Linguistic taboo in the denominations given to homosexual women in maranhão

thinking about social gender roles in society

Abstract

The names given to homosexual women in the state of Maranhão, a state located in the Legal Amazon region, are analyzed. The analysis seeks to present aspects of the linguistic taboo related to sexuality and bring together traces of a social image related to women in the social imagination. In this way, the issue of homosexuality and how it has been understood in current times is problematized. It is assumed that the denominations given to homosexual women are forms of crystallization of a mentality of a patriarchal society in which women must present pre-established behaviors. The work falls between the studies of lexicon and linguistic taboo. Data were collected through interviews in the municipality of Vitorino Freire, in the Central region of Maranhão, with 30 participants with a socioeconomic profile that encompasses a social identity that represents a social stratification in that municipality. The interviews were carried out spontaneously through field research. The data from this research were analyzed based on a discussion within the field of human sciences that addresses the taboo issue of sexuality and the social mentality that crystallizes in the lexicon. The results show that the names given to homosexual women have tabooed meanings and that they reveal a conservative awareness even today on the issue of female homosexuality.