo. The researcher's objective was to verify the images, opinions and constructions that educators had in relation to homosexuality, also identifying the most common social representations in history.
In ancient Greece, says Ronaldo, homosexuality was called homophily. Even though with different meanings, the relationship between men was accepted. Over time and under the influence of the Church, any sexual act that was not aimed at reproduction became condemned. In the Middle Ages, the term sodomy, associated with the idea of sin.
In the 17th century, it was common to use the term pederasty, linked to the hygienist movement. If in Greece it designated love between men and young people, it was permitted as long as it was associated with the strengthening of polis, now it denotes crime and disease. In Brazil, this conception was in force from the 19th century onwards.
The designation homosexual also appears during this period. Linked to the idea of abnormality and perversity, it gives rise to the term homosexuality, with the suffix -ism denoting a pathology. Only in the 1980s did reference to homosexuality as a mental pathology, it is no longer included in the World Health Organization (WHO) disease guide.
In the 20th century, following the struggles of identity movements, the term used became homosexuality, with the suffix -dade designating a way of being. In 2004, in the context of the fight for the legal rights of homosexuals, the expression was formulated homoaffectivity.
“Notice how the nomenclature is changing. That's why my title says 'alleged homosexuality', because it is a social representation. We are changing the way of naming and the way of living with behavior according to the culture and social environment”, explains Ronaldo.
When discussing social representations, the professor emphasizes that they are not natural. It is possible, he says, to change the truths constructed about homosexuality, contributing to a school environment that values differences.
Commitment to social transformation
After his master's degree, and to expand his research, Ronaldo started his doctorate, also at FE/Unicamp. The idea was to propose training meetings with Elementary II and High School teachers. The conservative reaction to the federal government's 2011 School Without Homophobia project, however, meant that spaces for discussions about gender were reduced. No school agreed to host the researcher.
As part of the School without Homophobia project, teaching materials were created to combat prejudice and raise awareness about the rights of the LGBTQIA+ population. The program had been proposed by the government in partnership with civil society organizations, following a human rights and citizenship agenda. Pejoratively designated a “gay kit” by then federal deputy Jair Bolsonaro, the project received several attacks, with the dissemination of false information about its content.
“From then on, everything changes. The movement to deny the topic begins after the issue of the 'gay kit'. I lived through 12 years of denial of discussion on the topic. There was no room for anything, not even for researchers. With the 2018 electoral campaign, and its family and school discourse, declarations of hate become more explicit”, analyzes Ronaldo.
During this period, he notes, attacks on the LGBTQIA+ population intensified. Schools and teachers become targets of attacks and projects to restrict critical thinking. “The school is committed to social transformation and needs to deconstruct views on different themes, so that we can develop other representations. When it does this, it clashes, most of the time, with the established power, and that is why it is so uncomfortable”, says the researcher.
After 12 years, Ronaldo managed to publish the research in a book. Although happy with the result, he considers that the work remains current, as the discussion has made little progress, due to the country's scenario. “Having managed to publish indicates some possibility of social change.”
Currently, the researcher is a primary school teacher in the municipal network of Hortolândia and is undertaking a post-doctorate at the Federal University of Mato Grosso do Sul (UFSM), with the Study and Research Group in Psychology and Education. The book Supposed Homosexuality can be purchased at Editora Appris website.
